# how to evaluate the max effective range of buckshot



## kruschev (Dec 7, 2017)

00 Buck pellets weigh 60 grs and are .32" in size. They dont expand in flesh and they slow down really fast vs air resistance. At 30 yds, they hit no harder than a .38 snub at 10 ft, using the nearly worthless 158 gr lead rd nosed ammo in the .38. 00 buck starts at 1400-1500 fps, depending upon the load and barrel length. So you need to have at least 2 of those pellets strike in the 10" chest circle to have a reasonable expectation for the hit to reliably stop a determined attacker, and 3 such hits would be a LOT better. 

Remember pi r squared? Say your riot barrel groups 20" wide at 25 yds. That's a 10" radius. Square that, for 100, x 3.14 means that circle has 314 sq inches. divide that by 9 pellets, and you get a pellet every 35 square inches. The 10" vitals circle only has 78 square inches. So your riot gun only gets 2 pellets into the vitals (reliably) at 25 yds. Some wont do this at more than 20 yds, depending upon the barrel and the load. Pretty damned feeble and short ranged, not much penetration, either. And that's IF your pattern is well centered on the target and it WONT be. How do i know that? cause buck costs $1 each, and if you were going to practice enough to center those blasts reliably, you'd practice 3x as much with the 30c per shot 223. Slugs, same thing. So your effective range is a lot more likely to be limited to 20 yds, than 25 yds, and might well be only 50 ft. 

Furthermore, if the enemy is using cover, all you get is the head and shoulder. Most riot barrels have "holes" in a standard 00 pattern, larger than that, at a mere 20 yds, so even if you ARE centered on the guy, you can easily not hit him. Buck wont pierce soft, concealable armor. nor a car windshield or car door, beyond about 10m, even with an ideal impact angle. It wont reliably pierce both sides of tire beyond about 10 ft. nor will it pierce the tread of an almost new steel belted radial at such ranges.


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## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

Here in NY I am very limited in what would be considered a defensive shooting situation. Basically someone would have to be coming through my door and into the house proper before I could legally defend myself with no question asked.

For such close quarters I prefer #4 buckshot. 27 .24cal. pellets make one hell of a mess.


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## Texaspredatorhu (Sep 15, 2015)

Bought cases of Rio at 6.79 per box of 25. Bought 500 rounds and that was only 27 cents per round. Next option stop buying into what everyone has used forever and get smarter and use 4b instead of 00. Many people like the AR for homedefense but the best defense bullets that offer great expansion and devastating results on a “soft” target are the worst for penetration on all your scenarios listed above.


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## Jolly (Jan 8, 2004)

Hit a deer with a load of #1 buck at 25 feet and watch him be knocked literally out of his tracks and die right after he hits the ground. Done that. Twice, at about that range. And I'm not wild about buckshot for hunting.

But at less than 30 yards? Hand me a shotgun.


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## Hitch (Oct 19, 2016)

I keep 00 buckshot loaded in my shotgun for home protection. From my testing of different weights at the range i thought it had the best spread for our needs.


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## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

Isn't the average defensive shooting distance something like 20ft.?


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

I also carry 00 in my 870.
21' is the distance. If you are shooting a shotgun at another person at longer distances than that you better have an attorney.


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

locked the original poster was just trolling and is gone for now , no need to respond to a post intended to get you riled up for the posters amusement.


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