Which Shotgun Loads Useful to Stock For TSHTF

[powell556]

TSHTF discussions come with negative connotations of crazy obese men but I don't know a better way to describe it.

I currently only keep FFC #1 Buck and one type of slugs. In current times I have the option to go to Wal Mart and buy bird shot or different buckshot or different slugs if something came up. I want to plan for a time where that might not be possible. Right now I'm probably limiting my shotgun potential by just having those two rounds at home.

I've never hunted and would like to eventually learn. Birds, Deer, Elk, all of it is interesting to me. In posing this question I appreciate learning to hunt in a survival situation is not going to be easy. But all I'm saying it, if I spend $20 on the right kind of birdshot to store with the gun I already have, at least I have some chance.

Let me rephrase the question: What is the fewest number of types of shotgun rounds that can do the most numbers of things?

I don't want to stock 20 different types of shells. But I would like to have something for human defense (FFC #1 Buck seems best in class), something for disabling vehicles (slugs), something for birds (maybe 1 to 3 different types of bird shot would cover that?), something for deer/elk (maybe the #1 Buck or the slugs I already have could work? Or maybe cheap 00 Buck would work and I plan to bulk stock this for training purposes since my indoor range doesn't allow birdshot and #1 FFC is too hard to get for me to use in regular practice).

I've heard birdshot could be used for door breaching in stead of dedicated breaching round. I don't envision myself breaching doors, but it's nice to know what's possible with my tools I already own. Does it matter what type of birdshot? Could I just use whichever birdshot I stockpile for emergency hunting?

How about lead versus steel shot for my TSHTF purposes? It's my understanding that steel shot came about because of environmental impact concerns. Where I think it might be illegal to hunt with lead shot. Secondarily, there's a health concern with eating food shot with lead, but I'm not a small child, and if I'm hunting in TSHTF scenario, then lead poisoning is a low concern.

Also, my shotguns are 590s so they can only take 2 3/4" shells and I believe steel shells are larger because they need more volume due to being less dense. Because of this, I'm leaning towards my TSHTF "hunting" stockpile to be lead-based. And if I learn how to hunt in normal times (which is far more likely than TSHTF), I will go to Wal Mart and buy steel shot because Wal Mart will be open.

I go into specifics to clarify what I mean by this. It would be an ammo can or two of 12 gauge that is only meant for TSHTF where modern day concerns about lead for example are of low importance. It would be like if you were stockpiling gasoline, you wouldn't stockpile Ethanol-based fuel (which is allegedly better for the environment) you'd stockpile pure gas.

So tell me, which types of shells go into this TSHTF ammo storage and what purpose does each of those shells have for you?

[CCT125US]

My opinion is this.

The link is a far better option. You would not be the first to consider going to guns. The folks who think they will just be out roaming the fields looking for game will be in for a ride awakening from the people who own the fields.

Having some food laid up is a much better option.

www.foodinsurance.com

[powell556]

My opinion is this.

The link is a far better option. You would not be the first to consider going to guns. The folks who think they will just be out roaming the fields looking for game will be in for a ride awakening from the people who own the fields.

Having some food laid up is a much better option.

www.foodinsurance.com

I completely agree. I should have added that I already have 3 to 6 months worth of food on hand (varies depending on how much fresh food I have, but a minimum of 3 months of Nitro-packed food) and I don't have the storage space in my apartment to store any more food. So I was hoping an ammo can of shells might give me the option of pushing that 3 to 6 month window out to a few years if I was lucky in an unlucky situation. But as it stands, can't fit any more food or water in my apartment. The amount of food I could fit that would take up an ammo can of 12ga shells would be about 1 days supply of food and I doubt extending my food supply from 90 days to 91 days would help much at that point if it came to that.

[Malamute]

I generally avoid stuff hitting fans discussions, and am NOT a shotgun person, but some of what dad said has stuck by me and it may be useful to you. Buy shells by the case(s) when you find loads your gun likes. Yes, shotguns can prefer different loads. If buying cheapo stuff at walmart satisfies your urge, then OK, buy 7 1/2s and call it good, its the general purpose bird and small game load. If you want to see what patterns well in your guns, get a variety of makes and load levels and shoot some pattern boards and write all the info on the boards so you can refer back to it later. Dad said the cheap loads rarely shot as good of patterns as better grade shells, the cheap stuff usually had softer shot and less attention to details (not a big surprise) The better grade shells adds up to better game killing consistency and at longer ranges when your patterns hold up better. Cheap loads or loads you gun doesnt like can make lots of holes and thin spots in the patterns.

If you have turkeys or ducks or geese near you, then buy some appropriate loads for them, otherwise the 7 1/2s will do most of what needs to be done. Id get regular 2 3/4" plain jane brenneke slugs for hunting deer, but the foster type probably work ok on average deer. When you find something that shoots well, buy a bunch of them and dont blast your backup stock of shells up in practice, then you dont have to worry about ammo availability. Buy your shooting stock in volume and well ahead, or only shoot what you can easily buy at the time.

Consider a good water filter than can make drinkable water from rainwater, puddles or whatever

Im more of a rifle person. A 22 rifle with shorts, CBs or Quiets loads can also make somewhat discrete meat without alarming nearby wildlife. My grandfather was raised in the woods, log cabin and the whole thing. After making it in business and living in town, dad said hed stick an ear of corn out i the yard with a wire so it couldnt be removed, open the back window a few inches, and sit in a chair with his old single shot 22 with shorts in it Hed get breakfast like that now and then, just for old times sake I suppose. Im sure nobody would do such a thing in todays world, just sort of an interesting story.

[CCT125US]

Take an honest evaluation of your geographical location. How many acres of available game rich country side are within 4 hours walk? I say 4 hours, because you need to get there and back and have time to hunt, and be successful. How much private property will you be trespassing on with a shotgun? Is it reasonable to consider that if one is walking 4 hours to poach game that you may encounter some form of resistance? Either from others in your same situation or from land owners? In my opinion, taking to the fields to harvest game in a disaster situation may not end up well. Now if you have secured permission beforehand, that is another situation. In the past, permitted hunters have offered a portion of the game to the landowner. How much ammo is going to be required to take enough game to feed you and yours, along with a landowners tithe if you will?

Driving certainly opens up distance, but then if you can drive you can probably reach food from legitimate sources.

Perhaps more thoughts tomorrow.

[Lester Polfus]

Since you already have quite a bit of food stock on hand, this is not a stupid question.

If you had a couple of cans of spam in your pantry and your SHTF plan A was to learn how to hunt small game, this would be a stupid question. It sounds like this is more of a Plan C or Plan D.

I would suggest either #7.5 or #6 shot. #7.5 is arguably better for smaller birds like mourning doves and pigeons, while #6 is arguably better for things like grouse and rabbits.

If waterfowl are on the menu, BB shot would be a good compromise for both ducks and geese.

Tightly choked #6 will work for Turkeys, but in a real survival situation, I would plink them with a rifle.

12 Gauge shotgun loads attract attention. A better choice might be an accurate, scoped .22 rifle with subsonic loads or even an airgun. Things like shooting grounded waterfowl with a .22 rifle are both illegal and "unsporting" but if my family was hungry, I would do it with merry abandon.

Not sure where you live, but real emergencies tend to expand the definition of "food." Things like Pigeons (IE "rock doves"), and even feral cats are perfectly legitimate sources of calories.

After you have your ducks in a row with stored food (which it sounds like you do) the real money is in "passive" hunting with traps and snares, or in the case of fish, with fish traps and gill nets. This is a much more productive use of your time.

Hunting can be a tremendous amount of fun, but small game hunting in most environments rarely pays off regarding calories spent vs. calories earned. Spending two thousand calories walking around and shooting one rabbit that might provide a thousand calories is a sucker bet. Most indigenous people either ate small game they caught through passive means (traps and snares) or they carried a "rabbit stick" as they went about their daily routine. If a target of oppurtunity presented itself while they were engaged in some other task, they woudl take it.

Adult Onset Hunting is an uphill battle, but its worth it. Being good in the woods carries all sorts of ancillary benefits with awareness, field craft, the ability to recognize native plants, etc.

[powell556]

Take an honest evaluation of your geographical location. How many acres of available game rich country side are within 4 hours walk? I say 4 hours, because you need to get there and back and have time to hunt, and be successful. How much private property will you be trespassing on with a shotgun? Is it reasonable to consider that if one is walking 4 hours to poach game that you may encounter some form of resistance? Either from others in your same situation or from land owners? In my opinion, taking to the fields to harvest game in a disaster situation may not end up well. Now if you have secured permission beforehand, that is another situation. In the past, permitted hunters have offered a portion of the game to the landowner. How much ammo is going to be required to take enough game to feed you and yours, along with a landowners tithe if you will?

You're absolutely right. It is really unlikely that I will hunt animals in a survival situation, especially given zero experience in hunting. But if I don't have the shells pre-purchased and known to pattern well with my shotgun, then my chances drop even more. I'm not going to spend thousands of dollars on TSHTF shotgun ammo. I'm thinking $20 to $50 in a mixture of a few different types of rounds would open up my capabilities significantly more than just #1 Buck and Slugs. I have over $2k invested in my shotgun hardware across three guns. It seems imprudent for me not to have $20 worth of pre-selected, known-to-pattern-well birdshot on hand. For 1% more money ($20 compared to $2k), I increase my capability by a factor a lot greater than 1%.

[LtDave]

I would stock #6 birdshot along with the buck & slugs. About as close to general purpose as you’ll find. Buy good quality, not the Walmart cheapies. $50 should get you about 6 or 7 boxes. Add the larger or smaller shot sizes if you want to tailor your loads more specifically to the game available in your area.

[Willard]

Get some #4 buck and #6 bird and call it a day.

[pangloss]

Put me down for #6. I've shot way more if it than anything else.

Speaking of ducks in a row, when my dad was a kid, he was approaching a pond from behind the dam to jump shoot a flock of ducks. Before he got too close, some one else took a shot over the same pond. When my dad walked up, he found one of the tenant farmers who had been hiding along the top of the dam, just waiting for a bunch of ducks to line up for a shot at them on the water. With one shotgun shell he killed a ridiculous number of ducks. I want to say six, but I'll have to check with my dad. That's about the least sporting way possible to shoot ducks, but if I really needed food, I'd sure try to do the same thing.

Sent from my Moto G Play using Tapatalk

[willie]

Your 590 has a 3 inch chamber. Any bird that you kill be perched in a tree or on a power wire. The 590's cylinder straight tube barrel will be a 35 yard bird barrel. I would buy premium grade number 6 shot shot 3 inch shells. The heavy payload and premium components like the best wad and hard shot might give you an edge. You might find them useful for shooting dogs and cats, city pigeons, stray chickens, and such. Boom noise will attract human predators. For your 590, buy an extra ejector, extra ejector screw, and an extra set of the parts serving as shell latch and interruptor. Just in case you lose any of this when stripping for cleaning or if the original equipment fails.

[Old Man Winter]

I'd grab some #6 shot high brass 1-1/8 or 1-1/4 oz loads. You can harvest smaller birds without destroying them and it's plenty capable of putting turkey / goose sized birds on the fire. Grab a few different brands to see what patterns the best out of your shotgun and then stock up on the best option.

Keep in mind in an extended SHTF scenario the wildlife food source will go away pretty quick. Without wildlife management (seasons / bag limits) people would likely hunt most species to endangered levels within two years. The great depression was not wildlife friendly and the number of people with the same idea as you has only increased.

[blake_g]

All of my hunting shotguns (upland only) are 20 ga, and all that gets stocked for them is 1 oz #6 game loads and a few boxes of slugs. All of my 12 loads that get stocked in bulk are 1 oz slug (Score and Federal Tru-Ball), #1 and 00 Buck (Federal FC), #4 and 00 (S&B and Rio) for training, and #7 1/2 birdshot for practice. There are always a few boxes of this and that around the armoury, mostly just stuff that gets picked up to try or that somebody leaves laying around...

[Sammy1]

Big shotgun fan. If I could only own one long gun it would be a shotgun. For personal defense I keep it simple, 00 buckshot and slugs (low recoil if possible). For hunting, #6 shot is the most useful all around small game shot IMHO. For big game, slugs. 1 oz Winchester rifled slugs do everything I need to be done with a shotgun but If I used it for Elk or Bear I'd go with Federal Tru-ball deep penetrator. If I wanted a longer range gun for big game I'd go with a rifled barrel, cantilever for scope and high end sabot slugs.

[Jay Cunningham]

Screw-in choke tubes are probably a better investment than magic ammo.

[Drang]

...it depends.

(A Combat Engineer Major of my acquaintance once observed that "It depends" is almost always an accurate answer, but rarely a welcome one...)

I think it depends on how you define "SHTF": There's a big difference between "Trump has won re-election and antifa/black block/DNC are rampaging in the streets" and "CME/EMP induced grid down TEOTWAWKI."

If you're looking for a minimalist "One long gun to do it all" then get a Remington 870 with two barrels (maybe three, the third one rifled for sabot slugs) and stock both defensive and hunting shells.

The problem with stockpiling shotgun shells is they're bulky, but that's another thread...