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?