Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

:5_1_120:
I've been in need of a shotgun for home defense. After looking for quite a while I finally settled on this Remington 870 Express 12 gauge shotgun. Busy, busy gun show with everyone stocking up before the elections. The next show in town will be the week after the elections and one dealer told me he expects the place to explode with people once they realize which way the wind is blowin'.

Attachment 55667

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

Congratulations...solid piece.

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

Nice gun, Ant

Betcha feel a little better now, huh?

So many bases to cover and seems like so little time.

Whatcha gonna feed it?

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

Remington 870, that'll do the job.

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

Nice gun, I have the hunting version with two barrels. I advise you to get some target loads to go pow pow with. The high brass kicks like a mule and is twice as much.

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

Handguns I am comfortable with but this is the first long gun I've bought so I'm not sure what's best to load it with for self defense. I want to be able to stop the threat without killing my kids sleeping on the other side of the wall.
I did pick up one box of these while at the gun show. Any suggestions?
Attachment 55669

� .12 Gauge Magnum Buckshot
� 3"
� 41 Pellets of #4 Buckshot
� 1225 fps
� 5 Round Box

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

Was telling a buddy of mine to buy that exact same shot gun tonight :yes:

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

LA you want something a little more like this the rounds shown at the right (box shown)
I am no expert by any means but notice the lower metal of the rounds on the right. These will eliminate any threat within 30 feet.
The rounds shown at the left are magnum (3") double O buck. My advice - get some target rounds and shoot them.

p.s. If you look at the gun barrel you will notice that the gun will accept 2 3/4" rounds and 3" (magnum) rounds.

http://goldismoney.info/forums/pictu...&pictureid=257

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

I have the same one.

Only shot it a couple of times, but I used to hunt with one and am very familier with it.

I feed mine OOO or Slugs


E-A

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

Ultimately, any round that has good stopping power is going to have good penetration, and will allow you to kill someone through a normal wall. I suggest that you deal with this reality by planning and mindfulness: run through every shooting scenario you can imagine in your head and drill into yourself which directions you can safely shoot. Rearrange the furniture (or sleeping arrangements) if necessary to ensure that you and the bad guys will be aligned so that you can make the shot without endangering your children (and be mindful of where return fire is likely to go). If you have to make a shot in an unsafe direction, kneeling and shooting upwards might reduce the hazard.

Once you've got that figured out, load the shotgun with something effective: 00 buckshot and/or slugs (I like a 50/50 mix...).

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

Now add a Surefire foreend and you'll be in business. I love this foreend replacement. The beam of light easily illuminates across long distances on my farm and is very intense indoors. Its a simple changeout. http://www.lapolicegear.com/sure870we.html

http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.c..._2025_77942601

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

Thanks all for the advise. I do need to get out and become familiar with the shotgun. I am not one to just buy and tuck it under the bed. I have taken several NRA classes given at the local outdoor range and am signed up for an extensive course in Home Defense given there. Goes over everything from legalities of using lethal force to what to do in various scenarios of home invasion, etc. A day of class time and another of range exercises. I hope to be able to use this class to work out how I will respond to different scenarios in my own home. It should be informative and we've been told to bring a minimum of 100 rounds and thats if we hit 100%.

There really is a lot to consider once you've made that decision to use lethal force to protect your family and I intend to be as prepared as I can be. I appreciate the input from all GIMers.

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

Right now you can stock up on 12ga slugs at Wally World.

They have 15 round packs for $8.92

This is much cheaper than buckshot.

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

I have 870 myself I cant want to get my long gun classes over with.

Great stuff.......... You do us all proud.


T

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

870 is what our police department issues. We have some that are older than myself(28), but still shoot flawlessly. The one I have issued is a little older, but man it shoots nice! Easy, simple, and effective. If it aint broke, don't go fixin it!

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

You probably won't like shooting the magnums. Just get 00 buck for home defense. For the range get some cheap birdshot at walmart.

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

Heck, birdshot will work for any inside home defense situation I can think of except faceing kevlar. Think of what Cheney did to that poor lawyer{hee hee} at 20 yards with #8 shot; some of them went in past the ribs. I would get a box of low brass lead #4 "game loads" go out in the field somewhere and see for yourself what they do to objects beyond 20 feet and within 60 feet or so. Bet they will penetrate a 1/2 inch of plywood[nobodys ribcage is stronger than that] then put two pieces of drywall in front of the plywood and see what they will do; bet they will only make deep dents in the plywood.

I believe you are a woman and that is why I suggest the more controllable low brass loads. You want loads with the softest lead so the pellets will flatten and loss penetration power quickly on hitting drywall. You want the cheapest shells that have the softest lead pellets. Do not use high priced shells that have hardening alloys in the lead or steel shot.

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

I have also wondered what the best load is for a Remington 870 20ga for home defense.

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

LA,

http://goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=303581

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/catalo...gauge-buckshot

Shot from a semi-auto so less felt recoil. Federal makes a reduced recoil version of this load also for tactical use.

You won't like the magnum loads, even in 2 3/4". The ones pictured are NOT magnum. The reduced recoil version is the same payload at 1145 fps. Flightcontrol wad keeps pellets together for tighter groups.

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/catalo...gauge-buckshot

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

Have been using an 870 for over 20 years. 00 buck will do wonders.

A 00 pellet will also penetrate through your wall, actually through a number of walls. If you're using it in a house full of kids to protect your family, you may wish to consider a slug (which will penetrate, but only one big hole) or one of the less-penetration rounds.

If you're like me, and have no such restrictions, 00 is great. In addition to the light mentioned above, you'll want to get a place for extra rounds. Look for a "side saddle" and practice with that.

If you start shooting heavier loads a lot, a Knoxx SpecOps stock is great. In addition to telescoping a bit and having a pistol grip, the stock has recoil reduction that really works. Knoxx (now owned by Blackhawk) also makes an attachment for the stock that holds extra rounds.

As for me, I've added a Aimpoint Micro T-1 red dot sight and a Mesa Tactical mount with extra round holder to the above mentioned gear, and a mag extension of 2 rounds on top of the standard 4, but that's just plain old overboard.

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

+1

I was going to say the same basic thing. Hell, even rounds filled with rock salt will stop any intruder. Don't forget, the heavier the load, the larger the mess you'll have to clean up later. Believe me, the cops damn sure aren't going to clean it up for you.

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

LA please tell us about your experience shooting those rounds you got at the show. I'm 6ft 230lbs, not a lot of fat and they made a mark and left my shoulder sore.

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

To help minimize recoil when shooting buckshot and slugs, hold your shotgun's buttstock firmly against your shoulder and grip it tightly and I don't recommend you shoot more than 5-10 rounds or so at a time. I don't recommend 3 inch magnum buckshot loads at all. It's really overkill...at both ends. As some others have mentioned, try Federal's Tactical Low Recoil loads or Winchesters version:

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

FG, after reading the posts I'm not so sure I even want to try those! I will try out the suggestions here at the local outdoor range and see what will work best for my home situation. I'm a 5'2" petite woman so I wonder what the guy at the gun show was thinking when he suggested those rounds. Oh, well live and learn. As I said shotguns are new territory for me so I'm glad for all the advise from my fellow GIMers.

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

Bring 1 to the range and shoot it. They may come in handy if you want to bring down a bear.:23_1_22:

Actually they are the lightest load recommended for deer, they not recommended for bear, according to remington.

Right on!!
 

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

I picked up the 20ga version of the 870 Ant showed. Buckshot rounds are a bit harder to find but I have been stockpiling them when I can find them locally. Otherwise I figure you couldn't go wrong with something like #4 shot. Even #6's would work. I'm not a fan (for me) of slug rounds in a self defense shotgun with a bead sight as I am not accurate with them.

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

Use the shorter or low recoil round, consider the Knoxx stock for its recoil reduction, also it adjusts in length which may make for a more comfortable shooting position.

You go girl...

http://www.knoxx.com/technology/grfx/SpecOps.gif

http://www.knoxx.com/technology/Spec...ecOps_FAQs.php

Re: Lookey what I picked up at the gun show today :)
 

thanks for some good accessories ideas for my 870 - that knox stuff looks very nice, I might get one of those since my wife uses this thing too and it hammers her shoulder pretty hard. I have a couple boxes of the 00 for current home defense and some bird feed for practicing. I just nabbed a large quantity of these for the long haul:

FEDERAL TACTICAL SLUGS
LAW ENFORCEMENT
HIGH ENERGY-LOW RECOIL

Pretty decent deal in 250 lots at ammoman.