New guy needs help buying shotgun ammo...

Broony · August 4, 2011, 11:48 PM

Tomorrow my new Remington 870 Express is coming and i'm super excited as its my first gun i've ever bought! It will get a lot of use on weekends since i live in the country and can walk into the wilderness for miles and miles with no human in sight.

Well the goal is to get a minimum of 1000 shells that would be only storage before i get my next gun. They will be put into army surplus metal cans that can be sealed shut. The ones that go in storage i want to be good quality, they don't need to be the best, but i don't want them cheap either. Problem is i haven't tested out any types of ammo because their are no stores here to buy from! I can go to ACE Hardware but thats all, its a very very small store and the selection is slim to none.

I'm not asking if i should buy buckshot or slugs but what company should i buy from and support. Some good names. It would be nice if i could only buy America as i don't want to send my money over seas, china as an example. I've been looking at http://www.ammunitiontogo.com under 12 gauge then i click on manufacturers and they list 21 names. Are their some i should stay away from? Are they all good? Is their better websites and who i should be looking at?

I need to start buying ammo and i don't want to buy a walmart type product, i want to buy a real product if you know what i mean! I live in the US by the way.

Thanks!

zippy13 · August 5, 2011, 09:10 AM

I've been happy with Winchester, Remington and Federal brands. Bulk shot shells are typically sold in flats of 10 boxes, or 250 shells. Just store your flats in the factory cartons. The old 20 box cases are seldom seen anymore because of contemporary restrictions on shipping weight.

TheKlawMan · August 5, 2011, 09:50 AM

Before buying 1000 rounds, you might consider what you are going to be shooting. Forgive me if you already have done this. Do you want to get less expensive ammo for practice? If you are going to be hunting, hunting what?

Broony · August 5, 2011, 10:44 AM

Thanks for the replies.

The 1000 rounds will be a mix of hunting as a means of last resort and home defense. Though as i learn more i'm still pondering what to get. Still for practice id like to buy lesser quality to save some money. Though in worst case scenarios i want the best quality.

I'm just trying to not make the mistake of ordering 250 shells only to find out they are terrible quality/garbage. I've heard lots of stories using all kinds of guns buying cheap ammo and the weapons malfunction or jam in the mag ect ect.

I wish i had more than one store to buy ammo! This goes for any gun.

Lee Lapin · August 5, 2011, 11:06 AM

These days, shotgun ammo is far from the generic birdshot, buckshot and slugs that we used to pretty much take for granted. There have been a good many technological changes that make a real difference in patterning and performance of shotgun ammunition, and you need to educate yourself before you spend major money on lots of shotgun shells.

Personally I prefer tight patterns in defensive shotguns, and the simple way to get good patterns out of the open choke (CYL or ImpCyl) barrels most riot guns sport is by using a buckshot load with the new FliteControl wad. There are low recoil and standard velocity offerings in various pellet sizes and pellet counts from three manufacturers I know of so far with FliteControl - Federal, Hornady and Speer. I don't mind recoil and would rather not sacrifice either pellet count or velocity to get reduced recoil, so my current choice for buckshot is Federal LE127 00, a 9 pellet 1325 FPS load with hard alloy copper plated pellets. Of course this is premium ammunition and the price reflects that, unless you find it on sale. You'll have to work out what you want your shotgun to do pattern and performance wise, and select your buckshot ammo accordingly.

In short, if you want wide open patterns, just buy the cheaper buckshot with unprotected soft lead pellets like S&B or Rio Royal. That will pretty well get you what you want with no muss fuss or bother. We keep a case or three of S&B on hand in case we ever need a genuine scattergun approach to things.

If you want moderately sized patterns, the standard offerings from Federal, Remington, Winchester, Ficcchi or any other 'brand name' should do. Usually the mid-priced loads offer harder lead pellets, shot cups or plastic sleeves to protect pellets from contact with the bore, buffering between the pellets to protect them from each other, good wad columns to soften the impact of firing, etc. These days you can pretty much guess what kind of patterns you'll get with a given buckshot load, despite the fact that every shotgun barrel is still a law unto itself as far as patterns go. There is still no way to know for sure what your particular shotgun will do without actually pattern testing different loads however. I prefer to do my patterning at 25 yards, given that we live in the country and a shotgun will likely be the "go to" long gun. As a general rule I want to know that the buckshot load I choose will keep all its pellets on a sheet of paper at 25 yards as long as I do my part. Hold a sheet of 8.5X11" notebook paper in front of your chest and you'll see what I mean. Of course you may well have different ideas about what you want your shotgun/load to do, and you'll have to make up your own mind about that.

As far as slugs are concerned, I want two things from a slug - accuracy and penetration. I've been happy using Brenneke KO slugs for several years now. The Brenneke slugs are hard lead alloy, sharp shouldered slugs that cut a neat cookie-cutter hole and penetrate deep. They are also acceptably accurate in every shotgun I've tried them in so far. Too many of the traditional Foster-type slugs as offered by Winchester, Remington etc. are soft lead and will flatten too easily without penetrating hard objects - great for deer hunting, not so much for turning cover into concealment. We keep Brenneke KOs in the Sidesaddles of the defensive guns here in case either greater range than buckshot allows is needed, or more penetration than buckshot can deliver is needed.

Best advice I can offer is to unbox that new gun, field strip it according to the owners manual and give it a good thorough cleaning to get all the packing preservative out of it before you even think about shooting it. Pay particular attention to the bore and chamber. If you have a relative or friend who is familiar with field stripping an 870, it might be a good time to have them over to lend a hand and offer some pointers.

Buy a 5-round box of a selection of different brands/loads of buckshot and slugs for testing. Get some light birdshot loads (1 ounce of shot, or 7/8 ounce if you can find them) for your introductory sessions with the new shotgun. Buckshot and slugs kick, no doubt about it. You want to start out with something that won't beat you up to the point you develop a flinch. Often people report problems with certain loss leader type birdshot loads sticking in their chambers after firing, Winchester seems to be a pretty regular offender in this regard though the only real problem I ever had was with some Fiocchis in one particular barrel. Go figure.

I've used www.ammotogo.com and been happy with their service, also www.ammoman.com as well. Do some testing to see what your gun likes, and you like, before you start buying case lots though.

And look for some formal training in using a shotgun as a weapon, once you get the basic chops to running the gun safely down pat. If nothing else take a look at some of the videos offered by well known trainers that are available. You can see a preview of Clint Smith's offering at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhgwHQCJwWw , I have that one and recommend it. Tom Givens' shotgun video is good too, see http://www.rangemaster.com/ and look for the 'Books & DVDs' button. I have Tom's video, and it's a good one IMHO. But my personal favorite instructor is Louis Awerbuck, as far as I'm concerned Louis is the Yoda of fighting shotguns. See http://www.amazon.com/Combat-Shotgun.../dp/0873649370 or http://www.paladin-press.com/product...oulder_Weapons for that one.

Stay Safe,

lpl

oneounceload · August 5, 2011, 11:16 AM

Remington, Federal, Winchester, Fiocchi, Kemen, Rio, B&P, Kent, Gamebore, Polywad, RST, Estate, and more all carry a variety of ammo from hunting to target to buck to slugs.

Since you say you live in the middle of BFE where there isn't anyone for miles and miles, and it sounds like you trying to prep for TEOTWAWKI, then hunting ammo would be of primary concern. I will also say to get a rifle if this is indeed your goal - keep the shotgun for small game and birds and the rifle for larger game as far as food aspect are concerned

BigJimP · August 5, 2011, 11:22 AM

The long term answer to your issue - is to get into reloading ....

Some of us on here are more into shooting clay targets - than using shotguns as a primary defensive weapon ...but most commercial ammo these days, at least in terms of shotguns, is just fine - whether its for defense, targets or hunting. You won't really find the quality issues in shotshells - that you find in a lot of cheap handgun or rifle ammo.

I'd suggest using the Wal Mart bulk paks ( which is mostly Winchester - based on what I've seen guys shooting at my club / or Remington Gun Club shells which are a cheaper line of Remington shells ) and they're both fine for training and practice as you figure that gun out and do some training with it. The cheap Federal brand is "Estate" and it tends to be a little dirty - but it isn't a big deal in most shotguns ( since most of us fully strip and clean a gun after we fire it). Another inexpensive shell is "Rio" ....and Rio's are a good shell for a throw away hull. Its hard to know what is a US made product these days ...even companies like Remington - but a lot of components - like plastic extrusions for hulls from overseas - although I believe the primary plant for Remington shotshells is in Arkansas.

Personally, I like Remington Shells - for my hunting / and for my reloads in 12ga, 20ga and 28ga ...Remington STS or Remington Nitro are both premium Remington brand shells. The hulls are durable - and easy to reload 15 or more times ... When I need shells with pellets bigger than 7.5's - for hunting / or if I'm traveling - then I just buy my shells new - and I stay with Remington or Rio when I can.

I don't shoot any competition anymore - but I still go thru about 200 shells a week ...and I like customizing my shells ...so I reload 99% of everything I shoot in shotshells and in my handguns ( I was at my local range last nite ..and went thru 10 boxes of 9mm -- working on my draw from a holster, double taps, triple taps and tactical reloading with a couple of my 1911's ) ..which are what I depend on for my primary defense ...in the one in a gazillion chance I'll ever need it....but mostly I just enjoy shooting.

zippy13 · August 5, 2011, 11:59 AM

Jim, my friend, isn't "a gazillion" about the quantity of hulls you have on hand.

TTYL, I'm off to the range.

BigJimP · August 5, 2011, 01:16 PM

no that's only for shotshells....I have way more handgun ammo than that ...in 9 calibers..( and 5 reloading presses - standing by ...! ).

misterE · August 5, 2011, 09:54 PM

Don't know how much this will help, but I just bought a sweet sixteen from a guy and he gave me 35 boxes of 30 year old Federal #6 high brass with the gun. I've been through 3 boxes so far and no problems at all. 30 year old shells out of a 50 year old semi auto shotgun with no issues whatsoever! I'd say in my opinion you can't go wrong really with any of the major brands. I've never had any issues. Like others have said, buy a good sampling and see what the gun and you like and stock up. Have fun!

PhantomVirus · August 5, 2011, 10:34 PM

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/produc...oducts_id/5240

This is 12 Gauge Rhodesian Jungle Ammo. This ammo is loaded with BB and OO buckshot. This is the best dual load for home protection. The combination of the BB and Buckshot gives this round a really good pattern. This ammo does a lot of damage to its target. It is a 2 3/4" shell and is loaded to a max load. It is safe to shoot in all 12 gauge shotguns.

Thanks

columbia_shotguneer · August 6, 2011, 12:13 AM

With an 870 that cycles both 2 3/4 and 3 inch, good chances are you'll never have a problem with those star crimped shells but check a few out in your shotgun at the range just in case they don't. That's if you go the cheapest possible route in bulk, generally they will be the star crimped. If you dont mind the little extra cost go with federal, winchester, or remington they have the folded crimps which dont expand the length of the shell on firing. Just my 2 cents on a bulk purchase.

Lee Lapin · August 6, 2011, 07:45 AM

Thoughts on this ammo as Home Defense rounds

5rds - 12 Gauge Rhodesian Jungle Ammo - $16.95

$3.39 per round??? They're kidding, right? No thanks, not interested at all. I'd much rather have a generous supply of:

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/produc...-2-34-buckshot
10rds - 12 Ga. Hornady TAP LE 2 3/4" OO Buck Light Mag - $9.95 ($.99.5/round)

OR:

http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/produc...oducts_id/2988
25rds - 12 Ga. Federal Vital-Shok Flite-Control 2 3/4" 9 pell. OO Buck
[PFC15400] - $24.95 ($.99.8/round)

Don't buy off on advertising hype for sooper dooper felon scooper shotgun ammo. A good tight pattern of 00 buck in the right place will do just fine. Both of the non-spectacular, unhyped yet still premium offerings noted above from known companies will deliver good tight patterns of 00 out of almost all open choked riot guns.

"Jungle loads" for shotguns were developed to fight insurgents in genuine jungle conditions (Malaya in the early 1950s), where a penetrating wound to the thorax from any sort of projectile might well prove fatal over the course of several days from infection, peritonitis, etc. After all, the insurgents lacked modern hospitals, doctors etc. and jungles are usually pretty septic places. That's hardly the case nowadays where defensive shotguns are concerned.

And if you don't want to buy premium shotgun ammo, good middle of the road brand name buckshot is even more reasonably priced - Fiocchi 12HV00BK is only $.54/round, for example. And if you want wide open genuine scattergun patterns, try S&B A01234 at $.62/round.

fwiw,

lpl

Broony · August 6, 2011, 09:10 AM

Damn lots of information to look at. Thanks all for the replies!

The gun didn't come in so i have to wait tell monday. :-(

Thanks for the information though, this really helps a lot. :-)

Gehrhard · August 6, 2011, 06:22 PM

So, for an "inventory," presuming you live in a suburb, try 400 rounds of non-Winchester #6 Shot, 300 rounds of 0 Buckshot, 200 rounds of #4 Buckshot, and 100 7/8 oz. slugs.

Old Grump · August 6, 2011, 11:50 PM

Quote:

So, for an "inventory," presuming you live in a suburb, try 400 rounds of non-Winchester #6 Shot, 300 rounds of 0 Buckshot, 200 rounds of #4 Buckshot, and 100 7/8 oz. slugs.

Missed this part did you? He wasn't asking for shot sizes but quality brands suitable for storage.

Quote:

Tomorrow my new Remington 870 Express is coming and i'm super excited as its my first gun i've ever bought! It will get a lot of use on weekends since i live in the country and can walk into the wilderness for miles and miles with no human in sight.

All the brands listed are good for your purposes, I have most of them but Winchester and Fiocchi top my inventory list, mostly because I got them at good prices. No matter the brand and no matter how old they have been, (and a lot of them have been paper), I have yet to have a failure. As long as your ammo stays dry you are good to go.

FrosSsT · August 7, 2011, 07:37 PM

i wouldnt buy 1000 rounds of anything if i havent even shot the gun yet

Gehrhard · August 7, 2011, 08:16 PM

Grump;
You missed the part where I said "non-Winchester."
And, as he's "inventorying" a cache I thought I'd add something else for our new shooter...

batmann · August 7, 2011, 11:08 PM

I have used Ammoto2go and found their prices about as low as anybody. 1000rounds of shotgun shells will take up an goodly amount of space. My advice is to settle on a 00 Buck round (I use Noble 00 from Ammo2go) and then order some. I usually get a 100 rounds at a time no matter what I'm buying. Once you have your 00, then get some slugs. Those will be some trial and error until you find some that shoot well and group well. I buy promo 7-8 shot and use that to shoot skeet with to keep in practice with. Good shooting.

August 4, 2011, 11:48 PM	#1
Broony Member Join Date: May 11, 2011 Posts: 29	New guy needs help buying shotgun ammo... Tomorrow my new Remington 870 Express is coming and i'm super excited as its my first gun i've ever bought! It will get a lot of use on weekends since i live in the country and can walk into the wilderness for miles and miles with no human in sight. Well the goal is to get a minimum of 1000 shells that would be only storage before i get my next gun. They will be put into army surplus metal cans that can be sealed shut. The ones that go in storage i want to be good quality, they don't need to be the best, but i don't want them cheap either. Problem is i haven't tested out any types of ammo because their are no stores here to buy from! I can go to ACE Hardware but thats all, its a very very small store and the selection is slim to none. I'm not asking if i should buy buckshot or slugs but what company should i buy from and support. Some good names. It would be nice if i could only buy America as i don't want to send my money over seas, china as an example. I've been looking at http://www.ammunitiontogo.com under 12 gauge then i click on manufacturers and they list 21 names. Are their some i should stay away from? Are they all good? Is their better websites and who i should be looking at? I need to start buying ammo and i don't want to buy a walmart type product, i want to buy a real product if you know what i mean! I live in the US by the way. Thanks!

August 5, 2011, 11:06 AM	#5
Lee Lapin Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2004 Location: SE NC Posts: 1,239	These days, shotgun ammo is far from the generic birdshot, buckshot and slugs that we used to pretty much take for granted. There have been a good many technological changes that make a real difference in patterning and performance of shotgun ammunition, and you need to educate yourself before you spend major money on lots of shotgun shells. Personally I prefer tight patterns in defensive shotguns, and the simple way to get good patterns out of the open choke (CYL or ImpCyl) barrels most riot guns sport is by using a buckshot load with the new FliteControl wad. There are low recoil and standard velocity offerings in various pellet sizes and pellet counts from three manufacturers I know of so far with FliteControl - Federal, Hornady and Speer. I don't mind recoil and would rather not sacrifice either pellet count or velocity to get reduced recoil, so my current choice for buckshot is Federal LE127 00, a 9 pellet 1325 FPS load with hard alloy copper plated pellets. Of course this is premium ammunition and the price reflects that, unless you find it on sale. You'll have to work out what you want your shotgun to do pattern and performance wise, and select your buckshot ammo accordingly. In short, if you want wide open patterns, just buy the cheaper buckshot with unprotected soft lead pellets like S&B or Rio Royal. That will pretty well get you what you want with no muss fuss or bother. We keep a case or three of S&B on hand in case we ever need a genuine scattergun approach to things. If you want moderately sized patterns, the standard offerings from Federal, Remington, Winchester, Ficcchi or any other 'brand name' should do. Usually the mid-priced loads offer harder lead pellets, shot cups or plastic sleeves to protect pellets from contact with the bore, buffering between the pellets to protect them from each other, good wad columns to soften the impact of firing, etc. These days you can pretty much guess what kind of patterns you'll get with a given buckshot load, despite the fact that every shotgun barrel is still a law unto itself as far as patterns go. There is still no way to know for sure what your particular shotgun will do without actually pattern testing different loads however. I prefer to do my patterning at 25 yards, given that we live in the country and a shotgun will likely be the "go to" long gun. As a general rule I want to know that the buckshot load I choose will keep all its pellets on a sheet of paper at 25 yards as long as I do my part. Hold a sheet of 8.5X11" notebook paper in front of your chest and you'll see what I mean. Of course you may well have different ideas about what you want your shotgun/load to do, and you'll have to make up your own mind about that. As far as slugs are concerned, I want two things from a slug - accuracy and penetration. I've been happy using Brenneke KO slugs for several years now. The Brenneke slugs are hard lead alloy, sharp shouldered slugs that cut a neat cookie-cutter hole and penetrate deep. They are also acceptably accurate in every shotgun I've tried them in so far. Too many of the traditional Foster-type slugs as offered by Winchester, Remington etc. are soft lead and will flatten too easily without penetrating hard objects - great for deer hunting, not so much for turning cover into concealment. We keep Brenneke KOs in the Sidesaddles of the defensive guns here in case either greater range than buckshot allows is needed, or more penetration than buckshot can deliver is needed. Best advice I can offer is to unbox that new gun, field strip it according to the owners manual and give it a good thorough cleaning to get all the packing preservative out of it before you even think about shooting it. Pay particular attention to the bore and chamber. If you have a relative or friend who is familiar with field stripping an 870, it might be a good time to have them over to lend a hand and offer some pointers. Buy a 5-round box of a selection of different brands/loads of buckshot and slugs for testing. Get some light birdshot loads (1 ounce of shot, or 7/8 ounce if you can find them) for your introductory sessions with the new shotgun. Buckshot and slugs kick, no doubt about it. You want to start out with something that won't beat you up to the point you develop a flinch. Often people report problems with certain loss leader type birdshot loads sticking in their chambers after firing, Winchester seems to be a pretty regular offender in this regard though the only real problem I ever had was with some Fiocchis in one particular barrel. Go figure. I've used www.ammotogo.com and been happy with their service, also www.ammoman.com as well. Do some testing to see what your gun likes, and you like, before you start buying case lots though. And look for some formal training in using a shotgun as a weapon, once you get the basic chops to running the gun safely down pat. If nothing else take a look at some of the videos offered by well known trainers that are available. You can see a preview of Clint Smith's offering at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhgwHQCJwWw , I have that one and recommend it. Tom Givens' shotgun video is good too, see http://www.rangemaster.com/ and look for the 'Books & DVDs' button. I have Tom's video, and it's a good one IMHO. But my personal favorite instructor is Louis Awerbuck, as far as I'm concerned Louis is the Yoda of fighting shotguns. See http://www.amazon.com/Combat-Shotgun.../dp/0873649370 or http://www.paladin-press.com/product...oulder_Weapons for that one. Stay Safe, lpl __________________ Mindset - Skillset - Toolset. In that order! Attitude and skill will get you through times of no gear, better than gear will get you through times of no attitude and no skill.

August 5, 2011, 10:34 PM	#11
PhantomVirus Junior Member Join Date: August 5, 2011 Posts: 1	Thoughts on this ammo as Home Defense rounds http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/produc...oducts_id/5240 This is 12 Gauge Rhodesian Jungle Ammo. This ammo is loaded with BB and OO buckshot. This is the best dual load for home protection. The combination of the BB and Buckshot gives this round a really good pattern. This ammo does a lot of damage to its target. It is a 2 3/4" shell and is loaded to a max load. It is safe to shoot in all 12 gauge shotguns. Thanks

August 6, 2011, 12:13 AM	#12
columbia_shotguneer Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2011 Location: ne florida Posts: 148	With an 870 that cycles both 2 3/4 and 3 inch, good chances are you'll never have a problem with those star crimped shells but check a few out in your shotgun at the range just in case they don't. That's if you go the cheapest possible route in bulk, generally they will be the star crimped. If you dont mind the little extra cost go with federal, winchester, or remington they have the folded crimps which dont expand the length of the shell on firing. Just my 2 cents on a bulk purchase. __________________ living in FL but my home's in alabama! From Squirrel to Elephant, the Shotgun is your gun. sincerely, Blain

August 6, 2011, 07:45 AM	#13
Lee Lapin Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2004 Location: SE NC Posts: 1,239	Thoughts on this ammo as Home Defense rounds 5rds - 12 Gauge Rhodesian Jungle Ammo - $16.95 $3.39 per round??? They're kidding, right? No thanks, not interested at all. I'd much rather have a generous supply of: http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/produc...-2-34-buckshot 10rds - 12 Ga. Hornady TAP LE 2 3/4" OO Buck Light Mag - $9.95 ($.99.5/round) OR: http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/produc...oducts_id/2988 25rds - 12 Ga. Federal Vital-Shok Flite-Control 2 3/4" 9 pell. OO Buck [PFC15400] - $24.95 ($.99.8/round) Don't buy off on advertising hype for sooper dooper felon scooper shotgun ammo. A good tight pattern of 00 buck in the right place will do just fine. Both of the non-spectacular, unhyped yet still premium offerings noted above from known companies will deliver good tight patterns of 00 out of almost all open choked riot guns. "Jungle loads" for shotguns were developed to fight insurgents in genuine jungle conditions (Malaya in the early 1950s), where a penetrating wound to the thorax from any sort of projectile might well prove fatal over the course of several days from infection, peritonitis, etc. After all, the insurgents lacked modern hospitals, doctors etc. and jungles are usually pretty septic places. That's hardly the case nowadays where defensive shotguns are concerned. And if you don't want to buy premium shotgun ammo, good middle of the road brand name buckshot is even more reasonably priced - Fiocchi 12HV00BK is only $.54/round, for example. And if you want wide open genuine scattergun patterns, try S&B A01234 at $.62/round. fwiw, lpl __________________ Mindset - Skillset - Toolset. In that order! Attitude and skill will get you through times of no gear, better than gear will get you through times of no attitude and no skill.

August 5, 2011, 09:10 AM	#2
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	I've been happy with Winchester, Remington and Federal brands. Bulk shot shells are typically sold in flats of 10 boxes, or 250 shells. Just store your flats in the factory cartons. The old 20 box cases are seldom seen anymore because of contemporary restrictions on shipping weight.

August 5, 2011, 09:50 AM	#3
TheKlawMan Junior member Join Date: June 23, 2009 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 2,149	Before buying 1000 rounds, you might consider what you are going to be shooting. Forgive me if you already have done this. Do you want to get less expensive ammo for practice? If you are going to be hunting, hunting what?

August 5, 2011, 10:44 AM	#4
Broony Member Join Date: May 11, 2011 Posts: 29	Thanks for the replies. The 1000 rounds will be a mix of hunting as a means of last resort and home defense. Though as i learn more i'm still pondering what to get. Still for practice id like to buy lesser quality to save some money. Though in worst case scenarios i want the best quality. I'm just trying to not make the mistake of ordering 250 shells only to find out they are terrible quality/garbage. I've heard lots of stories using all kinds of guns buying cheap ammo and the weapons malfunction or jam in the mag ect ect. I wish i had more than one store to buy ammo! This goes for any gun.

August 5, 2011, 11:16 AM	#6
oneounceload Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: N. Central Florida Posts: 8,518	Remington, Federal, Winchester, Fiocchi, Kemen, Rio, B&P, Kent, Gamebore, Polywad, RST, Estate, and more all carry a variety of ammo from hunting to target to buck to slugs. Since you say you live in the middle of BFE where there isn't anyone for miles and miles, and it sounds like you trying to prep for TEOTWAWKI, then hunting ammo would be of primary concern. I will also say to get a rifle if this is indeed your goal - keep the shotgun for small game and birds and the rifle for larger game as far as food aspect are concerned

August 5, 2011, 11:22 AM	#7
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	The long term answer to your issue - is to get into reloading .... Some of us on here are more into shooting clay targets - than using shotguns as a primary defensive weapon ...but most commercial ammo these days, at least in terms of shotguns, is just fine - whether its for defense, targets or hunting. You won't really find the quality issues in shotshells - that you find in a lot of cheap handgun or rifle ammo. I'd suggest using the Wal Mart bulk paks ( which is mostly Winchester - based on what I've seen guys shooting at my club / or Remington Gun Club shells which are a cheaper line of Remington shells ) and they're both fine for training and practice as you figure that gun out and do some training with it. The cheap Federal brand is "Estate" and it tends to be a little dirty - but it isn't a big deal in most shotguns ( since most of us fully strip and clean a gun after we fire it). Another inexpensive shell is "Rio" ....and Rio's are a good shell for a throw away hull. Its hard to know what is a US made product these days ...even companies like Remington - but a lot of components - like plastic extrusions for hulls from overseas - although I believe the primary plant for Remington shotshells is in Arkansas. Personally, I like Remington Shells - for my hunting / and for my reloads in 12ga, 20ga and 28ga ...Remington STS or Remington Nitro are both premium Remington brand shells. The hulls are durable - and easy to reload 15 or more times ... When I need shells with pellets bigger than 7.5's - for hunting / or if I'm traveling - then I just buy my shells new - and I stay with Remington or Rio when I can. I don't shoot any competition anymore - but I still go thru about 200 shells a week ...and I like customizing my shells ...so I reload 99% of everything I shoot in shotshells and in my handguns ( I was at my local range last nite ..and went thru 10 boxes of 9mm -- working on my draw from a holster, double taps, triple taps and tactical reloading with a couple of my 1911's ) ..which are what I depend on for my primary defense ...in the one in a gazillion chance I'll ever need it....but mostly I just enjoy shooting.

August 5, 2011, 11:59 AM	#8
zippy13 Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2008 Location: SoCal Posts: 6,442	Jim, my friend, isn't "a gazillion" about the quantity of hulls you have on hand. TTYL, I'm off to the range.

August 5, 2011, 01:16 PM	#9
BigJimP Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 13,195	no that's only for shotshells....I have way more handgun ammo than that ...in 9 calibers..( and 5 reloading presses - standing by ...! ).

August 5, 2011, 09:54 PM	#10
misterE Senior Member Join Date: March 3, 2009 Location: Benton, Arkansas Posts: 196	Don't know how much this will help, but I just bought a sweet sixteen from a guy and he gave me 35 boxes of 30 year old Federal #6 high brass with the gun. I've been through 3 boxes so far and no problems at all. 30 year old shells out of a 50 year old semi auto shotgun with no issues whatsoever! I'd say in my opinion you can't go wrong really with any of the major brands. I've never had any issues. Like others have said, buy a good sampling and see what the gun and you like and stock up. Have fun!

August 6, 2011, 09:10 AM	#14
Broony Member Join Date: May 11, 2011 Posts: 29	Damn lots of information to look at. Thanks all for the replies! The gun didn't come in so i have to wait tell monday. :-( Thanks for the information though, this really helps a lot. :-)

August 6, 2011, 06:22 PM	#15
Gehrhard Junior member Join Date: July 15, 2009 Location: East of the Missississippippi Posts: 675	So, for an "inventory," presuming you live in a suburb, try 400 rounds of non-Winchester #6 Shot, 300 rounds of 0 Buckshot, 200 rounds of #4 Buckshot, and 100 7/8 oz. slugs.

August 7, 2011, 07:37 PM	#17
FrosSsT Senior Member Join Date: July 17, 2011 Location: NJ Posts: 595	i wouldnt buy 1000 rounds of anything if i havent even shot the gun yet

August 7, 2011, 08:16 PM	#18
Gehrhard Junior member Join Date: July 15, 2009 Location: East of the Missississippippi Posts: 675	Grump; You missed the part where I said "non-Winchester." And, as he's "inventorying" a cache I thought I'd add something else for our new shooter...

August 7, 2011, 11:08 PM	#19
batmann Senior Member Join Date: November 14, 2004 Location: Greenwood, IN Posts: 773	I have used Ammoto2go and found their prices about as low as anybody. 1000rounds of shotgun shells will take up an goodly amount of space. My advice is to settle on a 00 Buck round (I use Noble 00 from Ammo2go) and then order some. I usually get a 100 rounds at a time no matter what I'm buying. Once you have your 00, then get some slugs. Those will be some trial and error until you find some that shoot well and group well. I buy promo 7-8 shot and use that to shoot skeet with to keep in practice with. Good shooting.