Shotgun Basics: Buckshot (Part 2)

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March 27, 2023

_{This article is the second part to Shotgun Basics: Buckshot (Part 1)}

Double Aught Loads (.33 caliber)

The 9 pellet double-aught buckshot (00 BK) load became the standard for 12 gauge loads because 9 “00” pellets reasonably fit in a 2.75 inch shotshell and those pellets weigh approximately 1 ⅛ ounces–a “standard” weight in the shotgun world. This is why virtually every ammunition company sells cartridges with 9 pellet loads by default. While “00” pellets nominally measure 0.33-inches, in reality they can sometimes be a tad smaller in diameter depending on the manufacturer. With the on-going defensive shotgun renaissance, 8 pellet loads are also becoming more popular. The 8 pellet load’s biggest benefit is that it provides the tightest patterns since they lack the extra pellet that always seemingly turns into the stray flyer. Besides the inherently tighter pattern from the 8 pellet load, it is easy to be more accountable downrange without the errant pellet.

The nuanced differences between fielding an 8 pellet load vs a more traditional 9-pellet load are worthy of their own separate article. Truthfully, the difference on that last pellet depends on the specific shotgun and the capacity and circumstances in which it is employed.

Experience teaches me that at 25 yards, a modern shotgun that either has a high quality barrel, is jug choked or both can dump a modern double-aught buckshot payload (like any of the three different Federal Premium Flite-Control loads) inside the A and C zones of a standard IPSC cardboard target consistently–flyer or not. This is roughly an eight to nine inch spread depending on the individual gun and batch of shotshells. Shotguns have been around for a long time, but this is truly a modern shotgunning miracle. There is good reason why the Flite-Control line has its ardent devotees.

#1 Buckshot Loads (.30 caliber)

Though double-aught buckshot loads are the most commonly found and used, many defensive shotgun savants and serious shooters favor 12 gauge #1 Buckshot loads. The #1 Buckshot pellet is slightly smaller than the double-aught buck pellet (.30 cal vs .33 cal), but these pellets are still large enough to provide the necessary level of penetration while also throwing a denser pattern. Whereas a typical 12 gauge double-aught buckshot load has 8-9 pellets, the typical #1 Buckshot load has 15-16 pellets instead. The trade-off shooters have to make with #1 Buck loads is accounting for larger patterns with potentially more fliers and pellets that start to veer away from the main pattern. They will have to weigh their needs and specific defensive contexts to see if there is a benefit. Federal used to offer a #1 Buck Flite-Control load, but it has been off the market for a few years now due to inconsistencies between the smaller #1 Buck pellets and the specific shape of the Flite-Control wads. This is something Federal is currently working on figuring out, but in the meantime they did announce a #1 Buckshot Vital-Shok copper plated and buffered load at SHOT Show 2023. Realistically speaking, most #1 Buckshot loads are offered to and marketed towards hunters. All major ammunition companies that load shotshells typically offer some #1 Buckshot load.

A cut-away FFC 1 Buck load. image credit: That Shotgun Blog

MAGNUMS AND DEFENSIVE BUCKSHOT PATTERNS

Both double-aught and #1 Buckshot loads can be had in magnum shells larger than 2.75 inches, but these are best suited for hunting large game. Magnum buckshot loads incur not only a financial cost (as if ammunition today wasn’t expensive enough) but also provide more punishing recoil that makes it harder to recover in between shots. In spite of the extra power and payload, these magnum loads do not really make any difference compared to standard or low recoil defensive loads with regards to terminal ballistics.

Regardless of the quantity of pellets, their size, or anything else found in a cartridge, every shotgun must be patterned along with the ammunition it will fire in order to understand how that load performs out of that specific shotgun. Two shotguns made next to each other on the factory will not pattern the same shells from the same box equally. Different lots of the same product SKU will even pattern differently! Proper patterning also teaches us what kind of performance to expect from a shotgun and how that shotgun can be used. For example, in a home where the longest shot is going to be less than 20 yards, the difference between an 8 or 9 pellet load might not make too much of a difference, but at longer distances it may. Or if those defensive shots will be made inside of 10 yards, patterning can teach that shooter the margin of error and teach them that their pattern will probably be a few inches maximum, regardless of whether their loads have premium wads. On the other hand a police officer who has to be accountable for any and all projectiles they send downrange may only use very tight 8-pellet loads. Ultimately, patterning an individual shotgun and its intended ammunition is always the best policy.

BUCKSHOT: THE PERENNIAL AMMUNITION

No matter how rudimentary (as in a handful of lead balls chucked into the muzzle of a black powder blunderbuss) or how sophisticated (Federal LE 13200 or LE 13300 Flite-Control loads in a Blink gas system Beretta semi-auto decked out with everything Aridus), buckshot has been and will continue to be the go-to choice for defensive and tactical shotgun use. There are very few firearms that can influence the outcome of a deadly-force encounter the way a shotgun can. Similarly, the buckshot-loaded shotgun is still equally useful for harvesting big game or protection from large, backcountry dangerous predatory animals. As modern shooters, we are really fortunate to have the opportunity to take advantage of the latest developments in shotgun ammunition loaded with plated pellets, grex, advanced wads and propellants.

To learn about shotgun slugs, click here.

_{Special thanks for past and on-going support from Nathan P., author of That Shotgun Blog. There are others and they know who they are.}

The One Benefit of Competition Shooting No One Mentions

By

Travis Pike

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March 27, 2023

I think, as a gun community, we’ve gotten past the idea that competition shooters make you a worse defensive shooter. The idea that competition will get you killed in the streets seems to be a dying idea. Competition shooting makes you a faster, more accurate shooter who can act better under stress. There have been much better, much more experienced competition shooters who have shared the benefits of competition shooting. However, one benefit I’ve seen mentioned is how competition drives you to train.

The Unknown Benefit of Competition Shooting

I used to think I trained, but honestly, I had gotten lazy. Don’t get me wrong, I took classes, but if it wasn’t live fire practice, I really wasn’t training that often. I certainly wasn’t practicing every day. Prior to shooting in a competitive environment, I trained to be a defensive shooter. The thing is, I haven’t been in a fight for my life since 2010. I’m not in a gunfight every other month.

However, I can compete once every two weeks or at least once a month. This drives me to train more. It seems silly, and I know how it sounds. Training to defend your life seems incredibly important. Why would competition drive you to train harder versus defending yourself and your family? Because I’m actually doing one of those things once a month at a minimum.

I agree that one should have a higher priority, but it’s a lot easier to play COD MW2 for an extra half hour rather than dry-fire practice when it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever be in a gunfight again. On the flip side, I will be out shooting some form of action shooting event next week. So I put the controller down and worked on my draw.

Do my defensive skills increase when I train for competition? Yeah. A draw from AIWB is different than an OWB, for sure, but drawing a gun is still drawing a gun. My AIWB concealment draw has gotten faster alongside my OWB draw. I’m even going to shoot my next match from concealment if the rules allow it.

Focus and Motivation

I am far from good at competition shooting, and for me, it’s a casual hobby I love to indulge in. However, it’s given me a drive, motivation, and reason to keep training and to train harder. Not only that, but it tests me every time I step up to shoot my course of fire. Is my training working? What do I need to tweak? What can I improve on?

That’s the untold benefit of competition shooting.

Gunday Brunch 93: Why We Love John Wick

By

David R

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March 26, 2023

That’s it. That’s the video. We love the John Wick movies

G-FLEX: A GLOCK BINARY TRIGGER

By

David R

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March 26, 2023

Double down. Bang it twice…every single time! Tactical Sh!t is taking pre-orders now for the G-Flex; the first binary trigger for your Glock pistol.

St. Peters, MO | 17 MAR 23

For the first time ever, enhanced pull and release firing capability is here for Gen 3, Gen 4, and Gen 5 Glock firearms. Introducing the G-Flex Binary Trigger for Glock pistols!

The G-Flex is engineered with Reflex Trigger Technology. It fires one round when the trigger is pulled rearward, then a second “reflex” round when the trigger is released forward. This provides the potential for lightning-fast split times and unmatched performance in your Glock handgun.

The G-Flex is manufactured from professional-grade materials and designed for easy drop-in installation. The G-Flex is manufactured with aerospace-grade stainless steel and is built to perform under pressure and hard use. You’ll harness elevated speed and effectiveness with unmatched strength and reliability.

The G-Flex has been engineered with what the ATF wanted; a patented secondary DISCONNECTOR makes it physically impossible for the G-Flex to achieve automatic firing.

Components:

· Trigger Bar

· Enhanced Bar Guide

· Trigger Return Spring

· Trigger Housing

· Trigger Shoe

Specifications:

· Style: Reflex

· Model: G-Flex

· Platform: GLOCK 17, 19, 22, 23, 26, 27, 19X, 45, 47, 31, 32, and 33

· Fit is generation specific

· Weight: 5 ounces

· Material: Aluminum/Steel

Experience the speed and performance of the G-Flex and its game-changing Reflex Trigger Technology. Unleash Glock’s full potential with G-Flex!

Order yours online at Warlord Central: sigglockincolt.com.

Be sure to check out the SHOTS FIRED podcast!

Danger Close Media Group | 4110 North Outer Road, St. Peters, MO 63376

Two Ways to Boresight a Pistol Red Dot Before Heading to the Range

By

Anna Martinez

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March 24, 2023

Disclaimer: As always, any firearm no matter if it is boresighted or not should be verified at distance with the preferred ammunition. Boresighting is not enough to trust the zero on your firearm.

Boresighting/Borelighting is a great way to save ammo by first getting your dot as close to your proper zero without expending live ammo. Doing this before heading to the range will also ensure that you are on paper. Sighting a red dot on a pistol is a pretty simple task and can be done both with a cheap borelight or without any tools at all in the comfort of your home.

Ensure that the pistol is clear and free of ammunition.

With a Borelight

This method is using an EZshoot Boresight in 9mm that was bought off of amazon for 17 bucks. While it comes in 9mm, there are other calibers available. The proper caliber of borelight is important because to use this tool it will need to be set into the bore of your pistol. Due to this laser acting as the center of your bore, it does need to sit in the chamber without movement.

For 17 bucks on amazon this borelight can save you that much in ammo at the range when zeroing your pistol. Simply throw an included battery into the proper caliber of laser that your firearm is chambered in and then throw it in the bore of your pistol. Don’t shine it in your eyes please..

To Use

Find something to aim at at the preferred distance that you want your zero. Let’s say 15 yds.
Insert the borelight into the chamber of the gun and lightly push the slide forward onto the laser.
Find something to steady your pistol as you are aimed at the 15 yd mark you chose
Point the laser at that mark
Adjust your actual red dot to the point where the laser is. You may need to bring your head off the gun to ensure that the dot you are seeing is the laser and not the red dot and visa versa.

I chose to aim at the top of a work in progress walking stick that was about 12yds away. This is the laser. Now, just line up the dot on that laser and you are boresighted.

This can be easier with two people so that one person can steady the gun and the other can adjust the optic. One person is totally capable of completing this though.

Now that the dot and the bore are lined up at 15 yds you can go to the range and verify and perfect the zero. It should get you very close to where you want to impact though.

Without a Borelight

If you don’t have a laser there is still an option for getting your dot close by using your iron sights. I absolutely hate the term “cherry popping” because it is so improperly used and the method is often done incorrectly however, this is kind of what we are going to do here..

This works with any height of iron sights meaning you can do this even if you still have too short of iron sights after adding a dot to the pistol. It happens, we are lazy and don’t plan ahead, trust me I get it..

Note: This only works if your iron sights are zero’d to the gun.

Notice that I haven’t yet replaced the iron sights to be tall enough to see over my red dot. They are zeroed though therefore this is how it looks before I slightly dip the gun down still keeping the irons lined up. The goal is to have the dot land on the outlet cover that I am aimed at with my irons.

How to w/ Short Iron Sights

Hold your pistol out and again, aim at something at your preferred zero distance with your iron sights.
Line up your iron sights, don’t worry about the dot yet
Now, as you are lining up your iron sights look at the dot, does it look to be landing in the same spot your irons are aimed at? Adjust it if not
Line up the iron sights again, adjust again. You want the dot to be in the same place that you are aimed at with your irons

If you have iron sights that you can’t see when properly lined up do your best to line them up as you are tipping the gun down. Seems weird but it will get you close and on paper for when you head to the range.

There you have it, two easy ways to save ammo and time at the range when zeroing your pistol. Happy shooting!

Best of the Worst L85 or INSAS Rifle

By

Travis Pike

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March 24, 2023

When you sit back and think about the worst weapons ever issued to a military force, you have plenty of options. The Chauchat was pretty terrible. The M14 might be America’s worst military rifle. There are just too many. However, let’s narrow it down to the more modern assault rifle market, and things get a little easier. When I narrowed it down to just two weapons, I couldn’t figure out if the British L85 or the Indian INSAS took the cake as best of the worst.

What’s somewhat funny is that the Brits and Indians were both wielding the FN FAL in the form of the L1A1 prior to adopting their respective god-awful weapons. The Brits adopted the L85 and SA80 family in 1985. The INSAS rifle was adopted a bit later, in 1998, officially. The adoption of the ISNAS was delayed because the Indians lacked enough 5.56 ammo to issue it.

Breaking Down the INSAS and L85

The L85 and INSAS were similar in their purpose. Both military forces wanted a domestically produced modern assault rifle. The age of the battle rifle was over, and the modern 5.56 rifle was and remained the current hotness. Both military forces wanted to get into the modern arms market and also wanted to domestically produce their new rifle. The INSAS and L85 are also parts of weapons’ families’ that include carbine and LMG variants.

The Brits have had a thing for bullpups for basically ever. They really wanted one after World War 2, and it took until the 1980s to make their dreams come true. The L85 took a lot of inspiration from the AR-18 series rifle. It’s not exactly fair to say it’s a bullpup AR-18, but it’s close. (Side note, the Brits did experiment with a bullpup AR-18, and somehow it was worse than the L85. The L85 is a selective-fire assault rifle that chambers the 5.56 NATO cartridge and feeds from a box magazine.

The INSAS came to be at a time when the Indian Army and police forces were using mostly FALs but also British .303 rifles and AK series rifles. The Indians wanted a modern weapon to be universal for their armed forces. They designed something that took inspiration from the AK, the FAL, and even the HK rifles. It used a standard layout, fed from a box magazine, and offered variants with wood or polymer furniture as well as folding and fixed stocks.

What Makes Them So Bad?

Ooh boy, where to start? Both weapons have major reliability issues. The L85 sucked in dusty and artic environments and ran into tons of malfunctions. The polymer furniture reportedly melted from bug repellant. The internals were not robust enough for a military rifle. In the Gulf War, the weapon broke often, and the L85 proved more reliable in full auto than semi, and the L85A1 proved more reliable in semi than auto. The gas mechanism would pop open randomly.

The INSAS problems began in 1999 in its first trial by combat. The rifle was being used for a conflict in the Himalayas, and the temperatures shut the rifle down. It had huge reliability issues. Sometimes, regardless of where the rifle’s selector was set, it would just fire in full auto mode. The gas regulator often broke, rendering the rifle useless.

The L85’s first batch of magazines was so bad you could allegedly deform them by grasping them tightly. The INSAS magazines were polymer and reportedly cracked often. Both guns featured furniture that was poorly made and wobbly, often easily broken.

Both weapons reportedly overheated quickly. The L85, especially the squad auto version, would overheat in 120 to 150 rounds. The INSAS rifles were adopted by the Nepalese forces and seized up in a firefight against Maoist terrorists. The Nepalese were overrun, and this led to 43 deaths. While we don’t have specific examples, a LANDSET report by the Ministry of Defence stated that platoon commanders expected casualties caused by the weapon in CQB.

Which is Worse?

The Brits have attempted to fix the L85, and HK, then owned by British investors, upgraded the weapon. This became the L85A2. This seemed to largely fix the predecessor’s mistakes. The A2 variants are reportedly much better and much more reliable. The squad support version was pulled and replaced by the belt-fed FN Minimi. It’s worth noting that British special ops tend to prefer AR variants over the L85.

The Indians attempted to fix the INSAS problems but ultimately chose to do away with it. After several high-profile problems, it was found to be too much of a problem to fix. The Indian Army is instead resigning the weapon and purchasing the AK 203 rifles and some SIG 716i rifles alongside the Israeli Negev machine guns.

It would seem the INSAS was worse as it couldn’t even be fixed. However, at least the Indians corrected the problem fairly quickly rather than continue to issue a craptastic rifle. With that in mind, I’m giving the INSAS the best of the worst win.

.223 Deadly, Unlike 00 Buck?

By

Lars Smith

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March 24, 2023

Ryan Busse claiming .223 dangerous — Photo Credit: Darell Ehrlick

Highland Park: ".223 might even be too powerful to legally use in self-defense"

Ryan Busse, Highland Park's expert: "As you can see, numerous 12 gauge shotguns and .300 Winchester Magnum rifles remain legal for self-defense" https://t.co/0FXDmugvHr pic.twitter.com/TQeXZsaXRV
— Rob Romano (@2Aupdates) March 14, 2023

Nobody will dispute that .223 or 5.56 is a dangerous thing to be shot with. 5.56 is a common round in global militaries, so it’s not as though it’s underpowered or anything. What is amusing though is the torturous way the anti-gun lobby will devote hours to discussing the lethality of this particular assault rifle round, while simultaneously ignoring reality or contradicting themselves –sometimes both!–.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a lot of hyperbole around the capabilities of the standard AR-15 chambering. The “.223 deadly!” side would have you believe that the 55 grain (3.5 grams) projectile .223 throws would rip a human being in half, despite the fact that many states limit the cartridge to varmint-sized animals for hunting purposes –because the round isn’t powerful enough to be considered humane for deer or larger.–

Perhaps the best example of this collision of ideology and reality is the Highland Park, IL assault weapons ban that is currently struggling through a lawsuit to stop it. Of the innumerable post-Bruen decision cases, this one has produced an amusing dichotomy: The “.223 deadly, and no good for self-defense!” argument is being stood up alongside the concept that the unbanned .300WinMag rifles, and 12ga shotguns are perfectly fine to shoot people with. This despite both of those rounds being significantly more powerful, and much more capable of removing entire portions of a human being than the comparatively underpowered .223 or 5.56.

Naturally, at the center of this massive conflation in service of unconstitutional legislation is Ryan Busse –former Kimber executive turned gun control lobby shill– who never misses a chance to get paid to say absurd things about guns in service of banning them. He is the oxford cloth, wingtip version of the former service member who claims to “support the 2A, but…” Wherever there is a Bruen challenge and the Shill Signal has lit up the sky, he rarely fails to answer the call, and the paycheck that comes with it.