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New Chainsaw owner

C

chainsawlikewhoa

Copper BB
Hello all, i purchased my Mossberg Chainsaw yesterday. I love it. I am new to the shotgun world and had a question about the ammunition for my new gun. What do you feel is the best ammunition for home defense that I can run through my gun?

Thanks.
 
Welcome from MO!

So now that you have a SD chainsaw...hehe.

Tell us about the shotgun and maybe post details about your living quarters.
 
Hi CSLW, and welcome to MO!!! Glad to have you here! :D

chainsawlikewhoa said:
What do you feel is the best ammunition for home defense that I can run through my gun?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Well, theres a ton of debate on this, lots of experience and thought have gone into posts and responses. You can start with the ammunition section here. There is a sticky at thge top of the subforum called Ammunition Performance Evaluations, or something like that. It contains links within the first post of the thread to reviews, pattern tests, and comparissons, sometimes side by sides.

EDIT:

Heres the link I mentioned in the above paragraph;
Ammunition Performance Reviews

I have my opinions and loads I prefer. I like 00 buck, while some keep rifled slugs on hand. I dont ever recommend birdshot unless its a case of it bein all you have, but would also advocate gettin 00 or slugs at your earliest convenience.

There are a number of considerations that go into choosin "the best load" for you... Many, if not most, SD shootings occur within 5 to 7 yards, so its important for you to determine the max range in your home, the longest shot you would encounter, and select a load that performs acceptably. To me, acceptable is every pellet within a fist sized target at my ranges. Its also important that you practice any load you choose at your ranges.

Some loads pattern very tighly at typical HD/SD ranges, like punch every pellet through a single 1" hole, even on out to 10 yards or more. This would be the Federal Tactical 8 or 9 pellet low recoil 00 buckshot with FliteControl wad, or aka, LE133 00 and LE132 00 respectively.

A couple other "specialty" loads I really like are from Hornady. Hornady TAP 8 pellet blue hull LE low recoil, Critical Defense 8 pellet 00 and Hornady TAP Light Magnum 8 pellet 00. All these loads have whats called the VersaTite wad which is identical to the Federal FliteControl wad and is actually used by Hornady under liscense from Federal. Lastly would be Winchester Ranger low recoil 00. There isnt anything special about it in the way of the wad or shotcup, but at least by virtue of it bein low recoil, the patterns are decent. That doesnt make it a first choice.

There are however plenty of commercially available loads from places like WalMart, Dicks Sporting Goods, Bass Pro Shops, and Cabellas... so many more if you dont mind ordering online. For the Federal Tactical/LE ammo, there are civy counterparts, either intended for hunting or HD/SD. For example, the LE132 00 is available as PD132 00 and is identical. The more commonly available loads you will find will be the big three; Federal, Winchester and Remington. In each you can find 00 buck and slugs. Personally I dont care for what I've seen from Winchester in the Super X 00 at all. At 10 yards I cant even find every pellet on the paper let alone my target. Standard Remington and Federal ... I really havent done much with so couldnt comment.

Congrats on the new firearm and hope you find some of this helpful, please dont hesitate with any other questions! ;)
 
buy a couple bulk pack boxes of bird shot. practice with it until you can reliably hit a target at two to three times the longest shot in your house.
to load the gun for HD/PD, find something that says BUCK on the box. Preferably with at least one "0" before the BUCK.
Bird shot will create a nasty flesh wound, but will not reliably penetrate deep enough to stop the threat RFN.
 
I agree with the other information you are reading here. Just to add another option, I really like this stuff:

http://www.winchester.com/PRODUCTS/SHOT ... 2PDX1.aspx

I've found that it patterns very well, at ten yards and under. Farther than that, and the threat has likely left my house. Expensive to practice with (close to a buck and a half a shell). I also load #1 and/or 00 buckshot in my 12 gauge. Different strokes for different folks. That just happens to be mine. Take care. Tom Worthington.
 
I just edited my earlier post to include the link to the ammo section thing I had mentioned.

I also wanted to emphasize, its imperative that you at the very least pattern test any load you choose to try out. Each time you get a different load, pattern it. Also of importance, which will come from practice and patterning, you will need to know where your shotgun throws a pattern so you know if you need to modify how you line up your sights on the target.

Additional considerations for your specific situation;
Is anyone else in the house?
Will there be interior/exterior walls that may be penetrated by shot if there are any stray pellets?
Are you comfortable with stray pellets?

Heres some data from Federal ATK;
Shot Shell Data
Wound Ballistic Docs

Bear in mind the above are from Federal, providing info on Federal/Speer/LawMan...

Tom mentioned the Winchester PDX. I havent tried the 12 ga. PDX, only the .410, but wasnt entirely comfortable with it. While the discs in the load formed a decent pattern, the other shot spread way the heck out at close ranges. The 12 ga. is a little different though and I'll have to let Tom expand on that.
 
chainsawlikewhoa said:
Hello all, i purchased my Mossberg Chainsaw yesterday. . . . What do you feel is the best ammunition for home defense that I can run through my gun?
Click to expand...
Welcome, fellow Chainsaw fan! (You're the only other owner I've heard from.)

The Missus and I are both in our mid-60s, and we're recoil-avoidant (even before we first fired our Chainsaw, I replaced the stock pistol grip with a Knoxx recoil-reducing Breacher's pistol grip). We've only tried a few sizes/brands of ammo, but when we "stocked up" we bought a case of Federal reduced-recoil 00 buck from these folks:
http://www.sgammo.com/product/federal/250rd-12-gauge-le13200-low-recoil-buckshot
The combo of Knoxx grip and reduced-recoil ammo makes 50-round training days no big deal (as in no pain/stiffness that day or the next).

Here's a thread about our home defense training on the Chainsaw:
http://www.mossbergowners.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=4343
 
Let the mission drive the gear. Your home layout & construction, residents, locations, neighbors houses, etc should all play a roll in selecting a load as you are responsible for every projectile that leaves the barrel.

Beyond that everyone else has already covered anything I would add.

Welcome to the forums.
 
WOW! What a cordial forum.. thanks so much for all of the information.. I have looked into all that was provided and will likely go with some Federal Reduced Recoil 00buck for home defense.. but will have a variety as I practice with my new gun . My main concern was not damaging the barrel.. I wasn’t exactly sure on what I could safely run through the 18.5 in breacher barrel .. the manual it came with did not elaborate on the ammo very much

MD Dr Nugent.. glad to see a fellow chainsaw owner.. I had wanted a Mossberg 500 for a while then I came across the chainsaw and pretty much went out and bought it the same day.. something about the combination of the word chainsaw and 12 gauge.. sold me .. lol .. I really do like the fact it came with rails already installed .. I am looking into a tactical light right now . I think i want one with a pressure switch option.. not exactly sure though yet on how to keep the pressure switch attached to the grip.. I know most switches come with a velcro type adhesive not sure i want to put that on my gun though..

I also really like the top folding stock they make for it.. any ideas if it just bolts on.. or will require some gunsmithing?

Thanks again for the warm welcome..
 
chainsawlikewhoa said:
.. I am looking into a tactical light right now . I think i want one with a pressure switch option.. not exactly sure though yet on how to keep the pressure switch attached to the grip.. I know most switches come with a velcro type adhesive not sure i want to put that on my gun though..
Click to expand...
I just used electrical tape around both ends of the pressure switch (on the bottom of the weed eater handle) and looped the cord underneath the slide to the right side rail (make sure it won't get caught during chambering). Don't forget Loctite on the light's mounting screw though, or you may wreck the light as I did.

I don't know about the folding stock swap, but to swap the Mossberg and Knoxx pistol grips only took a LONG Allen wrench (I think one came with the Knoxx) for the only screw holding the grip on.
 
Rossignol said:
Tom mentioned the Winchester PDX. I havent tried the 12 ga. PDX, only the .410, but wasnt entirely comfortable with it. While the discs in the load formed a decent pattern, the other shot spread way the heck out at close ranges. The 12 ga. is a little different though and I'll have to let Tom expand on that.
Click to expand...

Did some measuring. From 10 yards out, with a 18.5" barrel, the largest spread from the center of the slug was 4". The closest buckshot hole was 3". All three buckshot holes were fairly well centered around the slug hole. I did this half a dozen times, to confirm. Same patterning, each time. Gets kinda pricey to practice with this stuff. :D But I've been doing it, to confirm it's gonna do what I want it to do...every time. Take care. Tom Worthington.
 
Howdy chainsawlikewhoa and welcome to the club!!
 
*UPDATE*

I finally had the opportunity to take my newest edition out to the range and I have to say it was a lot of fun. The recoil is not as bad as many people made me believe.. but I guess it just depends on the person.

I am now looking to add a tac-light and maybe some other accessories to the rails that are already on there.

Any suggestions? ( I know I want a sturdy tac-light that wont go flying after a couple of rounds) but open to suggestions on other mods.

Also wondering if a fold over stock would work? I have seen a video of someone who had one, but I am not sure whether it would be a hindrance with the chainsaw grip.
 
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