My favorite self defense shotgun ammo, Fiocchi 12 gauge low recoil 00 Buckshot (12LE00BK) is sold out. One online auction had it.

12 gauge 00 low recoil Buckshot of any kind is very hard to find, even at inflated prices

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Any buckshot is hard to find right now. Especially inmyneck of the woods.

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Just an idea.... check police supply outlets.

It is a very common L/E loading.

I have half a case of Federal Low Recoil Tactical 00 buckshot. Better performance than the Fiocchi, which is more of a budget load. Can be found online and locally many places. What makes you choose the Fiocchi load, just price?

I’ve always had good luck with Federal ammo.

OP I did a search online and yes, you’re quite right in fact. Low recoil (and most buck) is tough to find right now.

About any ammo is hard to find right now, especially anything defensive. Personally, I have Winchester Ranger low recoil 00 (older brown box stuff), and Federal LE13200. Both are sold loads. I also have cheap Rio 00 full power that has much more umph to it.

Once all this settles down, you'll be able to find it again, it will just take some time is all.

I haven't fired any 12 ga. buckshot in years, but as I recall, it provided significant recoil. However, you're seldom going to fire more than a few rounds of this stuff. Having never tried it, I'm curious if the reduced recoil buckshot is that much easier on the shooter than the regular load?

I looked the other day and Freedom Munitions had a decent selection of 12 Gauge still in stock.

Buy it when you have the chance...don't wait untill you need it in the middle of a panic .
I was strolling through local Cabela's prior to the previous shortage (2009) and spotted tables stacked with on sale shotgun shells ...
picked up a box (25) of 00 buck and a box (25) #4 buck and 5 - 5 packs of slugs .
Didn't need them , but they were available and on sale so... I did
like my dad used to tell me ... "Get em while the getting is good ! "
My wife thought I had lost my mind....but my daddy knew the score .
Gary

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I would be surprised it if WASN'T hard to find right now. People are getting worried. Of course the time to prepare for trouble is BEFORE it gets too close.

The write up I read showed the recoil was about half of regular 00 buck ! I wasn't expecting that much recoil reduction .
The velocity was still decent but I don't remember if the shot count was less . It had 2 3/4" , 9 pellets , 00 buck at 1140 fps and still was about 1/2 the recoil of a standard .

Regular 2 3/4" 00 buck has 9 pellets at 1325 fps...not a whole bunch of difference especially if you are inside your house.
Might have to explore this when the panic is over .
Gary

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Funny enough, shotgun ammo is something I don't think much about. I bought some low recoil stuff years ago and put it in storage. The main reason of that was just in case I decided I ever needed to use it indoors.

For everything else, I'll use the cheapest stuff I can find. Generic 2-3/4" slugs or 00 buck is plenty useful on nearly anything with legs...and it's cheap. I was mentioning that RIO stuff earlier, it's very effective and packs a whallop...and is cheap. I'll also buy generic Winchester 1oz rifled slugs...they work fine as well.

I really don't think that for self defense, you need to get fancy with a shotgun.

For some odd reason I have a lot of buckshot around. I recently loaded up the ol Benelli M-1 Super 90 with 9 rounds of 2 3/4 inch #4 buck. We keep laying hens and 3 dogs came through and killed 10 of them. These hens were good layers and pets as much as egg suppliers. My wife gave eggs away as we had way too many. I didn't have the Benelli loaded at that time and had to use a close at hand M-15. Dogs are really hard to hit in low light situations when running...with a handgun. One of my neighbors was PO'd for certain. If the Benelli had been loaded all three would have stayed here. I've never tried the low recoil buckshot. Does it really kick significantly less? I wonder if it will go through the Benelli or any other semi autos as it should? I carry it full of foster type slugs up on the mountains when we dress any game animals.... or as camp protection

I use the Federal Tactical Low Recoil #1 Buck, which Federal shortsightedly discontinued. I have plenty however.

The recoil is definitely different. I'm not a fan of the regular power stuff, but the low recoil is not a problem to shoot. I figure that I don't need the extra 200-300 FPS for anti-personnel needs with a max 10 yard shot.

I definitely notice the reduced recoil. I do not like firing .270, .308, or .300 Savage from hunting rifles or regular 00 buck from a shotgun. But I can fire 10 or 20 rounds of the reduced recoil Fiocchi without flinch or discomfort. And the recovery for follow-up shots is vastly improved.

Your Mileage May Vary

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I can't believe how hard everything is to find. Somehow a new .22 Magnum rifle appeared at my house last week, and my preferred types of that seem to be sold out. Are .22 WMR's good for zombies or something?

How about reloading shotgun shells for low recoil? Is there a “recipe” somewhere for making up some?

Outdoor Limited has good prices by the case when it is available.

I have Remington reduced recoil 12 ga. for my V 3 tac 13, enough of it.

I shoot lots of reduced recoil buckshot and slugs through my Mossberg 590A1 and occasionally a Stoeger Coach Gun. They are a pleasure to shoot compared to the full power loads and both have 9 00 pellets (.33 cal) per round. If you do the numbers, the 1325 ft/sec round develops 35% more recoil energy than the 1140 ft/sec round. I'm thin and 77 years old, so my shoulder can't take more than 5 high velocity rounds, but I can shoot 20+ low recoil rounds with no problem.

The biggest difference between the Fiocchi and Federal rounds is patterning. I shoot at a reduced silhouette target at 50 feet. 10 rounds of the Fiocchi ammo will have the pellets fairly uniformly scattered around the aim point, with almost no pellets off the silhouette. The Federal rounds have the Flite Control wads which keep the pellets together. Each round tears about a 4 inch hole in the paper because the pellets are so close together. 10 rounds of the Federal ammo looks like a giant hole torn in the chest of the target.

The Fiocchi low recoil slugs are also great, with 10 rounds touching at 50 feet.

Fortunately, I'm pretty well stocked on this ammo. Not because I'm foresighted, but because I shoot a lot of it and buy about 500 rounds twice a year.

There is very little ammo in stores. I was surprised to see a bunch of .17 cal. though. Must not be too many people who own .17s.

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I rummaged through my stuff and found a bandolier of 12 ga 00 buck that I put away for teotwawki years ago. Now if I can only find my pistol grip Mossberg 500...

We typically switched out our carry shotgun ammo once a year and the old ammo got thrown in 5 gallon buckets for use at training and annual qualifications. The first time there was a mix of the full power buckshot and reduced recoil buckshot in the bucket, it was comically obvious (usually done at low light) when someone touched off a full load of buckshot. A side benefit of the reduced recoil buckshot was that we got tighter patterns.

Cleaninbg out the grudge today and I found a bunch of Buckshot rounds...No reduced recoil though. More'n a 100 #4 buck Remington at least a 100 2 3/4 inch 00 a few boxes of 3 inch #1 buck(older Blue Peters) a couple boxes of Win 000 and at least 100 slugs of different varieties including sabots. Good grief...What in heck do I have all that stuff for? Now I have to check the vault downstairs. I remember seeing some Paper Brennekke and some 10 packs of Winchester Foster slugs down there.

All ammo is scarce now days!

I live by "The 6 P's" which was instilled in me by my Dad......

Previous Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

I dug up a similar stash, though exclusively full-charge Remington 00 and slugs. Don't recall the motivation, but I musta been stocking up for something big. Reckon I'll never get around to shooting it all.

The better quality LR buck is known for tighter patterns - witness the Federal. It's a win-win if you carry buck. I have some, mostly 000, but my preference if I use a 12 gauge is a slug. The AR platform is a lot more user friendly, and for day to day use my first choice in a long gun.

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A couple of years back I got bored with shooting Paper so took up shooting Clay Pigeons Now I am flat out hooked on hitting a 108mm orange disk flying thru the air at speeds ranging between 0 and 70 mph. As a result I have a small collection of shotguns and load my own 12 and 20 gage ammunition.

Looked up the ballistics for that Fiocchi load and it's actually a a close equivalent to my 12 gage Trap loads that feature 0.94 ounce of #7.5 shot loaded to 1220 fps. With the Fiocchi you get a 1.03 charge of shot at 1150 fps. So it's an easy shooting load. I'll also note that there was a time when I thought shooting a heavier and faster load would better my hit rate and a 1.12 ounce load of shot at 1300 fps really doesn't hit that hard. What really hurts is a 3 1/2 inch Magnum loaded with 1.5 or 2 ounce loads.

Nothing like hearing the action on an 870P work when you enter a building. Still my favorite entry gun. Happen to have an 18” with two shot extended mag.

Awesome fear factor

sgammo.com is showing 12 ga 00 and #4 in stock right now

Interesting: during the ammo 'crunch' of '12-'13, there was absolutely NO shortage of 12 gauge combat ammo: 00 and #4 buck and slugs. Especially #4.

I recommended Hornady TAP ammo a few years ago: Reduced Recoil, 2.75" shell, 8 00 pellets @ 1100FPS. Not impressed? Me neither until I fired it at 10 yds from a Shockwave. The load made ONE hole in the paper. Would have thought a slug made that hole.

Kaaskop49
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P.S. PLEASE HELP: What does that acronym TEOTWAWKI... cited above stand for?

The End Of The World As We Know It

I was down in the vault and ran up on some more Buckshot rounds and a 25 round box of Slugs I didn't even know I had. They are reduced weight slugs from Remington..called sabots and are 5/8 ounce low splatter slugs in a star crimped shells. 5/8 ounce at 1800 FPS sure don't seem like low recoil to me..I have never shot one of these slugs so don't know. Also found some BRI slugs and some Active buckshot loads....alcan shells made by S&W-F and other S&W stuff too. Will post a pic later..just some odds and ends

A good friend at a local PD might be able to "lend" you a few rounds.

Location means everything in today's circumstances and market conditions.

I work in a small firearms store in a small town about 25 miles outside of Denver and we have lots guns and ammo. We can't compete with the pricing of bass pro or similar stores but we have 12 gauge of most varieties including buck, higher quality 223, 9mm, and 40 rounds on the shelves. The metro shops were overrun and have no ammo inventory (from what I heard) but we only had a few days of the exhaustive run on guns and ammo.

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Is that all?? Pleasant problem to have, isn't it? Don't ask how I know.

You too?? I used to shoot a little 3 inch 4 buck in premium variety. It shot pretty good. Loaded Lead T shot at one time. in the right gun an easy 100 yd goose load...even if not strictly legal. It was death on foxes out to 75-80 yds

I looked up a little recoil data on Buck shot loads..........
4 Buck usually has 21 pellets and the 000 Buck has 8-9 pellets.

4 Buck has a recoil around 66 ft/lbs...... (3/4 oz. load )
000 Buck increases to around 172 ft/lbs of recoil with 1,547 M/Energy. ( 1 1/8 oz. load )
Remington did have a managed recoil load of 8 00 Buck at 1200fps, instead of 1325fps
but I do not know if it is still made.

Lots of shooters prefer 4 Buck inside the house for SD work and
take the 000 stuff into the woods.