What to stoke up as the leadoff shell in a Shockwave or other short shotgun?

[forrestinmathews]

So today I finally got around to shooting the PDX Slug and shot load, Herters Buck and Ball defensive load, and Hornady Critical Defense 8 pellet 00 Buck. Herters was the winner. The Hornady was stiff to eject so I gave up on it even though the pattern was ok. The PDX Slug and shot was very slug like with fliers. I wasn't impressed at 20 yards. The Herters load out performed the PDX in my opinion and a far better price point. I'm going to stick with my previous loads of #1 Buck from Federal and Winchester despite the fun I had.

 

[MR.G]

All 8 in the tube are 00 buck.

 

[CalmerThanYou]

I found some Herter's Multi-Defense, 2 3/4's that hold a single .65 ball and 6 No. 1 Buck. Seems like a good choice.

 

[REM 3200]

So just taking a survey and maybe sparking a little discussion on how to load a short shotgun kept for defensive ​purposes. How would you set it up for the first shot?

First shot - 00 Buckshot
Second thru fifth shot - 00 Buckshot

All are 2 3/4 inch and the gun is
a 18" cylinder bore with a mounted light.