Like I said, I hadn’t tried any. I prefer to stick with what I know works. I can appreciate that lower recoil is less wear on the gun and that it affords quicker follow-ups, but if you look at some of the muzzle energy ratings of a lot of the tactical stuff out there it is still less than #1 shot. Still less energy on target. No doubt that it is effective though.
Nothing wrong with that approach, and for those with that experience, no worries! But for others, particularly those with a new or unfamiliar gun, it can be smarter for them to work up to the heavier loads in stages.
I can appreciate that lower recoil is less wear on the gun and that it affords quicker follow-ups, but if you look at some of the muzzle energy ratings of a lot of the tactical stuff out there it is still less than #1 shot.
Agreed, and my *daytime* 870 that stands watch by my front door is indeed loaded with 20-pellet #1 buckshot. But the muzzleflash from those loads at night is blinding to those on either side of the gun- a mixed blessing, but one in some circles which screams *throw grenades here.*
Still less energy on target. No doubt that it is effective though.
There is a lot of comfort when dealing with multiple targets in knowing that ones you've dealt with already were serviced with the best and most effective loads possible. And in these days of common body armor, one answer with a shotgun that throws 16 or 20 .30-caliber pellets per trigger pull is to shoot the knees and upper legs out from under them and let time and arterial bleeding do the rest. The area from the knees to the belt buckle is the area to be saturated. In the one instance in which I have used a shotgun that way, the result was immediate and impressive.