Author Topic: COACH GUN LOADS (Read 3052 times)

Jim n Iowa · « **on:** April 15, 2011, 03:38:37 PM »

I am going to order a Stoeger 12 gauge coach gun for SD. Does anyone on this board have any recommendations for ammo? I read some where that #1 has the best results over all, I know nothing of #1 or where it can be bought. Wall penetration is not a issue, just take them down is the goal.
Jim

gcrank1 · « **Reply #1 on:** April 17, 2011, 03:41:28 PM »

I don't think that for SD and relatively close range that there is anything wrong with turkey loads.
Just for fun see how it does with 2 3/4 Foster slug loads.
BTW,you might want to consider it in 20 ga.

FLNT4EVR · « **Reply #2 on:** April 28, 2011, 10:25:48 AM »

Your shotgun will take any and all loads on the market today. Try a few,try a lot. Just get it out,shoot it, be come familiar and comforable with it. And have fun with it.You sound like you are a new Gun owner. You don't have to be timid, or afraid.It ios your right as an American Citizen to own a firearm. Enjoy it, be proud of it,and tell your friends , they have no need to fear firearms ownership.

Mikey · « **Reply #3 on:** May 08, 2011, 02:33:30 AM »

Jim: gcrank has a very good idea - you may wish to consider a 20 guage. I have one of the Stoeger Coach Guns in 20 guage and for a short barrelled shotgun, 20 guage has more than enough recoil to make patterning the gun somewhat uncomfortable. But, after 50 rounds of multiple types of loads I found that both barrels patterned heavier shot (#4s) better than any of the other loadings, and that slugs (regardless of style or maker) would not group consistently from either barrel - right barrel shot high and to the right, left barrel shot high and to the left and neither barrel grouped reliably enough to use for whitetail. Also, even from a short barrelled shotgun, your shot pattern at self defense distances may surprise you as to how tight it is - please do not be fooled by hollywood's notion that a sawed off 12 guage will spread its shot out enough to clear out a room, the shot patterns are much tighter than that.

dougk · « **Reply #4 on:** May 12, 2011, 05:07:10 PM »

Jim,
that is a really good question...

I have been moving to a 16 ga for more of my hunting and almost sold my my Stoeger 12x12 Uplander but something told me to hold it. I am glad I did. To me there is something about the 12 ga SXS for SD.

For SD in a coach gun I would go with Federal Premium Personal Defense in 2 3/4 00 buck or #4 buck. http://www.federalpremium.com/products/buckshot.aspx You should try both and see what one your more comfortable with. Federal also makes a LE low recoil 2 3/4 00 buck that might be an option in your coach gun if the the Personal Defence shells have too much recoil. http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/product_info.php/cPath/120_259_205/products_id/1423

Good Luck

Doug

45-70.gov · « **Reply #5 on:** May 12, 2011, 06:18:50 PM »

I PREFER #1 BUCK

if you can find it

stay with the 12 gage....if recoil is an issue try reduced/low recoil loads
hopefully you will learn to handle the recoil....should you decide you want more power
the 20 gage will work fine......but ammo in buck shot may be hard to find
avoid slugs........might as well buy a rifle if you need a slug

buy a few boxes of different loads see what you AND the gun like

then buy a lot of the chosen load..........get REAL familiar with this chosen load
forget all the crap about different loads for different situations
get one load and get to know it well

tho i prefer #1 buck.....its harder to find than either #4 or OO....or even OOO
i have seen what one pellet of #1 buck will do to a man
my dad as a shooter and medical examiner prefered #1 buck.....he killed a 300# hog with this load

theoldsarge · « **Reply #6 on:** May 12, 2011, 06:37:06 PM »

The British in Malaysia many years ago found that #4 buckshot was the best manstopper. That's my choice.

gcrank1 · « **Reply #7 on:** May 13, 2011, 03:52:58 AM »

Maybe then a pump should be considered; theres something about that KA-CHUNK as you rack it that might be the 'manstopper', then you wouldnt have to use a 'mankiller', but if you needed to pull the trigger more rounds is always better?

blind ear · « **Reply #8 on:** May 13, 2011, 05:41:51 AM »

Quote from: gcrank1 on May 13, 2011, 03:52:58 AM

Maybe then a pump should be considered; theres something about that KA-CHUNK as you rack it that might be the 'manstopper', then you wouldnt have to use a 'mankiller', but if you needed to pull the trigger more rounds is always better?

Me too! I would want a 12 ga pump with the longest magazine tube and a barrel no longer than the tube and a slight fan choke. If the gun needed to be shorter I wold do it at the butt end. ear

45-70.gov · « **Reply #9 on:** May 13, 2011, 06:36:40 AM »

i prefer a pump too
i do some times grab the double when things go bump in the night

the classic dangerous game gun is a double
and there is no more dangerous game than a man
so you choice is definitely not a bad one

the sound of you racking a round into the chamber is real kool on TV
i don't want any one to hear me period...buck shot is faster than sound
why would you give away your position and element of surprize
i don't like to hunt with a pump......because the pump rattles....went to the double for deer
but if the intimidation factor is a plus....
.nothing more intimidating than looking down both barrels of a 12gage

humans have a tendency to take cover when shot at
they may even shoot from cover

a slug will best penetrate the cover....and miss the target....especially at night
OOO will be best buckshot to penetrate the cover and score a hit
#4 buck will more likely find a hole in the cover and hit the target....also more hits is good
# 1 splits the difference
OO is been the choice for most for many years for some reason

i would love to find some 3 inch #1.....but never seen them
my step dad had 3 inch OO in his pump....unaware of the RECOIL
i releived him of them before he hurt himself....[ he is old]
they have a concern of bears there
so i replaced them with 2 3/4 inch OOO.......
this is just my opinion...get out and play with different loads and form your own opinion
then share it with us

gcrank1 · « **Reply #10 on:** May 13, 2011, 07:05:28 AM »

All good points (and apologies to the OP, but since you asked about SD, here we are), I think that in this 'litigious' society a reasonable man, and his 'defense' in the inevitable court case to follow, will have to include telling the perp to 'halt', which also gives away your position, and a warning of what will follow. That with a 'rack' should make the point, and though I would prefer the gene pool of such be extinguished, this is what we live in.
In the real world of KOBK aint no question that he's the one going down, but we need to urge the complete think through of the scenario, especially for those with minimal, or no, training.
If you aint prepared mentally, you aint prepared, no matter whats in your hand.

blind ear · « **Reply #11 on:** May 13, 2011, 07:59:38 AM »

My self defense gun doesn't sit with an empty chamber. The only sound will be the safety sliding off and it is inaudible. ear

dougk · « **Reply #12 on:** May 13, 2011, 03:29:16 PM »

Would anyone use a slug for self defense?

45-70.gov · « **Reply #13 on:** May 15, 2011, 10:36:42 AM »

Quote from: gcrank1 on May 13, 2011, 07:05:28 AM

All good points (and apologies to the OP, but since you asked about SD, here we are), I think that in this 'litigious' society a reasonable man, and his 'defense' in the inevitable court case to follow, will have to include telling the perp to 'halt', which also gives away your position, and a warning of what will follow. That with a 'rack' should make the point, and though I would prefer the gene pool of such be extinguished, this is what we live in.
In the real world of KOBK aint no question that he's the one going down, but we need to urge the complete think through of the scenario, especially for those with minimal, or no, training.
If you aint prepared mentally, you aint prepared, no matter whats in your hand.

good points and very valid but as the old saying goes
''better tried by 12 that burried by 6''

who is there to say if you warned tham or not
and if you truely fear for your life
why are you going after some with an empty chamber
will they even give you time to warn then?..

slug is good but prefer buckshot....
throw a marble between at the arm of a friend and his body without hitting him
now try it with a softball.....see how hard it is NOT to hit with the softball

dpastordan · « **Reply #14 on:** June 02, 2011, 10:29:01 AM »

All great comments. I had a standard Stevens 311 in 12 ga (until it was stolen by a burglar) that would shoot slugs to the same point at 40 yards - beyond that they would separate. The one advantage of a double over a pump I favor is the ability to change loads fastor. With a pump, you have to open the action and fool with the shells. With a double it is open, catch or pull the shell out and put in another. One mentioned using slugs for SD...depends. Inside a house, no in most situations. If you are outside and trying to stop a car, maybe. The issue with slugs is greater penetration. I watched one of the gun tech shows where household items were tested to see which load (slug, Buckshot, birdshot) could protect. They used a refrigerator, bookshelves, etc. The slugs and buckshot ripped through most items. Birdshot was stopped in most instances. So if your SD situation is in a house, figure smaller is better to a degree. You don't want a stray 00 flying through a drywall into another person.

As I think about it, the double is probably a faster reload than the typical pump by normal folks - though I know competitive shooters with pumps can really work fast.

huntswithdogs · « **Reply #15 on:** June 02, 2011, 12:06:52 PM »

For me, I f i were looking for a shotgun particularly of SD, it'd not be a SxS, particularly a Stoeger. It would be a good ole fashion pumpgun loaded with buckshot, be they 4s, 1s, 00s, whatever.
What ever you choose to buy, spend a bunch of time with it. Everything you do with this shotgun should be second nature to ya.
I liked the post earlier about being prepared mentally.
If you ever have to pull the trigger on someone, shoot to kill, not wound. Dead people can't tell lies!

HWD
HWD

dougk · « **Reply #16 on:** June 02, 2011, 05:49:58 PM »

Quote from: huntswithdogs on June 02, 2011, 12:06:52 PM

What ever you choose to buy, spend a bunch of time with it. Everything you do with this shotgun should be second nature to ya.

Great point.... This should apply to every gun you use...

45-70.gov · « **Reply #17 on:** June 02, 2011, 06:10:06 PM »

Quote from: dougk on June 02, 2011, 05:49:58 PM

Quote from: huntswithdogs on June 02, 2011, 12:06:52 PM
What ever you choose to buy, spend a bunch of time with it. Everything you do with this shotgun should be second nature to ya.

Great point.... This should apply to every gun you use...

my point about get one load and get to know it
forget the......''different loads for different things''
you will be nervous and drop your ammo

by the way......I USED to keep a slug in one side and shot in the other
on a good day a would forget whitch was what
front triger is open choke rear is closed....already too much to think about at 3 AM

Rickk · « **Reply #18 on:** June 09, 2011, 07:55:07 AM »

At "inside the house" ranges, I don't think it makes a heck of a lot of difference what sized shot you are using.... It will still make a mess of anything in front of it.

When you get the gun, play with it a bit before you buy lots of ammo.

You might find that light 2-3/4" #6 field loads are much nicer to shoot than 3" 00-Buck.

Also, if you haven't picked up the gun yet, the "Supreme" versions (which cost more) have a reasonably functional rubber recoil pad on them whereas the cheap model does not. If you get it with no recoil pad and shoot it at all, you will be putting a recoil pad on it. It may be worth it to you to just buy it with a recoil pad and be done with it. The rubber pad on the Supreme version makes it a very tolerable 12 gauge to shoot.

The Supreme version not only comes with a decent rubber recoil pad, it also comes with screw in chokes instead of fixed chokes.

Also, the Stoegers come in both single and double trigger versions. The single trigger versions have a tendency to fire both barrels at once for many people. Search the net and you will find it often mentioned, and it is always with the single trigger version. It has to do with trigger squeeze techniques, and it sucks when it happens. It really hurts. I have had the first hand pleasure. Mine, for me, would double 100% of the time. It went back (twice) and worked fine for 3 of the Stoeger factory 'smiths. It would still double for me 100% of the time. I no longer own a single trigger model. The double trigger version does not double fire. I own two of them and they both work fine.

tmccray45 · « **Reply #19 on:** June 10, 2011, 04:50:42 AM »

I'm in the same camp as "gcrank1".

My wife works for a large law firm in Washington, DC. The firm holds seminars throughout the year on a variety of subjects and on the of the topics was "Personal Safety". They had a security firm come in to hold the seminar and one of the speakers was an ex-DC policeman. He recommended that, for self-defense in the home, get a pump shotgun - 20 gauge would be preferred.

His take on the subject was, "Everyone knows the sound of a shotgun being racked and when that sound is made inside a house, it's usually enough. The bad guys leaves."

He knew the audience to which he was speaking and went on to say that if they had a problem (legal, personal, whatever) with a loaded shotgun, then keep an unloaded pump shotgun and make that racking sound. Again, he said that usually that's enough to clear the house.

He said that every situation is different (especially in an urban situation) so everyone should examine their house and determine how they want to handle this subject. He made a special note of the problem that children in the house when there is a loaded shotgun -- too many times children's curiosity results in horrible, horrible events that none of us would want to face.

dharmabum · « **Reply #20 on:** June 20, 2011, 01:21:08 PM »

A short barreled coach gun has a certain "sexy"look to it, but my old dog eared 12 ga pump with an extended mag of "00" 3 inchers is my goto piece late at night. If I do cowboy action at our local gun club then the stoeger would, IMO, fit right in.
Yeah the 12 ga. "00" has a little recoil but so what? My wife can jack the 12 ga until it runs dry and she never blinks an eye.
I guess I'd say "Stoeger for fun, 12 ga "))" pump for business. (Just my opinion)