When it comes to self-defense ammo for a 410 revolver, you might not be surprised to hear our recommendation isn’t 410 ammo at all. Let us explain. Pretty much anything other than birdshot fired from a magnum 12 gauge shell will have adequate fight-stopping effect at room distances. 410 shotshells, on the other hand, can be a little tougher to find a good round to use for self-defense. Lower energy and little payload compared to the 12 gauge set us up for a challenge. Best 410 Self-Defense Ammo – Our Pick Many of the 410 ammo options on the market are rather questionable in concept ..read more

How To Pattern A Shotgun Shotguns, by their very nature, spread out their projectiles over a wide area. This makes them popular for many activities, such as hunting, competition and personal defense. Unlike rifles and pistols, which send just one round downrange each time the action cycles, a shotgun sends out groups of pellets each time you pull the trigger. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good in that those pellets can spread out and hit targets in mid-flight, or in the case of buckshot, impact a living target all at once and bring it down in a hurry.  Fast Facts: How To ..read more

Testing 12 Gauge vs 20 Gauge When we talk about guns, we usually also talk about what caliber of ammunition they shoot. When we talk about shotguns, however, we talk about what gauge of ammunition they use. Most of us understand the difference in power between, say, a 22 Long Rifle cartridge and a round of 9mm Luger. What isn’t as clear to some people, though, is the difference between the gauges of a shotgun. What are the practical differences with 12 gauge vs. 20 gauge, and how might those differences affect you?  Let’s start out with what we mean by “gauge.” Describing a round of cente ..read more

Short Range Firearm Power: The Fighting Shotgun The fighting shotgun can trace its roots back all the way to some of the first guns ever made. The medieval handgonne, or hand cannon, was nothing but a cast iron tube held under the arm with a hole in the top near the back to ignite the gunpowder. You’d load it up with pebbles, stones, arrows or whatever, point in the direction of the enemy. Ignition was via a spark applied to the hole and then the gunpowder would ignite. Ideally, it would spew whatever was inside the barrel in the general direction of the advancing bad guys. Sometimes, however ..read more

There’s More Than One Way To Hold A Shotgun Shotguns are one of the most powerful and versatile kinds of firearms on the market today. Their ability to fire a range of shotshells such as birdshot and buckshot are one of their greatest strengths, but it also leads to some misconceptions about what a shotgun can and can’t do. Because the pellets inside a shotshell spread out when fired, you don’t really need to learn any special techniques about how to hold a shotgun or how to use it. They’re literally just point and shoot, right? Wrong.  A shotgun requires training and practice in order to ..read more

Length Of Pull: If It Fits, Shoot It We all know the common dimensions of a gun. How long it is, how wide it is, how much it weighs and the length of the barrel. These are important things to know. They can determine how effective your firearm is for any given task. One dimension we often overlook, however, is the length of pull for a rifle or a shotgun.  Simply put, the length of pull of a shotgun or a rifle is the distance from the trigger to the back of the buttplate at the end of the stock. This is how much space your arm has to wrap around the gun and place your hand in a firing ..read more

Finding Your Natural Point of Aim It’s not uncommon to see people on a public range grow frustrated as they struggle to hit their target. Something that seems easy, such as getting shots on paper at 25 yards while shooting a rifle off a bench, can seem impossible at times. One of the reasons why things like this happen is a lack of understanding of how to build a stable shooting position, and that begins with your natural point of aim. Let’s begin by stating the obvious: Our bodies have a natural, comfortable position for almost any activity. Walking, running, standing, sitting, you name it, o ..read more

Using Birdshot For Home Defense Doesn’t Work The power of a shotgun for personal protection is unmatched when it comes to close-range personal protection. From the blunderbusses of centuries past to “riding shotgun” on a stagecoach to the trench brooms of World War I, when it’s time to stop a threat at close range, it’s time to reach for your shotgun.  Fast Facts: Using Birdshot For Home Defense Birdshot is for hunting birds and busting clays  Defensive buckshot ammunition is tailor-made for personal protection Lower pellet weight means less penetration, less chance to stop the thre ..read more

Testing Home Defense Shotgun Ammo Home defense is one of the first priorities for almost every new gun owner. Our home is our castle, and the thought of a violent intruder forcefully entering our homes can literally keep us awake at night. A shotgun brings a lot of firepower to any home defense scenario. No matter if it’s the latest tactical semi-automatic scattergun or a classic side by side coach gun, a shotgun sends a lot of lead downrange all at once, which can make it an excellent choice for home defense. However, even the best of guns can be crippled by poor ammunition. This is why choos ..read more