Range day

Just some general practice today, including taking the scattergun out for some practice. A while back I found a load that seems to duplicate the performance of the Hornady reduced-recoil buckshot that I keep in it for social purposes, which makes practice a lot less expensive.

I've read a lot of arguments between 'round in the chamber, safety on' vs. 'magazine loaded, chamber empty'. I keep mine same as Xavier: mag loaded, chamber empty, safety off. I'll add that I check the chamber to make sure it's empty, close the slide, then load the mag, then pull the trigger to drop the hammer. The last does two things: releases tension on the hammer spring and unlocks the slide. I still have to grab it and rack the slide to load, but I don't have to worry about pushing the slide release. I thought a lot about it, and decided that if I'm awakened by the sound of a window or my door breaking I want as few buttons/switches to deal with as possible. No warranty, your opinions may differ. I specify the sitting condition of the shotgun because I specifically practiced today as though I were grabbing it: in the condition above, me standing in roughly the same relation I would have to it if I'm in bed, grab, rack, aim & fire. For some reason I hadn't done it that way before, and I wish I had: definitely adds to the realism of the drill.

I've mentioned quite a while back that I prefer the reduced-recoil loads for this, but it's been a long time so I'll cover it again. I very much agree with "Use the most powerful gun you can shoot consistently and accurately" as a guide. In a different situation I might well choose a 3" magnum load, something that'll make a charging grizzly reflect on the folly of his last action. However...

The longest range I can see firing in a home defense situation is about thirty feet, and that means the reduced-recoil ammo should have plenty of power to stop a two-legged attacker. Also, have you ever fired a 3" mag buckshot load? The recoil is bloody awful, so I'm willing to trade some power for faster recovery and more accurate repeat shots(if needed). This also means that I can fire twenty or twenty-five rounds in practice and my shoulder still works after. I had an injury a few years back, and there are limits to how much pounding it can take.

The shotgun, about two boxes of .45 through the pistol and some other general shooting. Definitely a nice part of the day.