Field-use of Federal Flight-Control 00 Buckshot:

09 Sept 07

Field use of Federal 12ga Flight-Control Buckshot, from a range officer with a large Midwestern PD:

"Last week, one of our patrol officers confronted a single, armed, robbery suspect at a range of ten meters. When the suspect made threatening verbalizations and gestures, the officer fired a single shot from his department-issued Remington 870. The round was Federal Flight-Control 00 Buckshot.

The tight cluster of 00 pellets struck the suspect in the right side of his hip. He went right down, offering no further resistance. At the hospital, attending sturgeons asked if the suspect had been hit with a slug. We assured them that it was a single, buckshot round.

X-rays revealed that several pellets were still in the suspects's body, but that most had transverse-penetrated and subsequently exited. Tissue destruction was copious, so much so that the suspect's right leg had to be amputated at the hip. He is expected to survive, but has obviously sustained permanent, disabling/disfiguring injury.

We are most please with this round's fight-stopping ability. This suspect went from dangerous/threatening to meek/crippled, all in less than a second!"

Comment: It is difficult to imagine a better fight-stopping effect than described in the foregoing. Federal's new wad technology represents a pivotal improvement in shotshell performance, breathing new life into the "old-standby" police shotgun. Something we all need to look at seriously!

/John

Bears in AK!

09 Sept 07

A friend just returned from AK, where he worked on a protective detail, protecting field surveyors and others from bear attacks in the wilderness:

"We used shotgun-launched, rubber slugs to ostensibly "discourage" curious bears who came too close. Results inspired little confidence, particularly with large males.

Brenicke three-inch slugs in pump-shotguns were used to "stop" committed bear attacks. While in common use, ostensibly for that purpose, they are minimally adequate when used against mature bears. Those who depend upon them are largely kidding themselves, in my opinion. To get a dependable stop, better choices include rifles in 45-70, 338, or 458WM. Even then, against a charging Grizzly, crashing through alders and willows, your window is lessthan two seconds. A smooth mount and careful trigger press are still required. You'll probably not get a second chance!

Slings are not recommended! They get constantly tangled in underbrush, and having your longarm in hand and immediately available for use is superior to fumbling with a slung weapon in thick vegetation.

Short barrels are better than long ones! Once again, trying to swing a long-barreled rifle or shotgun in thick brush is an exercise in futility. On five occasions, I spotted bear beds with fresh, steaming scat only feet infront of me. I literally blundered into them! Under such circumstances, speed of deployment is critical.

Longarm optics: When one is hunting bear, scopes may be satisfactory. But, on protective details, optics on longarms are contra-indicated. It is difficult to describe the extreme speed at which bears can close the distance between them and you! Many protective escorts, even hunters, have been killed as they dithered, confused and lost in their telescopic sights. Zero-magnification EOTechs and Aimpoints might be the exceptions, but my comments on them will have to wait for another day.

Handguns in 45ACP, 40S&W, 357SIG, and 9mm are fine for people, but none of those rounds will do any more than annoy a bear! None are recommended. Revolvers chambered for 41Mg or larger are recommended, but only as back-up."

Comment: Confronting dangerous game, inadvertently or intentionally, is no activity that should ever be undertaken by the nonchalant! As I discovered last February in Africa: (1) Use enough gun: (2) Don't dither/hesitate, (3) Be smooth, fast, and deliberate; (4) Don't miss!

/John