3 1/2" Shotgun round for home defense?

[GhostHawk]

LOL

2 layers of denim, plus a t shirt, PLUS a piece of particle board, ripped the jug wide fricken open. And all you unbelievers can do is bluster. Ok, I'm done here.

You can lead a horse to water but you can not make it drink.

There is no where inside of my house, that can not be reached in 24 feet in a straight line.

Outside is a different matter. Outside is why there is an ammo belt loaded with buckshot and slugs hanging on the shotgun.

But the shotgun is loaded for INSIDE. Outside I have the luxury of a second or two to swap a load. Inside you do not.

So bluster away.

If I ever had to do door breeching I would do wax slug loads. But at this point I don't see myself doing much of that. I have 5 loaded up, but untested at this point. Simple no real need driving that issue for me.

Be careful shooting them in the back with that buckshot as they flee the scene. Could land you in big trouble.

[Blood Trail]

LOL



Be careful shooting them in the back with that buckshot as they flee the scene. Could land you in big trouble.

Not in Texas.


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[Hogtamer]

The revered .45 acp even with hot +p loads generates about 498 ft lbs of energy. A dinky walmart 12 ga 1 oz load @ 1200 fps generates almost 3x that. Of course the energy is diluted proportionally to the number of pellets. At 20' out of a cylinder bore though the spread is only about 4" so there's a good chance the plastic wad would be in the wall behind the bad guy. An average 2 3/4" 9 pellet 00 load is roughly equal to 4 of your hot .45 going off simultaneously. 9 .32 caliber projectiles, well, if you question that lethality at house ranges you really have NO experience with a shotgun. A 1 1/2 oz load of lead #4s is about as perfect home defense as man ever made. No man and few beasts would be left standing.

[RMc]

Frankly, two simple 1 ounce 12 and 20 gauge factory rounds loaded with "T" Buckshot* would fill a major gap in the available home defense ammunition marketplace.

"T" Lead Buckshot:

.200" diameter

11.5 grains each

38.0 pellets per ounce

* Recognized as a Buckshot size by the Sporting Arms and Manufacturers' Institute as well as by commercial suppliers of lead buckshot pellets.

[Edward]

I think I like the idea of those super short shells in my 870 so I get to shoot into next week and still make the badguy wish he was someplace else !

[35remington]

We're not "blustering." Merely pointing out that shooting skinless meat and particle board with choked shotguns have little to do with the no choke shotguns people use for home defense and the targets they may actually have to shoot at.

Bursting a thin plastic container filled with incompressible water that easily splits under load is more visual eye candy than substantive ballistic information. I can burst the same jug tossing it a short distance. How much energy does that impart? It's low enough I can catch it with no harm to myself.

I did suggest that hiding in a small room waiting for someone to break in may find birdshot working well, but birdshot has enough limitations that going with a load that has severely limited employment may not be a good idea if you're not hiding in that room. In addition, pointing out that birdshot does not come close to making IWBA/FBI minimums is not "bluster" but rather fact.

[7Acres]

The revered .45 acp even with hot +p loads generates about 498 ft lbs of energy. A dinky walmart 12 ga 1 oz load @ 1200 fps generates almost 3x that. Of course the energy is diluted proportionally to the number of pellets. At 20' out of a cylinder bore though the spread is only about 4" so there's a good chance the plastic wad would be in the wall behind the bad guy. An average 2 3/4" 9 pellet 00 load is roughly equal to 4 of your hot .45 going off simultaneously. 9 .32 caliber projectiles, well, if you question that lethality at house ranges you really have NO experience with a shotgun. A 1 1/2 oz load of lead #4s is about as perfect home defense as man ever made. No man and few beasts would be left standing.

I had to babysit the boys this weekend. So I took them to Cabela's with me. Purchased a box of Estate brand 4 buck w/ 27 lead pellets per shell. I opened up a shell to weigh the shot. 1.2oz.

There was one other brand of 4 buck on the shelf but it only had something like 21 pellets per shell. I was surprised there wasn't a wider selection.

I watched a few youtube videos of 4 buck performance and it definitely seems like a good performer stopping after about 11" of penetration.

[35remington]

Other tests I have seen get around 14."

[Combat Diver]

I've got some Remington 3" #4 buck 41 pellets but keep those for hunting. One of my shotguns is loaded with Fiocchi 2 3/4" #4 buck 27 pellet count.


CD

[jmort]

I have posted this a few times, but it is a comprehensive testing of shotguns in ballistic gelatin, birdshot to slugs. #1 makes a lot of sense. Birdshot seems sub-optimal. To each his own.
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/201...arious-rounds/

[DanishM1Garand]

If the bad guy has his gun out and chambered he is going to shoot in the direction of the Clack Clunk of a shotgun being racked. <snick> of the safety is all he will hear at my house unless I fire it.

I got got shot with #6 shot, mind you at 30 yards or so. My Levi's jacket was armor plate against birdshot. My hunting buddy popped the few pellets in my neck out like zits. We went on hunting that day as if nothing happened. No ones fault but mine. I had gotten ahead of him and the brush and weed hid me.

Use buck, slug or a rifle against anything that can kill you back. Birdshot has a tendency to kill you tomorrow not now. I do not care what the bad guy is doing then. I care what he is doing NOW! Birdshot makes grievous looking wounds that do not reliably stop the fight.

[7Acres]

If the bad guy has his gun out and chambered he is going to shoot in the direction of the Clack Clunk of a shotgun being racked. <snick> of the safety is all he will hear at my house unless I fire it.

I got got shot with #6 shot, mind you at 30 yards or so. My Levi's jacket was armor plate against birdshot. My hunting buddy popped the few pellets in my neck out like zits. We went on hunting that day as if nothing happened. No ones fault but mine. I had gotten ahead of him and the brush and weed hid me.

Use buck, slug or a rifle against anything that can kill you back. Birdshot has a tendency to kill you tomorrow not now. I do not care what the bad guy is doing then. I care what he is doing NOW! Birdshot makes grievous looking wounds that do not reliably stop the fight.

Thanks for sharing your birdshot story. Very illustrative of it's true effectness.

[prs]

I also suggest #1 or #4 buck. I am lucky in that none of my hall ways or stair cases are aimed at bedrooms, just closets and storage and open area. But, even larger sizes of bird shot, like #2 goose shot, will blast through most walls. In the OP's case, he might consider installing a mid height heavy tile or brick surface over 3/4" plywood over lay in the more critical areas of wall outside of both bed rooms. Before going to that much trouble, I would test a sample section to see if it would reduce the shot charge to non-lethal levels. At very close quarters, even bird shot will act like a slug.

prs