Best for home defense
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
Plenty of discussion over this. I run #4 Heavy field Shot in my HD 590A1. I know it will, at the range I have in my house, penetrate (Breach) at least one sheet rocked interior wall, but not exit the exterior of my home. and at the ~10 feet I would be engaging an intruder, #4 would have a pattern about the size of a silver dollar and I have 9 rounds to offer them!
Since you don't know anything about a potential intruder, it's a very tough call. Is he/she a 250lb 6'4" ex-con that's been pumping iron for 5 years and wearing body armor? Or is it a 5'6" 90lb drugged out teen in a t-shirt? Are there concerns over a missed shot penetrating walls and injuring innocents?
For me, I load a mix of 00buck and slugs, since there is no danger to other people if I miss. Generally speaking birdshot will not stop anyone, but will leave a nasty looking shallow wound. It could kill or disable if you made a head shot tho.
For me, I load a mix of 00buck and slugs, since there is no danger to other people if I miss. Generally speaking birdshot will not stop anyone, but will leave a nasty looking shallow wound. It could kill or disable if you made a head shot tho.
There's been a lot of testing of the effectiveness of shotgun rounds for HD. Here's a site that covers a lot of it. http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/theboxotruth.htm
Birdshot is for birds or for making slugs. IMHO
I prefer slugs, one projectile I am accountable for as opposed to multiple projectiles. Besides in my house, buck will not have time to spread prior to hitting an intruder.
There is no one answer. It is dependent on personal preference, home layout, neighbor location, windows, here will misses/pass throughs go, proficiency, etc. Many things should be taken into consideration when deciding.
I prefer slugs, one projectile I am accountable for as opposed to multiple projectiles. Besides in my house, buck will not have time to spread prior to hitting an intruder.
There is no one answer. It is dependent on personal preference, home layout, neighbor location, windows, here will misses/pass throughs go, proficiency, etc. Many things should be taken into consideration when deciding.
Really? I'm not nearly as confident of shot placement when I may only have a few seconds warning before I am forced to start throwing lead. And I've been shooting for about 60 years, 20 of them in the Marines, with a wide variety of weapons.
. Wasn't questioning your veracity, as there are some folks who are very good at snap shooting in high stress situations. SEALS and LEO, for example, among others. There is also some very good civilian training available for a price, if you feel it would be worth it to you. 
Birdshot is for birds. Using this for personal protection is a personal choice. Based on ballistics it's not preferred for law enforcement or FBI standards.
The penetration does not reliably end the threat. Why would the FBI require at least 12" of penetration before using the ammunition for their agents?