In typical defensive/duty shooting ranges, the spread of the shot is NOT going to compensate for bad aim. Even if it did, if your pattern is largely missing the target then you are likely only getting a peripheral hit anyway. Not optimum.
Furthermore, with a typical 00 load, you're only talking about 8 or 9 pellets total. Those projos have a poor ballistic shape, and don't have a lot of mass to them. So if you only get a fraction of your pattern on the target your already limited production is going to be further hindered by fewer projos on the target.
I want ALL the pellets on/in the target. Spray and pray as it were is a bad, bad idea for defensive or duty use. I want all of the available projos to be doing their job, especially because it is hard enough for them already.
The effective part of a shot load is that you have multiple wound tracks radiating outwards at a typically more divergent alignment
after the pattern has hit the target. Obviously there is spread during the exterior ballistic phase, but in terminal ballistics there is more so usually. That allows for more structures to be impacted, which is what you would look for in terms of rapid exsanguination.
In external ballistics, I want them close. In terminal ballistics, I want them opening up.
megawatt said:
I think a slug is a much better option than a rifle shooting a centerfire cartridge.
Why?
There is a huge trend nowadays for people considering and using a AR-15 for home defense.
With very good reason.
I completely disagree with using a rifle inside a home
Again, why?
but if someone was set on using a long arm then I think a slug from a shotgun is a better suited.
I don't. Not to say that a slug isn't perfectly effective, or a bad idea. But if you're wanting one accurate projo (which is a large part of why you would use a slug, the other being mass) then a rifle will do much better in that role.
So for this type of comparison I would say a slug does not defeat the purpose of a HD shotgun.
I would agree with that. A slug can do quite well in close where accuracy matters or where you need to put a metric asston of lead on target at one time in one place.
However, there are some serious limitations to using a slug for defensive and duty use that have not been mentioned/considered here.