This is not true at all. The buckshot and birdshot are going to spread about the same, and that amount is going to be negligible if used in a home. The shot pattern is going to be a few inches across at home-defense distances; you can miss with birdshot or buckshot almost as easily as you can with a slug. Birdshot at very close range probably would have a decent chance of being fatal at close range precisely because the shot wouldn't have a chance to spread and would act sort of as a solid mass of lead. If the birdshot did have a chance to spread to a distance where it would be difficult to miss with it would be extremely unlikely to be fatal.

You should load your shotgun with buckshot or slugs and you shouldn't count on the spread of the shot to make the shot easier. It won't.

Do NOT use slugs for home defense. As in under no circumstances. The slugs will go through walls like tissue paper. They could easily end up penetrating the neighbor's house (if not his neighbor too).

To some degree, this is going to be determined by the choke and barrel length, especially at longer distances. I think the minimum legal barrel length is 18"(?), and this combined with an improved choke is going to have a pretty fast spread. A 30" barrel with full choke is going to be markedly different.

There's a chart here that details the differences.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun#Pattern_and_choke


I don't want to sound like I'm "arguing my case," I just think this is pertinent because it's an excellent deal for non-expert marksmen. The closer you are, the less accuracy matters, and the farther away you are, the more spread helps negate accuracy. You can't shoot blind-folded, but shooting at a can at 30 yards, give me a shotgun any day.

While it's true that a slug will pass through more walls than double ought buckshot, many pistol rounds will go through just as many walls as the slug. According to the Box o Truth website 00 will go through about 4 interior walls before slowing enough to be mostly harmless and a slug about 6. 9 mm and even .45 ACP hollow points (the slowest/most expanding self defense pistol round) all went through 6 walls just like the shotgun slugs.

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/theboxotruth.htm

This. Slugs are a no-no. The difference between birdshot and 00 buck is small by comparison, and either can be appropriate depending on your living arrangement.

You must have some humongoid rooms if you're worried about accuracy at 30 yard for a home defense weapon.

I agree and said the same thing earlier, but at 10 yards accuracy and spread are not really a concern. If someone can't hit a human sized target at 30 feet with a shotgun, they probably shouldn't have a loaded shotgun.

INAR why do you even own a gun? Just shoot down the intruder with your wit IMO.

Huzzah.

Sure and at 30 yards it's going to be pretty easy to hit a human with some buckshot or birdshot. You could kill him with the buckshot at 30 yards but almost never with the birdshot at 30 yards.

Self defense distances in the home are overwhelmingly going to be well under 10 yards. At 10 yards the width of the shot pattern isn't going to help your accuracy too much.

FWIW I agree that 00 is a better self defense load than a slug mostly because it will go through fewer walls than the slug and the power of the load is more than sufficient. I have 00 buckshot loaded in my shotgun. But saying that the slug will go through walls like tissue paper is misleading because 9mm rounds will do the same thing.

I really don't know what, why, or if I'm really arguing. I don't disagree with any of this.

My only point is that I bird hunt a lot, and as such I have a huge supply of birdshot. I don't bother unloading that and using buckshot when I'm at home because my contention is that birdshot would be fine for home defense, where we all agree that the greatest likely range would be 10 yards.


I don't even care if my odds of one shotting someone is greatly reduced. I'm not looking to -specifically- kill someone, just to incapacitate and protect my family if it came to it.

If I had the choice of being accidentally shot with any of those rounds a ****ing deer slug would be at the very bottom of my list.

THIS! go pattern your gun and see what hes talking about

Keep reading. You're almost at the end.

yeah didnt see your other post.... now go buy a box of buckshot you cheapskate your not going to get home invaded by a flock of birds IMO

~ $6.51

relevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASCsvtjiYQc

are all suppressors illegal or can they be bought like at gun shows etc?

they can be bought pretty much anywhere, but you need to get a federal stamp (costs $200-300 iirc) to allow you to own it.

No one "owns" suppression.

I'm in the exact same boat. I rabbit hunt a lot, so I keep 3 shells of birdshot sitting on the dresser next to the Mossberg. The sound of me wracking a shell into the chamber is the perfect litmus test as to whether someone is ready to eat a round or not. If the crack/crack of the pump doesn't scare them off, I figure it's go time.

I like the shotgun over a handgun for my house also because I have small children. It's alot easier for a 4 year to get into trouble with a pistol than it is a pump shotgun. The Mossberg sits out in the open next to my dresser where I can get to it quick, but not too quick. I want a little bit of time to input and process the situation before I take action.

The people that crack me up are the people that have firearms for home defense and then keep them locked up in a safe. Yeah...cause you're gonna have time to go in the closet and spin 30r/30l/30r lol.

It's so weird having grown up in a firearm friendly family to talk firearms in the house with people. My mom's house to this day has guns strewn all over it, most of which are hunting rifles and shotguns, but still a crap load of guns. When my wife and I started dating 15 years ago, she made the comment that there wasn't a room in the house that didn't have a gun in it. After taking inventory, she was proved wrong.

There were no guns in the bathroom.

uh oh you need some guns in the bathroom imo

Taped to the back of the toilet, ldo.

Are you in the bathroom? Are you a man? Then there's a gun in the bathroom.

If it won't shoot bludgeon them with it amirite ?

That's the spirit!