Home defense - birdshot, buckshot or slugs?

[MoJo]

Was browsing the aisles at Academy the other day looking at stuff and came across this:

[ Image ]

Compare the ones on the left to the boxes on the right. Interesting - a slower load and one less pellet to reduce recoil; I should have bought some to fool around with, but I got distr... oooh, butterfly....

According to an after action report of an OIS in Iowa last winter I would think long and hard about using the "reduced recoil" buckshot. The temperature was hovering near zero when the officer shot a bad guy at about 25 yards who was wearing motorcycle leathers with several layers of thermal clothing underneath. None of the pellets penetrated to the BG. He gave up because he was "shot" not because he was wounded. Full power 2/0 buck would have gone through the clothing and into his body.

[FishInTx]

The first shot is a slug after that it's 00 buck.

[LeonCarr]

Birdshot is for birds. Also, any load that will reliably stop a bad guy will penetrate sheetrock.

All of the other loads mentioned in this thread will work fine for self defense. In some gelatin tests the slugs actually penetrate less than some buckshot loads. Do your homework, pick the load that works best for you as determined from both your research and live fire, and play the "what if" game in your house to determine safe fields of fire.

Did I mention birdshot is for birds?

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

[LeonCarr]

That turned out nice...thanks a bunch!

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

[longhorn_92]

Who's got the best price for the Federal le133?!

[LeonCarr]

http://www.ammoseek.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.gunbot.net" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Best places to find ammo nowadays.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

[billfromtx]

I load high Brass #6's in my home defense 12 gauge shotgun...

[Kirtley91]

Ive heard that the #6 shot is best for home defense.

[Pawpaw]

Ive heard that the #6 shot is best for home defense.

Go back and read, actually read, the article linked in the first post. Examine the penetration of bird shot, then come back & tell us if you still believe that.

Bird shot is for little birdies and maybe snakes.