home defence shotgun?

[Fishaholic]

i got a pump action mossberg 500. first round is a 3 inch #4 buckshot. next is a 1 oz slug. follwed by 2-3/4 inch buckshot then slug then buckshot ect. think the 3 inch # 4 is to much for home defence? i mean my #6 steel shot pokes a nice 2 and a half  round hole threw plywood at 15 feet and thats the longest shot i will have to take in my house

[sirmissalot]

There is no such thing as too much in my opinion. If it comes down to it, I want that guy as dead as I can get him.

Mines fully loaded with 3 inch 15 pellet 00 buck, except for the last one is a 2 3/4 9 pellet because it wouldn't fit another 3 incher.

[KFhunter]

6 shot would be a plenty at those ranges, and it wouldn't travel through your drywall so bad.


a slug goes a long ways through walls

[KFhunter]

If you gotta have buckshot, you could go to the low recoil stuff.  It'll still be plenty.

I've shot lots of it, and it's got a good wallop still.

[Fishaholic]

honestly i rather have a intruder with half of his face and or head splattered on my wall  and lots of clean up then him hurt my family.

[sirmissalot]

KFhunter has a good point though about bullets traveling through walls and harming others, including family. I'll stick to buckshot but something to think about for sure.

[RadSav]

8 or 9 shot if you have kids in the house.  Safest you can get if you shot a wall going to their bedroom.  If just the spouse and yourself #4 or 5.  Even with a straight tube at distances you will use in a house it's pattern is going to be very tight.

[Fishaholic]

over penatration is not a good thing in a home defence situation. good call switching to all buckshot. our bedrooms are right next to each other and there is only one way in and thats past my room and i have a shot from my bedroom door to the front door and i have 3 locks on my doors and i live in a upstairs apt. so maybe i should use birdshot.

[jaymark6655]

At 15 feet #8 2-3/4 will go through an interior wall and rip a gallon milk jug with water wide open.  Some of the pellets will pass throught the water jug, but most are stopped by that.  Someday I will post the video, I shot it because all the test I have seen where at 30 feet and most houses don't have 30 foot rooms.
Basically, just about everything will go through walls and hurt someone on the other side.

[CP]

from http://www.chuckhawks.com/ammo_by_anonymous.htm

"Two things to keep in mind about birdshot. The first is that birdshot is as lethal as buckshot at very close range. Don't believe for a second that you can just wound someone with birdshot and he'll go on to live another day. If you aren't justified in killing a man, you aren't justified in wounding him, either. Never shoot to wound. I once again direct you to read Ayoob's In the Gravest Extreme and learn the truth.

The second thing is that birdshot can make a lot of sense for home defense. I keep my home-defense 12 gauge loaded with two #4 birdshot rounds followed by 00 buck. Birdshot is less likely to penetrate multiple interior walls and kill innocent people on the other side and has lower recoil than buckshot for faster follow-up shots (I live in a thin-walled apartment house. However, if I lived in a solid house with a lot of land around, I would definitely choose buckshot instead). The stopping power of birdshot should not be under-estimated: at ranges out to thirty feet or so, birdshot is virtually a solid column of lead. Choose any #4 or BB high brass lead hunting load. I like the Federal Classic Lead Hi-Brass #4 birdshot (HI26-4) and Winchester Super-X #4 high brass birdshot (X12-4), but there is little difference between the various choices. Buy whichever you please. If you're a bird hunter, use your favorite hunting shells, as long as they are #6 or larger."


That being said, I won’t use 7 ½ or 8 shot.  I went through the shooting of the hat ritual when I shot my first 25 straight in trap.  About 15 guys were blazing away at my hat at about 30 feet and many of the pellets lodged in the fabric of the brim.  That’s not the penetration that I want in a HD load.

[Fishaholic]

no  kidding i want a hole not just a bit of penatration.

[jaymark6655]

Here is the video as promised.  Next time I think I should put a watermelon in some blue jeans and see what happens.
http://youtu.be/1Yq78Il2nis

[Fishaholic]

didnt know that. almost seams birdshot is better then slugs at close ranges

[RadSav]

I would like to see that with the water jug a bit further away from the wall as most occupants of the house will not be up against it.  It is nice to know if an assailant is up against the wall you may still have some options with birdshot.  I'd still be more comfortable with birdshot in a home invasion than buck shot if I had children in the house.

[jaymark6655]

I would like to see that with the water jug a bit further away from the wall as most occupants of the house will not be up against it.  It is nice to know if an assailant is up against the wall you may still have some options with birdshot.  I'd still be more comfortable with birdshot in a home invasion than buck shot if I had children in the house.

Yeah, when I was setting this up I didn't think it would go through.  Based on what people had said about 30 feet, I though it would go through one side and bounce off kind of like 5.56 does to a cinder block.  How far do you think I should put the "person" from the wall?

I have a few birdshot followed by some slugs.  I also like to keep a loaded AR right next to it so I have options.