shotgun home defense load...
I've seen where #4 buckshot is recommended because it does not overpenetrate interior walls as bad as 00 buck. However cannot find any data on low recoil 00 buck as compared to #4 buckshot. Anybody have a link or any info that would be helpful?
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No offense! But I believe at close range, ( inside a home ), all loads even birdshot, are going to blast through interior walls. 0 -
None taken.
However, I was curious as to how many walls it would penetrate.0 -
Check out theboxoftruth.com
They've performed lots of firearm/drywall tests with shotgun loads.0 -
The basis of the recommendation to use smaller pellet size is that the pellets do not have as much momentum and will shed energy faster than large pellets. At in-the-house ranges the pattern of almost any shotgun charge is going to be less than 6" across and will pack a tremendous wallop. In the winter in colder areas the adversary may be wearing very heavy clothing which will reduce the penetration greatly as well. You need to make an informed decision based on your individual needs. The "low-recoil" OO loads run about 300-400 fps slower than the high-velocity 2 3/4" loads. Some, also, use an 8 pellet load instead of 9. 0 -
Personally, I prefer the #1 buck load. I find it the best compromise between projectile energy and wall over penetration in case of a miss.
The slightly smaller pellet(.30 for #1 .33 for 00) carries a bit less individual energy, but the 3-5 greater pellets in the shell make up for it overall.
The #4 buck (.24) is smaller/less individually energetic still. If I lived in an apartment/condo building the #4 would probably better suit my needs.
Whatever you choose, make sure it is reliable in your shotgun. IMO that is by far the most important thing when choosing a defensive loading. The most wazoo loads out there mean nothing if they don't function in your gun of choice.
(As an aside, I will never trust my life to birdshot. They might make nasty looking superficial wounds, but I don't want to scar somebody trying to kill me, I want to STOP them.)0 -
I have observed a buck deer shot with #6 shot. It went down instantly. Has anyone heard of anyone shot inside a house with birdshot that kept on coming? 0 -
Over the past 22 years I've seen lots of people who had been shot with birdshot at various distances that were injured. Some very seriously, some not at all. I can recall where one died (16 yr old gangster being showed a stolen shotgun was shot at 2' in the chest) although I am 100% certain that it can happen with birdshot more often than my personal experience has provided. The ones that I have seen shot with buckshot were all DRT. (Dead Right There)
If you want to count on birdshot to work for you I have no problem with that at all; if you're comfortable with birdshot it's your choice and it can be a dang good one if everything lines up. [:)]
Personally, I won't recommend to folks anything that I won't do or use myself. If I am protecting my castle and armed with my 12 gauge I won't throw a load of birdshot at someone trying to do me or mine harm. I am going to throw something designed for taking down man-sized animals that comes with a track record of effectiveness.
So for me and my shotgun buckshot is that load. And of the various sizes I prefer the Federal maximum load 2 3/4" #1, but will feel well served with any of the various #00 loads also. Like I said, almost anything fired from a shotgun can stop a threat; I choose to use, and recommend others use on this forum and in classes I teach, proven anti-personnel rounds.
(Slugs carry too much risk in an urban enviornment, and WILL penetrate a barn from stem to stern... including through 2 stalls and an 8x8 center post. That's a bit too much penetration for me to use them)0 -
My take is as follows:
If you're picking a round for defense, the #1 priority is to make sure it works for defense.
You have to weigh the likelihood of you missing your shot then having the pellets go through one or several walls and hit someone else, vs hitting your target and your round(s) not doing the job. Remember, you're only firing your gun (by definition) in a life or death situation, and you may only have time to get off one shot.
Lets make it a little more simple.
I can stick my FIST through a sheet of drywall. I can poke a good hole in a sheet of drywall with the pen in my pocket. Even a decent air rifle will punch a hole through at least a sheet (if not more than one). If your shotgun pellets *WON'T* go through at LEAST SEVERAL sheets of drywall, I think you've got good reason to worry about their effectiveness at their primary role as a self-defense tool.
In short, I'm saying, its good to be concerned about the potential for overpenetration, but there is room to be TOO concerned! First pick the round that will stop the bad guy, then worry about overpenetration.
On birdshot, while that can work, since I think everyone agrees that birdshot is suboptimal for defense and best used on birds, and since the original question wasn't asking about birdshot, I'm leaving it there.
The specific question is about reduced recoil 00 buck vs #4 buck.
Bluntly, I don't have a link to external penetration comparison testing, though I'd imagine its been done.
Confusing this issue a bit, there are different flavors of "reduced recoil" 00 buck depending on who is making it. Some shells have less powder, some have fewer pellets, and some have fewer pellets AND less powder. So a comprehensive answer would have to test ALL of these.
But presumably, any shell firing fewer otherwise identical pellets at the SAME velocity will offer the same penetration per pellet.
In other words, at least some of the "reduced recoil" #00 loads should offer NO DIFFERENCE in penetration compared to ordinary #00 shells.
Whether that's "good or bad" depends on your situation and personal preference.
My understanding is that a lot of the police agencies that had switched to #4 shot to reduce overpenetration have since switched back to 00 buckshot, because the #4 wasn't working so well on bad guys.
Given that choice, personally I'd prefer the "reduced recoil" 00 buck to #4 because of a presumably better wound profile, but again that's just my take on this.
In practice, my home defense gun is a .357 magnum revolver that offers more penetration than any 00 buckshot load anyway! Pretty much any handgun bigger than a .38 special is going to offer more penetration than a 00 buck pellet, and that's a useful frame of reference, I think.0 -
Don't think that you need buckshot. My own is loaded with 1 3/8 ounce of copper plated 6's. Ever see what a shotgun will do at 25 feet. 0
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