Shotgun Load for Home Defense

More then enough in your mind. I will still take 28 rounds of .223 every day of the week.

To get the job done? No doubt! But for a home protection, my biggest concern is overpenetration, and shooting a rifled slug or even 00buck could get to the neighbors house, which is why I suggested the #6shot with the extra full....remember, every round fired down range has a lawyer attached to it!
 
To get the job done? No doubt! But for a home protection, my biggest concern is overpenetration, and shooting a rifled slug or even 00buck could get to the neighbors house, which is why I suggested the #6shot with the extra full....remember, every round fired down range has a lawyer attached to it!

If you are ok with pissing off the bad guy instead ripping holes through him so he bleeds out faster, that is your decision. If you are comfortable with it, you shouldn't feel the need to defend it.

Bird shot is for shooting birds.
 
In Vietnam I carried a Ithica 37 pump,4 + 1 with a duckbill , 50 rounds of# 4 buck , 2 3/4 inch.along with a CAR -15...... number four is plenty good.
 
Any shotgun that will reliably penetrate Mongo will also reliably penetrate light home construction. Bird shot won't reliably penetrate far enough to properly ventilate Mongo. All of the instructors that I've had have recommended buckshot.

As for slugs, the purpose of slugs is to extend the range of the shotgun when you really need a rifle but all you have is the shotgun. You don't need a slug's range inside your house. Nor do you need the extra recoil. Nor do you need the extreme over penetration that comes with slugs. If you happen to run outside with your shotgun and need to take a 40 yard shot, sure, stuff in a slug. But if Mongo is down the hall, buckshot is a better bet.
 
It didn't bother me any, but I never really gave it too much thought. Some folks seem to chase their tails in circles over MA law, and shotguns are a weird one to try and comprehend.

Not really, this particular law is pretty clear if you actually read it. Just another one Glidden got wrong. Add it to the list.
 
Not really, this particular law is pretty clear if you actually read it. Just another one Glidden got wrong. Add it to the list.

Sorry, I read "why wouldn't it?"

I agree the law is pretty clear, but that ex-cop's opinion is supposed to carry weight. Like I said, I didn't worry much about it then, and I surely don't care much about it now. I was just trying to point out that the shotgun thing is not so cut and dry.
 
I agree the law is pretty clear, but that ex-cop's opinion is supposed to carry weight.

So you're saying that the law is more confusing because of this guy that the governor appointed? You don't say. [wink]
 
To get the job done? No doubt! But for a home protection, my biggest concern is overpenetration, and shooting a rifled slug or even 00buck could get to the neighbors house, which is why I suggested the #6shot with the extra full....remember, every round fired down range has a lawyer attached to it!
Have you ever built a mock up of the walls in your home and then shot through them? Serious question.
Short of shooting through a window 00 buck loses energy quick going through walls.

Using a gun inside the home is the same as outsidewhen we are talking about stray rounds.
 
This shows that some pellets penetrated the equivalent of 4 walls. I'm sure they're slowing down by the end but there's still enough energy in the third room to get into the fourth.
 
Have you ever built a mock up of the walls in your home and then shot through them? Serious question.
Short of shooting through a window 00 buck loses energy quick going through walls.

Using a gun inside the home is the same as outsidewhen we are talking about stray rounds.


No, I've never done that, but I have seen the aftermath of overpenetration. It should also be noted that the concern is for people inside the home as well, God forbid you fire 00 buck and hit a family member in the next room. It why I advocate for #6 and an extra full choke. It's better than number 8 shot, and at 20 ft, it's devastating while cutting down on the risk of hurting anything but your intended target.
 
A guy I met at Womack Hospital at Ft Bragg wife shot him with bird shot. (He was a D Bag...) and he put his hand up and took most of the pellets in the hand. His X ray looked hillarious!
He probably will not cheat on her again, but he was OK after they picked out the pellets... I do not know the details distance, guage etc...

Question: What are the differnt loads which should be shot from a rifled barrel Vs. a smoothbore shotgun barrel?
 
My unasked for train of thought :

There is t much that's " defensive" about firing a shotgun at another person. Pepper spray is defensive , running out the back door is defensive. Pointing a gun at a home invader , to me , is more in the category of " fighting back."

I am a " Condition White " oblivious suburban sport shooter. But I lock my doors at night , I don't associate with people who are going to burst into my house at night unannounced , I have large dogs with enough doggy behavior to alert me to weirdness.

A chain of events that leads to me reaching for my Home Defense gun , ( which , by the way is a shotgun ) is pretty much going to be firmly in the " fight back zone. "

In the terrible scenario where I am fighting with a 12g pump gun , I want it to be able to hit things really really hard. I might actually want to be able to shoot through a wall.
 
My unasked for train of thought :

There is t much that's " defensive" about firing a shotgun at another person. Pepper spray is defensive , running out the back door is defensive. Pointing a gun at a home invader , to me , is more in the category of " fighting back.".

I disagree most strongly. Resisting a home invader is by definition defensive. There is a continuum of force that may be applied -- from command voice, to OC spray, to putting hands on, to empty hand strikes, up to and including deadly force. But regardless of the force that must be used, that force is still applied to defend you and yours.
 
There is t much that's " defensive" about firing a shotgun at another person. Pepper spray is defensive , running out the back door is defensive. Pointing a gun at a home invader , to me , is more in the category of " fighting back."

Much like your screen name, your logic is shared by many who set in place wonderfully restrictive gun laws for the all but the criminals and connected to enjoy.
 
Much like your screen name, your logic is shared by many who set in place wonderfully restrictive gun laws for the all but the criminals and connected to enjoy.

Uhm , what ? Please elaborate.

Perhaps you are implying I don't condone shooting a violent home invader ? If that's the case you're mistaken. I condone using 00B and being sure to end the danger decisively.
 
I disagree most strongly. Resisting a home invader is by definition defensive. There is a continuum of force that may be applied -- from command voice, to OC spray, to putting hands on, to empty hand strikes, up to and including deadly force. But regardless of the force that must be used, that force is still applied to defend you and yours.

Sure I get it. This thread has skipped the continuum up the part where we are discussing what type of shotgun load we are going to fire into the body of another person. My statement about defense vs offense was a psychological / semantic point about choosing to fight back. Fighting defensively is a losing game. Feel free to disagree , I don't want to change anybody's mind about anything.
 
I bought some Speer Lawman #4 buck which I thought is a good fit for an urban home setting. But they don't make it anymore.

What is the USGI 00 buck load like?
 
Well , less recoil than a slug and heavier than the 7 & 8 I like to confetti-ize junk when goofing at the range. My 500 has a Hougue overmold stock set with a half decent pad built in so it's not bad , but I don't spend afternoons plinking with it.
 
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