When folks keep comparing the ability to hit with a handgun vs. a long gun at close range I'm not seeing a comparison of terminal effects.
A buckshot load that doesn't expand much at 7 yards will still produce a wound like a 2.00 caliber rifle vs a .356 or .451 hole. And don't lecture me about expansion, you're still talking about maybe a .60 or .70 caliber hole vs that same 2.00 caliber entry wound with more effects of individual pellets veering off course to chart even more permanent cavities in the thorax. Or even if the pellets all stay together in a clump you still have basically a 2" hole all the way through.
I did pattern several loads of buckshot through an 18" cylinder bore and a 28" modified choke bore at 7, 15 and 25 yards, and posted those results here some 5 years ago. Pics were lost to photobucket but I can reload some if anyone really wants to see them. Unless you live in a very big house with straight line distances of more than 80 feet, almost any buckshot will work. Even with the crappiest buckshot loads, within about 45 feet and given a decent shot you're still getting nine simultaneous .33 caliber hits. If you're really good with a handgun you might be able to shoot a 9mm fast but as fast as you can put another .356 pellet in the target a good man with a shotgun can put another 9 pellets on target. 1, 2, 3, vs 9, 18, 27...
Fwiw, if you can find any Federal Personal Defense loads with their Flite-Control wad, you have that 2.00 caliber long gun even from a cylinder bore at 7 yards and you'll still put 9 pellets in a close pattern out to 25. If you use some other load and want tight patterns then use a barrel with some choke in it. Choke works whether you're shooting 00 buck or #9 birdshot.
Gunnery, gunnery, gunnery. Hit the target, all else is twaddle!
