I'd stick with buckshot, one needs to survive the unlikely encounter before the even less likely extraneous possibilities come into play.
I am not a fan of bird shot, even at close range. Nearly 30 years ago Minneapolis and surrounding cities had a spate of shootings that occurred during robberies of drug buyers. Seven of those shootings involved a shotgun using 6 or 7.5 birdshot at racongested of a few yards as the shots were fired from the front seat of a van to the rear doors. 6 of the seven were shot in the body, the seventh was shot in the face.
Two of the first group and the seventh survived thier wounds. All were able to travel at least 50' from where they had been shot which means they had the potential to harm others if they would have been armed and/or would not have been taken by surprise.
NYPD, Illinois Sate Patrol, and other departments used to issue #6 birdshot to prevent over penetration. They found, through painful experience, this practice left the officer wanting on too many occasions. All have long gone to buckshot as their standard load.
Last edited by woodmaster81; 09/03/20.
