Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Home Defense AR Question

Well, you fellas are certainly free to use whatever you wish.

FWIW, a learned shotgun shooter does not "aim". Assuming one has done their homework and the gun fits, it is pointed, nothing more or less and as a result there is little if any memory of the barrel/target picture after the boom. Daytime, nighttime makes no difference. I would not rely on a 2-shooter, there are many styles out there that hold 5 or more. That said, I walked into a wad of hogs some years back with a H&R Topper .410 and a fist full of slugs. The Topper is a SS break action gun. 4 were dead at the scene and one waddled off somewhere else to kick the bucket. Why? Well, the first shot was at a stationary target, the rest were on the run and the 4th shot was not quite perfect. I had one in the chamber and 4 between my fingers and thumb. It ran off behind some brush before I could pull more ammo out of my pocket and I had to defend myself from #5. Li'l bastid got blood all over my jeans. Don't go into a gunfight with a fella wielding a break action shotgun and think you won after he fires twice. Might be a surprise awaiting.

I imagine most of you gents are looking at your own setting when talking about this stuff and I understand that. My own is such that it would be difficult to have a visual which provided a shot much beyond 50 yards. Long way of saying a load of heavy shot will work inside or outside, matters not one whit. If I run out of ammo for the scattergun I do have a jam-o-matic for backup.

I was fiddling around awhile back with an old damascus 12 bore double loaded with brass shells and #4 buck at the 20 yard line. Full choke on both tubes and they shot about the same patterns to the same pattern center and I considered it rather enjoyable. 30" circle on the target. I suspect that gun and load would be adequate out to around 50 yards. BTW, buckshot in the house is unnecessary and ill advised.


Thing of it is that what most don't realize is that different barrel/choke/load combinations don't always do what one might expect. I have another 12 ga that with the FC barrel will pattern a load of 00 buck in about 6" at 30 yards. Same gun with the IC barrel patterns more in line with expectations, but if one loads shells with a light shot charge (7/8oz) it will shoot 7-1/2/8/9 birdshot into absurdly small patterns at 30 yards. Somewhere in the 15"-20" size. They are all different and have many quirks.

Have fun, don't take any prisoners. They just bitch, bitch, bitch.....