There's a guy at my rod and gun club whose friend woke up with 2 guys in his house. He grabbed his shotgun and walked out his bedroom door. One of the guys took a shot at him with a pistol and he returned the favor with birdshot. The guys got out the door before he was willing to follow, but there was blood on the floor, and he was sure he got a good shot on the guy.
One, I had a lawyer tell me once that I'd be much easier to defend for shooting a guy with my bird gun and bird shot than I would if I shot a guy with a SPAS 12 and a tactical defense buckshot load. He said that the prosecution would be sure to mention to the jury "Riot Gun" and "Personal Defense" or "Police" or "Military Grade" loads. I should stay away from shells called Shredders or Splattermatics or whatever... The jury would be led to believe I was some nut holed up waiting to blast someone.
What concerns me is if my friend's guy shot an intruder that got a round off in his direction, and he made it out the door, he was still on his feet and could have shot at him some more. The guy had a pistol! If he did pattern his gun on the guy with birdshot, I'd like something more. I wonder if something like our old 1 1/2 #4 lead goose rounds would have done better. It'd blow the snot and feathers off any goose that flew too close.
