Home Forums Reloading Shotshells Shot size for home defense

I've been told #4 buckshot in 2 3/4 inch trim is the way to go. Yeas ?...Nays ?

Logansdad:
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<br>You'll here recommendations for everything from birdshot, 7 1/2s or 8s on down to 000. It really depends on your circumstances. If you are in a rural area with no small kids in your house, go for bigger shot, like 4 buck or larger. If you have kids or other individuals in your home that you have to consider re wall penetration, then 6s are probably a good choice. But, you have to remember, at very close ranges any shot charge, even 6s, will act almost like a slug and go through the average wall like a hot knife through butter. The second wall will stop most of the smaller shot easily though, due to spreading and dissipation of energy.
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<br>If you live in an apartment you should get 6s or smaller for sure.
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<br>If I knew that I was going to have to defend my home with a shotgun, considering my circumstance, rural, kids upstairs, then I would use 1 buck through 00.
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<br>Remember, if you hit them center mass, wall penetration is not a real concern.

Inside the house you are measuring distances in feet. At that range anything will do fine. You sure don't need magnum loads. As IIFID said be sure you hit because a shot load will go right through dry wall like it isn't even there. If you don't believe it just get some scrap sheet rock and tack it to a couple of 2x4s and test it. Your pattern won't be over a couple of inches and you can miss. Outside up to about thirty yards or so I like #4 buck as it is almost impossible not to get at least a couple of pellets in the target
<br>BCR

I keep my 12 ga loaded with # 4 buck. It carries 21 pellets as opposed to the 12 pellets in a load of OO buck. My 20 ga. is loaded with # 3 buck ( that's 20 pellets, each is close to .25 caliber ). I would limit the range of a shot gun to about thirty yards with any size buck shot. But that's far enough for self defense in my opinion. At "inside the house" distance any size shot will work. The pattern will be so tight that it would act as a solid slug.
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<br>I have read what Peter Capstick has to say on the subject. He considered a wounded lepord to be the most dangerous thing on earth. When he went into the thick after them his choice was a model 12 Winchester and # 1 buckshot. Since he lived to write several books on the subject I figure it must have worked.
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<br>In an article he wrote about the effectivness of buck shot he said any size from # 4 to # 1 is good if it patterns well in your gun.
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<br>Law enforcement may have a different view as they are concerned with penetration of windshelds and car doors. Their requirements might lean toward larger and harder shot. Again I have no experience here just conjucture based on my general knowledge of shot gun performance on game.
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<br>I do know one thing, the sum of being hit with a pattern of shot is greater than the indivuial effect of each pellet. Which is why I would prefer 20 .25 caliber pellets delivered in one punch to 12 .33 caliber pellets. The amount of lead may be equal in weight but the damage to the target would be greater with twice as many pellets. Or so it seams to me. If anyone can prove me wrong please feel free to do so.

I'm not going to argue on buckshot size choices with you, but I can tell you that Capstick is not a good source for reliable information.
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<br>The "shock" value of multiple hits with smaller pellets for birds has been debated on and off for years. Frankly I think it is BS and the only reason it has any proponents is that sometimes smaller pellets manage to hit the head, neck area and kill the bird in pretty convincing fashion. As far as birds go, give me the largest size of shot that is reasonable for the conditions and the size of the bird and I'll like my chances better than those of someone with smaller shot unless they have a really good dog to help find their cripples. I can assure you from thousands of birds killed and watching others kill a few thousand more that any shot size will work when they are close, but on the margins, small shot means many more lost birds. And, your effective killing ranges are much shorter for this reason. JMHO.
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<br>Whether this carries over to humans or not, I'm not qualified to answer, but the army used 00 and knowing the army, I suspect they didn't just pick that out without some testing. Until someone comes up with some convincing contrary evidence I'll choose 00 if I thought it was going to be used for self defense. Guess it is sort of the idea of whether you would rather hit a bad guy with one .45 or 2 .32s, I'll take the .45.

USE 000 MOST DEFINATELY BECAUSE IF YOU GET IT IN A 3"INCH MAG IT WILL BLOW RIGHT TROUGH YOUR BADGUY AND INTO YOUR WALL OR WHATEVERS BEHIND EM.

Skeet loads or spreader loads if in an apartment or if you have family in the home. If you are by yourself in a single family residence, any buck load will do. In across the room shooting, realize you'll have most of the shot still in the wad and hitting like a large single projectile.
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<br>000 will work on the trolls but tactically you have to hold fire if there are friendlies anywhere within 4 wall partitions.

I don't know if this is a concern or not - but I know that there are legal ramifications to using handloads in a self defense situation when it comes to handguns. Most every CCW class teaches that you should use commercially loaded ammo appropriate for the situation or you could leave yourself WIDE open for a civil lawsuit even if you were otherwise 100% in the right.

As far as using shotgun in selfdefense situations I would think that the same logic applies - i.e., whatever you use, from 7-1/2 target loaded birdshot for appartment dwellers to 000 Buck for the rural crowd I'd just make sure it's something comercial.