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I've never understood the perception of many folks that using bird or small shot is as viable as using 000 or 00, or slug for that matter.
If it's a penetration issue if one misses and you're worried about wall penetrations, then perhaps more range time is in order. Know what you're shooting at, and know what's behind it, etc.
I had to go back and I laughed a bit. If you noticed I have a series of buckshot in my Mossberg. That's all buckshot and a sluggie last. I don't use low recoil, or low brass rounds. I use 3" high brass. #4 buckshot doesn't recoil nearly as hard as 00 and it patterns much nicer.
I would, in a pinch, load my goose rounds which are 3" BB- it does pack a punch, especially at close range. It's actually not bad as a first round in the chamber.
#4 birdshot is pretty damaging, and if that's all I had I would't lose much sleep, but I use buckshot, in variety, but always #4 first.
Thanks for the clarification, much much better choice
In my area it's not uncommon for perps to have some kind of armor...usually soft, but plates are very easy to get. That changes the equation a bit for me. I've gone away from shotguns for HD.
Typical shotgun spread is 1" per yard or less for buckshot using a short cylinder bore barrel (typical home defense shotgun). So shooting across a 15-ft room would give you about a 5" circle or less. Unless the OP is shooting across a massive indoor room, aiming is still a requirement.
True, but the 5" shot pattern on one of my 12 gauges still leaves a much larger margin for error than the .5" inch shot pattern on my Colt .45.
That said, though, I still feel more comfortable with the .45 for home defense. The shotgun is just too unwieldy. I can't predict the exact scenario in which every imaginable gunfight against a home intruder might possibly take place, but there are a lot of situations where I may have to act very suddenly and have to maneuver in very tight quarters. I may not always be able to bring a long-barreled weapon to bear on a moving target, but with my .45 I have a lot more flexibility in terms of movement and concealment. I just think the .45, with 10 rounds of Gold Dot ammo, is a better all-purpose option.
I would like to go camping this summer and plan to pocket carry my .380, but will check on laws.
People that haven't had to need a gun, really need it and don't have it, won't understand those of us that have been through things and do.
I always carry my .45 when I'm hiking and camping. I carry it primarily for black bears, but wouldn't hesitate to use it against a human if my life were in danger. I don't care whether or not it's legal in state or national parks; I wouldn't draw it unless my life were in danger, and if it ever comes to that, I'll take my chances on explaining myself later.
Thanks for the clarification, much much better choice
In my area it's not uncommon for perps to have some kind of armor...usually soft, but plates are very easy to get. That changes the equation a bit for me. I've gone away from shotguns for HD.
Cheap decently effective hard plates are now cheaper than soft armor. Its something LE will have to adapt to as it becomes more and more prevalent.
I had to go back and I laughed a bit. If you noticed I have a series of buckshot in my Mossberg. That's all buckshot and a sluggie last. I don't use low recoil, or low brass rounds. I use 3" high brass. #4 buckshot doesn't recoil nearly as hard as 00 and it patterns much nicer.
I would, in a pinch, load my goose rounds which are 3" BB- it does pack a punch, especially at close range. It's actually not bad as a first round in the chamber.
#4 birdshot is pretty damaging, and if that's all I had I would't lose much sleep, but I use buckshot, in variety, but always #4 first.
But why? Why would you load it like that?
Do you feel that you are delivering increasingly effective loads the further into the mag you go? Why would you do that? It's almost an admission of not feeling the most urgent need to stop someone, implying you would build up to actually stopping them vs. Trying as hard as you can asap. See what I mean? Why not just get. It. Done?
The second issue is let's say you fire at multiple targets a few times. Its hard to remember if you fired 5 OT 6 shots sometimes. Read or watch a few ois interviews. Officers empty mags and think they only fired a couple of times. Or have no concept of it. So...let's say you've fired a few times and now must make a precise shot due to the location or proximity of the perp to a loved one...is that slug up...or more buck? Did you count 5 or 6? Or are you on 00 or what? What pattern will be thrown? You sure?
Ymmv, but I'm not a fan of tactical dice rolling when I pull th3 trigger. I want to know what's coming out of the barrel.
Live in a good area, lock your doors and stop making guns available to children in the home. Too many kids accidentally die because of people living in fear, justifying the need for guns in the home for self defence IMO.
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