buckshot vs slug for home defense ?

satx78247 · May 27, 2018

ZX9RCAM said:
satx78247,

May I suggest you reread the OP.
He is asking about home defense.
He is not asking about a family farm.

ZX9RCAM,

Not only was our farmhouse our home back then but in suburbia, you may well be PREYED UPON by roving gangs of thugs & HAVE to shoot out into your yard.
I'd guess that it depends on what you mean by "home defense". = Just the house itself or including the surrounding lawn, too.
(Some private properties in Bexar County are 2-10 acres.)

yours, satx

toddnjoyce · May 27, 2018

grasshopperglock said:
You wake up and somebody is standing in the doorway. 3 seconds. Count it off. It's a long a time. One banana, two banana, three banana.

15-20'. You have to be asleep. Buck or slug.

If I wake up with someone standing in the doorway, then I deserve to be shot. That means everything else I do to prevent that from happening has failed.

ZX9RCAM · May 27, 2018

satx,

You realize, in this thread so far, which the OP asks about home defense, YOU are the only person talking about large acreage tracts, correct?

seeker_two · May 27, 2018

Why not both? Buckshot in the tube and slugs in the buttcuff....that's what I do.

satx78247 · May 27, 2018

ZX9RCAM said:
satx,

You realize, in this thread so far, which the OP asks about home defense, YOU are the only person talking about large acreage tracts, correct?

ZX9RCAM,

Inasmuch as I once lived near The Woodlands & know a little about that area, I'd bet that your home (IF you're in a freestanding house) is on a larger piece of property than the average city lot.

Once more, I guess what "home defense" means to a person has a lot to do with where they were raised/live.

In any case, it seems to me that you're quibbling over essentially ZILCH of importance. = I suggest that we agree to disagree on this & move on.

yours, satx

ZX9RCAM · May 28, 2018

satx78247 said:
ZX9RCAM,
In any case, it seems to me that you're quibbling over essentially ZILCH of importance. = I suggest that we agree to disagree on this & move on.

yours, satx

What you are quibbling about started in post 15, when you quoted my comment and tried to use your earlier post (#5) where you had changed the OPs criteria and started all this.

Ole Cowboy · May 28, 2018

I prefer slugs

pharmaco · Aug 13, 2018

grasshopperglock said:
You wake up and somebody is standing in the doorway. 3 seconds. Count it off. It's a long a time. One banana, two banana, three banana.

15-20'. You have to be asleep. Buck or slug.

If they barge into my bedroom at 3am, they sure are gonna see one banana

Darqhelmet · Aug 13, 2018

Buckshot.

avvidclif · Aug 13, 2018

#6 shot. Not as much penetration thru walls etc. Less chance of going into a neighbors house. They may not be immediate dead but they will be. Ask an emergency room Dr about someone shot with birdshot and if they can fix it.

Lunyfringe · Aug 13, 2018

#4 buck is good for close range, won't overpenetrate... but won't penetrate deep, either.

#1 buck will have energy farther, and penetrate more... decent compromise

00 buck has more likelyhood to overpenetrate, but will do lots of damage.

Slugs will go right thru walls, studs, appliances, etc.

Since it's a shotgun, I say mix it up... start with #4 and work your way up... could also keep slugs on the sling or in a carrier.

I'm partial to my Benelli M1 S90... so no carrier that could interfere with recoil action- on the sling is OK... not likely with 3" shells anyway.

Lunyfringe · Aug 13, 2018

avvidclif said:
#6 shot. Not as much penetration thru walls etc. Less chance of going into a neighbors house. They may not be immediate dead but they will be. Ask an emergency room Dr about someone shot with birdshot and if they can fix it.

Depends on the range... but I'd never recommend birdshot for home defense... unless you're thinking you'll be attacked by birds. Once the pattern opens up at all, the penetration is very shallow... very little energy per pellet. he'll be pissed off for sure, though

ETA: while you may be able to get a lethal shot at close range, it's dependent on your bad guy cooperating... if he hides behind stuff, or otherwise makes it difficult for you to shoot him or his deadly friends at close range, it won't be very effective. It certainly won't over-penetrate, tho... you got me there.

General Zod · Aug 13, 2018

Birdshot's too likely to be slowed down enough by heavy clothing to become more of an annoyance than a deterrent. I'd stick to buckshot. I remember reading a test back in the mid '80s in American Rifleman trying to find the "perfect" home defense buckshot load. They built interior walls out of boards and sheetrock and hung goat carcasses in front of and behind them. Slugs overpenetrated, going through the goat, the wall, and well into the next goat. 00 buck tended to overpenetrate but didn't consistently go through the entire goat like slugs did. #4 buck seemed to be the best compromise between penetration and overpenetration.

pharmaco · Aug 14, 2018

avvidclif said:
#6 shot. Not as much penetration thru walls etc. Less chance of going into a neighbors house. They may not be immediate dead but they will be. Ask an emergency room Dr about someone shot with birdshot and if they can fix it.

Ohhhhhhhh boy

oldag · Aug 14, 2018

Pretty much anything is going to penetrate through the first wall.

You want a load that stands a good chance of rendering the perp unable/unwilling to continue.

Inside the home, I am not sure what advantage would be gained by slug over buckshot.

As for those discussing shooting from the home to the outside at some distance, that is what rifles are for...

majormadmax · Aug 14, 2018

avvidclif said:
Ask an emergency room Dr about someone shot with birdshot and if they can fix it.

Harry M. Whittington, in February 2006 he was accidentally shot by then-Vice President Dick Cheney with 200 pellets of birdshot at about 30 yards (some claimed it was even closer) while hunting.

majormadmax · Aug 14, 2018

OO-buckshot, but I have stone exterior on 3/4ths of the lower floor of my house...

I need something that will penetrate walls and furniture, so I use 3" Magnum shells! :rocket:

pharmaco · Aug 14, 2018

I keep my 590 loaded with OLD #4 buck, but it's not a first-line gun

Texas Heat · Aug 14, 2018

mwrookie said:
I just tried this exercise. Laying down jumped out of bed grabbed my pistol (safe and clear) and aimed at the front door..3.3 sec. So with that I do not see how one can grab a shotgun shoulder it and get on target all out of a dead sleep in 3 sec.

So my question is..based on your 3 sec rule would you say the pistol is the best "bump in the night" weapon?

You're gonna need this and then it's still iffy.

seeker_two · Aug 15, 2018

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buckshot vs slug for home defense ?

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