Target Sports

Is the defense shortgun still relevant?

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  • rpwilson

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    Is anyone concerned with overpenetration with an AR or shotgun with buckshot in a home defense situation? I have tended towards a shotgun with birdshot (#4 or #7, depending on what is left from last hunting season) or a 9mm handgun for inside the house due to overpenetration concerns
    Hurley's Gold
     

    Axxe55

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    Lost in East Texas Elhart Texas
    Is anyone concerned with overpenetration with an AR or shotgun with buckshot in a home defense situation? I have tended towards a shotgun with birdshot (#4 or #7, depending on what is left from last hunting season) or a 9mm handgun for inside the house due to overpenetration concerns
    Even buck-shot is going to lose a lot of it's energy once hitting a target. Part of my reasons for choosing a shotgun for home defense. Over-penetrations isn't as big a concern when using shotgun rounds, than most pistol or rifle rounds.
     

    rpwilson

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    Even buck-shot is going to lose a lot of it's energy once hitting a target. Part of my reasons for choosing a shotgun for home defense. Over-penetrations isn't as big a concern when using shotgun rounds, than most pistol or rifle rounds.
    I understand this is the case with hitting the target, but would it penetrate multiple layers of drywall if you miss your intended target? I do not expect a shot gun to shoot through the exterior wall of a brick or stone house unless you were shooting delibrately at the wall with a very close distance.

    Im sure someone has done some testing with different rounds shooting at a series of faux walls to test this, I wish I had the land to be able to configure and test this myself
     

    Axxe55

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    I understand this is the case with hitting the target, but would it penetrate multiple layers of drywall if you miss your intended target? I do not expect a shot gun to shoot through the exterior wall of a brick or stone house unless you were shooting delibrately at the wall with a very close distance.

    Im sure someone has done some testing with different rounds shooting at a series of faux walls to test this, I wish I had the land to be able to configure and test this myself
    Distance and pellet size would probably be the biggest factors in how much energy it lost before hitting the drywall. And drywall can be pretty dense as well.

    Over-penetration IMO is less likely a concern.

    And yes, I have in the past done some informal testing on various building materials at various distances with different shotgun loads, and pistol rounds as well, to see what expectations if I had to use them for home defense.

    That second sheet of drywall does take a lot of the energy out once it hits it. Some do go through, but the vast majority are stopped. I suspect those that do penetrate the second sheet, have lost most of their energy to kill or severely wound a person if they were on the other side. That is purely a best guess though.
     

    ZX9RCAM

    Over the Rainbow bridge...
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    I understand this is the case with hitting the target, but would it penetrate multiple layers of drywall if you miss your intended target? I do not expect a shot gun to shoot through the exterior wall of a brick or stone house unless you were shooting delibrately at the wall with a very close distance.

    Im sure someone has done some testing with different rounds shooting at a series of faux walls to test this, I
    wish I had the land to be able to configure and test this myself


    https://www.theboxotruth.com/the-box-o-truth-3-the-shotgun-meets-the-box-o-truth/
     

    TheEnabler

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    Sep 2, 2021
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    Is anyone concerned with overpenetration with an AR or shotgun with buckshot in a home defense situation? I have tended towards a shotgun with birdshot (#4 or #7, depending on what is left from last hunting season) or a 9mm handgun for inside the house due to overpenetration concerns
    There's an FBI study about this that found that 5.56 is actually less likely to overpenetrate than 9mm due mostly, if I remember correctly, to the tendency of the higher velocity rounds to tumble as soon as they hit anything.

    Here's an older article that discusses this with respect to pistol, rifle, and shotgun rounds and links to more info about the FBI study:
    Why 5.56 is safer for home defense
     

    toddnjoyce

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    There's an FBI study about this that found that 5.56 is actually less likely to overpenetrate than 9mm due mostly, if I remember correctly, to the tendency of the higher velocity rounds to tumble as soon as they hit anything.

    Here's an older article that discusses this with respect to pistol, rifle, and shotgun rounds and links to more info about the FBI study:
    Why 5.56 is safer for home defense

    Kyle Lamb also adds some great wisdom on 5.56 for home defense.

     

    msharley

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    If I might?

    #2 shot TURKEY LOADS!

    1631319647203.png
     

    msharley

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    Is that available in your area?
    Last year?

    Yes.

    This year? Who knows....

    Was at the LGS two weeks ago....he had a small selection of shotgun ammo.. Had some #2 & #5 Turkey Loads....Seller & Blow?

    I've got quite a bit.....mostly #7-1/2 for clay ducks....works good on the chinese chickens (pheasants) and bunny rabbits..

    Some #4 for steel & bowling pins....

    Some #6 for tree rats at a distance...(mostly 16ga for the left barrel) Like to get them in the "death leap" betwixt trees...

    Later, Mark
     

    billtool

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    I like my odds using this, with the 20 round drums and loaded with #4 Buck. I can fix drywall, but can’t fix dead
    So how do those Black Aces shoot? I've only seen the Firearm version of them and have shot none of them. My Ishmash Saiga 12 sports a 20 round mag and its fun as hell to shoot and utterly reliable (after some mag and gun tweeks). What's the brand of the mag?
     

    Tnhawk

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    I found a few boxes of 00 this week while at the range. During the last few months #7 seemed to be only shells available.
     
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