i never expected to encounter the "Use Birdshot for Defense" crowd here. I intended to link to a Box o'Truth article on defensive use of birdshot but it is no longer posted on the site.
Basically the Box o'Truth experiment re-enforced my opinion that birdshot lacks enough penetration to make a good defensive load. One poster there commented on a couple of EMT runs he had made to attend folks who'd caught a load of birdshot at close range. Neither victim died, and when he arrived on one scene, the gunshot victim was running around having a tantrum, threatening dire revenge and had to be forcefully subdued before he could be treated and transported to a hospital.
Small shot at home defense ranges of under 10 yards will definitely make a big nasty wound, but it will be a very shallow wound due to lack of mass and penetration.
Think about it gentlemen, Mass + Velocity + Penetration = Bad Guy Out for the Count.
Let us consider the various birdshot sizes that are frequently mentioned for defensive use. #4 shot is 0.13" diameter and weights 3.2 grains. #6 shot is 0.11" in diameter weighing 1.96 grains. #8 shot is 0.09" in diameter and weighs a whopping 1.07 grains. That takes care of the mass side of the equation.
There ain't no such thing as a high velocity shot load, and we all know it. Other than a few saboted slug loads and some heavy steel shot loads all shotgun shells produce somewhere between 1150 and 1275 fps of velocity, from a 26-28" barrel. I will freely admit I've never chronographed any shotgun load, I'm working from published data from ammo makers here. So since most of us use an 18.5" or 20" barrel for our Home Defense Shotguns, we are probably getting around 1000 fps of velocity at best, probably much less. If anyone cares to risk their sky screens testing shotshell velocities I'd greatly appreciate a chance to see their results.
Thankfully I don't have to waste time explaining to this group that the shot spread at inside the house ranges is not very impressive.
With a weight of 1 to 3 grains and a velocity less than 1275 fps, you just won't get much penetration. The result, a large but very shallow surface wound and a bad guy who is capable of continuing his attack.
Some have commented of fears of over-penetration. IMO under-penetration is a greater problem. If shot won't penetrate a wall, it also wont penetrate a body enough to be instantly incapacitating.
It is my opinion that relying upon birdshot for defensive use is even less wise than relying on a .22 LR.
So what do I recommend?
Buckshot is the answer.
Let's take a quick look at the various buckshot loads. I will leave out the #2 and #3 buckshot because i can't find load data on them at the moment. The smallest buckshot is #4 at .24" diameter and weighing 20 grains, it is loaded with 34 in 2 3/4" shells and 41 in 3" magnum shells. #1 Buckshot is .27" in diameter, weighs 40 grains and is loaded with 20 and 24 pellet loads. #0 Buckshot is .32" in diameter, weighs 50 grains and is loaded with 12 pellets in a 2 3/4" shell. The ever popular 00 Buckshot is .33" in diameter and weighs 63 grains with 9 to 15 pellets per load. 000 Buckshot is .36" diameter and weights 71 grains with 8 to 10 pellets per shell. Velocities for all pellet sizes are still in the 1150 - 1275 fps range from an hunting barrel.
if you are greatly worried about over-penetration use #4 Buckshot, unless you live in a trailer wall penetration should be pretty minimal but shooting a bad guy would be like hitting him with a fusillade of .22 LR bullets all at once. If you are less worried about over-penetration #1 Buckshot might be the answer for you. Again wall penetration danger should be moderate and you'd be whacking a bad guy with a burst of near .32 ACP slugs.
I won't waste much time extolling the power of 0, 00, and 000 Buckshot. We all know that they are devastating at close range and that their penetration power make them somewhat risky for in home use. But no one can deny their effectiveness as anti-personnel loads. All I will say is that these shells are almost as effective as popular legend makes them appear.
What do I use?
When things go bump in the night, I grab my S&W Model 686 revolver loaded with Federal Pemium 125 gr JHP's. If I think I might need a long gun I reach for my Rossi M-92 SRC in .357 Magnum loaded with the same ammo. I do keep my old Mossberg M-500 18.5" 12 gauge loaded though. When I lived in Mississippi in an old frame house within spitting distance of neighbors I kept it loaded with four #1 Buckshot and two Breneke Slugs. now that I'm back in Alabama in a brick house with more space between the neighbors I'm back to my old habit of two 00 Buckshot, followd by one Brenekee slugs, followed by two 000 Buckshot and another Breneke slug.
The rest of you gents can use whatever load you wish. These are my thoughts on the matter and the data upon which I reached my conclusions. As always, your mileage may vary. I will make one final comment before closing. If I'm forced to shoot an intruder with a shotgun, I want to make certain that my side of the story is the only one that gets told, I don't want to have the intruder to survive to sue me for blinding or disfiguring him.
Now y'all have fun, I've already put on my asbestos long john and danged if they don't look funny under a kilt!
