Quote:
Originally Posted by Byte1
"Reality?" Have you ever fired a shotgun inside a structure, such as a home? Yes, a shotgun is very effective. Yes, it is a very good self defense weapon. However, I hope you are prepared to refurbish your home afterward. I have personally seen how much damage a shotgun does in a home and how messy a body torn apart by a shotgun can be. Thank goodness I did not have to clean up the mess. And you are wrong regarding a shotgun NOT penetrating an interior wall. And I hope you do not have someone else in the house that you are firing that shotgun in when you fire it. Hopefully, you won't hit someone else because the pattern spreads as it moves away from the muzzle, as I am sure you KNOW since you seem to know so much about firearms. Perhaps, you would prefer to use rubber bullets on the intruder or a flare gun?  Personally, if I was better with my throwing arm, maybe I would chuck a few tomatoes to scare the bad guy away  |
Well, I do know a few things about firearms and a very SIMPLE KNOWN fact is that the pellets from a shotgun do NOT, definitely NOT, BEGIN spreading out at the end of the barrel. That is because from about 1960 on most, if not all, shotgun shells are made with the pellets enclosed in a PLASTIC cup. This was designed to give any given shotgun a LONGER range - duck and pheasant hunters LOVED the improvement.
The shot charge moves as one mass (of lead pellets and plastic cup) for about 20 yards and then the pellets begin to spread out in a conical pattern. The choke of the shotgun also has a slight influence. Less than most people think.
.......as far as using a shotgun for home defense goes - one needs to be aware of the shot pellet size - 00 is used for killing deer - number 2 or 4 for geese and turkey - number 6 or 7.5 for pheasant - number 8 for doves and quail.
So, the 00 shot could penetrate drywall, but would lose a lot of energy doing it. Personally, I would choose about number 5 shot for home defense. And personally, I don't see much difference in the amount of danger caused by an erratic shot for a family member in another room BETWEEN a shotgun and an AR-15 type rifle chambered for a .223 cartridge. And the same thing for a pistol cartridge. Of those options, I would think that the shotgun would be somewhat safer.