Home Defense rounds for apartment living.
- Thread starter CARRIMA
- Start date
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Might be fun to play around with when out with buddies, but no way I would trust my life to a gimmick round.
There was a gun related show on cable TV a few weeks ago. The narrator was adamant that a home defense shotgun loaded with copper plated #4s was the perfect defense weapon. I competed for many years in registered Trap and Skeet competitions. I am well aware of the damage even #9 loads can do. If you are a "show me" type of guy, then buy yourself a good sized watermelon. Take it somewhere that will allow you to shoot it. Stand back 15 to 20 feet and fire away. If your aim is good, the watermelon will disappear. I have send many a helpless watermelon to heaven during my shotgun lessons. Note, I said if your aim is good. Same with any rifle or handgun. A Barrett .50 cal won't help you, if you can't put lead on target.
Seriously underpowered and do not feed in a manner I'd consider reliable. It can require modifying the shotgun to get them to feed at all.
12 Gauge Birdshot For Home Defense??? - YouTube
#8 shot from a 12-gauge. And no denim. And, he doesn't use true ballistic gel, he uses Sim-Test, but -- still quite illustrative. The pellets went about 4" to 6", and even one that made it to almost 12" (of course, that's out of 492 pellets, barely a few made it further than about 6"). You have to assume the denim would have slowed them down, and denim isn't really that big a deal on a solid projectile test; denim is largely used with hollow points to see if they'll plug up the cavity and cause bullet failure; that's not an issue with an FMJ or buck.
So, yeah, pretty much pointless for self defense -- unless perhaps at point blank range.
For a little comparison, check out what the same tester found with 12-gauge 00 buck.
SHOTGUN 00 BUCKSHOT Ballistic Gel Test - YouTube
Fast-forward to about 2:10; the buckshot picks up the block impressively, and it breaks the table.
txinvestigator
TGT Addict
Haahaa, I will keep that in mind if I am ever attacked by a watermelon, or something that behaves like watermelon when shot.......
From another perspective (and I've shot a few boxes of these rounds) an underpowered shotgun is still a shotgun. If someone is leaving a coach gun behind the kitchen door for emergency use by the less-skilled folks in the house, these shells may have some use. After all, they do come in a slug load and a 7/8-ounce slug at 1250 fps is nothing to sneeze at.
Joe Biden would probably recommend them.
Also, keep in mind that you have to think of your particular scenario: what shot are you most likely to have to take, what shots might you possibly have to take, what's on the other side. In my house, the most likely shot I would have to take will head down the hall and could go straight out a window towards my neighbor's house. Sound like a dangerous thing? Nope. He's got a brick wall on that side - no concern there. The confrontation that concerns me is the home invasion straight into my door with me sitting at my desk right there. My shot would go toward my front door (which has just been opened) and then across the street. If the shot occurs at just the wrong angle, it could go through my neighbor's window. Fortunately, if I had to take that shot it would be at VERY close range (3 yards or less). But my plan is to always retreat to the master bedroom if at all possible.
Point is, don't just think "I'm in an apartment, I need to have....". Think of all possible scenarios and create your plan of what to do based on that.
Point is, don't just think "I'm in an apartment, I need to have....". Think of all possible scenarios and create your plan of what to do based on that.
From another perspective (and I've shot a few boxes of these rounds) an underpowered shotgun is still a shotgun. If someone is leaving a coach gun behind the kitchen door for emergency use by the less-skilled folks in the house, these shells may have some use. After all, they do come in a slug load and a 7/8-ounce slug at 1250 fps is nothing to sneeze at.
Joe Biden would probably recommend them.
An underpowered shotgun won't put someone out of the fight.
As someone whose first gun was a shotgun (22 years ago!), my go-to for HD is a rifle. Hmm...
12 Gauge Shotgun Knock yourself out.
Short of it: Bird shot is for small animals. Buckshot is for man-sized stuff.
IMO slugs are just a great way to turn your shotgun into a shitty rifle.
I thought #4 buck might be a nice compromise but when I tried it against cardboard targets I found it spread too much for my liking, so that some pellets are almost bound to miss. I opted for 00 buck with the flite control wad so the shot stays in the cup at across the room distances. Provided I don't miss, there will be no hazard to neighbors. Neither option is perfect but I feel more comfortable with no spread and a need to aim.
They do behave pretty much like a slug, but it would only be a last resort/MacGyver situation where I'd try to use a wax slug for self defense. Cut shells fall into this category, too. Just go buy some 00 buck.
txinvestigator
TGT Addict
Is that what you get after eating Mexican food?
