“At close range, the blast of these lightweight small pellets hit like a solid fist. The thug in the picture on the right caught a blast at close range. Certainly, this is a postmortem image. Now, a shotgun is called a scattergun by many for a reason. The shot fans out quickly. “
Which is it. A close packed group or a quickly fanned out group?
Packed at close range, then it spreads out.
“My advice to all who want to use a shotgun for home defense is to buy a selection across the different sizes of projectiles. Then, take various items, like drywall, plywood, gallon jugs of water, etc. and other materials and test what those loads do to them at the gun range if allowed. “
I wonder how many hours of thought the author engaged in before coming to this ‘advice’?
After firing a shotgun, A close packed group WILL BE A quickly fanned out group........................
Carefully open the flaps sealing the shell and carefully pour a small amount of melted wax evenly over the birdshot inside. Reclose the flaps. You’ve just made a slug.
Which is it. A close packed group or a quickly fanned out group?
Both.
It depends on distance and choke. Generally opens about 1 inch per yard. Out to about 3 yards the shot impacts reinforce each other and aid in penetration.
Then shot size starts making a big difference.
I like premium buckshot. Solid hits to 50 yards with the best Federal loads.
None of the above. I use something entirely different for my nighttime bear defense load in Wyoming [at least 3 fatal encounters in the last year or two, more than we've had bank robberies or drive-by shootings in the Cowboy State]
My second choice is bore-diameter slugs- not sabots- which are fine for other purposes.
