The reality is this.
Any ammunition with sufficient penetration to be effective for self defense will overpenetrate interior walls in the home.
Handgun rounds, buckshot, and slugs are all major overpenetrators. Especially slugs. Slugs are for large, extremely dangerous game, or deer in states where it’s illegal to use buckshot.
Buckshot is definitely effective for self defense but the firearm itself is, IMO, inefficient. Lots of heavy recoil, low magazine capacity, and while a pump shotgun is mechanically very reliable, it is actually very common for a person to short stroke the pump under stress during a defensive shooting. Short stroking the pump usually results in ejecting a spent shotshell but not feeding a new one, so you get a click when you pull the trigger again. Shotguns are also difficult to reload in the middle of a shooting.
At the same time, 55gr FMJ from a 5.56 / 223 Remington tends to break apart upon impact and does damage that compares favorably with 00 buckshot. The AR-15 itself has minimal recoil, ammo capacity to spare, and is easy to reload if needed. It’s not heavy, it maneuvers well in confined spaces, and being a semi auto one does not need to worry about short stroking the pump like on a shotgun. Most AR carbines have telescoping stocks, which are great for the ladies...most rifles are built for men, making them slightly too long for most ladies (I indirectly benefit from this because I have unusual short arms for a man). Further, because 55gr FMJ has a tendency to break up on impact, it actually overpenetrates interior walls less than shotguns or handguns do.
To me, it’s pretty clear that the very best long gun in the home defense role is the 16” barreled carbine in 223 Remington. I am partial to the AR-15 in this application because it has been tested and long used effectively by both military and police officers. With that said, the SCAR, Bushmaster ACR, and Ruger Mini-14 all work effectively as well for home defense purposes.
Shotgun ping
You make some good points especially about the possibility of short stroking a pump during stress.
I am not sure I agree that a .223 is as effective up close as a load of buckshot but the difference probably isn’t worth mentioning.
Interesting post,
Thanks.