what load for the 12 gauge do you recommend for home defense
I use heavy game shot. The primary defense feature of a shotgun is the sound it makes when you chamber a shell.
At that point it’s “brown trouser time” for most home invaders.
;-)
depends on how much of a mess you want to clean up...
slugs and buckshot
#1 buck gives you more pellets and more pellet cross-sectional area than 00 buck for the same powder charge, and is less apt to penetrate walls.
For home defense, lead bb shot, 3” magnum if your gun is chambered for it. That might require hand loading since most waterfowl hunting in North America is with steel shot these days.
An expert's tips on selecting the optimum "social smoothbore."
"What kind of barrel do you want on your fighting scattergun? First of all, you want as short a tube as possible."
"Let's consider pellet size. Regular shot runs from No. 12 all the way up to 000 buckshot. The odds-on favorite for combat (read: anti-personnel) use is 00 buck. Double-ought pellets are approximately .33 caliber and weigh around 52 to 54 grains apiece."
Enjoy the rest and let us know what you decide.
#2’s alternating with double ought or slugs.
That said:
If you do go to the range you'll see that at home defense ranges you don't get that much spread in the pattern so accuracy is still an issue. You'll probably be surprised how much you can miss a target by at 20 feet.
Our local indoor range only allows their ammo - 00 light loads. So if you live in the Bay Area what you will learn is how your gun handles, how shot spreads at various ranges and what you can hit with it in a calm will lighted place.
Recognize that given that shot spread will not save you from bad marksmanship the real benefit of a shotgun over a handgun for home defense is that it is much more likely to take down a bad person with one shot.
For apartment and condo dwellers penetration is an issue. If you care whether or not you may kill the guy next door, slugs may not be a good choice.
By the same token, beware of "Cheney Effect". For many years birdshot loads where touted for home defense. The problem is, they loose energy fast and just don't penetrate. If the person who wants to do you harm is down the hall and across the living room you may not get the desired effect. I've played around experimented and found that, when fired 10 feet from the wall, a 23/4" #2 load will not penetrate two 5/8" sheets of sheet rock and four inches of fiberglass bat insulation with enough energy to embed pellets in a piece of 3/4" plywood placed about three feet behind the target. 00 did. And 00 3" mag loads with 15 pellets would also blow away a 2x4 stud. I didn't have any single 0 buckshot or BB so I don't know what the effects would be. (This is also a fun way to demolish an old house.) The problem is finding 23/4"" #2 goose shot loads.
I strongly recommend doing your own research, practicing and experimenting with different loads under different conditions. I don't think there is a perfect solution for every situation.
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what load for the 12 gauge do you recommend for home defense
“
I’m no expert, but years ago read a research article by a fellow
(named Aagard?).
It sounds like your environment and level of risk you can tolerate
for “collateral damage” to innocent bystanders or neighbors are important factors.
IIRC, he found that regular game loads with #6 shot would make things
very unpleasant for an invader, but anything that didn’t hit the perp
would probably only make it through a sheet or two of sheetrock
with very little energy.
So that may be what you’d want if you live in a fairly urban residential
environment.
But, as some have noted here, that #6 shot loses it’s effect if
you’re dealing with someone wearing heavy/layered clothing, especially
something like a heavy leather wintertime coat...
thus you’d probably want to vary your loads, as in
first: #6 shot
second: 00 Buck
third: Slugs (so as to finish the arguement and make sure the perp
doesn’t get to retreat and return to finish you off).
Of course, it’s better have a high capacity shotgun and select a
spectrum of rounds fitting your situation.
And bear in mind that once you get past that #6 shot...lethal
projectiles will penetrate sheetrock and can harm/kill some innocent
in the next room or outside the house.
And as always: consult your local/county/state laws before doing anything.