[KoRn]

PS: A cop once told me that a person can be nearly ‘cut in half’ by being shot with #4 shot from a 12 gauge at close range. He said that the big stuff like buck shot and slugs wasn’t even necessary for home defense.

[Paladin2]

The range I go to wants only slugs coming out of shotguns. Get some for practice use.

[angkor]

He said that the big stuff like buck shot and slugs wasn’t even necessary for home defense.

Home defense:

[Tailback]

Did he mean #4 buck? IMHO I want something to cut the central nervous system in case of PCP or Meth user. Birdshot at close range will cause massive soft tissue damage but that might not mean an instant stop. #4 or #1 Buck will penetrate to the spinal cord but not overpenetrate within a neighborhood causing injuries to innocents.

00buck is good for cops because they might want to penetrate car doors, home doors and/or walls. For home defense 00buck is probably overkill.

[Stentor]

Another opinion: The Box O' Truth.

[Max in Utah]

PS: A cop once told me that a person can be nearly ‘cut in half’ by being shot with #4 shot from a 12 gauge at close range. He said that the big stuff like buck shot and slugs wasn’t even necessary for home defense.

Don't believe it. Birdshot can cause nasty-looking surface damage but doesn't penetrate deeply enough to reliably stop a person.

I don't load my 12 gauge with anything smaller than #1 buckshot...FBI tests show that it will penetrate 12" of ballistic gelatin at close range. That'll do.