At the likely ranges inside a house, it has the same punch as lead or steel bird or buck. At longer ranges it won't kill, but the perp will never, ever forget you shot him, either.
[Only mildly tongue-in-cheek... :-)]
At the likely ranges inside a house, it has the same punch as lead or steel bird or buck.
What are you talking about? Same punch as lead or buckshot? Salt? I don't think so. About 20 years ago I used to load a lot of shotgun shells. Rock salt won't even go through 1/4 inch plywood at 20 feet. There's no way it'll go through a good leather jacket. Nor will #8 or 9 shot except at very very close range. #2 is dangerous out to 80-120 yards. If you have thin walls and are worried about missing the perp and hitting someone else by mistake then #4 would be ok. If I was gonna use a shotgun for home defense then I would probably use anything from #4 buckshot to #00 buckshot. I wouldn't bother with slugs. If I wanted penetration I'd use my semi-auto Browning 338. The important thing is to practice. Skeet shooting or clay-pigeon shooting for a few hours every week is a fun way to get good.
"At the likely ranges inside a house, it has the same punch as lead or steel bird or buck. At longer ranges it won't kill, but the perp will never, ever forget you shot him, either."
Leave him alive so he can sue you? I don't think so.
I will vouch for never forgetting being shot with rock salt... (midwestern boy caught cow tipping meets biz end of farmers double barrell) :)