"Birdshot at close range has excellent stopping power but won't go through sheetrock and hit people in adjoining rooms."
Having once been in a room as a kid where a 16 gauge was accidentally discharged, I beg to differ. Two layers of sheetrock (the two sides of a framed wall) were penete
rated with about a 3" diameter hole, and an area about 2' square of plaster knocked off an exterior stone wall in the next room. The second room (between the interior wall and the exterior wall) had so much plaster dust in the air you could barely see across the room.
I do not remember for sure the shot size, but since we usally hunted pheasants as kids I would suspect #6 or #5.
Having once been in a room as a kid where a 16 gauge was accidentally discharged, I beg to differ. Two layers of sheetrock (the two sides of a framed wall) were penete rated with about a 3" diameter hole, and an area about 2' square of plaster knocked off an exterior stone wall in the next room. I suspect that 16 guage was choked full, or possibly modified. That means less spread and more penetration at a given distance, since up close the shot string hasn't spread out much and acts more like a single projectile. I also suspect that wall with the 3" hole was pretty close to the muzzle. Across the room and with a cylinder "choke", things would have been different. Also, you were, as you say, talking about#5 or #6 shot, whereas I would use #8 or #9 to reduce penetration. Especially important for me in that I live in an apartment, so I have to worry about penetration into an adjoining residence both on one wall and through the ceiling, in addition to into other rooms within the apartment. Hmm, maybe I should get some Corbon or similiar disintigrating ammuntion for my two .45 ACP handguns?