Most Versatile 12 gauge round?

[jayhawkclint]

Dayum! We give up. Our argument is refuted.

I don't agree. I think the ballistics show exactly why you shouldn't use birdshot as a defense round.

I keep 00 loaded at home. I think it's a very versatile load to buy in bulk. I've found that 2-3/4" @ 1300 fps min works best for a wide range of models, regardless of high/low brass. I think versatility of models is important in a stockpiled ammo.

 

[kahrk-9]

You can do this with anything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBWWqXVbAfA

 

[Cinaet]

Mister Jeff sacrifices his Sunday dinner to educate us on this topic. As always, he's both fun and interesting to watch.

 

[SMS]

Well done video. I like his approach, it was informative.

However I think the biggest flaw in his test is the placement and layers of the test medium. He used denim, ribs, then soft tissue. Just like he said about humans not being made of ballistic gel, or pizza boxes, humans aren't walking around with exoskeleton's either. LOL

I'd like to see the same test conducted with a layer of denim, then soft fatty tissue, then dense muscular tissue, followed by bone, then more soft tissue...more like a human body. What you will more than likely find is the the outer soft layer followed by the muscular tissue will absorb/displace most of the impact and you will have little to no penetration of the bone and subsequent trauma to the underlying soft tissue...as in the critical organs that must be damaged to stop an attacker.

Good stuff though...thanks for putting it up.

 

[JamesP82]

Only way SMS would be convinced of the effectiveness of birdshot in a defense situation is if you shot him with it as a test.

 

[SMS]

Only way SMS would be convinced of the effectiveness of birdshot in a defense situation is if you shot him with it as a test.

No, I'll be convinced when I see empirical evidence that birdshot is a reliable manstopper.

No one has ever presented that. Until then why would I choose to use anything less than a proven round?

 

[AKguy1985]

I've got everything from 00 and 000 buck to #8 birdshot and some slugs.

 

[bigmoose]

IMHO skip the 12ga as a bugout gun it is to heavy and does not hold enough rounds for a sustained gun fight. As home defense you get over penetration of drywall with any good round. If you want it for hunting get #4 shot. I would stick wit .45 and .223

 

[pen25]

what range was the lawyer shot at? if i remember correctly it was about 30 to 40 yards. at 30 yards a full choke should have a spread of 30". now take your home. what is the longest shot you will ever use a firearm for? my home its less then 20 foot. which is less then 8 yards which is length of hall way. will full choke and 20 foot i pattern less then 2 inchs shooting 7.5 1 oz load 17 grain of red dot at 1150 fps.

On February 14, 2006, at 0630 hours, Whittington suffered a minor heart attack and atrial fibrillation due to the shot pellets lodged in or near his heart.[3] Additionally he experienced a collapsed lung.[14] He was immediately moved back to the intensive care unit. At about 0900 hours, Whittingon underwent a cardiac catheterization test to detect blocked or leaky arteries. From the test, doctors found a single lead pellet.[15][16]

he was also hit with at least 200 pellets.

 

[dennishoddy]

7 1/2 bird shot, close range self defense and out to 50 yard small game round. My rifle rounds are cheaper than slugs or 00 buck, so past 50 yards I'll just use a rifle.

Bird shot is for birds. I've done several online demo's of how inneffective birdshot is against humans. My buddy was shot in the upper chest with a load of 6's about 20 years ago. He is still with us, and almost beat the crap out of the guy that shot him while hunting, before I could drag him off and get to the er.