You are aiming at the assailant's head?
At a typical home defense distance of 10-12 feet, the pellet pattern from a typical 18" HD shotgun will be only about 2" to 3" in diameter. A cylinder bore 18" or 20" barrel the pattern spread is approximately 1" per yard per tests conducted at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Ergo you HAVE to aim -- carefully -- to hit the target.
And if you are aiming, you should be aiming COM -- center of mass, because most folks don't stand there and wait for you to shoot (at) them. Hitting a moving, bobbing head "in the eye" in diminished light, under stress, with modest appreciation to the backdrop, is simply not going to happen. Can you get lucky? Sure. But you should tilt the playing field in your direction as much as possible, and not rely on luck.
Ditch the birdshot -- it is for birds, not home defense.
Wrooster
as far as I can find in sources from NRA publications, FBI crime statistics list 7' as the average distance in a self defense shooting.
I don't own a 'tactical' shotgun with minimum length legal bbl.
why on earth would you have pigeon loads in a tactical shotgun? are you really thinking people are using tactical shotguns for skeet or duck? the entire premise of your posts hinges on that apparrently.
A LONG BBL'd shotgun is what you would find target loads in. If my perp is 7' from my body, and my shotgun stick out a couple feet from me.. easilly.. we have reduced that to 5'
if I can't hot a 6" round target at 5' it got a problem.
lets keep rolling with that.
i will get what? 2" of spread almost? a lil shy maybee using your ?data? that means I have a 'pattern', not a point, and that pattern can be put on another target.. ie the face for instance. .. lets go farther.. neck is going to be a pretty nasty wound at that distance as well.. just not a hole lot of meat there. remember.. I can penetrate deep enough to kill a flying bir many, many, many yards away with a couple bits of shot.. at 2' somebodies neck is going to be hamburger.. what int he neck? important tubes carrying pressurized fluid to a central computer, that.. when that fluid pressure drops to 0, as is what happens whenthe tube is blown apart, the computer turns off.
so.. we have damage to sensory organs in the form of a pellet spray, some flash perhaps, minor burn.. that plastc wad ought to leave a mark as well, we have possible catastrophic neck damage, and if they are still moving, that 2nd shot I get off is probably going to be point blank.. and this time.. as you mention.. a body shot.
12g point blank.. even on a wad of birdshot.. that's going to be a devastating wound.
other things to consider that may change the circumstances drastically.. not withstanding a drug crazed lunatic, the average perp likely doesn't want to be shot.
charging someone with a big bore gun aimed at you ?? ok.. lets say you take the chance.
-BANG- ok.. you are closer now and have that strange warm wet feeling, and may or may not be able to see or hear either due to the muzzle flash you are staring at, or the wad of pellets that had a GOOD chance of hitting your face.. or.. you may already be dead and just don't realize it from that 'bleed out fast' neck shot... ok.. lets keep assuming you took the chance and charged the guy with the smoke pole and took one somewhere.. but waow.. you aren't there yet and you still got a few more feet to go, and another one comes down range.. hitting even harder. how bad do you want that dvd player? is that what's going thru your mind at that point ( unless it's some pellets that going thru your mind.. cuz it sure could be for that first shot! )
if it's the drug crazed maniac.. well.. he's taking 2 wounding shots, and I'm still health, and know my house.. and I got a club, and i got more self defense options nearby.
my money is on the well armed homeowner who knows his house and his weapons and not the invader blindly running thru, who is now wounded or wounded and not acting at full mental capacity.
home turf advantage means something.
I'll take -ANY- gun no matter what load it has in the pipe, when showing up to a fist or knife fight.
better odds.
soundguy
