It's never a good thing when I get a spare moment to think about things. AD's request got me to thinking about wound ballistics and protective ammo.
Now, as the gentleman at Box O' Truth has been known to opine, birdshot is for birds, right?
Why? Yes, I understand that penetration is extremely minimal with birdshot. But what about a close range head shot? My (admittedly quite limited) understanding would be that at close range, a powerful birdshot load would be sufficient to blind an attacker, which to my way of thinking should end things right there.
One could load up a double barrel with one round of birdshot and one round of 00 buckshot, or a pump-action with 2/3 of each. Or if we're getting über-tacticool, have a Saiga shotgun with one mag filled with #8 birdshot and another mag filled with 00 buck. If the birdshot fails to blind, pull 2nd trigger, eject second round and chamber third, or drop one mag and chamber the next.
I mean, I've hit a gallon jug filled with water with birdshot before. Jug blown apart, dozens of tiny holes through the plastic. Makes me think that an eyeball wouldn't stand a chance.
Mind you, this is purely a thought exercise - I'll keep my 00 buckshot mags loaded for the Saiga-20, thankyouverymuch...
Thoughts?
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14 comments:
A load of buckshot to the head will kill you, but #6 birdshot would be leaving you wishing you were dead. And being hit in a limb could cause enough nerve and muscle damage to render the limb permanently useless.
It sounds complicated.
In an emergency, simple is always a blessing. Just stick with a full magazine of 00. Shot placement won't be as critical.
Do you remember the experiment we did on paper w/both 7 1/2 & buck?
The buck made nice holes, but the shot blasted the center out of the target.
At close range, I think it's a tossup; if you hit with the first shot, I believe you'd be done shooting.
My $.02.
When I was much younger, I wondered if #4 shot out of a 20 gauge would be adequate to solve midnight raids by a marauding band racoons on my garbage cans.
So I stacked 14 inches of newspaper into a cardboard box, put two big sofa pillows behind it, and pulled the trigger at about 8 feet.
It blew a 6-8 inch hole through the back of the sofa.
Needless to say, my cleaning up garbage each morning soon came to a halt.
You're running into some big "ifs" Jay. First up, if your attacker is responding to pain and injury like a normal person, Bird at close range will probably do some good stuff...but will your attacker be "Normal"?
Also you're looking at a REALLY gorey wounding but a lower chance of fatality. That's serious lawsuit fodder IMHO.
Bottom line, if lethal force is justified, don't dick around and use lethal force. If the guy lives but is stopped, more power to him, but you don't want to be playing "what if" when you life and the lives of your family are on the line.
Just my 2c
I agree with Weer'd. As I opined over at AD's blog, there is a difference between killing power and stopping power. For self defense you want stopping power.
Gary
Like I said, it's a thought experiment more than anything. No reason to futz around with the theoretical when the tried-and-true will do.
Big fan of the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) - when the feces impacts the blade oscillating device, the less complicated the better...
And weer'd, for the sake of the argument I'll assume we live in a free country... :|
(You do have a good point, though - the "pain and suffering" aspect would be formidable. I'd wager, though, that a competent attorney would hold up a (less threatening) bird gun, claim that the shot was all I had at hand, and reiterate that the goblin is, indeed, alive to bitch about it...)
I'm not sure, but I believe the birdshot might be a better choice if there is danger of "overpenetration" in the event of a miss, partial or total. 00 Buck is approx 9mm and will penetrate drywall just fine. The bird is less likely to damage someone in the next house.
If living in an apartment, birdshot would have a definite advantage: otherwise I'm with you, stick with 00, regular or reduced recoil.
As far as birdshot to the face? Let's ask the expert, our V.P. (sorry, couldn't resist).
Seriously, though. I have #6 for the Mossberg (12 ga), and I have no fears of stopping someone. The way I figure it, it may not place a tag on his toe, but that's not how I roll. I'm NOT a "shoot 'em in the knees" type either. I'll go with shoot to stop and be glad I live in Texas.
OTOH, I did not know that 00 was on par with 9mm, which is my primary carry caliber. This may be cause for some investigation...
Good points, all, and thanks J for the post. Now if I can just get off my arse and take those pics of the Mossberg...;)
tweaker
It depends on the bird shot... I shoot a Beretta Xtrema 2 at geese, and its loaded with 3.5 inch magnums and BB shot. This can, and will, put holes through a goose at 30 yards on the wing. Through the chest plate, organs, and out the back.
Knowing the human body be made of denser stuff, I still have to believe that a goose load like this would comfortably punch a hole through someone at 8 feet. Especially if choked appropriately.
Just checked the Saiga. Mags are loaded with slugs.
Guess I'm not feeling all warm and fuzzy after all...
(Doubletrouble, that Saiga would be a hoot for redneck trap BTW. Just not with slugs, of course...)
Several years ago a friend of mine's father in law attempted to kill himself with a 12 ga. with small bird shot in it. The first round blew his tongue off, and removed a bit of upper jaw, and blinded him in one eye. The second round (yup, 2nd round) was mostly stopped by his sternum. Now the poor guy can't be understood, and his half blind. Oh yeah, the medical costs were horrific as well.
I'd expect bird shot and close range to be really f***ing nasty. To the neck, or possibly face it might even be deadly. Depends on shot size too: #2 bird will be much worse to get hit with then #7.5.
I'd stick with slugs and 00 or 000, personally, but I'm also not volunteering to get hit with #7.5.
One thing though: the shot column always has the same amount of energy behind it, so at the muzzle bird and buck both pack the same punch. Until either distance down range, or deflection off the target start to affect the pattern.
AE
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