Shotguns make terrible rifles...in some cases. Many people, however, are looking for a do-all tool, and are on a budget. In close quarters, the shotgun is the indisputable king of traumatic injury. No justification is needed, here. However, they may also want a deer hunting rifle. Now, if you live in Texas in the southern region where 800m+ shots are very possible if you have the skill and gear, and you may not even get to within 300m of the deer, please stop reading, this is not for you. However, if you live in a wooded or hilly area, like South Louisiana, or the Ozarks, or any of the other myriad of places in America (and elsewhere) that have vision limited to <100 yards, this might be for you!
Alaska is also a place this applies. One of the most popular solutions to bear is a 12 gauge with slugs, typically Brenneke's, although Federal's DP slug is making a strong showing in punching deep holes through things.
When you consider that a pump-action shotgun like the SuperNova Tactical I use in my video can be had for <$500 NEW (I got mine for $349 shipped, barely used, off of a forum, + FFL fees), and that it can be used ethically to kill any animal found in North America, AND it lends itself so well to home defense, it becomes a very appealing weapon for someone who only has a few hundred bucks to spend and is on a limited budget.
I know we poo-poo it. "Save up". "How much is your life worth to you?" and on and on and on, but all the rhetoric in the world isn't putting money in that bank account, and we don't know the situation, so let's not go down that path, here, as it rarely puts guns in the safe or by the bedside, and usually devolves into E_contests of financial savvy and so on.
This thread is intended to show that while the shotgun is NOT A RIFLE, it is also not a hopelessly useless tool when the ranges stretch out to around 100 yards, which in many areas, is as far as one is likely to see game animals, and is CERTAINLY far enough for home and property defense in all but the most extreme of situations (yes, they happen, and yes, you can find all 3 or 4 that went down in the last decade online and link them...)
The shotgun may make a poor rifle, and this "grouping" isn't likely to win over any long range aficionados, but I hope that it shows that dropping prone and throwing the weapon (and support hand...you have to support shotguns to absorb harmonics) over a pack can net you some game-killing hits out at distances that most people consider the shotgun "out of its element".
I would also note the terminal ballistics of this slug at 100 yards are still rather effective. It is a 437gr projectile, and leaves the barrel of my 18.5" shotgun at roughly 1500fps (chronographed). At 100 yards, it's still moving faster than most .45's at the muzzle (around 960fps) and carrying around 2-300% the energy that the hottest .45's muster (900+ pounds). Not to mention, it's diameter is 0.728" barring any expansion that may occur! This is a force to be reckoned with. Also of note, I did not have to "aim high" on the target. The shotgun is zeroed with slug at 25 yards, and they were dropping what appeared to b e about 3-5" from POA.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBYHCMeYerg
I would also note that I have had better results using Truball slugs, but terminally speaking, from the gel tests I have seen, I prefer the Hydrashok's, and they also do not lead my bore hardly at all, compared to the Truball slugs. The Truball slugs feature a polymer ball in the base of the slug, which is backed by a wad which is near identical to the HS slug's wad (polymer). The ball, pushed by the powder charge and subsequently the wad, expands the skirt of the Truball slug against the bore, creating a tight seal, and more even travel of the slug down the bore. The side effect of this is that it leads the bore much moreso than other slugs without the ball in the skirt. Accuracy is, honestly, notably better, however. It's a trade-off I chose to make, and I think you'll agree that the Hydrashok's are accurate enough.
