Home Defense Shotgun Load?

[Nevermiss]

I've decided that my SLP Mk1 that has been 100% reliabe and shoot regularly at 3 gun matches should be part of my home defense lethal options.

The layout of my house makes penentration through two walls with drywall a concern for me (only if miss...God forbid).

I've seen some data that 00 buck will penetrate through this like most of my pistols with defense loads that are also part of my home defense lethal option.

So hear is my question. Is something like #4 or #6 shot less likely to inflict a lethal wound on family member after penetrating 2 walls with standard drywall than 00 buck?

I realize the scenario for using this is next to zero and I need to get proper training, have a plan to prevent this from happening in the first place, practice, check reliability, etc. I just want to do what makes most sense for my situation with this particular weapon. Thanks in advance for your comments and I apoogize if this has been posted before. My Seach Fu did not yield what I was looking for.

[btaksier]

I did a bunch of reading on this a while back and decided on #4 buckshot for my HD 870.

Here is a link to a thread with a ton of info.
http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/view...4212022108684f

Good luck

[Nevermiss]

Wow! Great link. Someone invested a lot of quality time and effort into this very well outlined and informative post. I appreciate the link!

[Beat Trash]

At the distances typically found in a home defense situation, the actual spread of the various shotgun loads would be a lot less than one might expect it to be.

A miss is a miss, be it with a pistol, carbine, or a shotgun. Many worry about over penetration with home defense shotgun loads, but not much is ever discussed about over penetration with handgun loads.

(FYI, I have read studies done by various agencies on over penetration with their duty loads in 5.56mm, long story short, more of an issue with typical handgun duty rounds)

I would recommend to the OP that you chose your defensive ammunition for your shotgun based on it's ability to adequately penetrate to the suspect's vital areas.

I would not pick ammunition assuming I would miss and then chose ammunition that would not penetrate. Would this same ammunition work as intended if you hit your target? Remember suspects are not always butt naked when shot, sometimes they are wearing thick leather jackets or jean jackets over various cloths. Sometimes you may have to shoot through their arm to reach the vital organs. Sometimes, shit just happens...

As it relates to the dangers of over penetration in a home defense situation, I feel it would be more effective to utilize good tactics. It's your house. Use this knowledge to your advantage. Game plan it ahead of time. Lay out your fields of fire, plan out and locate positions of cover that can be utilized to provide cover and concealment while providing safe fields of fire (with no family members downrange).

If you have a family, this would be a good time to discuss the topic. Have a plan, such as using the master bedroom as a safe room. How and who would get the kids and retreat to the safe room. If it's a multi story house, can you have a safe room on each floor? If not, what would be the plan if an incident occurred while on another floor?

A little warning goes along way. This is where one of those annoying "yapper" dogs are valuable.

Sorry for the rant... Caffeine must have kicked in...

[Nevermiss]

Beat Trash, I'm glad you had a lot of caffeine because you have very salient points. I've thought about all of these things.

My concern is that if I miss the bad guy at my bedroom door as he comes up the stairs, then I will send a round into my daughter's bedroom that is directly behind him should I miss to the right or to the left.

The more I think about this, then the more I realize that if I want to make sure that I use a load that can penetrate a thick jacket and get into vitals, well then this load will likely penetrate through 4 layers of 1/2" drywall or a hollow core door without much trouble. You really can't have your cake and eat it too when it comes to maximizing penetration in Mr. Bad Guy while making certain your family in the next room won't get hurt if you miss.

[carshooter]

When I lived in an apartment, I chose #4 Buck because I believed it had less of a chance of over penetration. However, I began to question whether it was the best choice for terminal ballistics, and switched to reduced recoil 00 Buck.

I would second the recommendation to choose the load based on performance.

[STAGMike]

High brass #9. I know of a few entry teams that use it for various reasons...

EDIT:
some have said they wouldn't use it... just tossing it out there... but 00 buck shot is what I would put in my shot gun

[STAGMike]

Take a look at this new offering from Remington...
http://www.remington.com/products/am...nse-loads.aspx

[Todd.K]

http://www.huts.com/Huts'sBallisticTest.htm

http://www.pacificbulletproof.com/pr...nt-fiberglass/

How many more chances to miss do you have if it takes more shots to stop an intruder because of lack of penetration?

[Beat Trash]

My concern is that if I miss the bad guy at my bedroom door as he comes up the stairs, then I will send a round into my daughter's bedroom that is directly behind him should I miss to the right or to the left.

One training class I attended years ago suggested going to one knee prior to shooting. The thought was that you would be shooting up at an angle. This would cause missed rounds to angle up, thereby lessening the potential of hitting a bystander.

I don't know if this would be feasible for you or not. Just saying...

I would look at hardening your house. The idea being that for someone to break in, they would require more time, and more noise. This would give you a chance to grab your daughter and bring her into your bedroom. This is where a good dog might be of more help than special loadings for shotguns. My miniature schnauzer may not be an attack dog, but no one can approach the house without her yapping her head off. While she is yapping, I'm herding the kids into the master bedroom.

Put a solid core door with a good lock on your bedroom. Extract the kids to the bedroom while the dog is giving warning. Then call 911 from your "fort". If the suspect manages to kick in the solid core door, well then the best OO buck loading will no longer have to worry about your kids being down range.

I think your question is a legitimate one. But I still think your problem is one of tactics vs. loadings.