Those general purpose rounds at Walmart

[mqd123]

Total shotgun newbie, so, please excuse the dumb question: Are those general purpose shotgun shells sold at Walmart good for HD purposes? If not, why not?

Thanks.

[Khanan]

If you are talking about those 100 packs of 7 1/2 shot, most people would say no.

The consensus is to use a buckshot (most like 00) for home defense. Slugs are a favorite as well. Birdshot (those general purpose rounds) don't penetrate very deep and thus may not stop a two legged animal that has invaded your house.

[coy80176]

in short, the SG shell use rule of thumb is....

use birdshot for birds, use buckshot for bucks, use slugs for thugs...

Cheers!

[gschoelles]

I prefer 8 shot Buck, Hornady tap or alike for the grouping (I like to hit what I aim at) with a couple of magnum slugs on the stock to quick select in case I find a need to crack an engine block.

The Bird shot you are talking about would have a large pattern in a full bore SD Shotgun and could just piss off some jerk high on a brain numb-er.

Total shotgun newbie, so, please excuse the dumb question: Are those general purpose shotgun shells sold at Walmart good for HD purposes? If not, why not?

Thanks.

[Sanderhawk]

If you close enough to the bad guy your general purpose shell will still do the job. Its when you get distance between you and the bad guy that the shot spreads out and isn`t effective.

[hcbr]

use birdshot for birds, use buckshot for bucks, use slugs for thugs...

Cheers!

LMAO , coy80176, that just made my "quote of the day" for today! hahah good one man!

[hcbr]

oh and OP, buckshot or slugs imho are the choice for ammo in HD purposes!

[desertjosh]

I use #4 buckshot for HD so it hopefully wont over penetrate if something goes bump in the night.

[bsg]

i would use buckshot for HD.

[gun toting monkeyboy]

The bulk packs that they sell of #7, 7 1/2, and 8 birdshot are mainly used for hunting birds, shooting clay pigeons, and blasting small critters in close. As most of the others have said, it is NOT for home defense. They have done too many tests various places online to shot that birdshot is very unlikely to stop a badguy. One of the posters on here hit a jihadist in the face with it over in the sandbox, and the guy just up and ran away. And according to him, it was at typical home defense range. THAT, more than anything else makes me very leary of using it for HD. Walmart does, however, sell 15 packs of buckshot for cheap. They normally have both plated and unplated varieties. I like using the cheapest stuff they have for practicing. And patterning my different guns. If you are planning on using a shotgun for home defense, it is very important that you know how it patterns with the load you will be using. My "social" shotgun is quite happy with the cheap unplated stuff. I might get slightly tighter groups with the plated stuff, but I am not that worried about it.

[Baga]

use birdshot for birds, use buckshot for bucks, use slugs for thugs...

Cheers!

LMAO , coy80176, that just made my "quote of the day" for today! hahah good one man!

LMAO

[BajaJames83]

#4 or 00, but if all you got is bird shot it will work! Better than nothing

[JaMail]

OP, if your a total noob to shotguns, before you decide to use a shotgun as your HD weapon, try using it without ear protection at the range for a couple of rounds..

then imagine what that will sound like it in a closed in room.. now imagine that your kids and SO are in the house, and that there are two intruders..

also, take your shotgun on a walk through of your house.. from where ever you store it, loaded or unloaded, check every room in the house..

do you keep your SG loaded at all times? locked up? easily reachable?

Turn off all your lights and try to load it in the dark, try to take it out of where ever you store it in the dark.

then try the same routine with a good sized revolver.

this is just my opinion.

[J_C]

use birdshot for birds, use buckshot for bucks, use slugs for thugs...

Cheers!

[Iskra]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_shell