Birdshot for home defense?

[glock600rr]

I know this subject has been preached on many MANY times but i was wondering if you can potentially have the same amount of protection using #6 or #7 birdshot from a 12 gauge that you can get from a 9mm. lets please stay on this question as i can already see the responses of "00 buck is all you need" or "bird shot for HD will not do a thing". i know birdshot for HD is not ideal but is it that ineffective?

[Bobby Hated]

yes

if ducks are attacking your home, you are well prepared

and yes

ducks are much easier to hit with #6 or #7 birdshot that with 9mm

[Barbarossa]

Make sure the #7 is steel if the ducks attack.

[Turo]

I know this subject has been preached on many MANY times but i was wondering if you can potentially have the same amount of protection using #6 or #7 birdshot from a 12 gauge that you can get from a 9mm. lets please stay on this question as i can already see the responses of "00 buck is all you need" or "bird shot for HD will not do a thing". i know birdshot for HD is not ideal but is it that ineffective?

You say "protection" like it's a quantitative entity that you can just use to compare apples to shoes. There's no way to compare amounts of protection.

Let's put it this way, if you shoot an attacker with #6 or #7 birdshot, you have a very small chance of hitting a vital organ because those tiny lead pellets don't have enough mass to penetrate far enough into the body.

If you want to compare that to a 9mm, most every 9mm load has enough mass and power to reach the vital organs of an attacker and has a much higher chance to stopping them.

If you get anything from this thread, get this: Birdshot is not suitable for defense from another person. It cannot reliably penetrate the human body far enough to reliably stop an attacker.

[Saym14]

of course it is, when you are attacked by doves.

[Reductio]

Unless your 9mm is loaded with snake shot, no.

Low-recoil 00, period.

[fighterpilot562]

it can stop paper targets

[OldShooter32]

I always heard #4 shot gave the best mass vs penetration but never tested it. 00 buck can go well over 100 yards while #8's are like shooting sand.

[Bill Carson]

depends if it is Daffy or Donald.

[Richard Erichsen]

I know this subject has been preached on many MANY times but i was wondering if you can potentially have the same amount of protection using #6 or #7 birdshot from a 12 gauge that you can get from a 9mm. lets please stay on this question as i can already see the responses of "00 buck is all you need" or "bird shot for HD will not do a thing". i know birdshot for HD is not ideal but is it that ineffective?

You may not have liked the answer you read, though it doesn't change it. birdshot, of all types, is appropriate on birds and the various shotgun sports such as trap, skeet, sporting clays but nothing more.

The type of shot to use for defensive purposes is not based on personal opinion. Folks at the FBI and respected researchers like Mr. Massad Ayoob have collected data over the decades to help make very well informed decisions based on.

You can use whatever you want, but it would be wise to review some of what has been written by those I've mentioned above prior to trusting your life to guesswork and gut feel.

R

[repubconserv]

I know this subject has been preached on many MANY times but i was wondering if you can potentially have the same amount of protection using #6 or #7 birdshot from a 12 gauge that you can get from a 9mm.

No. 9mm is better for home defense. WAY better.

lets please stay on this question as i can already see the responses of "00 buck is all you need" or "bird shot for HD will not do a thing". i know birdshot for HD is not ideal but is it that ineffective?

Yes. birdshot is that ineffective.

[nizmo559]

I would love to hear from folks that have had home defense situations of any caliber of any style of gun in this situation.

[Nightron]

protection using #6 or #7 birdshot from a 12 gauge that you can get from a 9mm. lets please stay on this question as i can already see the responses of "00 buck is all you need" or "bird shot for HD will not do a thing". i know birdshot for HD is not ideal but is it that ineffective?

Depends on what you're defending and what's attacking.
I live within an easy drive to Bodega Bay and Alfred Hitchkock would be honored that I'm using #6 birdshot. Adds to the drama and suspense.

More seriously, there are lots of threads here and elsewhere already hashing out the details. (I don't mean to say 'don't ask', I just mean read more and more to add to your decision whatever it is). My main takeaway from all I've read is that it's got to be heavy buck, or slug, to be FBI/LE effective, but one can make other choices to account for their particular surroundings and expected situations.

[ledman]

You say "protection" like it's a quantitative entity that you can just use to compare apples to shoes. There's no way to compare amounts of protection.

Let's put it this way, if you shoot an attacker with #6 or #7 birdshot, you have a very small chance of hitting a vital organ because those tiny lead pellets don't have enough mass to penetrate far enough into the body.

If you want to compare that to a 9mm, most every 9mm load has enough mass and power to reach the vital organs of an attacker and has a much higher chance to stopping them.

If you get anything from this thread, get this: Birdshot is not suitable for defense from another person. It cannot reliably penetrate the human body far enough to reliably stop an attacker.

EXACTLY THIS ^^^^^^ End Thread. You would do more damage by giving them the buttstock to the head...unless it's a Pirate with a parrot on his shoulder, now you are talking, take out the bird first!

[mmrx2]

Birdshot will only be effective at very very close distances for hd.