Frisco - Homeowner shoots it out with intruder

[bigolbigun]

The homeowner said last night on the news that his shotgun was loaded with 01 buckshot. They showed him with the gun it was a short shotty with a pistol grip, maybe a Mossberg or Remington but that's just a guess.

[Xander]

More info: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23752206

As bigolbigun mentioned, he was using 01 buckshot out of a pistol griped shotgun that looks like it has an 18" (or so) barrel, and I'd guess cylinder choke. It also mentioned that he was first grazed in the shoulder and dropped the shotgun, picked it back up, and missed left.

[stevie_d_64]

I thought that this forum would be the last place i would have to explain that shotguns do not create 10ft wide cones of death within spitting distance of the barrel.

This is 12 ft.

Was that 1 or 2 shots of 00 buck???

I only count 8 distinctive holes outside that big jagged one on the target there...

If anything, that certainly is a telling illustration

[Keith B]

His age maybe, he's only 24 so he might not have had enough range time. On a side note, did you see the home? I'm not sure what it was like for the rest of you but at 24, I was still paying of school loans to afford a house like he had.

Those are not purchased houses, they are duplexes. Not sure what they run a month, but they are nice.

[catchcat]

Who knows how anyone will react untill a situation actually happens. One thing I learned in service was that. training will kick in "maybe" if youve had it. I didn't read the article, but gun was probably loaded with bird shot?

[Frost]

I only count 8 distinctive holes outside that big jagged one on the target there...

If anything, that certainly is a telling illustration

Thats 1 shot of #4 Buck, i stole the image from Box O' Truth.

[austin]

Given that you still have to aim with a shotgun, you are almost always better off using a slug.

At close range, that slug will destroy someone even if it hits an arm or leg. It will always penetrate most cover. At longer ranges, it will still retain its punch.

The excuse that the pellets will not penetrate walls and thus are safer is an arguement that pellets are not as effective as slugs in the first place and an arguement that you do not plan to aim your shots.

Slugs are devastating projectiles and I have hunted with them and used them as BUG for guided hunts for a long time and have never been dissapointed even if I was dissapointed with my aim.

[XDguy]

When I saw that story, I too wondered how one could miss with a shotgun in a hallway. If that pic was at 12' then I guess that explains it. It's just too bad he missed.

[WarHawk-AVG]

I thought that this forum would be the last place i would have to explain that shotguns do not create 10ft wide cones of death within spitting distance of the barrel.

This is 12 ft.

12 feet = approx 4 yards

4" at 4 yards...pretty much on par with buckshot spread an inch a yard

[Frost]

At close range, that slug will destroy someone even if it hits an arm or leg. It will always penetrate most cover. At longer ranges, it will still retain its punch.

Well, anything larger then #1 buck is going to reliably penetrate 12 inches so i wouldn't worry about the effectiveness of buckshot.

The excuse that the pellets will not penetrate walls and thus are safer is an arguement that pellets are not as effective as slugs in the first place and an arguement that you do not plan to aim your shots.

Also, any pellets large enough to stop an attacker are going to go through many layers of drywall.

Slugs are devastating projectiles and I have hunted with them and used them as BUG for guided hunts for a long time and have never been dissapointed even if I was dissapointed with my aim.

I believe that the greater cross sectional area of a buckshot load and the tendency of slugs to over penetrate and waste energy makes buckshot the better self defense choice. A slug certainly wouldn't be underpowered though so if thats your preference i wont argue to much with you.