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I also saw a young man who had been executed (although it took him the better part of 30-40 minutes to die) by being forced to kneel while his killer placed the muzzle of a 12 gauge loaded with buckshot against the base of his neck and fired. The charge vaporized about 3 or 4 inches of his spine and blew downward into his chest cavity. We did an emergency sternotomy on him to try and get him restarted, and we found the plastic wad resting against his diaphragm. The hard part was listening to him shout before we got him into the OR and put him under, "They've killed me. Oh God, please don't let me die!" He begged to live, and he died anyway. He was 20 years old. There is much about that time that I do not remember very fondly.

A shotgun is a terrifying weapon.[/quote]

Having been in healthcare for over 30 years, both in the acute and post acute areas, starting in a major city medical center I too have seen the terrible things people do to each other. In the situation TAM described I believe that the young man may have ultimately been spared from many terrible things had he lived. I would not wish death on someone especially in such a matter. The effects of high level SCI not something to be wished on anyone either. Sometimes there is a comfort in realizing that a higher power makes the call in spite of all of man's best efforts to repair the damage.

I'll second it, a shotgun is a terrifying weapon.

AndyC wrote:I'd prefer not to use ammo whose effectiveness changes so dramatically over small changes in distance, so buckshot or slugs for me, thanks.

It all in the intended usage; for birds, use birdshot and for bucks, use buckshot.

...oh, I've known a few birds who would have needed buckshot...not the feathered kind, though...

Oldgringo wrote:...at what range? An ounce of #8 is still an ounce of lead if it hasn't had time/distance to open up.

/throws bogus card...

The shot string is an ounce - - - of lightweight pellets. Each pellet strikes with the energy of it's mass x it's energy squared not at the energy of the full mass of one ounce. This table will give you the weight of individual pellets of lead bird shot.


Shot Pellet Diameter Average Pellet Approximate # of
Number (Inches) Weight (Grains) Pellets per Ounce
9 0.08 0.75 585
8 1/2 0.085 0.88 485
8 0.09 1.07 410
7 1/2 0.095 1.25 350
6 0.11 1.95 225
5 0.12 2.58 170
4 0.13 3.24 135
2 0.15 4.86 90
BB 0.18 8.75 50

Now for buckshot, there are 437.5 grains to an ounce. A pellet of 00 buck weighs about 55 grains - - - about the same as a .25 automatic bullet. A pellet of #4 buckshot weighs about 18 gr per pellet considerably less than a .22 short bullet.

Size Nominal diameter Pellets/oz
0000 .38" (9.7 mm) 5
000 .36" (9.1 mm) 6
00 .33" (8.4 mm) 8
0 .32" (8.1 mm) 9
1 .30" (7.6 mm) 10
2 .27" (6.9 mm) 15
3 .25" (6.4 mm) 18
4 .24" (6 mm) 21

Now, who of us would use a gun that shot a bullet weighing only 1.07 gr (#8 bird shot) or even 15 grains (#4 buck shot) that's why we use the bigger size shot. In my shotgun it's #1 (43 grains) or larger buck shot or, slugs for self defense. Bird shot is for the birds.

Having been in healthcare for over 30 years, both in the acute and post acute areas, starting in a major city medical center I too have seen the terrible things people do to each other. In the situation TAM described I believe that the young man may have ultimately been spared from many terrible things had he lived. I would not wish death on someone especially in such a matter. The effects of high level SCI not something to be wished on anyone either. Sometimes there is a comfort in realizing that a higher power makes the call in spite of all of man's best efforts to repair the damage.

I'll second it, a shotgun is a terrifying weapon.[/quote]


It is always done by "Two Dudes".

I do not intend to get shot with any gauge, any load shotgun or any other gun and will take any and all steps to avoid what is sure to be an unpleasant, if not final, happening.

Ymmv; however, you should do what is best for you and your loved ones.

Oldgringo wrote:I do not intend to get shot with any gauge, any load shotgun or any other gun and will take any and all steps to avoid what is sure to be an unpleasant, if not final, happening.

Ymmv; however, you should do what is best for you and your loved ones.

Amen.

Heartland Patriot wrote:In regards to the shotgun wound, though, could it have been a case of the BLAST having an effect because it was so close? That is, so much of the kinetic energy being there coupled with the heat and moving mass of burned powder and air column right out of the barrel...

This; when the muzzle is close enough for a significant percentage of the gas to be forced into the wound, things get a lot uglier. There are reports of .38Spl doing damage that would be impressive for .44Mag.

Pretty tough feller for a 71 year old.