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Home defense shooting in Va. Beach

VAopencarry

VAopencarry

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TFred wrote:
Not to degrade this thread even more... in the first CHP class I took (not from ProShooter), the instructor started off the class by saying essentially:
There is no better home defense weapon than a short barrel pump action 12 gauge shotgun. I don't care if you speak English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Martian, or don't speak anything at all, nothing says "GO AWAY" more convincingly than hearing that shell being racked from somewhere over there in the dark.
​
:)

Obviously there is room for discussion, but his point was well made.

TFred
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That's one of the dumbest things I hear people say, especially to people new to guns. Then they think racking the slide will just scare away the bad guy and they do not develop a mindset that they may have to shoot someone.
 
B

bullseye

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TFred wrote:
Crash7795 wrote:
Our dad played around a few years back with #8 shot & #6 shotout of a rifled slug barrel. Turns out that at 10 feet, the pattern is about3-5 feet wide depending on the strength of the load. If you're concerned about small patterns out of a shotgun at short distance and still maintaining energy behind the pellets, go try this somewhere. It'll blow your mind.
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Interesting. I have never read about this, shooting shot out of a rifled barrel. It makes sense though, if you get the wad to spinning, it certainly stands to reason that the shot will spread out more once it leaves the gun.
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The Box O Truth just recently did a write-up on this:

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot43.htm
 
TexasNative

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VAopencarry wrote:
TFred wrote:
...nothing says "GO AWAY" more convincingly than hearing that shell being racked from somewhere over there in the dark.
​
Click to expand...
That's one of the dumbest things I hear people say, especially to people new to guns. Then they think racking the slide will just scare away the bad guy and they do not develop a mindset that they may have to shoot someone.
Click to expand...
It's just another tool. A shotgun being racked will scare some people away. Good for both of us. The fools (well, the bigger fools) that don't react appropriately may have to be shot to protect the law-abiding.

~ Boyd
 
C

Chaingun81

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I'm very new to shotguns - can someone fill me in on buckshot vs birdshot? Is #8 always a birdshot and #4 a buckshot? Then what is #6? Or is there #4 and #6 and #8 for both birdshot and buckshot?
 
H

Hendu024

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peter nap

peter nap

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Chaingun81 wrote:
I'm very new to shotguns - can someone fill me in on buckshot vs birdshot? Is #8 always a birdshot and #4 a buckshot? Then what is #6? Or is there #4 and #6 and #8 for both birdshot and buckshot?
Click to expand...
#8 is always birdshot but there is a #4 fine (which is birdshot for large birds) and #4 buck which is light for deer
 
C

Chaingun81

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peter nap

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Chaingun81 wrote:
Hendu024 wrote:
Chaingun81 wrote:
I'm very new to shotguns - can someone fill me in on buckshot vs birdshot? Is #8 always a birdshot and #4 a buckshot? Then what is #6? Or is there #4 and #6 and #8 for both birdshot and buckshot?
Click to expand...
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3154981

check out the chart at the bottom of the page, should clarify things a bit.
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Thanks! Damn it man, this is confusing as hell.
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Don't sweat the small stuff. Just remember the words of my hero..."Shoot them with the biggest thing you have":lol:
 
TFred

TFred

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ProShooter wrote:
TFred wrote:
... in the first CHP class I took (not from ProShooter)
Click to expand...
Thank you for clarifying!

While his thinking may be accurate, its an odd way to start a class.......to each his own, I guess! :)
Click to expand...
As noted in earlier comments... I suppose the effectiveness varies based on the relative intelligence of the particular criminal at hand, which as we all know ranges from the very rare "fairly" to the more common "not at all".

:)

TFred
 
C

Chaingun81

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TFred wrote:
ProShooter wrote:
TFred wrote:
... in the first CHP class I took (not from ProShooter)
Click to expand...
Thank you for clarifying!

While his thinking may be accurate, its an odd way to start a class.......to each his own, I guess! :)
Click to expand...
As noted in earlier comments... I suppose the effectiveness varies based on the relative intelligence of the particular criminal at hand, which as we all know ranges from the very rare "fairly" to the more common "not at all".

:)

TFred
Click to expand...
Oh, some criminals are way smarter than 95% of the population. Those typicallydon't do home invasions though, they make whole different kinds of money.... Think Al Capone, but a more refined, high tech,21st century version...
 
C

Crash7795

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Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
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TexasNative wrote:
VAopencarry wrote:
TFred wrote:
...nothing says "GO AWAY" more convincingly than hearing that shell being racked from somewhere over there in the dark.
Click to expand...
That's one of the dumbest things I hear people say, especially to people new to guns. Then they think racking the slide will just scare away the bad guy and they do not develop a mindset that they may have to shoot someone.
Click to expand...
It's just another tool. A shotgun being racked will scare some people away. Good for both of us. The fools (well, the bigger fools) that don't react appropriately may have to be shot to protect the law-abiding.

~ Boyd
Click to expand...
+1 on the pump shotgun racking technique. I've used it once myself, and I know of someone else who used it in a very similar situation, both successfully. Speaking only for myself, in my mind it's part of an escalation of force scale. If I can prevent someone else from taking an action that couldearn a lethal response,by my taking aless-than-lethal action first, why wouldn't I? And it worked, this time. Not that I wasn't ready for the next step, but very relieved to not have to take it.
 
riverrat10k

riverrat10k

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peter nap wrote:
Chaingun81 wrote:
I'm very new to shotguns - can someone fill me in on buckshot vs birdshot? Is #8 always a birdshot and #4 a buckshot? Then what is #6? Or is there #4 and #6 and #8 for both birdshot and buckshot?
Click to expand...
#8 is always birdshot but there is a #4 fine (which is birdshot for large birds) and #4 buck which is light for deer
Click to expand...

To clarify, I like #4 birdshot as my home defense round. Longest shot in the house is 7 yards. Just my preference. At that range, I believe it is a mess-u-up round, and far less possibility of going out my window, through the shrubs , and through my neighbors windows and walls.

Make your own call based on your situation.
 
riverrat10k

riverrat10k

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Chaingun81 wrote:
Oh, some criminals are way smarter than 95% of the population. Those typicallydon't do home invasions though, they make whole different kinds of money.... Think Al Capone, but a more refined, high tech,21st century version...
Click to expand...
Or congressional corruptocrats.
 
C

Chaingun81

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riverrat10k wrote:
Chaingun81 wrote:
Oh, some criminals are way smarter than 95% of the population. Those typicallydon't do home invasions though, they make whole different kinds of money.... Think Al Capone, but a more refined, high tech,21st century version...
Click to expand...
Or congressional corruptocrats.
Click to expand...
Maybe some...a lot of them are pretty dumb though... If you see how incredibly efficentlymafia is normallyrun, you'd see that if corruptocrats were as smart as mob bosses, federal govt would'vebeen a lot more efficent :lol:
 
Neplusultra

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I spent some time years ago drilling holes in 2" thick oak with some 2-3/4" #7-1/2 bird shot. At 15 feet the pattern was about 3". It put a fair size "dent" into the wood. I forget how many shots it took to go through it, all from about 15 feet. My take, assuming the guy isn't wearing a vest is that bird shot will work if you're 15 feet or less, but at that range you're more concerned with instant disable than over penetration.

Personally I would go with OO buck unless you are concerned about over penetration in which I would use #4. 3" Mags is the rule too IMO, not 2-3/4".
 
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