If you had to shoot through the bad guy’s arm, then into the thoracic cavity, would you depend on birdshot to get that done? Again, at contact distance it might, but as distance increases the odds of a successful shot plummet.
Now add a little bit of distance – let’s say 20 feet – and a non, full-frontal target presentation. This makes birdshot start to look a lot less attractive…at least to me. But let’s throw another variable or two into the mix.
4. Intermediate Barriers
I know what you’re thinking: citizens are not cops and don’t need to worry about shooting through car bodies and automotive glass. And you would be correct. But I’m talking about a much, much more benign set of barriers here: heavy clothing. There seems to be a fair amount of misunderstanding about “heavy winter clothing” in regards to pistol bullets. Hollow point pistol bullets will often penetrate more deeply after encountering heavy clothing; as the hollow point becomes clogged, the bullet fails to expand, and the bullet behaves as a full-metal jacket. This is not necessarily the case with shot, however.
Shot is spherical in shape. Most birdshot is also soft lead, which is easily deformed. And again, as we’ve discussed, with each increase in distance from the intended target, energy is lost. At our arbitrary distance of point blank to a few feet, I wouldn’t count on a leather jacket or Carhartt coat to protect me from birdshot. At a few yards, a heavy coat and sweatshirt probably will begin offering some protection from those tiny pellets. I actually know quite a few people who have been “peppered” with birdshot (though at much greater distance than we are talking here) with zero penetration through a hunting jacket.
Again, let’s stack these variables. If the bad guy is four feet away, presenting a full-frontal shot, wearing only a t-shirt, birdshot can probably be pretty effective. But if he is down the hall and now several yards away, and not directly facing you, and is wearing several layers…is birdshot going to dependably – and definitively – get the job done? I wouldn’t be my life on it, especially when much better alternatives are widely and inexpensively available.
5. Pellet Accountability
This, admittedly, is not a huge concern for me at home since I live alone. It should be for those of you with other family members in the home, and it certainly should be a a concern for anyone considering using a shotgun for law enforcement work. A round of buckshot contains eight or nine pellets. With modern iterations of buck like Federal Flite Control pellets can predictably be kept on a human-sized target out to substantial distances. Even cheap, conventianal buckshot can keep all pellets on a reasonable, human-size target at common defensive distances. Keep in mind that as we discussed earlier, you should not always expect to get a full-frontal shot, so know your patterns accordingly.
