Table of Contents
Are 12 gauge slugs good for home defense?
Although the size and weight of a shotgun slug make it more powerful and deadly, they aren’t usually recommended for home defense. Most intruders are engaged at close range, usually between 7 and 15 feet (or the length of a typical hallway). A slug is going to plow through a lot of stuff before it stops.
Are rifled slugs good for home defense?
Slugs are really useful if we need to extend the range of the shotgun or in situations where penetration is really important. 00 buckshot is the most common type of defensive shotgun ammo and it’s very effective up to about 25 yards. With a tight pattern, you can maybe stretch it out to 40 or 50.
What is the best 12 gauge load for home defense?
While some defensive shotgun experts opine that #3 or #4 buck is the best overall choice, others feel that #1 buck is superior to all other choices, even over 00 buck for tactical/defensive use, since there is more total payload, sufficient penetration in ordnance gelatin, less risk of over-penetration, and a greater …
What shotgun shell is best for home defense?
Most experts agree that reduced-power 00 buck shells in 12 gauge are the best overall choice for home defense. Slugs – These are essentially oversized bullets designed to be fired from a shotgun. They offer the advantage of tremendous stopping power.
Which is worse buckshot or slug?
The big advantage of using a slug is that it has a much longer effective range than buckshot. A 50-75-yard shot on a deer is usually well within the performance capability of a shotgun shooting slugs. Additionally, shotgun slugs retain their energy better and typically penetrate much deeper than buckshot.
What is the best shot size for home defense with a shotgun?
birdshot, a standard birdshot load is usually best for a homeowner’s defensive 12-gauge shotgun. In close-range encounters, as found in most home-defense situations, birdshot can be deadly. But, it loses power so fast, over-penetration is much less of a problem.
Is number 2 shot good for home defense?
#2 steel shot is a good overall choice for large birds, medium-sized mammals and home defense. The less dense and environmentally safer steel is quite popular, with the only downside being the loss of penetration with steel due to lead being heavier.
What is a 12 gauge slug good for?
If we need to punch through a barrier, a 12 gauge slug is one of the best tools we have available. This is really useful for law enforcement, because they often have to fight in and around cars, and a slug will penetrate right through a car body or windshield far more consistently than buckshot, or a handgun or a carbine.
Which saiga do you use for home defense?
In honor of our 200th subscriber, here is a pretty nice (I think) pic of the Saiga 12 which I use for home defense. I restored (converted) her a few years ago, but she has since been tweaked and improved, numerous times. Most of the original conversion parts came from Mississippi Auto Arms.
Is there a Vepr-12 similar to the Saiga 12?
Molot Vepr-12 is supposed to be imported into the country soon. They are similar to Saiga-12s, but have mag well, Last Round Bolt Hold Open, better fit and finish, etc. However, they are not going to be cheap. I own two Saiga-12s.
Can I use slugs instead of buckshot for home defense?
For anyone interested in using a shotgun as part of their home defense plan, I typically recommend loading that shotgun with buckshot. A lot of people have asked about using slugs as an alternative, or maybe keeping a couple of slugs handy on a sidesaddle to complement the buckshot.