One of the most irritating lines I ever hear from those who choose shotguns for their primary home defense tools is something like, “I don’t even need to aim it.” Educated by Hollywood, they treat it like it’s a Claymore mine.
This is the kind of thinking that can get you killed, after you miss an intruder. Shotguns must be shot (intentionally aimed) inside homes as if they were rifles. Think of it as shooting one big bullet.
This is because the buckshot commonly used for home defense does not have enough distance to travel out of the muzzle to begin the process of dispersing to any real extent. This video from Lucky Gunner does a great job of briefly delving into the issue at hand.
Even at nine yards – a very long shot inside a house – the Flight Control 00 Buck he is using looks like a slug on the target. It’s one quarter-sized hole.
Shotguns are brilliant defensive tools. They are instant fight-stoppers. Getting hit with 00 buck at close range is like being hit with nine 9mm rounds in the same moment. If you hit an attacker with this stuff high center-mass, there won’t be any questions about who wins.
The same can’t be said about handguns with the same degree of certainty.
There are a lot of first-time gun owners out there right now. Many, like some of my friends, made their first purchase a shotgun. It’s a great choice when used properly. If you have friends in the same boat, be sure they understand all of this. The real world ain’t the movies.
