Tungsten or copper plated lead penetrate better than plain lead and all three are better than steel. I think you wouldn't want to go smaller than BB in size.
If you scroll down, you can see how poor the penetration is for #4 shot. Nasty but not an instant lethal hit. One caveat, the closest distance is 20 yards which is well outside apartment distances so you would have better results closer in. So the lethality issue is up in the air for bigger shot sizes.
#4 Buck works very well at room clearing distances. If I were worried about penetration and my plan was to barricade in place and repel boarders from within my bedroom (which is actually a sound choice if you live alone) #4 would be high on my list. I’ve got a 590 loaded with it near my bed right now in fact.
#1 and 00 are both more versatile if you might have to reach down a long hallway or into the back yard. Even with 00 Flitecontrol I’d rather have a rifle or pistol caliber carbine past about 25 yards.
April 04, 2024, 08:32 PM
MikeinNC
I use a 12ga and use #4 BUCK for HD.
If I were to use my AR I’d use a hunting/sporting round similar to what the local police use. My old department used Remington PSP 55 grain. But any HP ammo would work.
"Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” Robert A. Heinlein
“You may beat me, but you will never win.” sigmonkey-2020
“A single round of buckshot to the torso almost always results in an immediate change of behavior.” Chris Baker
April 05, 2024, 11:09 AM
Mr. Peteroniman
in my home defense shotty I load buckshot and then slug, buckshot and then slug the buckshot is for opening up a hole in the wall so I can see through it
All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. For after all, he was only human. He wasn't a dog.” ― Charles M. Schulz
April 05, 2024, 11:31 AM
parabellum
quote:
Originally posted by Mr. Peteroniman: the buckshot is for opening up a hole in the wall so I can see through it
Yeah? You're going to put your face up to it?
April 05, 2024, 11:37 AM
RogueJSK
Not sure if you're serious.
So you're actively planning for your first shot to be at/through a wall that you don't know for sure what's behind it?
April 09, 2024, 11:38 AM
trapper189
quote:
You can't cheat the laws of physics.
Any round that has the ability to penetrate into a bad guy will be able to easily penetrate residential walls
I hope my wife believes this when I tell her we need a 50 cal. They’re pouring the walls tomorrow: the concrete will be 6” thick with $10k of rebar inside:
April 09, 2024, 12:15 PM
RogueJSK
That's not a house, that's a bunker.
April 09, 2024, 04:07 PM
trapper189
It is. The walls are supposed to be good for winds up to 300mph.
April 09, 2024, 04:25 PM
sourdough44
In a townhouse I’d be happy with an 18” barreled shotgun. I know there are more offerings with 12 ga ammo, 20 ga would cover me.
Then we back up to ‘layered defenses’, that starts with where one lives. The 1st order would be to exit the hood, if it applies.
Here in the country, my German Shepherd keeps the riff-raff away.
April 14, 2024, 07:23 AM
sgalczyn
quote:
Originally posted by RogueJSK: That's not a house, that's a BOONKER .
FIFY
"No matter where you go - there you are"
April 14, 2024, 07:46 PM
DaBigBR
I'm a couple pages late, but the answer to the thread. This question drives me absolutely insane. The answer is to select a load that provides the most acceptable ballistic result in human flesh and to stop prioritizing your misses.
Speer Gold Dot 62 grain Speer Gold Dot 75 grain Hornady 53 grain copper Hornady 75 grain TAP SBR (if you have an SBR) Federal Tactical Bonded 62 grain
There are the rounds that consistently provide as close to FBI spec performance in ballistics gelatin . Everything else is a compromise. Get a decent, proven round that performs how you want it to in flesh and shoot it accurately and you will not have to worry about how many sheets of sheetrock it will go through.
April 19, 2024, 11:39 AM
DanH
Not quite what the OP was looking for, but it does give some ideas:
April 19, 2024, 12:12 PM
sigfreund
quote:
Originally posted by DanH: Not quite what the OP was looking for, but it does give some ideas:
Interesting. Who would have thought that a projectile with less mass, energy, and momentum would penetrate less than projectiles with more of the above? I wonder how birdshot or small buckshot would perform?
More seriously, how many direct, valid reports are there of home invaders’ being shot with small pellets from a shotgun at close distances during a home invasion who then continued on to rape, murder, and plunder the occupants? Anyone?
► 6.0/94.0
I can tell at sight a Chassepot rifle from a javelin.
April 19, 2024, 09:36 PM
mo4040
quote:
Originally posted by DaBigBR: I'm a couple pages late, but the answer to the thread. This question drives me absolutely insane. The answer is to select a load that provides the most acceptable ballistic result in human flesh and to stop prioritizing your misses.
Speer Gold Dot 62 grain Speer Gold Dot 75 grain Hornady 53 grain copper Hornady 75 grain TAP SBR (if you have an SBR) Federal Tactical Bonded 62 grain
There are the rounds that consistently provide as close to FBI spec performance in ballistics gelatin . Everything else is a compromise. Get a decent, proven round that performs how you want it to in flesh and shoot it accurately and you will not have to worry about how many sheets of sheetrock it will go through.
Very valid points, Sir.
__________________________ "just look at the flowers..."
