Chokes for HD
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oneounceload
Moderator
At HD distances, the differences will be minimal at best
Cosmik de Bris
New member
At 20 feet the wad would flatten an intruder.
NightSleeper
New member
No it doesn't. An IC is a good choice for home defense, by the way. I have a Benelli with no choke (i.e. cylinder), which is what I prefer for HD ranges. But at close range there probably isn't much of a difference between IC and modified chokes. Only one way to find out though ... pattern that sucker!
oneounceload
Moderator
Not necessarily - about a month or two ago, in Orlando, there was a dispute between neighbors regarding dogs and one shot the other one in the face with a load of birdshot - the victim had black and blue eyes and you could see a large number of pellets lodged under his skin that needed to be removed, but he was, for all intensive purposes, unharmed in any serious manner - had that been buckshot, he would have been dead
Not taking sides but to put things in perspective a skeet chocke is designed to pattern optimally at 21 yards. At 10 feet or less a skeet load has not started to spread and it basically hits the target as a slug. It won't perform as a slug once it penetrates skin but it will make a nice entrance wound just like a slug. Once the load begins to pattern it beggins to loose it effectiveness and that happens rather quickly with a skeet or IC chockes using 71/2 pellets or smaller diameter.
oneounceload
Moderator
Birdshot will make very nasty surface wounds and MAY penetrate to a vital area for stopping an attacker. Buckshot WILL penetrate and stop the attacker
rantingredneck
New member
At HD ranges the difference between your IC barrel and your Mod barrel won't likely matter much with 00, but do pattern it anyway so that you'll know what it will do should you (God forbid) need it.
Allow me a plug here for Federal "Flite Control" buckshot as well. With the advanced wad technology in these loads your patterns will be tight, regardless of choke well into distances beyond what you typically think of as HD ranges.
The various shotguns pulling HD Duty around here are loaded with Federal LE12700. Good stuff there........
Allow me a plug here for Federal "Flite Control" buckshot as well. With the advanced wad technology in these loads your patterns will be tight, regardless of choke well into distances beyond what you typically think of as HD ranges.
The various shotguns pulling HD Duty around here are loaded with Federal LE12700. Good stuff there........
My 12 gauge and 10 gauge are both loaded with #3. 24' is the longest possible shot in my house and 10' is probably more likely. My 20 gauge is my go to gun for a lot of reasons, mostly because of familiarity and its the one I shoot the most. It is loaded with #4 shot.
I patterned all of my guns with shot ranging from #6 to #3 in birdshot and all the way up to 00 buck at ranges from 8 yards to 30 yards. My chokes vary from IM and IC to full choke. At 8 yards all groups are small, less than 3" for my 20 using #4 shot but at 30 yards some are good and some are terrible. 00 Buck out of my 10 gauge will shoot a 36" donut ring with about 30" of clear space in the middle. That gun has a full choke.
You really do need to scope out your houses layout and run through some scenarios to best figure probable distances and longest likely distances and pattern for those ranges. My 10 and 12 are guns of last resort in house and best choice if I have to go outside. I chose #4 shot for my 20 gauge and made it my indoor first choice gun because it blows a clean hole through a 2X4 at 10' and blows an ice filled liter soda bottle to pieces at 24' leaving the top and bottom of the bottle free of pellets.
Not my first choice as a combat load, that would be 0 or 00 but for HD all I want is to stop the boogerman and protect my family and my house. I have every confidence that the little bird shot, (turkey load), to the head or groin will ruin a boogermans day at 24' and make him wish he had gone in for another line of work. At 10' his worries will be recuperation time if he does survive. I have no desire to kill anybody but I am dead serious about protecting my family. I'm old and disabled and so is my brother and sister who live with me. I chose #4 shot as good enough to stop an attack and reduces the risk of hurting them after poking a hole in the wall.
I don't give a tinkers dam about Box O' Truth. I am more concerned with my family, my belongings and a flesh and blood attacker who isn't going to want to be shot. Chances of being home invaded by a gang of frenzied heavily armored meth heads isn't too likely in my neck of the woods so I chose good enough. I can sleep with that.
For me the ideal choke has been IC, your gun will not be the same as mine and your needs may differ. As stated by several and as noted early in my post you need to pattern with what you have and make your own choice. George in Valdosta and Hank in San Pedro and Emma in Muscoda all have their own requirements and what they need or want isn't going to do you a bit of good. You need to get out there and do the sweat equity.
I patterned all of my guns with shot ranging from #6 to #3 in birdshot and all the way up to 00 buck at ranges from 8 yards to 30 yards. My chokes vary from IM and IC to full choke. At 8 yards all groups are small, less than 3" for my 20 using #4 shot but at 30 yards some are good and some are terrible. 00 Buck out of my 10 gauge will shoot a 36" donut ring with about 30" of clear space in the middle. That gun has a full choke.
You really do need to scope out your houses layout and run through some scenarios to best figure probable distances and longest likely distances and pattern for those ranges. My 10 and 12 are guns of last resort in house and best choice if I have to go outside. I chose #4 shot for my 20 gauge and made it my indoor first choice gun because it blows a clean hole through a 2X4 at 10' and blows an ice filled liter soda bottle to pieces at 24' leaving the top and bottom of the bottle free of pellets.
Not my first choice as a combat load, that would be 0 or 00 but for HD all I want is to stop the boogerman and protect my family and my house. I have every confidence that the little bird shot, (turkey load), to the head or groin will ruin a boogermans day at 24' and make him wish he had gone in for another line of work. At 10' his worries will be recuperation time if he does survive. I have no desire to kill anybody but I am dead serious about protecting my family. I'm old and disabled and so is my brother and sister who live with me. I chose #4 shot as good enough to stop an attack and reduces the risk of hurting them after poking a hole in the wall.
I don't give a tinkers dam about Box O' Truth. I am more concerned with my family, my belongings and a flesh and blood attacker who isn't going to want to be shot. Chances of being home invaded by a gang of frenzied heavily armored meth heads isn't too likely in my neck of the woods so I chose good enough. I can sleep with that.
For me the ideal choke has been IC, your gun will not be the same as mine and your needs may differ. As stated by several and as noted early in my post you need to pattern with what you have and make your own choice. George in Valdosta and Hank in San Pedro and Emma in Muscoda all have their own requirements and what they need or want isn't going to do you a bit of good. You need to get out there and do the sweat equity.
I'd use Cyl-IC or thereabouts. It don't matter a whole lot at those ranges. At 20 yards, it'd make a difference, but I don't live in a mansion 
The penetration of bird shot versus buckshot is extremely different.
There are a ton of stats out there and tests...here's one I've looked at before:
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot3.htm
I personally use Federal 00 9 pellet 12GA Low Recoil buckshot. At HD range you don't need a ton of muzzle velocity, but you do need penetration (buckshot). Quick followup shots is the key if you have a miss or multiple assailants, so I'd stick with the lower recoil stuff, no magnum 60 yard kill type loads.
The penetration of bird shot versus buckshot is extremely different.
There are a ton of stats out there and tests...here's one I've looked at before:
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot3.htm
I personally use Federal 00 9 pellet 12GA Low Recoil buckshot. At HD range you don't need a ton of muzzle velocity, but you do need penetration (buckshot). Quick followup shots is the key if you have a miss or multiple assailants, so I'd stick with the lower recoil stuff, no magnum 60 yard kill type loads.
Yes I do have that kind of precognitive skill, its called common sense. The biggest room in my home is 15' X 25' wall to wall, so that is the range I'd be shooting at in my home. I don't know the distance this man got shot in the face with bird shot but I can promise it wasn't at 10-20 ft. Like someone else mentioned in that range it would be similar to getting hit with a slug. I've shot snapping turtles at that range with bird shot and i just punches a hole strait threw them. Is my home defense shotgun loaded with buckshot? Yes. Would birdshot effectively kill a man in a home? Yes, its not even worth arguing. I'm not saying birdshot penetrates more than buck. I'm saying it will kill an intruder at that range.