12/70 birdshot vs human (at home defence distance)?

20-25 feets

bird shot will likely kill a person at that range, but why not go with buck shot and remove all doubt? Just a suggestion.

If you read in the news earlier in the week: an Alaskan 11 year old boy saved his father and uncle from a charging bear while they were headed out on a fishing trip.

It took three shots to take down the bear since his first two shells were bird shot and bounced right off the bear before it was dropped by buckshot.

The Boy is a hero, no doubt, but also lucky in that you may not often get a 'second shot to make a first impression"

just my two cents

Lawyer-up before shooting anybody.

You might get one free 'phone call

afterward but how often do folks

pick-up for jailhouse callers ?

Birdshot is not a good home defense load in general. You can't pay $.50 a shot for a box of buckshot?

at point blank like within 15 ft it will turn him into hamburger for sure .. i'd say once the distance opens up greater than that the likelyhood it would kill go ways down, it would still put a good hurtin on him though, he aint gonna keep coming at ya trust me ..

In your home, I doubt you'd ever shoot at an intruder from more than 10 feet. Lethality due to crushing injury of the totality of the weight of the shot is what does it. I wouldn't recommend small shot size, and I keep BB in mine. You'll find strong arguments for 00 Buckshot, too.

At 20 yards the pellets will barely penetrate cardboard. At close range, it's extremely dangerous. (Spitz and Fisher)

For home defense, it's unlikely you'll be shooting at tens of yards of distance. In many cases, the concussion and danger level will scare away an assailant anyway. In the extreme damage images you can find from shotgun suicides, typically, the bulk of the destruction is due to gas expansion rather than the pellets themselves. Unless you're executing an assailant, you won't cause this kind of "explosive" damage.

Yes, birdshot can kill or it just might make him angry.

Well thats what killed my old boss.....birdshot in the chest.