I've killed a lot of land mammals with 1 1/8 oz #4 and #2 lead birdshot, #1 and BB steel, at close range. I've seen what kills outright and what wounds on animals to about 60 lbs. frequently, some years being busier than others. Will birdshot kill a man at 7 yards? To be perfectly honest, yes, it probably will do the trick. The problem is, it only takes a few factors before it goes from killing to pretty worthless, pretty quickly I might add. Every foot closer makes it far deadlier, and every inch further puts that whole affair in question. When life and death are on the line, would you want to trust your life to such a fickle load?

IF, and I don't recommend birdshot, IF you are going to shoot birdshot, run a 22inch barrel at least, and FULL choke only. The only other choice is extra full or turkey choke You are trying to make the birdshot hit as if it were a slug; spread is what you want to avoid at all costs. The cop shotgun, 18 inch barrel and mod to, absolutely the worst choice in the world for birdshot, cylinder bore, is the worst combination you could possibly choose. When you talk about the birdshot having extremely short terminal range for effectiveness, that extremely short range is made much worse by short barrels and open chokes. IF, and I don't support the choice, IF you choose birdshot, a 26 inch turkey choked shotgun is the choice you should stick too, rather than an off the rack 18 inch cylinder bore. Open up that pattern, and you could cut the effectiveness of that load from a short 10 yards to perhaps even a 5 yard, or even shorter.

Keep combat shotgun barrels to what they were intended for, which is slugs. They are open choked and short to maximize slug accuracy, to make them capable of 100 yard fighting if need be. They aren't great for patterning buckshot, and shorten the range of that as well, much less birdshot, which relies SOLELY on pattern to have any effect at all. IF you are going to use birdshot out of a short open choke barrel, choose one of the new fancy super close patterning wad loads, Flight Control, ect., that can actually give good tight patterns out of an open choke. Otherwise, you really are setting yourself up for a dangerous situation where you could spray someone with a load of little lead pellets and fail to slow them down or stop them.

It ends up with your situation, as has been stated numerous times. Some people live in crowded apartment complexes and worry about hitting their own loved ones or neighbors, and in such extreme cramped quarters, feel that birdshot would do anyway, and have considerations of collateral damage. Some are out in the country, and some inbetween. Birdshot should be considered a specialty round, for those who know themselves, the situations, the surroundings, and have made a very well informed decision. Otherwise, for most people's range and house, surroudnings, ect., buckshot is always preferred. Buckshot can easily be lethal up to and even past 100 yards, can punch deep through the torso of an attacker, and can get through limbs to the heart of the matter. It easily exceeds the ranges most self defense situations will incur, and has adequate penetration. Its effectiveness in real life scenarios proceeds it, for good reason. Also consider its over penetration and punch through of hard objects to be, sometimes, highly exaggerated.

The concept of #1 buck for close range defense certainly has many merits compared to 00. 00 is the usual choice of law enforcement and more universal because it extends the range of the load quite a bit, ensuring ability to punch through harder objects in law enforcement situations, as well as better penetration at longer ranges. But for Average Joe, in his house, #1 offers more than enough punch, and more pellets for shot weight, making it equal to perhaps superior. #4-2 buck will probably work well at these shorter ranges, but the increase in pellet count is probably not worth it.

Personally, I own several shotguns, and consider all of them to be useful. They have always been the go to on the farm to get rid of pests, so when I'm at home one is always handy. From a cheap Russian double barrel that has done a lot of the work, to a couple of 12 gauge pumps, I use full chokes, 26 inch barrels, and 2 3/4 cheap Rio magnum 00 buckshot. Not combat style shotguns, and not super ammo, but then again they are hunting shotguns I know inside and out, have used on clay and in the field enough to shoot it well in a real life scenario, and cheap practice ammo that will be no different than the rounds I've ran out of them for fun. Familiarity beats speciality. If you've shot hundreds of clay pidgeons, ducks, grouse, ect., you are already adept at quickly swinging that big ol long barrel gun in real life, so doing so in a real life defense situation will be more natural than a short barrel gun you may not practice the same way with.

I've been switching over to 10 bore now, and have a BPS 10 loaded with handload 15 pellet 00 buckshot that will pattern all 15 pellets into a center mass at 35 yards. Good for point blank, and still good enough for most situations.