Quote:
Originally Posted by rwsmith
Anyway, I'm beginning to change my thinking. Birdshot/small game shot is said not to penetrate enough, but at a range of 5 yards max wouldn't it hit almost like a slug and be stopped by walls?
|
The first shooting I went to was a guy who caught a 20 ga #6 low brass round center chest just below the xypoid at 15 ft. It cut a hole about the size of a golf ball with some jagged edges. We found the shot cup next to his spine. Yes, he was dead.
If you want to see what a birdshot pattern looks like at close range use some sheet rock as a target and measure the rooms at your house. The shoot the sheet rock with birdshot at the same distance as your house rooms. For the distances in most houses and bedrooms that birdshot is going to look like a bit slug hole. The distance is too close for the shot column to start opening.
I use sheet rock as target backers. Even shooting .22 pistol at 100 yds and every other caliber I haven't seen sheet rock stop any rounds yet, even at 100 yards.
A lot of people don't have any idea just how much penetration almost every round has. On Oct 2, 1996 we attempted to arrested an armed fugitive holed up in a hotel room. When we hit the door he opened up on us with a TEC-9 in one hand and a Colt Mustang .380 in the other. The door swung open and closed in just a second but in that time he fired 11 rds at us. Obviously we couldn't make entry. As soon as the door closed he shot himself with the Colt .380 FMJ. The bullet entered his head just in front of and above his right ear. It exited just behind and about center of his left ear. The bullet then traveled thru the arm of an overstuffed chair. Then it went thru at an angle of about 2" of sheet rock where it then struck a wooden 2X4 stud. It logged about 1" into the wood.
Do not under estimate the penetration of any round.