# My Friend is considering buying a Gun for Home Defense, what practical things should I tell him? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 28, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-is-considering-buying-a-gun-for-home-defense-what-practical-things-should-i-tell-him/645427 "2012-12-28T21:22:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-is-considering-buying-a-gun-for-home-defense-what-practical-things-should-i-tell-him/645427/41 "2013-01-05T00:31:47Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > And it, per the first Box O Truth link I put up, will also go through 6 interior walls. Well, the 00 Buck went through 7, with a few outliers going through 8, so I guess it’s an improvement? At least it’s a whole lot better in that department than using a slug… > > [Brassfetcher’s summary table of 12 gauge rounds](http://www.brassfetcher.com/12%20Gauge/12%20Gauge%20Shotgun%20Summary%20Table.pdf) (pdf) lists quite a bit less penetration in bare ballistic gelatin for #4 Buck vs #00 Buck, yet still going over 12 inches. Agreed that it would be a terminal day-ruiner for whoever got hit with the shot column. Still, whether it’s #4 or #000, it’s still going through house walls if you miss with any of the pellets—maybe even if you hit?— and you are responsible for where each and every one of those pellets ends up. > > One nice thing about #4 Buck vs. #00 is that, due to the spheres being smaller for #4, you can utilize more of the case volume with #4, and thereby throw more mass downrange, than you can with #00. E.g., Federal’s [Premium 3 inch Buckshot #4](http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/buckshot.aspx?id=476) load has 41 pellets within it. Each [pellet is 20.7 grains in weight](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_shot), for a total of 848.7 grains. Their [#00 Buck load](http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/buckshot.aspx?id=475), OTOH, has 15 pellets. Each #00 pellet weighs 53.8 grains, for a total shot column weight of 807 grains, about 5% smaller. Hmmm, I had thought it was more significant than that. Thanks for the info. What kind of velocity would a #4 pellet have after going through 2 pieces of drywall? Enough to kill a person? Give him a boo-boo on the skin? I’m looking at the wall between 2 of my bedrooms. I suppose if I placed the muzzle right up against the wall, someone on the other side might be in trouble. But to shoot at someone standing near the wall at a sufficient distance to make a shotgun practical and to then pierce the wall with a velocity to hurt someone on the other side? I’m not seeing it, but I am ready to be hoisted, hoisted I tells ya, on my own petard.. 🙂 ETA: Plus a shotgun increases the chances for a novice shooter that the majority of the shot will hit the intended target instead of firing 14 rounds over his right shoulder. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-is-considering-buying-a-gun-for-home-defense-what-practical-things-should-i-tell-him/645427/42 "2013-01-05T00:37:44Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Thanks for the info. What kind of velocity would a #4 pellet have after going through 2 pieces of drywall? Enough to kill a person? Give him a boo-boo on the skin? I’m looking at the wall between 2 of my bedrooms. I suppose if I placed the muzzle right up against the wall, someone on the other side might be in trouble. you tell us. y’know, since you’ve fired more guns than me. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-is-considering-buying-a-gun-for-home-defense-what-practical-things-should-i-tell-him/645427/43 "2013-01-05T01:10:13Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > ETA: Plus a shotgun increases the chances for a novice shooter that the majority of the shot will hit the intended target instead of firing 14 rounds over his right shoulder. Shotgun pellets only spread about 1 inch per yard. You still have to aim. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-is-considering-buying-a-gun-for-home-defense-what-practical-things-should-i-tell-him/645427/44 "2013-01-05T01:23:14Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Shotgun pellets only spread about 1 inch per yard. You still have to aim. Of course. I’m not saying that you can fire blindly, but a reasonably aimed shot will do the job. (And give your shoulder a hell of a kick, give you time to assess the damage and re-aim. The intruder will be sufficiently stunned to allow you that time). Compare with a handgun (even a revolver) that in your excited state you unloaded at the guy (think of the Jules and Vincent scene in Pulp Fiction). But even at 6 feet and a 2 inch spread, you’ve turned the intruder into swiss cheese by a “good enough” shot. 6 feet is far enough for any interior home defense application. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-friend-is-considering-buying-a-gun-for-home-defense-what-practical-things-should-i-tell-him/645427.md?page=2)