We have done tests with various birdshot loads. Birdshot penetrated through two pieces of drywall (representing one wall) and was stopped in the paper on the front of the second wall. The problem with birdshot is that it does not penetrate enough to be effective as a defense round. Birdshot is designed to bring down little birds.
As to effectiveness for home-defense, you have to make your own call. The short range performance was certainly devastating to plywood, but the gel tests showed nowhere near the level of penetration that a traditional handgun bullet would achieve.
Birdshot for self defense
Insofar as self defense is concerned, I do not consider birdshot to be effective, and this opinion is shared by many other people. The reason is simple: To stop an attacker right away, before they can kill or seriously injure you, you must disrupt their vital organ(s). The small birdshot pellets are unable to penetrate an attacker deeply enough to reach a vital organ. Birdshot will cause a painful and messy looking wound, but it simply won’t reach the vital organs. Some people will argue that at close range, birdshot is “like a solid column of lead”, but this is not the case either. While it is true that the pellets are close together and nearly touching, they will still behave as individual pellets as they penetrate the target, and ballistic gel testing demonstrates this. The birdshot, even at extremely close range, will only penetrate about 6 inches of ballistic gel, while penetration of 12 inches of ballistic gel is generally considered the minimum effective depth to stop an attacker. With birdshot, the attacker may well be fatally wounded, but in the many minutes or hours it takes before the attacker succumbs to their wounds, they still can kill you or a loved one. That is why I generally recommend at least 00 buckshot for self defense, when using a shotgun.
I discuss self defense ammunition for shotguns, as well as rifles and handguns in greater detail here.
I am sure they will kill geese. they will also kill deer and deer are far tougher to than people.
Yeah I know. But couple that with two layers of thick books, wood, the wall and associated accoutrement and the chances of penetration along the intended path are greatly reduced.
Unless you're one of those idiots that decided to use M855 or AP for Home Defense.
They make quality hollowpoints and soft points now. Or did ya not get the memo?
So you are willing to risk your family's lives on SHOULD?
Test first, if you think it will work.
I shot 3/8" steel plate with standard M193 at about 100 yards. It made CLEAN holes right through it. It did not transfer enough energy to even make a swinging plate, visibly swing. I will post pics of the plate when I get home, if I can find it. I am sure I did not throw it out.
M855 doesn't penetrate that much better, it was only designed to penetrate a standard infantry helmet.
Now AP might do more. But might now. Penetration against armor is based on how hard/tough the bullet is. In soft stuff, it is more about tumbling or fragmentation (and yes, AP will resist fragmentation).
Yeah I know. But couple that with two layers of thick books, wood, the wall and associated accoutrement and the chances of penetration along the intended path are greatly reduced.
How many deer wear heavy coats?
#4 buckshot, and birdshot, are lousy ideas. We really need a sticky thread. This keeps coming up again and again. #1 buck, at a minimum.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/ammo_by_anonymous.htm
In hard materials, FMJ versus Soft Point is not a huge difference. At rifle velocities, the bullets punch through mild steel. Unlike the movies and TV.
But I HIGHLY suggest you test any "bullet stopping" matrix you come up with. Better to build a setup, shoot and find out if it performs the way you THINK it does. Versus assuming it will work, and finding out it does not when you shoot a family member through it.
Who tied your shoes this morning?
If you don't want to answer how much did your parents have to pay for you to pass remedial English?
Hmm, who started by saying that X setup would reduce the risk? Without ANY evidence that the suggested method would work or not?
Maybe it would, maybe it would not.
Personally, I would not risk the life of my family on what you THINK might work.