Best 12 ga. Shells for Home defense?

When i was more into guns than i am now, i recall endless debate about which 12ga load offered the best performance. I beleive it was #1 buckshot that offered the optimum combination of number of pellets, pellet size and penetration. If i remember correctly, a 3" #1 BS load will have 24 30 cal. pellets at around 1200 fps. The more pellets you have, the more likely you are to hit the spinal cord and thus end the fight immediately, which is obviously what you want. So, you have a good sized pellet, 24 of them, traveling fast, penetrating approx. 12", and 24 chances to hit the spinal cord. Shoot twice and you now have 48 chances, 3 times, you get the point. Slugs are a silly choice for a SG, unless youre hunting. You definitely want the spread of shot in a close, defensive encounter.
 
Pattern most shotguns at 8 - 12ft and you will find that you have very little spread. Most guns will have at most a 2 or 3 inch pattern depending on shot and choke.

Aimed fire is still very much called for. I prefer full chokes on riot guns so I can put all that destruction exactly where I want it. My house gun has a full choke and ghost ring sights.

I am also a big fan of pistol caliber lever action carbines for house guns. I have a 16" Rossi made Winchester '92 copy in .357 mag that I dearly love.
 
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