{"id":3690,"date":"2021-03-16T08:39:44","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T08:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/?p=3690"},"modified":"2021-03-16T12:28:58","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T12:28:58","slug":"home-defense-shotgun-ammo-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/home-defense-shotgun-ammo-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Defense Shotgun Ammo Test"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Testing Home Defense Shotgun Ammo <\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home defense is one of the first priorities for almost every new gun owner. Our home is our castle, and the thought of a violent intruder forcefully entering our homes can literally keep us awake at night. A shotgun brings a lot of firepower to any home defense scenario. No matter if it\u2019s the latest tactical semi-automatic scattergun or a classic side by side coach gun, a shotgun sends a lot of lead downrange all at once, which can make it an excellent choice for home defense. However, even the best of guns can be crippled by poor ammunition. This is why choosing the right home defense shotgun ammo is as important as choosing your home defense shotgun itself.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home Defense Firearms For Beginners<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the next few articles, we\u2019re going to take a look at home defense ammunition. What we\u2019ll be looking at is not the standard tests of penetration and expansion of a bullet when it hits a testing medium such as ballistics gel. Rather, we\u2019re going to be looking at what happens if you miss, and send a round careening through the interior walls of your home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s begin by talking about how a typical interior wall is constructed. The vast majority of interior walls in modern homes are made of two layers of drywall, also known as gypsum board, plasterboard, sheetrock or wallboard. Drywall is from one-half inch or so of compressed, powdered gypsum surrounded by two sheets of heavy paper. The structural component of an interior wall is usually made of 2x4s placed 16 inches apart, and then one sheet of drywall is screwed into each side of the wall.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What&#8217;s Inside The Walls Of Your Home<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is important because there are many other interior wall penetration tests out there which shoot at a lineup of a dozen or more sheets of drywall, proving that one half inch of what is in essence just blackboard chalk does a lousy job of stopping bullets. On top of this, we need to look at what a missed shot really does, A missed shot that penetrates a wall is a problem. A missed shot that penetrates an interior wall and hits an innocent person? That\u2019s a much bigger problem.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many people have attempted to show what happens when a bullet is fired indoors and goes through an interior wall, but those tests all show that is that a bullet, just about any bullet, can go through many layers of drywall. What no one has tested\u00a0 is what happens when a bullet goes through an interior wall and hits someone on the other side.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Until now, that is.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We know that shotguns can be a devastating self-defense tool. We know that shotgun pellets can fly right through an interior wall. What we don\u2019t know is what happens when shotgun pellets hit something after they\u2019ve gone through a wall. We want our home defense shotgun ammo to stop the threat, but what happens if our aim is off? What happens when we miss a shot, and the pellets from our shotgun go through an interior wall in our home?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Testing Defensive Shotgun<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To test what a round of home defense shotgun ammo might do to someone after it has passed through a wall, we\u2019re going to start by building a few walls. The test rounds will first pass through two 16 inch by 16 inch sheets of \u00bd inch drywall that are separated by two sections of 2&#215;4 lumber. We\u2019ll place a 16 inch long section of clear ballistic gel one foot behind that wall, and there will be a larger, 4 food square section of wall that will be placed 12 feet away from the first wall, which is about <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.homestratosphere.com\/average-size-bedroom\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the same size as a typical kid\u2019s bedroom<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019re using Clear Ballistics gel because it is a standard testing medium for measuring the effects of a bullet\u2019s wounding capability. <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dtbtest.com\/eLibrary\/ballistics-FBI-protocol.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The FBI recommends that 12 inches into gel<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the minimum for a potentially lethal round. Therefore, if a round passes through both the drywall sheets in the first wall and 12 inches (or more) into the gel behind the wall, we can assume there\u2019s a good chance that errant round has caused some poor unfortunate soul a whole world of trouble.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019ll also measure the velocity of each round at the muzzle, and then document both the effect that each shotshell has on the first wall it passes through, the effect on the gel and then any effect the shot has on the rear wall.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Testing Home Defense Shotgun Ammo<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019ll be testing the following rounds to see how they work as home defense shotgun ammo:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>12 Gauge\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/12-gauge-estate-dove-and-target-load-2-3-4-7-5-shot-gtl12hn75-25-rounds\">Federal #7.5 Birdshot<\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/12-gauge-federal-power-shok-2-3-4-4-buck-f127-4b-250-rounds\">Federal #4 Buckshot<\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/12-gauge-fiocchi-2-3-4-00-buckshot-10-rounds\">Fiocchi Low Recoil 00 8 Pellet Buckshot<\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/12-gauge-federal-tactical-00-buckshot-8-pellet-le13300\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Federal 8 Pellet FliteControl 00 Buckshot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>20 Gauge<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/20-gauge-winchester-super-x-2-3-4-in-7-steel-shot-we20gt7-25-rounds\">Winchester Super-X #7 Birdshot<\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/20-gauge-234-winchester-superx-no3-5\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Winchester Super-X #3 Buckshot<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The guns we\u2019ll be using for this test are a Mossberg 500 12 gauge and a Remington 870 20 gauge pump action shotgun, both with cylinder bore barrels. Also, we\u2019ll measure velocity using a Competition Electronics ProChrono chronograph. As we said before, the purpose of this test isn\u2019t to see how an individual round would affect its intended target. Rather, we\u2019re investigating what happens if you miss, and what the effects of that miss might be on an innocent person on the other side of an interior wall.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home Defense Shotgun Ammo Test Results\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3>12 Gauge<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_birdshot-scaled.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-0\" data-magnific_type=\"image\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3695 size-full\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_birdshot-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"12 gauge flitecontrol shotgun shell\" width=\"2560\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_birdshot-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_birdshot-300x63.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_birdshot-1024x216.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_birdshot-768x162.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_birdshot-1536x324.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_birdshot-2048x433.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_birdshot-610x129.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_birdshot-1080x228.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_birdshot-627x132.jpg 627w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Federal 12 Gauge #7.5 Birdshot\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Muzzle Velocity: 1099 fps<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minimum Gel Penetration: 1.5 inches<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maximum Gel Penetration: 6.75 inches<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Struck Rear Wall: N<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Penetrated Rear Wall: N<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The birdshot blew large holes in both the front and rear portions of our test wall. The gel block stopped all the pellets from the round, and did so at a distance that is less than the distance the FBI recommended distance of 12 inches. However, extensive testing has shown that #7 birdshot doesn\u2019t penetrate 12 inches into gel under any circumstances. If you\u2019re using birdshot as a home defense shotgun ammo, you\u2019ll hurt your attacker, but you won\u2019t cause a wound that will reduce or eliminate them as a threat to you or a loved one. Leave birdshot to the birds, and find another home defense shotgun ammo instead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_number4_buckshot-scaled.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-1\" data-magnific_type=\"image\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3687 size-full\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_number4_buckshot-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"12 gauge #4 buckshot shotgun shell\" width=\"2560\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_number4_buckshot-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_number4_buckshot-300x63.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_number4_buckshot-1024x216.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_number4_buckshot-768x162.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_number4_buckshot-1536x325.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_number4_buckshot-2048x433.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_number4_buckshot-610x129.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_number4_buckshot-1080x228.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_number4_buckshot-627x133.jpg 627w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Federal #4 Buckshot<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Muzzle Velocity: 899 fps<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minimum Gel Penetration: 3.5 inches<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maximum Gel Penetration: 9 inches<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Struck Rear Wall: N<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Penetrated Rear Wall: N<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">#4 Buckshot <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=w6cmGHz-4O4\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is often recommended<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as the best compromise between the man-stopping thump of a full-power buckshot round and the need for reduced penetration if you miss. Based on our testing, those recommendations might just be correct. 12 gauge #4 buckshot blew through our test wall, but only penetrated 9 inches into the gel behind the wall. That amount of penetration would cause grievous injuries and be potentially lethal. However, it is less than 12 inches that the FBI says is ideal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_low_recoil_buckshot-scaled.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-2\" data-magnific_type=\"image\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3686 size-full\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_low_recoil_buckshot-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"12 gauge home defense shotgun ammo\" width=\"2560\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_low_recoil_buckshot-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_low_recoil_buckshot-300x63.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_low_recoil_buckshot-1024x216.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_low_recoil_buckshot-768x162.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_low_recoil_buckshot-1536x325.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_low_recoil_buckshot-2048x433.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_low_recoil_buckshot-610x129.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_low_recoil_buckshot-1080x228.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_low_recoil_buckshot-627x133.jpg 627w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Fiocchi Low Recoil 00 Buckshot<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Muzzle Velocity: 1148 fps<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minimum Gel Penetration: 15 inches<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maximum Gel Penetration: 16+ inches<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Struck Rear Wall: Y<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Penetrated Rear Wall: N<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">00 Buckshot is considered to be the \u201cgo to\u201d round for home defense shotgun ammo, and with good reason. A single pellet of 00 buckshot is about the same size and weight as a .32 ACP bullet and also hits with about the same amount of force. Nine of those pellets hitting the target at the same time can be devastating. However, all that power means that 00 buckshot also punched right through the gel behind our test wall, striking the rear wall in our testing site. 00 buck can cause devastating effects on your target, but an innocent life can be devastated if you miss.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_flitecontrol_buckshot-scaled.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-3\" data-magnific_type=\"image\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3685 size-full\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_flitecontrol_buckshot-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"12 gauge flitecontrol home defense shotgun ammo\" width=\"2560\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_flitecontrol_buckshot-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_flitecontrol_buckshot-300x63.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_flitecontrol_buckshot-1024x216.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_flitecontrol_buckshot-768x162.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_flitecontrol_buckshot-1536x325.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_flitecontrol_buckshot-2048x433.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_flitecontrol_buckshot-610x129.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_flitecontrol_buckshot-1080x228.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/12_ga_flitecontrol_buckshot-627x133.jpg 627w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Federal 8 Pellet FliteControl 00 8 Pellet Buckshot<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Muzzle Velocity: 1160 fps<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minimum Gel Penetration: 16+ inches<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maximum Gel Penetration: 16+ inches<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Struck Rear Wall: Y<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Penetrated Rear Wall: Y<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Federal Flitecontrol buckshot uses a special design to minimize the spread of the shot one the shell leaves the barrel. This makes it an excellent choice for your home defense or tactical shotgun, but it also means it causes more devastation than regular 00 buckshot. Flite control is an excellent choice for stopping a life-ending threat with one shot. However, it was the only shotgun round we tested with pellets that went completely through the first wall, the gel block and then exited the rear wall of our testing setup.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>20 Gauge<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_birdshot-scaled.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-4\" data-magnific_type=\"image\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3688 size-full\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_birdshot-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"20 gauge #3 buckshot shotgun shell\" width=\"2560\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_birdshot-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_birdshot-300x63.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_birdshot-1024x216.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_birdshot-768x162.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_birdshot-1536x325.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_birdshot-2048x433.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_birdshot-610x129.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_birdshot-1080x228.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_birdshot-627x133.jpg 627w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Winchester 20 Gauge SuperX #7 Birdshot\u00a0<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Muzzle Velocity: 1274 fps<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minimum Gel Penetration: 0.75 inches<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maximum Gel Penetration: 3.75 inches<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Struck Rear Wall: N<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Penetrated Rear Wall: N<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A 20 gauge shotgun is less powerful than its 12 gauge cousin, which means it has less recoil. However, it also means the pellets from a round of 20 gauge will penetrate less than the pellets from a 12 gauge shotshell will. As a result, the #7 birdshot did even worse than 12 gauge #7 did. This proves once again that birdshot is good for hunting birds. It is not very good as a home defense shotgun ammo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_buckshot-scaled.jpg\" data-rel=\"lightbox-image-5\" data-magnific_type=\"image\" data-rl_title=\"\" data-rl_caption=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-3689 size-full\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_buckshot-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"20 gauge #7 birdshot shotgun shell\" width=\"2560\" height=\"541\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_buckshot-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_buckshot-300x63.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_buckshot-1024x216.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_buckshot-768x162.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_buckshot-1536x325.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_buckshot-2048x433.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_buckshot-610x129.jpg 610w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_buckshot-1080x228.jpg 1080w, https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/media\/20_ga_buckshot-627x133.jpg 627w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Winchester SuperX #3 Buckshot<\/strong><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average Muzzle Velocity: 1193 fps<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Minimum Gel Penetration: 9.75 inches<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maximum Gel Penetration: 15 inches<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Struck Rear Wall: N<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Penetrated Rear Wall: N<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, they make buckshot in 20 gauge. No, it does not have the same power that a round of 12 gauge 00 buckshot has. That being said, the 20 gauge buckshot we tested penetrated well into the gel set up behind the first wall. A little too well for safety\u2019s sake, to be honest. 16 inches of penetration is considered potentially lethal. Therefore, if you\u2019re considering a 20 gauge for your home because you think the results of a missed shot might not be as catastrophic as a 12 gauge would be, you might want to think again.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home Defense Shotgun Ammo Rankings<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>#1 Federal 12 Gauge Flitecontrol 00 8 Pellet Buckshot\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first job for a good home defense shotgun ammunition is stopping the threat, and Federal Flitecontrol does that job very well. Flitecontrol&#8217;s shot pattern is much tighter than the other 00 buckshot we tested. This means that more of the pellets are going to hit the target at any given distance, increasing the effectiveness of the round. Yes, there is a greater potential for overpenetration with Flitecontrol than the lower-powered 00 buck we tested, but any ammunition has to stop the threat before any other factors come into play, and that&#8217;s where Flitecontrol just shines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>#2 Fiocchi Low Recoil 12 gauge 00 Buckshot\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even though it&#8217;s a &#8220;low recoil&#8221; round and therefore is less powerful than full-strength 00 buckshot, it&#8217;s still more than enough to do the job. The pellets inside the Fiocchi spread out more than the pellets of the other 12 gauge 00-buck round in the test. Combine this with the fact that all the pellets sailed through our block of ballistics gel, and I&#8217;d look to the FliteControl round first for a home defense shotgun ammo.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>#3 Winchester 20 Gauge #3 Buckshot<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Color me surprised about this choice. #3 buckshot from the 20 gauge definitely has the energy to stop the threat. If you&#8217;re smaller in stature and don&#8217;t have the training to handle a 12 gauge, 20 gauge buckshot will do the job. Like that other choices in this test, it&#8217;s absolutely imperative to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/shopping-for-the-best-tactical-shotgun\/\">pattern your home defense shotgun<\/a> so you know where your rounds are landing at any given distance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whichever type of home defense shotgun ammo you choose, please remember that a shotgun, like any other gun, is only as effective as the person who uses it. Training and mindset are much more important than which home defense shotgun ammo you chose. Plan accordingly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Testing Home Defense Shotgun Ammo Home defense is one of the first priorities for almost every new gun owner. Our home is our castle, and the thought of a violent intruder forcefully entering our homes can literally keep us awake at night. A shotgun brings a lot of firepower to any home defense scenario. No [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,22,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guns-101","category-shotgun-shooting-tips","category-training","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Home Defense Shotgun Ammo Test - AmmoMan School of Guns Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ammoman.com\/blog\/home-defense-shotgun-ammo-test\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Home Defense Shotgun Ammo Test - AmmoMan School of Guns Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Testing Home Defense Shotgun Ammo Home defense is one of the first priorities for almost every new gun owner. 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