On Tue, Feb 05, 2008 at 10:24:35AM -0800, Volokh, Eugene wrote:
>       Can anyone please point me to a good discussion of the
> advantages and disadvantages of shotguns vs. handguns for self-defense?
> The more specific the cite, the better.  Many thanks,

Unfortunately, I don't have a cite for this one. When I took my
classes to be certified as an instructor by the NRA, the instructor
said that the chances of someone dieing when shot by:

handgun   50%
rifle     70%
shotgun   90%

Obviously those are very rough values. They suggest that shooting an
assailant with a handgun would be more likely to leave the assailant
alive. Does anyone on the list have more accurate data with a better
provenance Eugene could use?

Also, it has occured to me if you must call the police with a weapon
in one hand to cover the bad guy and a phone in the other, a handgun
is a lot safer than a shotgun. I've tested this on the range with
empty weapons, and prefer the handgun. (Hint: put the phone down, and
use your free hand to dial.) Safer here means both preventing
accidental discharges, and being able to hit the suspect if necessary.

-- 

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