Howdy Greg... What you say is mostly true as far as it goes. Retort #1 is to get more practice/training with a shotgun. As you likely remember, I had mine in the military eons ago so I don't know where such is available today but there must be a dog out there with such a juicy bone just sitting there... Retort #2 is that while it is certainly true that in most instances in our society a carried handgun is more availabloe, thus more effective, when one is out-and-about, if we had real adherence to the second amendment we'd be able to carry a scattergun anywhere we carry a pistol now. [; ) Don't forget, it's hard to get something more intimidating than a shotgun.
Bruce L. Jones The Mojave Desert - The Geographic Center of Nowhere -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Greg Jacobs Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 10:05 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Shotgun/handgun self defense comparison At 02:00 PM 2/6/2008, EV 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, JW wrote: I still haven't unpacked book boxes here in sunny Florida, but look up Fackler -- he showed a similar spread, but with a mortality rate about 15% lower than the above figures: shotgun 75% rifle (centerfire) 60% handgun 35 or 37% Martin Fackler, LTC, MC, USA(ret) Intl Wound Ballistics Assn Either way, with the heavier projectile load and limited spread at in-house ranges (figure about 1" spread per yard of shot travel), damage from a shotgun is obviously more massive. Charles's other observations are spot-on. And there were other replies as well. There are also about 80 million opinions out there but citing Fackler's mortality rates leaves out an interesting factor with respect to the precise question asked, to wit, is there a good discussion of the comparison between shotguns and handguns in self defense situations. So, not having a cite, let me create my own personal cite: On any given day, I have at least one handgun with me, sometimes two, occasionally three, especially if you include the truck gun. Four, if I carry three and include the truck gun. Never mind why I would carry three. Offhand, I know I did it once when I was going to a concealed handgun class to renew my CHL and I knew I could present a good example of how to get the job done and still be totally concealed. Other times? Don't ask. Point being? Except when I am in my bedroom I NEVER have a shotgun with me and, even then, it is cased but easily available in a closet. Summary? The advantage of a handgun over a shotgun is that the handgun is always there when you need it and the shotgun ain't! Gunwriter Clint Smith says he figures he can use his handgun to fight his way to his long gun. And since Massad Ayoob was referenced I'd recommend finding some articles by Clint Smith in a similar vein. However, I'd argue that by the time he got to his long gun he would probably have already won the fight with his handgun. Lethality is not the decisive point - availability is. There is no comparison between the two with respect to a gunfight where a shotgun can be deployed. The advantage of shotgun rounds are that they are considerably more effective at typical gun fight distances and continue to be effective at greater distances when the handgun's inherent inability to be accurate begins to cause its rounds to lose all effectiveness for non-warriors/non-trained personnel/etc. Not everyone can kill an enemy at 100 yards with a handgun as described by the late, lamented Col. Jeff Cooper. But, as a rule, you won't need a handgun at even 25 yards; running away will probably work. Having a shotgun at 25 yards, however, makes you exceedingly deadly - the second advantage of the shotgun. But who carries a shotgun except police and soldiers? "Carrying" is the handgun's advantage, pure and simple. Professor, feel free to quote me. :-D ***GRJ***
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