I would be willing to wager that >90% of them are foster slugs from Winchester, Remington, or Federal, 3/4 ounce if 20-gauge, 1-ounce if 12-gauge, and that most of those were of the 1600fps varieties you find at Wal-Mart. Those that aren't full power are probably 1350fps "managed recoil" varieties.
The remaining percentage of slug shootings probably involve all the other slug types combined, Brenneke, Tru-Ball, Sabot, etc.
FWIW: Buckshot at close distance is my preference. But if I wanted a single, repeating arm, that wasn't terribly offensive looking, for distances from inside my house to 50y, a shotgun with low recoil slugs would be my choice. My personal envelope is only 0y-27y and therefore, I just use buckshot in my HD shotgun.
FWIW 2.0: I think an AR15 or similar would be the better choice for 0-50 if that is an option.
I'd assume so as well unless it was Alaska or something, but was thinking there can be big regional differences.
There was a time here in MN when Sabot in rifled Shotguns where really popular in the southern ~half of the state that is slug only for deer or handgun no rifles or buckshot allowed. My understanding is most Sabot Slugs other than the ones designed to mushroom really big tend to penetrate significantly more than Fosters not sure how they compare to Brennekes.
AFAIK at least in my adult lifetime here in MN Buckshot hasn't been legal for any big game so its not something you see on the shelf much, and few people buy it. You might be able to use it on Coyote or Fox legally not sure.
I'm not sure if the Sabot slugs are still as popular as they used to be, haven't been to range during the open to deer hunters week or two most outdoor ranges have in decades.
Handgun hunting changes, both regulations and availability have changed a lot since then. Used to be relatively few that hunted with magnum revolver and very few that used Single Shot handguns, but then the 10mm became available and legal then last I knew they dropped any caliber restriction for handgun other than one that also applied for rifle (ie centerfire 220 or greater) and expanding ammo is required.
Yeah outliers etc, I had young coworker years ago who's brother attempted suicide with 12 gauge and birdshot, most likely duck load, with shot to chest if I understood correctly and survived.
Details weren't real clear it was a very traumatic experience for the coworker and his family so I was more trying to be supportive than gather details he didn't share on his own initiative.
Might have been shallow shot angle or something.
Given the choice I would take the lever gun to cover your list of uses. I have many in multiple calibers (44Mag., 357/38S, 22LR, 45-70 and 30-30). All are newer models and all have 500-2000 rounds through them. I’ve never had any issue with any of them. They are from Marlin, Henry and Rossi. The Marlins and Henry are better built than the Rossi. I prefer the newer Marlins the best which I have in 30-30 and the SBL in 45-70. They are nearly art forms. My wife loves to shoot most of these and she is a 90lbs Asian women. You can run these reasonably fast, and for me easily faster than a pump shotgun. Depending on caliber and set up you can hit something reasonably far off. All of mine are using the standard sights though I will probably add the rail and attach one of my scopes to the Marlin 336 30-30 and the Marlin 1895 SBL 45-70.
I see bolt actions as mostly hunting rifles and long range target shooting. I never thought to use one for home defense unless I’m in a red dawn situation and driving something off at a greater than 500 yard distance. My bolt actions are a Browning x-bolt in 6.5 CR Hells Canyon LR 26”, a Tikka also in 6.5 CM. Two Howas with a heavy barrel 16” 6.5 CR and a Howa Hera carbon wrapped 308, and last a Sako in 270. Looking at a .338L Mag Savage chassis rifle just to see how far out I can hit a target. Given the world today the a RedDawn situation could be a possibility where I want to take the targets as far from my location as possible.
One option you might not have considered. I bought my wife a CVA Scout V2 TD in 44Mag. It is a single shot break action hunting rifle. It is SS with synthetic stocks, the barrels are made by Bergerac, light weight and very high quality. They are available in many barrel lengths, have a scope mount rail, and a dozen calibers at a reasonable price in some cases under $400. They also teach the importance of making every shot count. The shorter barrel would work ok in self defense means mostly out doors or as a truck gun. They break down in an easy to carry two pieces. It fits in the box under the rear seat of my truck with several boxes of ammo. Remember for quite a long time a side by side shotgun was a home defense gun. This is the rifle version of that.
Last edited by Samanator; 11-08-2023 at 10:21 PM.
I have a used 870 police magnum. 5 shot capacity. 50 state legal. $300. Simple, reliable, powerful, vestal.
Given the OPs thoughts, this would be a cheap and effective set up for travel anywhere.
Good to 50yards for sure. Obviously at 100 you would have issues.
Just my $.02
Lever guns are fun, but I would opt for the Ruger American Ranch over a lever. They are cheaper and more than lively far more reliable.
“A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything. A gun is as good or as bad as the man using it. Remember that.” - Shane
If folks haven't...I REALLY suggest you find a lever gun and try running it fast. Particularly a .30-30 or .35Rem gun.
I would guess my folks can run a .223/.300BO bolt gun as fast as a .30-30 Marlin lever. Particularly if topped with a red dot.
Now, I have not yet gotten my hands on a Henry Long Ranger. That, like the old Browning BLR maybe a good ticket. Box mag fed and the straight grip stock should allow you to run the lever hard and fast.
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Last edited by DamonL; 11-10-2023 at 05:11 PM.
For me, the bolt is slower than the lever and the lever is slower than the pump, but recoil levels are a limiting factor. One of my buddies had a Winchester Model 62 which I think was probably the fastest manually-operated rifle I ever used, but how much of that was the action and how much was due to the lack of recoil?
In leverguns, my slicked up .357 Rossi 92 was the fastest one I have owned, a 94 Winchester in .30-30 was probably the slowest.
gn
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