The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Wad in the Snout

Scattergun Bob · November 12, 2008, 06:29 PM

Hi Glenn, glad to see that you got some scattergun time in.

"So for those who argue that the shotgun is the ultimate HD GUN!!" I am not sure I fit the bill, but I will try to comment.

I am a little confused by the pattern size, in general my measuring stick for patterns of 00 tends to say 1" of pattern expansion per 3 to 4 feet of horizontal distance. Notice I did not use the word "average", yes, I have learned my lesson! I would tend to believe that you folks were about 40 to 50 feet from your BG targets, and for me that seem a bit far to take such a high value shot. It is important in the match to test skill, but in my opnion this would not transfer over to Home Defense. I could be wrong on the distance, or on my math.

So here are my thoughts on this;

1. If you were indeed @ 50 ft target distance I would be much more worried about "flyers" than shot cups. Flyers are those pesky balls that oddly deform for no defined reason and fly well outside the nominal group size. Even with my best barrel, choke and ammo selected on occasion flyers occur. Really bad news for dear old Mom.

2. Holding Off sucks, when objects are moving around. Lots of folks teach hold offs and the system works well for stationary targets. Once the BG is moving in 2 dimensions those fixed leads go away. All of us who attended Louie schools and met the old moving bad guy and the baby know exactly what I am speaking of.

3. Transition to slugs, requires time, do we have it, are we behind cover, what keeps the bad guy from attacking us? I practice this a lot, and solved for the moving bad guy and the baby several times with this skill. But do not know of any real world examples of transition to slugs saving the day, perhaps others do.

4. Federal and Remington shot cups seem to "die" quicker than some other brands and I find them usually 20 to 30 feet down range veins fully deployed. Some old buffer materials "glue"tougher the shot cup veins these cups do travel down range. I have noticed that chokes that regulate (slow down) the shot cup consistently remove the wad from the targeting area in about 12 feet. I would think that a fully deployed shot cup would not be life threatening but YES, could put your eye out.

I would not bring a scattergun to the fight you document.

Good Luck & Be Safe

November 12, 2008, 06:29 PM	#10
Scattergun Bob Senior Member Join Date: February 29, 2008 Location: Nine Mile Falls, Washington Posts: 1,186	Glenn E. Meyer Hi Glenn, glad to see that you got some scattergun time in. "So for those who argue that the shotgun is the ultimate HD GUN!!" I am not sure I fit the bill, but I will try to comment. I am a little confused by the pattern size, in general my measuring stick for patterns of 00 tends to say 1" of pattern expansion per 3 to 4 feet of horizontal distance. Notice I did not use the word "average", yes, I have learned my lesson! I would tend to believe that you folks were about 40 to 50 feet from your BG targets, and for me that seem a bit far to take such a high value shot. It is important in the match to test skill, but in my opnion this would not transfer over to Home Defense. I could be wrong on the distance, or on my math. So here are my thoughts on this; 1. If you were indeed @ 50 ft target distance I would be much more worried about "flyers" than shot cups. Flyers are those pesky balls that oddly deform for no defined reason and fly well outside the nominal group size. Even with my best barrel, choke and ammo selected on occasion flyers occur. Really bad news for dear old Mom. 2. Holding Off sucks, when objects are moving around. Lots of folks teach hold offs and the system works well for stationary targets. Once the BG is moving in 2 dimensions those fixed leads go away. All of us who attended Louie schools and met the old moving bad guy and the baby know exactly what I am speaking of. 3. Transition to slugs, requires time, do we have it, are we behind cover, what keeps the bad guy from attacking us? I practice this a lot, and solved for the moving bad guy and the baby several times with this skill. But do not know of any real world examples of transition to slugs saving the day, perhaps others do. 4. Federal and Remington shot cups seem to "die" quicker than some other brands and I find them usually 20 to 30 feet down range veins fully deployed. Some old buffer materials "glue"tougher the shot cup veins these cups do travel down range. I have noticed that chokes that regulate (slow down) the shot cup consistently remove the wad from the targeting area in about 12 feet. I would think that a fully deployed shot cup would not be life threatening but YES, could put your eye out. I would not bring a scattergun to the fight you document. Good Luck & Be Safe __________________ First, with the most, WINS! Regards, Scattergun Bob