- Joined
- Jun 9, 2016
virtually all weapons that are lethal enough to be considered "one shot stops" will readily penetrate most interior and some exterior walls and doors with sufficient force to still be lethal, often for quite some ways. a shotgun will literally punch holes through interior walls and can chew through hardwood and brickwork. unless your walls are made of stone, a shotgun with lead pellets is not a safe answer to avoiding over-penetration. the extremely high velocity of a rifle round combined with low mass (5.56 for example at 2700+ feet per second and weighing only 55 grains) tends to shatter the projectile, and those small fragments lose energy very quickly. however, again, pretty much any firearm that is lethal enough for self defense in the home is going to readily zip through interior walls on misses and has a chance of over-penetrating the target on a hit.
probably the only exceptions would be a .22LR or .25 ACP, maybe .410 in #8 birdshot or something, but these are not generally considered practical for personal defense. frangible ammunition also exists for this purpose but can possibly be less reliable against the intended target. again, you don't really provide details so i'm assuming the target is along the lines of an armed home invader.
if you lack confidence in your skill at arms, consider acquiring professional training at a location near you. classes can also be found via local clubs, security training courses, and tactical courses held a few times a year geared towards this sort of thing. even a course in competitive sport like IPSC or 3-gun is handy for skill building. an automatic shotgun, like any firearm, is a liability without training and some thought put into its use, limits, advantages, and disadvantages
do you plan on wearing body armor 24/7? if so, you might be best served by outright leaving the area where you are threatened - avoiding a fight and risk of death entirely or greatly reducing it. if you have enemies that are actively hunting you down, that is something to involve law enforcement for. if you aren't planning on wearing body armor consistently, then in situations where you are suddenly attacked, do you plan to have enough time to don the armor, secure it, then secure and make ready your weapon(s) for defense? would you be carrying around the automatic shotgun wherever you go? probably not.
i'm assuming that you are trying to defend your home from intruders and in the worst case scenario you will be caught unaware, which means you aren't wearing your armor and you are unarmed. the fewest barriers to being armed and armored is to have a consistent setup and vest with familiar practiced motions to then be able to engage and end the threat. the alternative is to be armed and armored at all times. most people split the difference and have a setup at home for static defense where you play to the advantages of knowing your own home's layout better than the typical intruder - and carrying concealed with significant practice and training with that concealed firearm, and be willing to use it to end the threat and get to safety. often this can involve not wearing any armor at all, or having some armor in a go-bag in a trunk or wearing concealed body armor - and that takes time to deploy and get running but its practical and works for tens of thousands of people every day.
i should also address this: i have known people better trained and geared than you probably ever will be who are dead now, killed very quickly and unceremoniously because they were inattentive, caught by surprise in a bad situation, or were very unlucky. whatever confidence that "Tactical Gear" might give you when you are not being shot at with people who want you dead, and are actively working to kill you through whatever means they have is unlikely to either keep you calm or "win just about any situation". false confidence tends to get you dead.
"Tactical Gear" is not a replacement for training, practice, classroom knowledge, practice, friends and family that you can rely on, practice, having your environment prepared and considered, practice, and lastly some professional instruction and practice. "Tactical Gear" is a fantastic liability to someone that expects tools alone to fix problems rather than a trained, experienced, and prepared individual who uses them appropriately.
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