As to the birdshot argument, I really don't think it is a
reliably viable choice for home defense. It has certainly worked in some cases. On the other hand, if you get close enough to an attacker, even many "less lethal" rounds are lethal; the same can be said for birdshot. But, the lethality of birdshot quickly diminishes as distances increase, even within the distances that are available inside of an average home. I've seen a few cases where people were shot with birdshot at home defense distances and didn't suffer more than superficial injuries (painful injuries, to be sure, but not injuries that would take a reasonably determined attacker out of a fight).
Many years ago I actually got hit with a partial load of light birdshot, at a distance that was still close enough that I could have certainly engaged the person who shot me with a pistol (it was a negligent discharge situation on the part of a childhood acquaintance, and the person got an earful of some very choice words instead of a bullet). Anyway, I had some minor cuts from the incident, but wasn't injured to the point that I needed to seek medical treatment, other than applying very basic first-aid to the cuts myself.
Again, birdshot
can work in some instances, it just isn't the shotgun load I'd choose to bet my life on, even at home defense distances.
Balrog said:
This type attitude is why some people don't like cops and don't think they need to be militarized.
Respectfully, you're the one who entered a home defense thread and started preaching about how you believe that you know what tools I should and should not use in the performance of my job. My job hasn't been "militarized", as you so eloquently put it, but we have adapted our toolset to an evolving set of threats that we deal with. In the course of my career I've responded to gang shootings in which multiple active shooters were involved in firing at each other with semi-automatic rifles, and I've responded to mass shootings (some that you've certainly heard about) where up-armored psychopaths were intent on doing others harm. Truth be told, I'd have gone to each of these events even if I was only armed with the classic .38 Special 6-gun of yesteryear, but there's no sense in doing that when we have other more adequate options at our disposal. And, as I've repeatedly pointed out, your tax dollars didn't pay for the tools that I carry (that was indeed one of your original arguments against my ability to field an AR-15 as a special purpose tool for use in performing my job).
EDITED TO ADD: Ha! My bad, this was your own thread that you derailed, so I guess I can't fault you for taking it off-topic... I didn't even notice that until just now. Anyway, good luck with your selection of a home defense tool. I think I've probably provided nearly all of the useful advice I can give to this thread at this point! Take the advice if you'd like it, ignore it if you think it's foolish (that's the beauty of internet advice). If you have any further questions about anything I suggested I'll still be happy to expand on those points, but do understand that I'm still not giving up my trusty AR-15