[Cajundaddy]

12 GA loads are like motor oil. Everyone has their favorites and few agree 100%. Also in a perfect world all possible loads are available at any local gun shop. Currently mid-apocalypse, very few varieties of defensive loads are readily available and we take whatever we can find. A 12 GA is serious overkill with any load at short range in most cases.

My personal choice in an ideal world is essentially based on meat testing. This is where good ol' country boys set aside the ballistics charts for a moment, and actually fire rounds at short range 7-10 yards into meat-simulated bad guy targets. The target often is a pork steak>pork ribs>watermelon (lungs and gut)>pork ribs all wrapped in an old leather jacket. Then multiple layered bullet stop is placed behind the target to measure over penetration. This is the most realistic measure of effectiveness I have found and it is based on actual testing, not ballistic charts.

I want a round that will blow a fist sized hole in the bad guy at 7-10 yards, dropping him like a rock while absorbing most of the energy without a lot of collateral damage from rounds passing through a bunch of walls after the fact.

Personal choice is #4 Buck when it is available. Plenty of penetration w/ 3" hole, devastating hit, very little energy left after the job is done. Ideal at short range IMO.

Second choice is 00 Buck which is a preferred LEO round and widely available. Fist sized hole at short range, devastating hit, better at longer range up to 50 yards for police work, prone to over-penetrate and carry a lot of energy well beyond the target at down-the-hallway ranges.

12GA Slugs- A great choice when you are hunting bear or buffalo out to 100 yards. Far too much pass-through energy and over-penetration for home defense IMO.

Lighter loads like #6 bird shot have plenty of punch at close range and would probably work fine but the #4 Buck is meat-tested and a proven winner. I see no point in layering loads. If I must reach for my 12 GA it means my home security plan was a failure and now I need to end it with 1 fatal shot.