How far does Birdshot Penetrate a human?

Sid Post · **Posted:** Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:30 pm

code5coupe wrote:

...There have been a LOT of 150lb deer do exactly that....
I could also penetrate a human with a full-jacketed (non-expanding) rifle bullet traveling 3000fps and unless it struck the small-to-tiny targets known as the central nervous system, he would be fully capable of his motor skills for enough time to make me wish for a shotgun loaded with birdshot.

...

The hydrostatic shock from a rifle round will generally incapacitate most people if they are hit in a non-lethal part of the body. Yes, slower-moving solid projectile can "ice pick" through and not yield an effective stop as well.

I shot a ~30lb dog running full speed at me with an M193 round in its open mouth at ~25yds and hit basically at the top of the tongue mid-stride. He didn't make one additional stride and his front legs and shoulders totally collapsed and his rear end came over the top. That 55gr FMJ did not exit its body.

On feral hogs, that same ammunition is ineffective and I must use at least a 6.8SPC.

Lethal trauma occurs from more than just a CNS (Central Nervous System) hit with a rifle.

Sid Post · **Posted:** Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:41 pm

BERETTADT10 wrote:

Someone please tell me who could take a 12ga 1 1/8 8 shot from 10 feet and lived to tell the story!!!

They don't happen often but they do happen. Just because someone isn't personally aware of them doesn't mean they don't exist.

At best, many of these arguments and points are due to a lack of information because what a person 'believes' is what they look for in supporting information.

For people that want to use birdshot because it won't penetrate a sheetrock wall, do they really think the bad guy/gal they have to shoot is a lot more fragile than said sheetrock? Now add drugs and/or alcohol and the effects of those drugs on pain and general thought processes, do you really wonder why they don't fall down and quit the fight right then and there?

Yes, birdshot will make a gory bloody mess in most cases. Whether this is fatal or not is a real crapshoot. It certainly isn't a reliable fight stopper!

Life of Riley · **Joined:** Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:58 pm **Posts:** 166

HptmnMuller wrote:

Another one for the pile.

When I was still in High School, one of the family pit bulls got loose and went for a run around the "neighborhood" (we lived on a forest hillside, nearest neighbor was >100 meters away). One of the neighbors hit it with a round of bird shot from approximately 10 meters away. When the dog came home, tail wagging, still stupid-happy to have gone for a run, with impacts o' plenty where the shot hit her.

Some of the hits broke enough of the skin for blood to spot the surface, with nothing after wiping away. Other hits were only indicated by slight reddening of the skin, and despite her running around after getting shot, some of it was still lodged in her fur.

Over two decades ago, this taught me two things:
1) My neighbor's 20-something, stay-at-home son was a real POS.
2) Birdshot is worthless against anything other than rodents and birds.

This post taught me 1 thing:
1) You and your family shouldn't be allowed to own a dog.

How far does Birdshot Penetrate a human?

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