yea i've seen snakes shot at 6-8 feet with good hits take a couple or three shots of 44 snake shot , not the effect needed to stop an attack !
# 8 shot ? i don't expect attack from quail , so i will stick with buck shot .
each will make his or her choice and that is good !
but please make a good one , in an attack in the home , ID the target , know shooting lanes before the attack walk your home inside and out , know where people sleep etc . the easy way to miss others is to choose a location to wait where you will be shooting angled up !
just a thought ! the idea of home defense is real it is also very nasty , your family is attacked with out help from any other source ya'll must defend and prevail ! what happens if you shoot the intruders with snake shot and they shoot you with say buckshot ? who would be left to defend your family after you and wife are gone ?
for me if i ever need to stop an attack i want a dependable solution , or as close as i can get ! another ignored outcome is the potential wounding of a family member to save the rest ? that will make ya think !
No home defense is not pretty like some seem to believe it is down and dirty bite , scratch , gore or what ever one needs to do to survive , keep in mind the attacker (s) chose to come in they expect a fight and often welcome it , they are pumped up at the start ! you wake up and have to go from sweet dreams to anger and fight in less time than a heart beat , that's stress in high gear add to that a load of # 8's getting stopped in the thick leather jacket and failing to stop the threat may bring on more stress than many can deal with !
I respect everyone right to choose but please choose wisely !
there is a site in the box or something where they shoot layers of Sheetrock if i remember correctly # 4 buck goes thru 6 sheets of 1/2 " rock the reduced power loads most likely less , add the wad holding the 8's together and the penetration might not be as drastic a difference as assumed since both leave the bbl at about 1200 fps.