A note on Competitions
At one point I was a huge supporter of competitions as a method of re-enforcing training and practice. Unfortunately the GAME and its TOYS have all but eliminated competition as a useful route to practical training. Either competitors are compelled to choose absurd and clownish gun and gear or resign themselves to loosing. On the one hand Game Guns are as real life practical as a dune buggy is for a daily driver AND using real world equipment in the Games is pretty much guaranteed to result in a loss. It’s the LOOSING, or rather resignation of a loss that causes issues, even for the shooters that go into the Game with the intention of practice. It’s NEVER OK to KNOW and TELL yourself you’re gonna LOOSE. Until the GAMES change, I can’t recommend them for anything more then expensive folly.
Magazines are extended to increase capacity to such lengths that Shotgun barrels are measured in yards instead of inches, all to eliminate a reload; when the RELOAD is what should be practiced. Power classes divide otherwise useful weapons into substandard categories. Optics are often restricted when instead they should be embraced. Shotguns suddenly become so tightly choked to avoid “friendly” targets; that they LOOSE the advantage of HIT Probability.
Sadly the competitors which rule the sport not only have no interest in making the Game more realistic; but in fact seem offended at the mere suggestion. Worst still many competitions will not permit contestants to “play” with real world tactics and weapons.
IF you can find a Competition that uses real world weapons, in real world scenarios, then by all means join and shoot and compete. Until such presents, take good training classes, then practice alone or with a team, and use dry fire drills in your home. Schedule your drill like fire alarms, respond when the alarm sounds and come dressed as you are (or aren’t…). Vary your times and alertness levels, with varying light levels and targets. Practice clearing the actual corners in YOUR home. Try it without your glasses as if they were knocked off or dropped. Try it with and without weapons lights, and for real fun try using a strobe light in the room you’re gonna enter for a bit of mind bending shadows, remember BGs have flashlights too.
The Reality of Versatility
Much has and continues to be made of the versatility of Shotguns. The usual line is that a Shotgun can fire so many different types of ammo from light Field Loads, to Buck Shot, to Slugs and even more specialized ammo. While technically true enough, so to are rifles like the M16 able to be a 5inch 9mm SMG and a 20 inch Sniper in 556mm, and change to even more exotic calibers as needed. It’s no more reasonable to suggest a shooter carry all those M16 options then it is to suggest switching loads from shot to slugs in the middle of a fight. Neither would I suggest ATTEMPTING to psychically mind read the fight to plan the “correct” load assortment of shot and slugs for the future fight.
This does not mean the ability to use different loads in a Shotgun should be ignored. Just like when when is planning to hunt a rouge elephant the choice of heavy solids VS expanding loads should be considered and maybe even both carried should the opportunity to change permit BEFORE the animal is charging.
Shotgun ballistics to not directly equate with rifle and pistol terminal ballistics. Bullets from a handgun or rifle generally travel at a higher velocity and penetrate not only because of their speed but also because of their shape. They also tend to hit in single shots even when rapid fired. Shotgun pellets, conversely hit en mass and because of their lower mass and velocity and shape tend to “rip” flesh rather than punch holes. They may or may not reach the FBI’s magic 9 inches for combat effectiveness; but even a marginal hit on flesh tends to make gaping wounds which may not be medically of physiologically “fight stoppers” but they are nevertheless traumatic, as in “Oh shite, theres a large chunk missing from my arm…”
Perhaps this is a good point to discuss typical Shotgun ranges. Start by measuring the longest shooting distance INSIDE your home, then measure the longest distance you think you can justify shooting OUTSIDE your home or from your home to some point outside. Even the most liberal gun hating prosecutor will have some difficulty making a case against you shooting a violent maniacal felon who has just forced his way INSIDE your home. OUTSIDE the home the “justifiable” distances begin to blur; much depends on your location, property size, terrain, and of course the type of threat. Shotguns loose their effectiveness once the distance causes the spread of the shot to open, such that it is unable to keep half the load on the target. As a general rule this is somewhere between 15 and 25 meters. Its gun and load specific, so actual testing on your part is as necessary as zeroing your handgun and rifle.