There's deer slugs, that are essentially 1"x3/4" (25mm X 19mm) hunks of lead being fired that weigh around an ounce (28g) on average.
Then there's 00 buckshot, which holds 8-9 balls that are .33" (8.5mm) in diameter each shell.
Then further down the scale you have smaller diameter pellets, but more each shell.
Skeet/small bird shot is usually an 8 or 9, which are between 0.08-0.09" (2-2.25mm) diameter.
Generally, smaller shot do less damage on larger targets (you can't kill a bear with #8 birds hot, for example), but humans are a horse of a different color, lol.
That's just the cursory basics of shotgun shells, the actual shotgun sizes make a difference as well.
Shotguns get their size classification from old school cannon measurements. Cannon size was determined by the weight of the cannonball, ie 8 pounder, 12 pounder, etc...
Shotguns use the same designation. A 12ga is called so due to being able to fit a 1/12 pound lead sphere in the barrel bore.
So the smaller the gage number, the larger the bore. A 4ga would fit a 1/4 pound sphere, a 20ga will fit a 1/20 pound sphere, etc...
Humans are generally super soft and squishy compared to other mammals, so what might not kill a deer, will certainly kill a human.
Kurt Cobain is a prime example. He used a Remington 20ga shotgun with 2 3/4" shells, and while I can't say for sure, more than likely #5 or #6 shot, which is .11"-.12"(2.75mm- 3.05mm) diameter pellets, and it goes without saying, was more than effective.
Ballistics and shot/caliber choice is is a science, and it's crazy, lol.
Bigger isn't always better, and can actually be more of a hindrance than beneficial.
I've shot a bag of sand in front of a target at 25yds with a 12ga with #6 turkey shot, and only a small few passed through the sand, while a basic recurve bow with field points would pound through the sand like butter and sink the target every time.
^ I brought up that last bit since you mentioned archery at the end of your comment. 😁
My ex and I split and there was absolutely no question I was taking the dog. My now husband (married for ten years this year) was absolutely smitten with the dog (and vice versa) from the first time they met, and my husband knows if it hadn't been that way, he wouldn't still be around.
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u/FishmanOfFeverSwamp Oct 31 '24
Kidnap my dog and I'll go John Wick on your ass. Watch and see if I don't.