So as long as we’re talking shotguns, let me again dispel the “common wisdom” that you should use birdshot.
Here’s a video of protesters in Bahrain getting shot with birdshot. Sorry I can’t embed it since it’s on liveleak. (h/t Cornered Cat)
From the FB posting:
Greg Ellifritz writes: “For everyone who thinks 12 gauge birdshot is a good defensive round…
“Apparently, in Bahrain they use bird shot to disperse crowds like cops here use tear gas. They shot one protestor in the back and later you can see his friends attempting to remove the birdshot. None of it penetrated deeper than 1/2 inch into his body. A painful bunch of little wounds, no doubt, but nothing that will reliably cause the rapid blood loss needed to make the guy stop quickly.
“Caution for the weak-stomachs out there. This one is a little bloody.”
I did find this YouTube video:
which is a different video, but the results are the same. No, it’s not pretty getting shot with birdshot. But it doesn’t really stop much of anything. These guys are in for a lot of medical treatment, it’s going to be sore, it’s going to suck, you’ll have lots of little scars, but the attackers were hardly stopped. In fact, consider that the police are specifically using birdshot to disperse the crowd — that is, they are seeking an annoying but non-lethal solution.
Food for thought.
Some will still find a way to argue and justify their decision to use birdshot. And yes, you may have a legit reason (perhaps you’re dove hunting). But on the whole, birdshot is a poor choice for personal defense. In personal defense a primary goal is to stop the attacker, and birdshot doesn’t stop the attacker.
Stuff From Hsoi 
If for some reason birdshot is the only thing you have for defense, my advice is to aim for the head or the groin.
A head shot will likely blind the assailant, or possibly puncture a carotid artery or the jugular vein.
As for the groin, getting your junk filled with birdshot would seem to be a game ending move to me. Especially if hit with a follow-up shot.
Well, hopefully birdshot is not the only thing you have…. and if it presently is, get something better (e.g. Federal Tactical 12 gauge 00 buck, 8 or 9 pellet, FLITECONTROL, low recoil) a.s.a.p..
I know a lot of bird hunters that only have birdshot, since that is what they hunt with. It’s better than nothing.
True, it’s better than using the shotgun as a club. š
But still… if you’ve got means an money to go and buy a shotgun, to buy birdshot, to engage in the hobby of bird hunting… surely you can buy a few boxes of buckshot to have around.