How many times more powerful a shotgun is than a pistol?

In games, a shotgun is a hell lot more powerful than a pistol.

In real life, is the difference really that big?

 

It depends on the caliber and other things, but at close range, a shotgun is more "powerful" in that it can put a bigger hole in the target. Further away, shotgun pellets scatter and rapidly decrease in velocity, so it loses its power. A bullet from a pistol has a greater range, so it would be more "powerful," although it's harder to hit the target.

 

It depends on the gauge of the shotgun, and what sort of ammunition is loaded in it. And of course, it also depends on which handgun cartridge you're referring to.

A standard 12 gauge shotgun loaded with bird shot will be devastating at very close ranges (7 yards, or less). As the range increases, the bird shot will lose velocity (and thereby power) quickly, and will also begin to disperse into an ever widening pattern. With buckshot, it will still be devastating at close range, but will also be capable of effective wounding out to at least 50 yards, perhaps all the way out to 100 yards. With a slug, a shotgun can be effective all the way out to perhaps 200 yards.

Handguns are meant to be smaller, more easily carried and concealed, and available at times when carrying a long gun (shotgun or rifle) would be inconvenient/impractical. Handguns will "generally" be much less powerful than a 12 gauge shotgun...though there are technically handguns which are chambered in .45-70, .460 S&W, .480 Ruger, .50 AE &.500 S&W, even .308 Win. and other rifle cartridges.

Also, there are (large) handgun sized firearms which can fire shotgun shells. Some 12 or 20 ga. shotguns, and some revolvers which can fire .410 shotgun shells...though .410 is not very powerful.

In general...don't believe much of what you see in video games, as it pertains to firearms. Actually...as it pertains to *anything*! Same goes for most movies and TV shows.

 

And now time for a musical Interlude...........

I said shotgun, shoot 'em 'fore he run now, do the jerk baby do the jerk now.(Hey).
Put on your red dress, and then you go down yonder.
I said buy yourself a shotgun now, were gonna break it down baby now.
We're gonna load it up baby now, 'a then you shoot 'em 'fore he run now.

I said shotgun, shoot 'em 'fore he run now, do the jerk baby do the jerk now. (Hey).

 

in real life, it kind of depends a whole bunch on where you're standing.

 

A valedictory tale about shotguns: A school friend of mine went hunting rabbits (this was before Mixamatosis). He had borrowed his father's 12 bore double-barreled shotgun.We stood at the edge of a corn field, I clapped my hands and the field was alive with rabbits. He picked up the gun, placed it on his shoulder and pulled both barrels, The recoil lifted him off the ground, shot him backwards about 10 feet, because he had placed the stock on the outside of his collar bone, instead of snugged up into his neck, the force of the recoil, broke his collar bone, his shoulder blade and four ribs.

 

Physically impossible.

Your friend may have indeed hurt himself by improperly shouldering the shotgun. The level of injury you describe seems a bit excessive, but...anything is possible in that sense, I suppose.

The recoil from a 12 gauge shotgun can not lift an adult (even a very small adult, or a teenaged child) off the ground, and launch him backwards 10 feet...I don't care how poor the shooter's technique (speaking of technique...you don't place a shotgun stock "snugged up into your neck". That would be stupid, and could result in much more serious injuries, potentially). It's simple physics, equal and opposite reaction, and all that. A shotgun suspended from strings, and fired remotely, would not "fly backwards" for 10 feet, let alone with 100 lbs. or more of a human clutching onto it. You've seen too many movies, and you think that they are "real life".

 

I can't answer the question, but I know i can hit an intruder with my shotgun and I might miss him with my pistol.

 

I have a 1913 Springfield Arms double. If by buckshot, one means double aught----it would be like 9- 38 caliber projectiles heading toward a target when fired. Devastating. Pretty much shred a door.

 

That whole equal but opposite thing means that a good guy can fire a 12ga. in one hand and knock a bad guy ten feet, dunnit? Maybe the dude was a bad guy!

 

In Battlefield games you can headshot someone with a 50cal and they still run away. Lol.

 

Even though the OP seems to have forgotten about this thread, I'm going to put out a little more info...because it's a topic that interests me.

You ask about the difference in power between a shotgun, and a pistol. So, first...let's talk about *one* way in which one could attempt to measure the relative power levels of various cartridges.

The simplest and most straightforward way is by comparing the ME (Muzzle Energy). The ME of a particular cartridge is found by multiplying the mass of the projectile, times the square of the MV (Muzzle Velocity). So, here are some ME figures for a variety of common handgun cartridges. I tried to stick with a rather middle-of-the-road "average" energy figure for each caliber, rather than the most powerful available.

.22 LR - 85 ft./lbs.
.25 ACP - 65 ft./lbs.
.32 ACP - 155 ft./lbs.
.380 ACP - 225 ft./lbs.
9mm Para - 360 ft./lbs.
.38 Special - 250 ft./lbs.
.40 S&W - 425 ft./lbs.
.45 ACP - 450 ft./lbs.
10mm - 600 ft./lbs.
.357 Mag. - 575 ft./lbs.
.44 Mag. - 1000 ft./lbs.

So, you can see that just asking about how hard a "pistol" hits compared to a shotgun, is very dependent on just "which" pistol. Also, again...these numbers are very average. The power level could be greater or reduced depending on specific load (target ammo, hunting ammo, +P [higher pressure], or +P+ [even higher pressure]), or the length of the barrel of the firearm.

In any case, that gives one an idea of the power level of relatively common handgun cartridges. Now, for the shotguns...there is really only one gauge that is generally used for serious combat (12 ga.) , but some homeowners or others may occasionally use a smaller 20 ga. So, here's a few numbers for those:

20 ga. Birdshot - 1250 ft./lbs.
20 ga. Buckshot - 1500 ft./lbs.
20 ga. Slug - 1870

12 ga. Birdshot - 1400 ft./lbs.
12 ga. Buckshot - 1750 ft./lbs.
12 ga. Slug - 2490 ft./lbs.

There can be a wide variation in shotgun loadings, so these aren't set in stone, either. So, in terms of comparing the power of a handgun to the power of a shotgun, you can see there is some variation, depending on which handgun we're comparing it against. So, the difference in power level between a shotgun and a handgun varies from 2.5 times more powerful to nearly 40 times more powerful.

At the same time...these figures are "accurate" for comparison at the muzzle, only. As the ranges increase, the shotgun birdshot load will lose power very quickly, such that at just 25 yards or even as few as 10 yards, it may be very ineffective. The buckshot will hold it's velocity, and therefore it's "power" for a greater distance, but...the pattern of pellets will open up and spread out, so that at certain more extended ranges, only a few (or even no) pellets may strike the target.

Once again...don't use video games, movies, or TV shows as a basis for making conclusions concerning firearms...or on any other topic, truth be told.

 

Interesting and informative. I've read that there have been 8 and 10 gauge shotguns made and used, but have never tried to confirm such.

 

Oh, yes...there absolutely were 8 & 10 ga. They do still make some 10 ga. (and perhaps 8 ga...I have no idea). There were also 4 and 2 gauge...although I believe they were commonly referred to as 4 bore, and 2 bore, if memory serves. I wasn't attempting to cover all of the available shotgun sizes...just the most common. Especially as it tends to pertain to "combat" or self-defense.

In the U.S., at least, we have .410 (which is not a "gauge", but a caliber), 28 ga., 20 ga., 16 ga., 12 ga., & 10 ga. These are the most common, there are others. But for military or police usage, you'd only really ever be speaking about 12 ga. Civilians using a shotgun for home defense might obviously use any of the above, whatever is handy and available, when the need arises, but...most civilians actually *choosing* a shotgun that will be used for home defense, would likely use a 12 or 20 ga.

For what it's worth, for anyone who doesn't understand the whole "gauge" thing...the number represents how many perfectly spherical lead balls, of the exact size to fit within the bore of the gun, it would take to make one pound. Or, to put it another way...the gauge is a fractional representation of weight of a lead ball which fits into the bore. So, a single spherical lead ball which fits into a 20 ga. would weigh 1/20th of a pound...or, it would take 20 such lead balls as fit inside the bore of a 20 ga. to make up a pound. For a 12 ga., 1/12th of a pound per ball, or 12 balls to the pound. That is why the smaller the number, the larger the projectile. And as far as the .410...it's not measured by gauge (I'm not sure why), but rather just standard caliber. It's 41/100ths of an inch in diameter. There are revolvers made by Taurus and S&W which can fire .45 Colt cartridges...but these same revolvers are intended to fire .410 shotgun shells, as well.

 

Thanks---Joel

 

Hehe I saw the question and thought "you can look in the shooter's bible" but wow bullzaye did all the homework! Great job, man!

As much joy as I'd get from watching an anti-Gunner get thrown ten feet from being dumb enough to pull both barrels of 12ga on a freakin' rabbit that's just TV nonsense as you say. My five year old didn't move after shooting my 12ga 870 but his eyes were big as saucers. Best way to learn to respect the capability and use of the tool.

 

So...I have to ask the OP. You asked a question, multiple people here attempted to answer that question for you. So...any comment? I know that when *I* ask a specific question on a forum, I try to acknowledge those who try to help me by providing info.

Not giving any response pretty much gives the impression that you really don't care. And maybe that's the case. Just wondering...

 

I think it's more of a spur of the moment kinda thought

 

how many times more powerful then either would be the ability to instantly bend time and space?

 

14.7