What is the difference between slugs and shells

Pellets are rounds of buckshot that spread out at short range about a quarter of the range of slugs. Pellets are more situational, and are probably only superior to slugs in buildings. The pellets used in the shotgun spread out like a normal shotgun cartridge does and the slugs are like large bullets.

Slugs fire a single, large bullet while pellets fire a number of pellets, I believe around 6 - The slug deals points of blood damage, while the pellets deal per pellet. Lethal range for pellets is 40m, while with slugs it is m.

That said, pellets are the better option. Because they fire in a spread, you have more of a chance to hit a target even haphazardly aiming. You're likely to land at least two pellets against your target, which is comparable damage to the slugs.

Most important at all, and I'm going to bold to get the point across, if a single pellet hits someone in the head they are dead, have a good day. And you have a really good chance at accomplishing this, even with piss poor aim, even at m away. Just aim it in the direction you think their head is in and odds are you will hit.

THIS is why pellets are indeed the superior ammunition to slugs. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. We hope you'll give learning in Wonderopolis another try soon! We think we just might have a snail-rific day today, Mrs. Sometimes we think it would be fun to be a snail or a slug and S-L-O-W We hope you ALL have the best spring break ever!

We think snails are really awesome, too, Barbara! It's cool that you have one as a pet We think it's awesome that you shared what you learned about snails and slugs today, Kamryn! Thanks so much! Hello, Shundee! Thanks for hanging out in Wonderopolis today!

We encourage you to re-visit today's Wonder to learn if slugs and snails are different! Thanks for visiting Wonderopolis today and letting us know what you thought about today's Wonder, Julia!

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Want to add a little wonder to your website? Help spread the wonder of families learning together. We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply. Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. How are slugs and snails different?

Where do most snails live? Why do many gardeners dislike slugs and snails? We were hanging out in the Wonderopolis garden the other day and overheard two earthworms named Larry and Moe telling jokes: Larry: What's a slug? Moe: I don't know. Larry: A snail with a housing problem! Moe: Ha!

That's a good one, Larry. Larry: Hey Moe, what should you do if you see two snails fighting? Moe: I have no clue, Larry. Larry: Leave them alone and let them slug it out! Moe: You're on a roll today, Larry. Wonder What's Next? Try It Out Are you ready to learn even more about slugs and snails? Be sure to check out the following activities with a friend or family member: Do you have any snails or slugs near your house?

Find out! Grab a magnifying glass and head outside with a friend or family member. Check your backyard, especially around trees, gardens, and wet areas. If you find a snail or a slug, take some pictures to show your friends! Can you provide some encouragement for a snail or a slug? Snails and slugs may not be very fast, but we're sure they have many other redeeming qualities.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write an encouraging card to a snail or a slug. Imagine your recipient is feeling bad about finishing last in a local garden race. What can you say to cheer him or her up? What great qualities should he or she feel proud of? What accomplishments could he or she boast about? Even though you're writing to a snail or a slug today, you could write the same sort of letter to a friend or family member any day of the week.

If you ever see friends or relatives who are feeling sad, a few supportive words could cheer them up in a hurry. Write a letter to someone to cheer them up today. When you're finished, please share your encouraging letter with your friend!

Did you get it? Test your knowledge. Wonder Words humor gastropod aquatic remarkably habitat mucus protein delicacy escargot bark slime soil squeeze creatures noticed moisture appreciate communication Take the Wonder Word Challenge. Join the Discussion. Apr 29, We hope reading this Wonder helped you figure it out, laylen! Julia Dec 30, Hello I would like a confirmation for my husband who thinks slugs are the same as snails except they have left their shells somewhere.

Dec 30, Desmond the Moon Bear Sep 13, Desmond the Moon Bear is back! Anyway, Desmond had thought the only difference between snails and slugs were that slugs had no shells.

Now I hear this. Desmond confused. Wonderopolis Sep 13, Wonderopolis Dec 21, Luke May 9, The slug looked like a yellow sock with yellow mustard on it. Can you make a wonder about whales? Wonderopolis May 9, Laura Apr 9, The shot is not as likely to penetrate walls and doors causing injuries to others. However, at very close range birdshot will penetrate certain doors and walls. Once again, for home defense effective range is usually not an issue. Providing of course you have practiced and know your weapon.

This means the effect range is probably somewhere around 75 yards. Rifled barrels will have a much greater effective range because of the rifling. The 3 to 4 inch group is easily accomplished at yards with a rifled barrel.

The effective range is somewhere around yards. The effective ranges are only averages and much depends on weather conditions, ammunition and your shooting skill. Keep in mind the effective range is not how far the round will travel but how effective it is at a particular range. Any round can travel a significant distance and injure someone, depending on terrain and other conditions. Always know your target before shooting and know what is beyond the target. You have to assume for safety sake that you may miss so you need to know where your round is likely to travel too.

Slugs are not a typical home defense load because of the penetration. A slug can easily travel through doors and walls to injure someone in the home or even in the neighborhood.

A novice shotgun user might think that shotgun ammo is all the same. They figure you just purchase shotgun shells from the store, load them in the shotgun, and then fire. Now it is true that all shotguns are predominately a short range weapon that can do loads of damage to your target. However, the type of ammo in your shotgun will be helpful in the amount of damage you want to do versus the preciseness of your aim.

There are three types of shotgun ammunition; buckshot, birdshot and slug. The best type of shotgun ammunition for home defense is buckshot. These are basically large lead balls inside shells that get loaded into the shotgun. Most people use buckshot for hunting big animals, but they are suitable for self defense purposes as well.

The standard buckshot has eight. The bigger the balls, the more damage the buckshot will do to your target. As for birdshot, these are shells filled with small pellets in them. Normally people will hunt birds and small animals with birdshot ammunition in their shotgun. However, it has great stopping power and it will be able to incapacitate any intruder from up to 30 feet away. Finally, slugs are shells loaded with solid lead bullets with grooves on the sides.

If you seriously want to destroy your target and cause the most damage then slugs are the way to go. Slugs are also very accurate when fired. You can shoot a target up to 75 yards away and still keep up a reasonable amount of accuracy. Any one of these three shotgun ammunition types will be sufficient for stopping an intruder.

Remember, this is a shotgun! No matter which ammunition you use to shoot your target, it will cause serious injury or death to the person when used up close.

Remember though that you should never shoot someone running away from you. The legal consequences of shooting someone in the back are quite severe. So only shoot someone long range if they are hurting someone else or trying to shoot at you from far away. Otherwise, stick with some simple buckshot and shoot the intruder when they come into your home. Some manufactures claim that the recoil is reduced up to 40 percent in some gauge loads.

Typically, the shot pattern is the same, and the shells can be reused for loading at home. The shells are made of plastic and assumedly because of the lower recoil; the hulls would have more longevity. Low recoil loads are ideal for new shooters or those that simply cannot handle the recoil of a gauge with standard sized loads. The shells are relatively inexpensive and many shooters use them specifically for target practice where they expect to do a lot of shooting in one day, and of course, the low recoil allows them to shoot for longer periods where otherwise with heavier loads they could not.

Over time, some shooters can develop a flinch and by using the low recoil loads, they can train themselves out of this habit. Older shotguns can benefit from lighter loads because many of the older guns were not designed to take the stress of heavier loads such as magnum shells. Using the low recoil loads makes some of the older weapons safer to use in some cases. Lighter loads are available in slug and buckshot, as well.

The buckshot will still have the typical nine pellets. Certain other shells are loaded so the fps is between and The recoil is light to non-existent. The low recoil can be used for certain birds but do not expect the effective range to be beyond 25 yards and are typically used for hunting quail or dove. The fps and recoil figures are estimations only and the actual figures are dependent on the load in ounces, manufacturer and shot used. One of the very hot questions today. What ammunition to use for home defense?

Less lethal? Or maybe slugs? This question always rise lots of debates and opinions. Answer the poll and leave a comment. Please answer the poll, what ammunition do you prefer for home defense? You can select two variants. What is the best shotgun ammunition for home defense? View Results. Each shotgun will be different and some of the same models may cycle perfectly while another of the same model may fail to when using low recoil shells.

Low recoil rounds of course have no effect on a pump action because all of the work is accomplished by the shooter. Carefully consider all options and experiment so when the times comes in a home defense situation, for example, you know exactly what your weapon and rounds are capable of doing.

Your ammunition choice depends on what you are shooting at. Most shotgun loads are designed to be fired from a smooth bore, in other words the barrel is not rifled. There are however, dedicated shotguns with rifled barrels that are more accurate, but making it unsuitable for firing shot. Shot would simply wear the rifling away and this of course will defeat the purpose of the rifled barrel. There are shells for self-defense and various shells for hunting game.

Shot is traditionally for bird and small game whereas slugs and buckshot are for larger game. Birdshot is typically called shot or BB shot. Because of environmental concerns steel, bismuth and tungsten is replacing lead shot, for bird hunting. The problem with steel shot is the hardness, which can cause damage to the bore and choke in older shotguns. Unlike lead there is no give to steel and it can damage the bore especially if the choke is on full.

Tungsten is also very hard, but it is often alloyed with other metals making it softer causing less damage in older models shotguns. Bismuth falls in between tungsten and steel, being the softer of the two by far. Buckshot is used for large game and home defense. Double-aught buckshot, having nine pellets, is also ideal for self-defense because there is no question of stopping power and penetration.

BB or birdshot is obviously for birds, while 4 is much larger shot and the 00 or double-aught is considerable larger still. The slug is for large game and it can be used for home defense, as well. With home defense, you have to consider over penetration. You want stopping power yet do not want the slug penetrating and exiting through and through an intruder and striking someone else.

Therefore, the 4 and 00 are the most popular for home defense. You must also consider your choke setting. The tighter the choke the less spread you have, which is ideal for short range, but if you have multiple targets and want to disable two intruders at once of course loosen the choke to allow more spread as the shot exits the barrel. One pellet of 00 will certainly disable a person if fired from close range.

The object regardless of what you are shooting at is stopping power. When hunting birds you want range, yet you do not want excessive damage to the bird. When hit you want penetration and knock down. You do not want to wade for miles hunting an injured bird.

You want the bird to drop immediately when hit. Turkey for example can be hunted with BB and 2 and 4 shot, with full or modified choke. Duck hunters prefer 1 and 2 shot using a modified or full choke. Pheasant are typically hunted with 6 with a modified choke. Squirrel and rabbit can be hunted with 5 and 6 with modified choke, keep in mind the damage to the animal and distance from it when deciding on choke.

Larger animals such as deer can be hunted with a rifled slug or 00 buck. Some are of the mind that any round out of the barrel toward an intruder works. This of course is true in a situation where you simply grab any available weapon. However, when will you be in a situation where you simply grab whatever is available?

Typically, you will have the opportunity to choose your ammunition for home defense. Some prefer rifled slugs, because of the range, but home intrusions by their very nature are close quarters so range is not important unless you are defending a large estate where the firefight is taken outdoors or you are defending yourself in a survival situation.

Some may prefer birdshot because in the back of their mind some people while, they want to stop an intruder they do not necessarily want to cause a fatality. Birdshot however at close range is devastating but not as guaranteed as a rifled slug would be at close range.

The other option of course is buckshot, which will stop an intruder and create enough damage to ensure the intrude stays on the ground and is no longer a threat. Your number one objective is to neutralize the threat by any means possible and as quickly as possible. Homeowners while they want to protect their family and possessions do not necessarily want to cause a fatality while doing so.

If this is the case, you can use so-called non-lethal rounds in your home defense shotguns. The shells would be of the same gauge as your shotgun and can be loaded as you would any shell. The most typical non-lethal rounds are beanbag and rubber slugs or shot. You can also load your own shells with rock salt ice cream salt or you may be able to purchase them already loaded. The salt is very coarse and may even resemble chips of rock.

Load the salt just as you would birdshot. The rock salt will cause pain and may even cause minor wounds on bare skin but the salt will not penetrate and cause permanent damage. Less than lethal shells will still make the same noise as other shells. You can purchase rubber buckshot or single projectiles to load yourself or buy the shells already loaded.

You can also get the shells loaded with rubber shot and pepper spray combinations. The effective range can vary between 10 and 50 feet. The pepper spray is effective up to 25 feet in some cases. However, just because they state they are non-lethal the shells are extremely dangerous and at very close ranges and under the right circumstances, the rounds can cause a fatality.

The less than lethal rounds can be used for training and practice. This is ideal for teaching younger adults how to handle loaded weapons without the fear associated with using lethal ammunition. Check with your local municipalities about firing non-lethal rounds inside the city limits. Less than lethal rounds can be used for crowd control to minimize fatalities and yet provide immediate stopping power.

Slug vs Buckshot. Slug and buckshot are the names used for shots used inside shotgun. Because of a very large caliber, shotguns can make use of a variety of ammunition of which buckshot and slug are most commonly used. Many people remain confused between slug and buckshot.

Both are used to have a huge impact upon game or a human being, but there are differences that you need to keep in mind before using them.