Am I the only one who finds the "over penetration" videos to be really stupid?
My opinion on them is that they are done in the wrong context. Why would you be blasting through your walls knowing some family could be on the other side? Basic firearm safety.
To me, over penetration would only happen if the round exits the target. But even so, your most likely wouldn't pull the trigger if a stray round could hit your family members.
Most houses have the bedrooms all in the same area of the house. What are people going to be doing? Running around all willy nilly, jumping behind couches, and flipping tables over having a gun fight with some stranger in your house?
People watch too many movies..
There is definitely some criticism merited against many of the over penetration videos out there. I actually found The one that was linked titled what Home Defense: Over Penetration through walls fairly useful. While he does use some bizarre language about being saved by walls, or trying to penetrate walls, he does prevent a series of tests, with controlled variables, and a consistent methodology. You can take his information presented and lessons learned and apply it to your application and make a good decision. For me, whether I am thinking the same use as him, at least his information is useful, and therefore I liked the video.
First, BASIC firearm safety is the wrong context if you are thinking home defense. Yes, don't touch the trigger, yes assume its loaded, yes don't point it at something you don't want to destroy, but what about know your backstop and what's beyond? What if you know your backstop is insufficient and you can't determine what is beyond? Does that mean you can never shoot? That would always be the case in any house. If you refuse to a shot when a stray round could hit your family members then unless you are certain the house is empty there is almost no point going to the gun in the first place.
Sometimes you have to take a risky shot because the threat in front of you is too dangerous to do nothing. Taking a shot without knowing if your family is on the other side of the wall is a risk to your family. NOT taking a clear shot at a dangerous intruder is ALSO a risk to your family. Defense is about risk mitigation. Weighing your best course of option against the pros and cons. Selecting ammo with reduced penetration power is a perfectly reasonable risk mitigation strategy that should increase your willingness to take a shot if its needed.
And no, over penetration does not ONLY happen if the round exits the target. That assumes perfection. Perfect shot, perfect shot placement, zero pellets off target. That is unrealistic under ideal conditions, let alone in a DGU situation.
Yes, most houses have all the bedrooms in the same area of the house. That is part of the problem. Typical north american home design has a central landing on the second floor which is surrounded by bedrooms. An intruder on the landing will mean most people are shooting in the direction of other bedrooms in order engage the intruder.
Yes, watching less Hollywood movies is well advised. Watching more ACTUAL defensive gun use security videos is also well advised. There are many videos that show gun fights that are highly fluid. I've yet to see a single one where the defender executed perfect shot placement. Most of them are in the dark. There is the occasional tossing of furniture. They are messy affairs, and often short lived.
Without early warning, storing firearms in accordance with Canadian gun laws almost guarantees they will be inaccessible and useless to you.
Another thing to consider as a risk mitigation strategy is angles. Getting low and aiming high on the body will almost completely mitigate the risk of an over penetration striking a friendly target that is behind the intruder and on the same floor as you. If you are ground floor and family is above you, then get tall and aim low.