Hey Dugaboy,

That is a very neat shotgun. I have a Valmet 412 and I really like it. So, let me ask you this: If you had to deal with a cat charge, and you had your shotgun, what would be your strategy? I mean, like, when would you fire? I understand what you mean about the buckshot having an inconsistent pattern and failing to penetrate hide and muscle at farther ranges, but for me that would not be a problem, because I would not begin firing those ranges. I think my strategy if I were ever faced with that problem would be to have something like your Valmet, and then wait until I could nearly poke his eye out with the muzzle, and then give it to him square in the face at point blank. I would save the second shot in case his tail is still twitching when he stops rolling end over end.

In that event, I would think that the buckshot would do a fairly thorough job of adjudicating the matter. I think I would feel more confident with this technique than any other - the only thing though, is like Ray says, you gotta have the discipline to wait until that last hairy second. I would think that if a person started shooting from that far away on a cat, rifle or shotgun, the odds are not good that you are going to hit his light switch, and you would be wasting your precious shots.