Question about birdshot - research

[LadyGLS]

I'm a writer and my husband suggested I come here and see what y'all think about a question I have. In my story, a man is sitting at a table, facing north. Another man enters the room holding a shotgun he's just used to hunt turkeys. He is about 20 feet away from the man at the table and he is facing east. He shoots the man at the table who has turned to his left to look at him. This takes place in 1945. My questions: 1) Would it kill the man at the table or just wound him? 2) Would the man at the table be able to do or say anything for a few seconds before he dies, if it is a fatal shot? 3) If it isn't fatal, what does it do to him? 4) If there is a woman seated across the table from the man, would the shotgun blast potentially wound her, at 20 feet away, or (the guy is a dead shot) would it just hit the man?

Some people have told me it would kill the guy instantly, and others say that it won't because it's birdshot. I want to write the scene as accurately as possible, so any help you could offer is greatly appreciated. If this is the wrong forum for the question, please tell me and I'll move it (new here). Thanks so much for your time.

EDIT: I found this video which is helpful. I need to find out what was available in 1945, but this makes me think it would seriously wound him but not necessarily kill him instantly.

 

[87KJH]

7:51 birdshot from a few feet away.
9:40 birdshot at point blank

The spread of a turkey choked (extra full) shotgun at 20 feet is only a few inches wide.

 

[Overwatch1]

#1: at a range of twenty feet, the woman across the table is pretty safe.
#2: if the shooter is as you say, a dead shot, his target is most likely DOA.

 

[boomdad]

Turkey loads are viscous, but they vary from 2 3/4 to 3 1/2" shells 20ga. To 10ga. I'd say dead if 20ft away you shoot with 3" 12ga. It also depends on shot placement.

 

[glocker]

Bird shot is for birds…. Buck shot or a slug will drop a mfer. With bird shot he might die a couple of days later…. I have met people that have been shot with bird shot out of a 12 gauge. One by accident and the other on purpose. Both were hurt but they lived. One in the back and in the front in the upper part of his chest and neck ( narly scar on his neck)

 

[medium187mph]

That’s 6.66 yards… he dead

 

[Cadcom]

I’ve seen quail and dove fly off after getting busted with birdshot. I hope to hell I’m never caught needing it for self defense.

 

[steelhorse]

The OP did state, that Her story took place in 1945. Not sure if they had turkey loads for a shotgun back then?

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

The spread of the bird shot from 20 feet away from a typical sporting barrel shotgun would be about 5 inches.

So, all of the pellets could hit the intended target with no strays wounding any other person at the table.

The effect of such a shot on the human body is unpredictable. In the short term it might not render somebody instantly unconscious or otherwise unable to speak . In the long term it's very likely to cause death from massive bleeding due to 200 -300 different holes in the body.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

The OP did state, that Her story took place in 1945. Not sure if they had turkey loads for a shotgun back then?

I'd imagine the World War probably disrupted the availability of sporting shotgun ammunition , so people who were able to go turkey hunting in 1945 would be happy to use whatever birdshot shells they could get --even if they were really intended for upland game, pheasant, etc.