Actually, bird shot in a shotgun makes for a great home defense round. At close range (0-20 feet)it will pretty much cut someone in half, will not over penetrate a wall into another room and transfers nearly every ounce of energy into what you are shooting at. Most likely there will be massive blood loss to deal with after the fact. Not much chance for survival if it is a center mass hit. But bird shot does not improve you aim or in this case the man's blindness.