no . a shotgun might be 6x the muzzle energy of a handgun but certain rifles have much more muzzle energy than a shotgun.
i showed the slugger 1 0z slug which i found to be the most powerful the highest muzzle energy . a lot of other shotgun ammo is much lower velocity some 1200 fps which is nothing compared to 1760 fps for the slugger .,
examples of muzzle energy
9mm handgun 362
12 gauge 1 oz slug 2800
300 win mag rifle 3548
imo certain rifles are much more powerful than a shotgun
shotgun ammo as well as rifle ammo varies a lot. i look at the ammo with highest velocity and then weight. many times the muzzle energy is shown on the ammo webpage . but it's easy to calculate on the internet with a muzzle energy calculator .
the example is showed of the slugger is the maximum muzzle energy i found for a 12 gauge . other ammo is much lower velocity and muzzle energy can be as low as 2000 for some ammo.
the 12 1 oz slug is the maximum muzzle energy possible because a 30 inch barrel can drive it 1760 feet per second velocity
but then you have some other shotgun ammo rated at 1200 fps is a much lower energy.
you can search for the title of following study in z-library and download the pdf of the study shows all the ammo rifles shotguns and muzzle energy and how every time energy over 2700 the head completely burst exploded
Wounds of high-energy centerfire rifles and shotguns represent distinctive injuries of forensic importance. Previous studies of contact wounds have shown variability in the potential of these weapons to produce bursting wounds of the head. The present study analyzed contact head wounds owing to...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
A series of 89 contact shotgun wounds of the head were evaluated to compare the extent of wounding produced by different gauge shotguns. Twelve gauge shotguns were the most common, accounting for 69% of the cases, followed by 20 gauge (18%), .410 caliber (10%), and 16 gauge (3%). The mouth was...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov