I mean if I am going to shoot you at 0200 in front of your home, put you in your car and drive you a couple of blocks, I damn sure want you dead. Rat shot would be my low on my list of what to use.
"If in fact Baxter shot himself, and it's looking like a slim chance of that, he sure picked a Stupid Load to do it with. Those rounds use something like #9 birdshot and might have blended his brain from a Contact Shot, but from a couple of feet away it would be extremely iffy.
Most of them I've shot would not break a coke bottle from two feet, but they will mess up a snake.
I'd say it was left obvious on purpose (a message) that he was offed. (Don't Rat on the Plan!) Ratshot, it fits! They're cute with their innuendo.
From the posted article:
"In addition, rat shot is the perfect murder ammunition, because unlike a solid bullet, there is no ballistics test that can match rat shot or snake shot to the gun that fired it."