I disagree. The 12 guage shotgun is the most versatile weapon one can reasonably have. With it you can take any game in the lower 48, although it wouldn't be my first choice for large bears. But it would work.
You can bring down any bird from a snipe to a goose with one.
It'll take serious mankilling loads like 00 and 000 buckshot, and a Federal Copper Solid slug in 12 guage will pass through Class IIA Kevlar like it wasn't there.
You can use it to stop a riot with birdshot, specialized less-than-lethal loads or drop a bad guy with a 1 oz. lead slug moving at 900 fps from 75 yards.
Hell, there are even shells that will turn your trusty shotgun into a flamethrower.
And of all the pump action shotguns available I think that the Mossberg 500 and 590 series represent one of the best values on the market today.
Just my opinion of course. Your mileage may vary.
Happy New Year.
L
My opinion as well. Thanks
I have a basic (but hopefully not too ignorant) question about shotguns.
Is there a reason that I never see them come with a ammo clip (like the m-16) ? It seems that it would take a long time to reload a shotgun under pressure without the benefit of having a clip.
Thanks in advance.
To all of that, I would add this:
In a suburban environment, using birdshot (say, #7 or #6) would give a reliable killing power inside of 7 yards (ie, inside a house or room), yet have limited power to punch through an exterior wall, or limited power if any pellets did get through an exterior wall.
I’m in complete agreement with you as to their versatility. There is nothing, and I mean NOTHING, as versatile as a shotgun. I’ve used mine for everything up to coyotes, dispatching livestock, cutting down small trees, eliminating squirrels and gophers... even disposing of 5” and 3.5” disk drives from old computers where I don’t want anyone reading my data.
A shotgun simply cannot be beat for the all-around firearm.