No, add a laser red dot and a flashlight. I did :)
My Mossberg 9200, 18.5 Riot/LE smooth bore barrel.:
Posted on 12/29/2008 8:12:39 AM PST by gOOsefmalOOsef
Hello Fellow Freepers!
I am young and a bit naive when it comes to firearms but am interested in a good home defense shotgun. As I am well aware many of you have experience in this area I was wondering what recomendations you might have to Remington 870 express vs the Mossberg 500?
Both are excellent, inexpensive yet quality home defense weapons but I would go with the 870
Either way, you can’t go wrong.
Both of them go bang and probably leave an exit wound the size of a fist. Go for either one
Neither.
Get yourself an AR-15 carbine. 14.5” barrel with permanently welded flash hider.
Preferably, if your state allows it, do the paperwork and get an AR-15 with an 11.5” barrel.
8 shot magazine on a shotgun, compared to 30 rounds for an AR-15 magazine. No contest. Especially if you consider the threat of a home invasion with more than 1 bad guy.
http://www.maverickarms.com/pages/88security.htm
To solve the safety problem, I leave the safety off but do not chamber a round. The slide release is convienient and easy to operate, so I know that I have to rack the gun to be ready to fire.
It also tells them where you are.
Yes. Which brings us to the subject of tactics, since it’s not enough just to have a good weapon. You need a plan. And training, which just means practice, which you can do in the privacy of your own home.
One that works is to let them hear the shotgun rack a round from part of the house remote from their position, where you are waiting for them to come to you. Now you have both the psychological and geographical advantage.
You see, not being a CHP, or other law enforcement officer, means you don’t have to go after the dirtbag, but can let him risk coming to you.
Re: Anyone who shoots in the dark is a fool.
So if it’s 2Am and I hear and can identify gang members in the hallway, I am a fool for shooting them?
Guess I should turn on the lights so we can shake hands and get acquainted. /extreme sarc
Both are good weapons and worth their price. I think you could bet your life on either one.
I own a 5000A. I like the safety placement on the 500A, even though it is probably less rugged than the one on 870. I don’t rely much on safeties but I figure it could save some lost drunk’s life some night. All things considered, I’d probably prefer the steel receiver of the 870 over the aluminum receiver of the 500A. Both will accept rifle sights and I’m not picky enough to tell a major difference in sight picture. Both, I believe, come drilled and tapped to make installation of optics easy.
As you can see from the comments, after that it comes down to a mostly religious argument. :o)
All things considered it comes down to which one you feel, after handling both, you can use more effectively. As I say, both are good guns.
One shot should do the job.
No, add a laser red dot and a flashlight. I did :)
My Mossberg 9200, 18.5 Riot/LE smooth bore barrel.:
Better to be judged by 12 than be carried by 6 always applies, but if you can not clearly identify your target you are better off turning on the light than killing a relative.
I can speak from experience.
One night my stepson was supposed to be spending the night at a friend’s. He came home late at night with out a call to let us know. His mother woke me and said she heard someone down stairs. I picked up my 1911 and went down stairs. I half expected it was him for no good reason and called out his name he didn’t answer at first. He stepped out in to the light saw my pistol and turned white as a ghost.
I could have shot him but waited to see who it was. Glad I did. It is a rocky marriage much of the time but we manage. Killing her son would have been the end for sure.
I would never question that a 12 gage does the job nicely.
I just question if it is the best tool for home defense for the average home owner.
My personal choice is a Colt 1911 with Cor-bon safety slugs.
Hits hard and doesn’t penetrate walls.
I can point and shoot out to 20 yards and hit a man sized target. It’s all I need.
Whether to use a shotgun or a rifle should depend at least in part on how close the neighbors are and how fond you are of them.
Stopping power is also an issue. 12 Gauge factory loads give you around 1590 foot pounds of muzzle energy. Most 5.56mm loadings have a muzzle energy of around 1250-1290 foot pounds. (For comparison, a .45ACP gives you around 330 foot pounds.) If your round over penetrates it may not impart its full energy to the target - and at across the room distances a 5.56mm round will but a shotgun probably won’t. Either will make your target dead. A shotgun will in most cases tend to make it deader.
“I love it when a post starts like this.”
Me too! You do have to admit that I justified it. Admit it you must. <-— said while waving hand in the air with a peculiar little gesture... (which does NOT involve the middle finger ;)
And hey, it’s even actually decent advice! Bonus!
“If/when a firearm is introduced into a home, careful thought needs to be put into where/how it will be kept, and EVERYONE in the house who will have access to it needs to know how to HANDLE it safely (not necessarily how to shoot it).”
I disagree with one part of your post here. EVERYONE needs to know how to shoot it. I can think of at least three situations here in the past decade where a kid with his family’s gun saved his family. Mostly teens, but one, IIRC, was only 8 or 9. There have most likely been many more.
The best way to avoid the necessity is to be prepared for it. Teach them ALL! Then pray you never need it. Sure beats doing it the other way round!
“Mostly teens, but one, IIRC...”
Oh, and there was one who had to use a knife! MUCH too up-close-and-personal!
They are both good shotguns. Also consider the Remington 870 Police, and the Mossberg 590A1.
Yes, a 00 buckshot load will penetrate seven sheets of dry wall. That means it goes through three walls, loosing energy all the way, and lodges in the fourth.
5.56 mil on the other hand penetrated 12 sheets, six walls, and kept on going. I'd call that meaningful, as in at least 100% more penetration with 5.56 mil versus 00 buck. (In the same test 5.56mm also penetrated twelve 3/4 inch pine boards. Doubt I could do that with 00 buck.)
That translates into about twice the chance to kill someone you can't see and don't want to hurt downrange.
For apartment and condo dwellers there is an added factor. My apartment, like many others, is separated from the neighbors by a fire rated wall consisting of two sheets of dry wall and two sheets of 3/4th inch plywood, plus insulation. In my case most of the walls are also armored with about six inches of books. I am reasonably confident; confident enough to risk going to jail or facing a civil lawsuit that would break me if I ever have to shoot and I'm wrong, that this barrier will slow down a 00 load enough to prevent injury to the neighbors. I'm not so sure about a 5.56mm round.
There is also the fact that I can't legally own any rifle with more than a 10 round, internal, non detachable magazine. Where I, and about 36 million other people live, a shotgun is my best choice for home defense. I really have though this through.
A 2009 project. I hate to leave because annoying the libs is so much fun. I never thought I’d say this but it’s getting to the point here where resistance is futile.
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