[Mr. K]

I have been thinking about a 420 gage shotgun for home defense

take down anything and not take out structural walls

What do you think?

Small enough to teach my young daughters to practice with a real shotgun

And the ammo is so tiny its almost CUTE

I know.. I'm weird

[yarddog]

A person could get by with a .410 but a 20 gauge would be better if you don’t want to go 12.

[onona]

I think you mean a .410 gauge Mr. K, and I concur. I bought my daughter a nice used Ithaca Model 66 super single 20 gauge, and it’s too much for her.

Shoulda went lighter....

[Tijeras_Slim]

shotgun ballistics are not like rifles. A 12 gauge target load is 1 to 1 1/8th ounce of shot at 1200 feet per second. A .410 is 1/2 or 11/16 ounce of shot at 1200 feet per second.

For a light recoiling defense shotgun I’d suggest a 20 gauge (7/8th ounce) semi automatic.

[Flatus I. Maximus]

I've seen a lot of fathers turn their kids off to shooting forever by giving them a .410 for a first shotgun. There's so little shot inside those "cute" shells, it's difficult to hit anything, and it's hitting the target that makes a kid think, "This is fun! I want to shoot more!"

Get a decent "youth model" 20-gauge pump with an adjustable stock. I'm a big fan of the Mossberg 500 Super Bantam. If they're not yet big enough to lift, aim, and fire a 20-gauge loaded with light trap loads, they're not big enough to be shooting a shotgun, period.

[goat granny]

Several years back I got on a thread about the best gun for home protection....the overwhelming concensus for a female was a remington 870, 20 gage. I got the youth size it was much more comfortble to handle than a full adult size....females have a tendency to have shorter arms...Pump action holds 5 shells...spent the summer with my son in law teaching me to handle it....its pretty easy gun to use...

I tried several shotguns at the shop and liked this one the best also....freepers know their guns, than God.....

[Kartographer]

I go with a 20 ga. and No. 8 birdshot inside the home.

12 Gauge Birdshot For Home Defense

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIfilArIHlY

[varmintman]

The 410 ga shotgun is a misuse of technology. The only thing it’s really good for is shooting rats and mice and for what you’d pay for a decent one, you could buy 30 or 40 cats and I’d rather have one of the cats around.

[The KG9 Kid]

A .410 shotgun has the same penetrative power as any other larger gauge shotgun when firing shot. All shotgun rounds have basically the same comparable muzzle velocity; the bore size in ‘gauge’ only signifies the weight of shot.

Training your daughters with a soft shooting .410 is one thing, but truly you ought to stick to 12 gauge for defense.

[The Mayor]

I have a 12 gauge pump Mr K... Remember after Paladinos campaign the ATF came and took it from me? I gave it to Delano to hold for me. He has it and I would sell it to you for what I paid with plenty of shells to go with it.

[Vendome]

Wow a 420?