Shotguns for home defense?

American Thinker ^ | 14 Sep, 2024 | Mike McDaniel

[Blueflag]

Well this isn’t an either/or choice.

Who’s (the intruder(s)) in the house?
How many?
Are they all in one room or searching various places in your house?
Do you know how they are armed?

How many in the home will participate in defense of the home?
Level of training and experience of those individuals?

In our home, the ready-arms are:
* a Mossberg Maverick with 8 in the tube and 1 in the chamber. (yes I prefer the gun to be in battery) It has a gun light

* A Sig P220 .45 ACP with a 12 round extended mag and one in the chamber (in battery.) No gun light

* An AR pattern rifle in .223 with a 30 round mag, ACOG and gun light.

I prefer to have the guns in battery for speed, somewhat for stealth. It’s just like carrying - by the time I get to the firearm, I may not have time to chamber a round.

I’m a good carpenter and sheetrock guy. I can also repair wiring and plumbing. Not worried about damage to the house at that point. The intruders certainly won’t be worried about it.

One last point - in a home defense situation, it’s REALLY likely you won’t have time to don hearing protection. A shotgun will not deafen you fired inside a room. A .45 will. It’s even painful outdoors.

Your mileage may vary.

[Blueflag]

What you said. Mine is ready, in battery.

[Vaduz]

No wonder crowd control requires less officers now good deal.

[Blueflag]

34 yards.

Dude - you have a long ranch house, eh?

( I use the same sort of hallway arrangement to laser bore sight firearms )

[Gaffer]

I use a Mossberg 410 schockwave....short, easy to rack and good fo4 close-ups. Had that KSG. Best days were when I bought it, and then sold it.

[Ancesthntr]

“I would never use a shotgun for home defense. Why destroy your own property in the process of eliminating an intruder? Minimize damage to walls and furnishings by using a handgun.“
————————-
You can repair your house and furniture. How do you fix a dead family member (or a dead YOU) if you miss with the accurate handgun and the muscreant doesn’t miss (or slashes you to death with a knife)? First priority is to eliminate the threat, everything else is secondary.

Oh, and there are a number of semi-auto shotties that can carry 10 or 20 rounds in magazines. If you shoot first defending your home and your family, no BG is going to be successful in that situation. Fix the house later, including installing a steel door inside of a steel frame so that you decrease the odds of having to deal with a similar situation again.

[FLT-bird]

My home defense weapon is a savage 320 tactical shotgun. It has a 5 round capacity, a pistol grip and an 18.5 inch barrel which is ideal for getting around corners quickly. In a room to room scenario, a tactical 12 gauge is just devastating.

It lives in the closet 5 feet away from bed for anything that goes bump in the night.

[LouAvul]

3 inch shells are magnum loads. Newton’s second law: “for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” The recoil will kick you like a mule and make it harder to stay on target. 3 inch shells are for things like duck hunting. 2 1/2 inch shells are fine for HD.

Birdshot is effective point blank but if you’re defending yourself in winter, the intruder is heavily clothed, etc, not so good. You need immediate penetration. Center mass kind of thing.

00 buck is preferred by a lot of people but in an apartment building or if there are other people in your house, the buckshot will not stop at the drywall. It penetrates drywall with enough energy to kill whatever is on the other side.

My main home defense is a handgun with light/laser. But I also have a shotgun with #4 buckshot. Note: not #4 duck hunting shells as that’s different.

But if I hear something shatter in the night, it’s my 45 ACP with the light/laser. And my electronic ear muffs if I have time and presence of mind. Long guns are a worst case scenario thing.

[SaveFerris]

That’s why I keep a pistol handy

9mm but I have a couple of new .45s (from last year that is)

[Vermont Lt]

The chances on an armed intruder in my area is nil. In fact, home invasions of occupied homes in my area hasn’t happened in years.

Most of these discussions are academic.

[riverrunner]

Same in my area.

But big black four legged home invaders have been more common.

My 870 tactical with light and dot sight loaded with 7 round of 00 buckshot is more the capable of taking care of the problem.

[unread]

If you can find it, you can use 4buck in your pistol. It has 9 pellets and would be quite effective at close range..
Just make sure you do a little experimentation with it to be sure it works for you. Confidence in your equipment is paramount... :)

[anton]

That’s intuitive, but not completely correct. The handgun projectile in a strong caliber keeps going after ventilating the intruder and residential structures are basically cardboard, so you have to worry about what is on the other side of the wall behind the intruder. With a shotgun the risk of killing your family member in the next room is reduced.

[Max in Utah]

It’s true, you won’t notice recoil in a situation where you’re excited. I had a lightweight single-barrel 12 gauge when I was 14, and never minded the kick when shooting at a dove or rabbit. Shooting at a tin can thrown into the air was a different matter... didn’t do much of that.

Get some light 1 oz. loads and practice with those. Shoot from the shoulder, shoot from the hip. Make it a fun outing so you’ll continue to practice and gain experience with your gun.

[SaveFerris]

Thanks - I used to be set up at home to clean my guns (impromptu)

Now I hate to get my new guns dirty, LOL

Except for the CC and I’m needing to bring 2 more online - at least one more 9mm and one .45 - I’ve had them for awhile

I’m also stingy with my ammo - hate to spend the money to shoot - I’m pretty good with my cheap pistol - but it hurts after about 10 rounds - still, I do alright with it

[wardaddy]

If u live in a gymnasium or loft in somewhere it’s allowed maybe I’d prefer a shotgun

Believe it or not I bought a mossberg pump on Mott street in little Italy once and walked home with it to Madison square 2 miles wrapped in brown paper over my shoulder 1986 and nobody said diddly

True story

Reality I prefer anything I can grab quick after my Rottweiler Rommel does his thing on them

[wardaddy]

People don’t realize that in house distance shotgun pattern is damn tight in 25-28 inch barrels

U can miss

This such a debatable topic

Something to grab quick from slumber
A sidearm

Something most deadly

A slug or heavy buck or a .460 weatherby lol

Practical if your awake enough

A carbine assault caliber rifle your choice honestly

That combat trained old man in Arkansas meth dealer RKBA guy a few years ago destroyed an alphabet assault squad and survived at 4am with his AK style kit

So there

[Hot Tabasco]

My thought would be an old 20 ga., pump shotgun with a pistol grip and the barrel cut down to comply with the 26" minimum length of the gun. (assuming the barrel would be at least 18")

Low recoil and easy to maneuver in hallways.

[gundog]

One option is to make the gun heavier. I have a pound of lead in the butt of my duck gun. I mounted a 6-round Side Saddle on the home defense gun.

[SaveFerris]

Nice