Here we go again. More folklore than fact.
With an open bore, at 30 feet you'll get about a 9" pattern.
At room distance of around 15' you'll maybe get a 2" - 3" pattern.
Posted on 01/06/2013 9:42:01 PM PST by ru4liberty
This question pertains to a diminutive woman in her mid-60s. She has a .38 handgun but has been told by a few people (shooting range owner, RTC instructor's cousin, co-worker, etc.) that the best thing to have is a shotgun. They pretty much said that sometimes the only thing a perp needs is to hear the cocking of the shotgun and he'll flee the scene.
I wanted to tap into the expertise of those FReepers who are knowledgeable of such things so I can pass along the info. Also, her funds are limited (fixed income), so any recommendations that would keep her from having to spend too much and where would be the best place to buy it would be helpful.
That’s what I thought.
I have a Gen4 Glock 23 to accompany my Gen 3 Glock 22.
Great guns.
I’m going to buy another Glock 19 to replace the one stolen this summer.
My instructor taught me that, although the sound of a pump shotgun being stroked may make a burglar wet his pants, the sound of it being short stroked and jamming will bring a smile to his face. If she decides on a shotgun, she should keep a round in the chamber and not rely on sound effects. Another nugget passed to me was, the barrel of a shotgun preceding a homeowner into a room is a good grab point for an alert burglar. Two strikes against shotguns as far as I am concerned. If she is competant with her .38, have her get some +P ammo for it. In .38 cal I heartily recommend the S&W Model 10 or 64, Military and Police .38 with fat barrel. It has great balance, and great followup shot ability due to the barrel. Shotguns are good for intimidating people who are at a distance, but I don’t care for them in a dark house. My two cents.
I'm not a strong advocate for use with a small framed person, or with someone who won't spend a fair amount of time practicing with the weapon. Double racking, especially on lower cost weapons, can make that weapon useless in an emergency situation.
If she is familiar with and comfortable with the 38, I whole heartedly echo the advice of another in this thread - get a second one to make two points of safety in the home. Thought should also be given to the placement of those firearms. Keeping them in drawers puts them in the hands of criminals if they ever enter when she's not there or aware.
My mother had a holster built into her chair; to retrieve the firearm, it was just simply a reach down next to the cushion and she'd be ready for action. A second holster was attached to the frame of the bed between the bed and the nightstand, where she kept her other handgun. We had tried her with the shotgun, and she was comfortable enough shooting it, but carrying it from room to room, she felt, was too much for her.
While my mother had the use of a leathercrafter to handle her specific needs, many paddle holsters will work well in these two locations and provide easy and safe access, and be very unlikely to be places searched by thieves of any stripe. A heavy application of Velcro can ensure that the holster will stay put when the weapon is drawn.
Always, the biggest recommendation I have for home defense is: Never count on anything you're not willing to be familiar with and use in case of an emergency. The worst possible outcome is arming your assailant.
Remington 870 pump 12 gage shotgun. Express model can be bought at Walmart for less then $300.
(Running like hell for cover...) ;-)
Crate = create........... spell check does not catch fat fingers that come up with valid but out of place words.
12 gauge pump shotgun...
or just a recording of the snickt-snackt sound would probably work just as well
Here we go again. More folklore than fact.
With an open bore, at 30 feet you'll get about a 9" pattern.
At room distance of around 15' you'll maybe get a 2" - 3" pattern.
Bastard always wanted to kill the landlord. Now you know. To hell with Gunby! :^)
LOL!!!!
You don’t really cock a shotgun anymore, unless you’re into cowboy action shooting and you have a ‘stagecoach’ gun with hammers. CZ makes a nice one, if that’s what you really want.
‘Pump’ shotguns require that you “rack the slide” producing a distinctive sound. This will have its greatest effect for you upon an intruder if you can learn to do it one-handed, then say in a loud voice, “I’m hungry for man-flesh!”
That’s just what you need IMHO. 7 1/2 bird shot no over penetration.
Dang it. That smarts.
I am interested in high quality low caliber anything. The power handguns are getting expensive. My next foray will be the .308 arena of defense.
Shot guns looked appealing, except for the mobility/handling issues. For the situations where such a firearm would be deployed, dinking around with a shot gun is simply impractical for reasons others have already described.
A handgun has advantages of mobility, size, and simple handling in situations where you don't wanna have to go to a closet, rummage around for the shotgun, load it, and then deal with it in the dark. A handgun can be loaded and deployed very closeby but out of sight.
Disadvantages to a handgun? Depending on the power of the weapon, you (1) may harm someone in a different room, or even the next door neighbor (!), or (2) you may need to have more than usual aiming ability.
We fianlly settled on Taurus' Judge -- a revolver (simple, simple, simple) that shoots .410 shotgun shells. If you get the 3-inch cartridge model, it will hold 3- and 5-slug .410 shotgun shells, or buckshot, or birdshot, or 0.45 hollowpoint long-colt cartridges. That's a lot of variety!
A friend (teaches gun classes for concealed-carry licenses here in Texas) has two of these, and he loads several different shells in each revolver -- so the first shot is birdshot, the second a 5-slug 410 shell, the third a hollow-point .45 LC round.
Biggest problem for your question is cost; with the current hysteria,they're running around $450 to $500 at a gun show.
And, as othrs have said, if she alrady has a .38 why does she need anything else?
By the way, Winchester makes a nasty round for The Judge: a round for the 2.5 inch cartridge that shoots three plated disks AND 12 bb-shot; a larger round for the 3-inch cartridge that expels four plated disks AND 16 bb-shot. Neither is much fun to meet on the wrong end of a barrell (I've just heard this and seen paper-target shot patterns).
All I have ever fired is a long range rifle...only good for hunting and military combat. So I will defer to your knowledge of shot guns. But I keep reading how the buckshot from a shotgun does not need accurate aiming.
Even more important than a gun in the house is a good dog who barks loudly at any strange noise. That gives you heads up time to get out of bed and get the gun ready. Last thing I would want is to be surprised by an intruder, especially if I was a lone female in the house.
You are thinking clearly.
That is the largest image of Deputy Fife ever witnessed on FR.
Yes but barney is bigger than life LOL!
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