[NoControllingLegalAuthority]

What say Ye?

[error99]

I'd go with a Mossburg 500 series.
The 590 is nice.

[gonzo]

Home defence? Bird shot! If you ever have to use it, afterwords, you only have to spaakle and paint.

If you use 00-buck, yer talking about re-building...FRegards

[ABG(anybody but Gore)]

Slugs are out, in my book. They have a bad habit of going through walls and such. I'm sure others have their favorites, but mine has always been 3" XX Buckshot.

[zook]

Get one that makes a nice loud noise when you cock it.

[Born to Conserve]

I'd go for a light load of bird shot. The shorter the shell, the more rounds you can load.

[cayuga]

A few ammo companies make "tactical" buckshot loads, with reduced recoil. They work for me.

[Nov3]

There is no need for the slugs. At the ranges you use a shotgun indoors it has about a 1.5" pattern max.

Get one with a stock. Most people can't hit squat with a pistol grip and can point naturally with a real shotgun.

[aomagrat]

I have a Mossburg 500 with a 8 round magazine, loaded with squirrel shot.

[Marauder]

My favorite is the Remington 870 slide-action. You can buy mag extensions to up to 10 rounds, counting one in the hole. I sawed mine off to 18" (min. legal barrel length), and added a pistol-grip buttstock. Min legal overall length is 26" overall, so it's well within the limit.

Leave the chamber empty; if you find a burglar busily loading up your stuff, you will have fun watching him load up his pants when you rack the slide. But don't laugh too hard - he may be armed as well, so be ready to introduce him to his Maker.

[Marauder]

My favorite is the Remington 870 slide-action. You can buy mag extensions to up to 10 rounds, counting one in the hole. I sawed mine off to 18" (min. legal barrel length), and added a pistol-grip buttstock. Min legal overall length is 26" overall, so it's well within the limit.

Leave the chamber empty; if you find a burglar busily loading up your stuff, you will have fun watching him load up his pants when you rack the slide. But don't laugh too hard - he may be armed as well, so be ready to introduce him to his Maker.

[porte des morts]

If you live alone;ie:no collateral damage; go with the first two 00buck,slug,slug,slug.

If there are others in the home,with drywall,or paneled walls. Go with all #6 birdshot. No big penetration past what your target is.

Also;if you live alone there is some very nice home defence ammo for scatterguns.(shrapnel rounds,razor rounds,flare rounds,........;)

Also shorten up the barrel(to the legal limit) for ease of movement in hallways etc....

[porte des morts]

If you live alone;ie:no collateral damage; go with the first two 00buck,slug,slug,slug.

If there are others in the home,with drywall,or paneled walls. Go with all #6 birdshot. No big penetration past what your target is.

Also;if you live alone there is some very nice home defence ammo for scatterguns.(shrapnel rounds,razor rounds,flare rounds,........;)

Also shorten up the barrel(to the legal limit) for ease of movement in hallways etc....

[Pern]

Remington 870, about $320. A very reliable and maint. free weapon. Loaded with #1 or #3 buckshot. #00 and #000 has too few pellets. Personally, I have a Remington 1100 loaded with #1 buckshot.

[BigBlueJon]

Slug, buckshot, slug and so on. Drywall is cheap. My family isn't. If the compound is ever invaded, hopefully I can keep my cool enough to aim and hit what I'm looking at. Otherwise, everyone in my family knows how to duck.

[logos]

Rock salt.

At the likely ranges inside a house, it has the same punch as lead or steel bird or buck. At longer ranges it won't kill, but the perp will never, ever forget you shot him, either.

[Only mildly tongue-in-cheek... :-)]

[WilliamWallace1999]

Wow, my first post. Howdy all.

IMHO, the best choice is Federal Premium #1 buckshot 2 3/4 inch tactical loads. Forget 3 inch shells. Shot recovery is quicker after the smaller load and you get one extra shot. #1 buckshot is the optimum balance between pellet size and number.

As far as bet gun, HK Bennelli M-1 is the only autoloader to trust with your life. Remington 870 rules as a pump.

WW1999

[Adrastus]

low brass no 8 field loads. Little or no colateral damage, low recoil and hits a primary target like a chain saw. Very effective.

[PrairieFire]

A strong argument can be made that OOBuck is the best load for protection. Think about it. Each shell contains 9 projectiles each of which are 33 cal. If you shoot from 10 to 15 feet away (which is likely in your home), the pattern should be sufficiently close to do real damage. The muzzle velocity is also very good.

I would also recommend that you have only one type of load in the shotgun at any given time. That way you will always know what is coming out of the business end next.

Just for what it's worth.

[borntodiefree]

If you have wife/kids, I'd recommend the first 3 as #7 shot then the last two at 00buc. If he doesn't go down after being turned to minced meat by the bird shot, he is probrably on drugs and you should try to remove a limb with the 00 buck. The bird shot looses "most" of the force going through the two pieces of sheet rock.

If you live alone, I'd recommd the first 3 be Remingron Hypervelocity bird shot and remove the birdshot and replace it with 1" flechettes. Great spread, great penetration and very little clean up except for the blood!!!!!!!!!

[MarkL]

If you can find it, there's a "Law Enforcement Only" Remington load that is very low recoil, but I found that it cycled in my Benelli Super 90 with no problems (notorious for jamming on reduced loads). It's 00 Buck shot, which may be too much... I've been told that #4 Buck is a good load & doesn't overpenetrate.

Either way, if the range is going to be less than 20', try to use an open cylinder (no choke).

Mark