Not going to read all the replies but give you my thoughts.
That, “Oooh, they’ll run when you rack the slide of a shotgun”, is a crock. What you’ve just done is tell the, likely armed, bad guy where you are.
Long guns are cumbersome and unwieldy in a house. A pistol grip 20 gauge is an idea but she still may not be able to shoot it.
To be effective at stopping a bad guy your shotgun needs to be loaded with buckshot. At normal household distances the pattern of any buckshot is probably going to be under 3”. Pointing a shotgun in the general direction of the bad guy and pulling the trigger is likely just going to make a lot of noise. You STILL need to aim, even with a shot gun.
My advice to you, and her, is to get training on the gun she’s got and practice a lot with it.
Clearing a house or building is a dangerous and technical task. If you don’t know how to do it, and I don’t, then don’t try. Someone breaks into your house get in a defensive position and call 911. If the bad guy comes up on your position you have to shoot him. If you’re not sure you can do that then get rid of the gun.
Sage advice.
It's about time someone said that!!! Thank you!
The idea of taking a gun into your dark home, LOOKING for the bad guy is just flat out stupid. You wait for him to come to YOU!! Use the bed as "leverage" if you will. Place your arms on it cuz by gosh by golly, the average person WILL be shaking...