Shotgun?
- Thread starter bigtattoo79
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I keep a double barrel by the bed. It's my #1 bump in the night piece. right side is buck shot, left side is a PDX1 round.
3 1/2" turkey or waterfowl loads do more damage than you could possibly imagine. Just devastating!
11BravoBernie
Active Member
Most folks like me have both, a shotgun and a handgun for home-defense. Pros and cons for both, it really boils down to what you are most capable of handling with a high degree of skill in a very chaotic situation, such as an intrusion at 3am. My advice is choose the weapon you are the best at shooting when that "bump" in the night wont go away.
Well, you said all u need to know already. Training.
If you know your handgun like you should for home protection you are likely better off with your handgun.
I prefer a pistol grip Mossberg pump that I've owned for 25 years for my primary house gun. 4buck 2 3/4" suits me just fine. I've shot it a lot and still shoot it regularly. Some may argue, but in all honesty, their only argument is based on their own personal experience and preference.
If you want to change to a shotty for home protection, definitely go and shoot it and run some drills through your head, practice the pie maneuver around corners and such. Use light loads so it will be less of a chore, cheaper on your wallet and so you can shoot more.
There are benefits to using a shotgun such as knockdown potential per round, wall penetration issues etc. but it really boils down to what you are most proficient with.
If you know your handgun like you should for home protection you are likely better off with your handgun.
I prefer a pistol grip Mossberg pump that I've owned for 25 years for my primary house gun. 4buck 2 3/4" suits me just fine. I've shot it a lot and still shoot it regularly. Some may argue, but in all honesty, their only argument is based on their own personal experience and preference.
If you want to change to a shotty for home protection, definitely go and shoot it and run some drills through your head, practice the pie maneuver around corners and such. Use light loads so it will be less of a chore, cheaper on your wallet and so you can shoot more.
There are benefits to using a shotgun such as knockdown potential per round, wall penetration issues etc. but it really boils down to what you are most proficient with.
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What Magdump said. I have a concealed carry gun but it's not something I would select when expecting or running into trouble. It is something to get me out of an unfortunate circumstance. Given a choice, I would drop a building on someone over going into a place to remove them. I prefer a shotgun for a dedicated defense situation. I can run a shotgun at least as fast and maybe faster than a handgun. Definitely with more accuracy at extended ranges. During Katrina I always had the shotgun close. Obviously a shotgun is not a carry option.
I get the shotgun over a handgun. Now why a shotgun over a carbine?
I can hit with it while just waking up from the hip...
I'm looking to book my next class and can't decide between shotgun or carbine I understand the training part of it. I understand the shotgun over handgun points.
Now why do you choose a shotgun over a carbine?
^^^^^THIS^^^^^
I've never had much luck hip shooting a pistol gripped shotgun.
I've been debating selling / trading my 870 for either a bolt gun or 9mm carbine (I do miss my camp 9...). I set it up just the way I wanted it (18" barrel, night sights, 2 round wilson extension, sidesaddle, sling mounts, etc) and now I just can't see myself grabbing it in the middle of the night. I'd grab the pistol or AR...
I've been debating selling / trading my 870 for either a bolt gun or 9mm carbine (I do miss my camp 9...). I set it up just the way I wanted it (18" barrel, night sights, 2 round wilson extension, sidesaddle, sling mounts, etc) and now I just can't see myself grabbing it in the middle of the night. I'd grab the pistol or AR...
00Buck is absolutely devastating on a target, and with modern loads like Federal with the flight control wad, they group great in 18" barrels and have low recoil. Nothing is a guaranteed 1 shot stop, but I'd put good money on not needing a second if you do your job right on the first one.
I have all three, a Glock 19, a DPMS 5.56mm 16" carbine, and a Maverick 18" 12 gauge pump I purchased at Academy. Inside of 40 yards, nothing can match a 12 gauge slug round. 2500 lbs ft of energy and a massive hole. No one can take a 12 gauge slug to the torso and survive.....you want knock down, immobilizing power? 12 gauge slug to the chest.
They each have their strong points, a pistol for the ultimate portability and maneuverability, an AR15 carbine for firepower against multiple targets and long range, and the 12 gauge for immediate knock down/disabling power. Even a drug crazed thug cannot survive a couple 12 gauge rounds to the body.
I put a short stock off ebay on my Maverick. Only negative with slugs is over penetration. In a residential environment, you could kill someone in another room or even another house. You know you are releasing massive energy with 12 gauge slugs or 00 buckshot. 00 buck is the better home defense round, less chance of over penetration.
Light projectile 5.56 rounds have excellent energy and high velocity, and much less chances of over penetration. 40 or 50 grain HPs in the house are a great choice for home defense. Another reason why many LEOs carry ARs in their trunk. Firepower and longer range in a serious gunfight!
Then there is the cost factor. My maverick cost me $200 from Academy on sale. I might have $230 in it with ammo and the short stock. A reliable AR will cost you $550 and up. A reliable semi auto handgun $160 on up to the sky. I had a High Point .40 cal semi auto....nothing pretty but it went BANG every time.
Everything else sits in my safe and the low cost pistol (.38 spec five shot) under my pillow
Just in case my house ever gets burglarized.
They each have their strong points, a pistol for the ultimate portability and maneuverability, an AR15 carbine for firepower against multiple targets and long range, and the 12 gauge for immediate knock down/disabling power. Even a drug crazed thug cannot survive a couple 12 gauge rounds to the body.
I put a short stock off ebay on my Maverick. Only negative with slugs is over penetration. In a residential environment, you could kill someone in another room or even another house. You know you are releasing massive energy with 12 gauge slugs or 00 buckshot. 00 buck is the better home defense round, less chance of over penetration.
Light projectile 5.56 rounds have excellent energy and high velocity, and much less chances of over penetration. 40 or 50 grain HPs in the house are a great choice for home defense. Another reason why many LEOs carry ARs in their trunk. Firepower and longer range in a serious gunfight!
Then there is the cost factor. My maverick cost me $200 from Academy on sale. I might have $230 in it with ammo and the short stock. A reliable AR will cost you $550 and up. A reliable semi auto handgun $160 on up to the sky. I had a High Point .40 cal semi auto....nothing pretty but it went BANG every time.
Everything else sits in my safe and the low cost pistol (.38 spec five shot) under my pillow
Just in case my house ever gets burglarized.
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12 gauge 00 buck = nine .33 cal projectiles, 2200+ lbs ft of energy
For use in the house against a home invader or two (or three), its real simple. A 12 gauge with 00B is going to work better, period. Shotgun ammunition, regardless of the barrel's choke, isn't going to even start expanding its "group size" until 20-30 feet from the muzzle; and that is just about the farthest distance in most common house areas. What topgunZ1 mentioned about ONE good hit IN THE HOUSE is not something he was just thinking about; its stuff he's seen, and so have I.
Shotguns are very limited in what they do best, true enough. In most combat situations, a rifle is going to be better. But close up inside the house, when the distance can usually be spit upon... a solid shotgun hit is going to do better.
And you DON'T need a "tactical" anything for house defense. I know more than a few guys who have their home defense shotgun geared up like a combat shotgun the military guys started using in Afghanistan inside tunnels; lights, red dot optics, longer magazine tubes, extra rounds in a side saddle/stock mount/whatever. That stuff is needed if you are actively going in after bad guys waiting to fight. It is NOT needed if you have to take down shitbirds who busted into your house and do not expect you to fight back. The bulky and heavy "tactical" stuff just makes the shotgun more difficult to handle. The best thing to do is leave the 870 or Mossberg (I'd not deal with any other brand pump shotgun; just my opinion. Semi-autos are another deal entirely) just like it came out of the box. Those are quick and easy to handle/shoot.
There is a lot of things to consider. If you insist that your house defense long gun has a white light because of others (like kids) in the house, etc., then maybe a 5.56 carbine is better in the long run. It certainly won't hit as hard as a load of 12 gauge, but...
Just remember that we're talking about using your 870s as an inside-house defense weapon. Its going to hit harder than any sensible rifle, and is superior to ANY handgun... in the house.
.
Yes my shotguns are simple tools. I put short stocks on them and upgraded any plastic parts to aluminum/SS parts.
I just always keep a carbine at bedside and was thinking about selling the shotguns off but I may just keep them.
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JoeLiberty
Well-Known Member
Most people forget about this aspect. I would posit that you are just as likely to make hits with a rifle as with a shotgun at inside the house ranges. Firing from the hip or shoulder, doesn't matter. It is not a 30 degree cone of death (Taurus judge notwithstanding). The muzzle energy is the only cogent argument for defensive shotgun (indoor) use. And even that one is debatable. Consider that an AR uses a 30 round mag, which is far more potential energy contained within the weapon. Also consider that 00 buck will penetrate more walls than a 5.56. Would a shotgun hit be absolutely devastating? Absolutely. I'd still rather grab my sbr though.
Shotguns are for the birds.
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