best shotgun for home defense??

[Captain Scarlet]

what shotgun would you buy for home defense? an auto loader
or a pump or a double barrel break open type? and what kind of
load do you think is the best manstopper?

[Andrew Wyatt]

I prefer pump shotguns, stoked with low recoil 00 buck.


dave'll give you more and better information soon, but any shotgun round has an OSS percentage of around 100%.

[Sir Galahad]

Winchester 1300 Defender. Ohhh, yea, baybee! Just out shooting one of mine today. Seven shots in tube, one in chamber. All shots out the bore almost as fast as an auto. Target looked like a cheese grater.

[Hkmp5sd]

The pump shotgun's capacity makes it preferable over a break open shotgun and it is less complex than the autoloader. The sound of the gun being racked is a crime deterent all by itself. Generally shifts the "fight or flight" decision in favor of flight.

[KimberKid]

"The sound of the gun being racked is a crime deterent all by itself." Don't bet your life on it.

If it's speed for pure speeds sake the Benelli auto's can fire the fifth round before the first one hits the ground, I've done it. And if you believe the 870 and Mossy is more reliable than the Benelli auto's think again. However, bang for the buck has made the 870 #1.

Buckshot of #4 or bigger staggered with slugs with a full length stock and choke-tube shortened barrel, no sling to get hung-up. If you are worried about shooting the neighbors, called 911 as the chances are better than 90% the intruder will be a neighbor or at least someone you know.

KK

[Andrew Wyatt]

I'd advise against using slug in an inside the home HD situation, for fear of overpenetration.


slugs go on my bandolier, but only for longer range situations out of doors.

[Sir Galahad]

I doubt that 90% of intruders are neighbors or people you know. If the door is unlocked, yes, there is the chance a neighbor might accidently come into the house. But otherwise, I have a hard time believeng 90% are neighbors.

I also have a hard time accepting the use of slugs inside a house with neighboring homes close by. I thought one of the advantages of the shotgun was to minimize overpenetration. I am not understanding the thought process behind this "more penetration" idea in home defense. I have recently read a thread where .308 was advocated as a home defense round. It seems that the gun community has to keep re-inventing the wheel at the expense of the people that live next door. It only takes one bad shoot with an overpenetrating round killing a neighbor's kid to create 1,000 anti-gunners.

[Hkmp5sd]

If it's speed for pure speeds sake the Benelli auto's can fire the fifth round before the first one hits the ground, I've done it.

If it's speed for speed's sake, I'd use one of my fullautos, one of which has a 1200 rpm cyclic rate and can have virtually the entire magazine's expended brass in the air at the same time.

Reliability of the gun is not in question. The skill of the operator in using the gun is what I was referring to. For a homeowner that rarely/never practices with their home defense shotgun, IMO, the pump shotgun is a better choice over an autoloading shotgun. Clearing a FTF or a non-fire from a dead primer is easier for an unskilled shooter using a pump.

[Mastrogiacomo]

My father and I would like to get a shotgun for home defense. Our permits though only allow five shots and under. Which is best?

If I wanted a good gun for shooting clays -- which barrel length fo a 5'2" 115lb woman?

[glockster96]

I doubt that 90% of intruders are neighbors or people you know. If the door is unlocked, yes, there is the chance a neighbor might accidently come into the house. But otherwise, I have a hard time believeng 90% are neighbors.

Did you know that 47% of all statistics are made up as the poster types them?



Oh, and get a Benelli.

And practice.

Lots.

[riverdog]

If I wanted a good gun for shooting clays -- which barrel length fo a 5'2" 115lb woman?

Barrel length is a matter of personal preference relative to the game or function for which the shotgun will be used. My Rem 870 a 20" barrel for HD, a 26" for Skeet and a 30" for Trap. Both the 26" and 30" are threaded to accept Rem Choke Tubes, the 20" is strictly Improved Cylinder. Different functions, different barrels and feel.

[Smoke]

For home defense I use and endorse the Remington 870.

For clays for a 5'2" woman: Go to gunstore, handle as many as they have in the rack, buy the one that "feels" right.

[Art Eatman]

About 20 years ago, I got into a discussion about a single "do it all" shotgun with John Satterwhite. (Member of US Olympic Skeet & Trap teams; winner, PanAmerican games, etc.)

He advocated an 870, with mods: Convert to fire like a Model 12. Barrel just longer than a 7-round extended mag. Vent rib with half size front bead, and with a Williams folding rear sight dovetailed into the front of the taper of the barrel. Threaded for choke tubes. Small "compensator" holes drilled just behind the choke for recoil control.

With the mag plugged to three rounds, the swing and balance is quite similar to a 28" shotgun. The chokes allow appropriate patterns for whatever hunting you do. An open choke and the rear sight make it a pretty good slug-gun. And the conversion to "tromboning" let him get off seven shots in some 3.4 seconds or so.

Home defense, inside the house? I'm a believer in #9 Skeet loads for the first shot or two--unless your house is a heckuva lot bigger than mine.

Mastrogiacomo, why not start a new thread about Claybird shotguns? And, even that will vary among Skeet, Trap and Sporting Clays.

, Art

[sm]

HD, pump gun, hard to beat an 870.

Clay games, different criteria, the biggest is Gun Fit.

That said , I know a # of persons, regardless of gender or stature, that their first firearm was a shotgun. They got into clay games, and while they were learning about RKBA, Constitution, and anything else regarding what many of us discuss, they were well equipped to defend the home by changing loads in their skeet/trap/s/c gun.

In particular a know a 4'10" petite lady that started with an 1100 20 ga...she may come from an anti-gun family background, but she has come around 180*...1100 with 7/8 oz for skeet and s/c...#3 buck for her bedroom. She patterned the #3 buck and still practices with it...she'll be just fine.

[Dave McCracken]

The make/model of shotgun is not nearly as important as the operator's ease of use, training and experience.

In trained hands, any short barrelled variant of the Big Four pumps is deadly. Handle a few and get what feels best.

For a tyro, I highly recommend getting a few lessons from a qualified instructor.

[Mikul]

When I spend too long deciding which one I would own, I wound up with an 870 with a 7-round magazine and an 18.5" barrel.

If I didn't care too much about magazine capacity and the ability to easily switch barrels so it could double as a trap gun, I would have gone with a Benelli Montifeltro. It's a great gun with minimal recoil.

[TechBrute]

And if you believe the 870 and Mossy is more reliable than the Benelli auto's think again.

I'm curious to see the information that leads you to make this claim.

[Andrew Wyatt]

the infinite tacticality makes the benelli superior, of course.

[Mastrogiacomo]

Anyone know of NRA shogun instructors in the North Shore area of Massachusetts? We're from Peabody and hoping to find some instruction in shotguns before we go shopping for one.

[Dave McCracken]

Andrew, et al....

Any Benelli owners out there within a 2 hour drive of Central Md is welcome to a mano a mano match. Use your Benelli, ammo of choice, and COF. I'll use one of my "Serious" 870s and matching ammo.

We shoot for score, time decides ties. Results get posted rat cheer.

Here's a chance to establish whether the Benelli is das Ubergun, or show off your skills, or both.

Any takers?....

[riverdog]

Uh oh, Dave just threw down a gauntlet ...

Make sure the COF runs longer than a single magazine and includes both shot and slugs (with different targets requiring different loads). The challenge is load management -- when you hit a steel target with shot it doesn't go down and if you shoot paper with a slug you're only credited for one hole. Other than that it's all about speed and reliability Then again it's not my COF ...

As a relative newbie, Skeet can be shot with an 870 and while doubles is work, it's not that hard. Dave's been using an 870 much longer than I so ... some(Benelli)body take Dave up on this, so we can see an honest head-to-head contest.

[PJR]

The pump gun is more mechanically reliable but is more dependent on the operator. The semi is less dependent on the the operator but is more finicky in other regards. I've seen more semis hangup up than pump guns, usually caused by improper cleaning or shells that were too light.

I like the pump because I can stuff anything into the gun from blanks to 3" magnums and it will work as long as I do my part.

Benellis are good guns but they are not vastly superior. It's just that some Benelli owners want to think of them that way.

Paul

[glockster96]

Andrew, et al....

Any Benelli owners out there within a 2 hour drive of Central Md is welcome to a mano a mano match. Use your Benelli, ammo of choice, and COF. I'll use one of my "Serious" 870s and matching ammo.

We shoot for score, time decides ties. Results get posted rat cheer.

Here's a chance to establish whether the Benelli is das Ubergun, or show off your skills, or both.

Any takers?....

Sorry Dave, I live in Kansas.

But if you are down this way (Southcentral KS), you are more than welcome to stop at one of our monthly 3 gun matches. They are the 4th saturday of every month and include at least 1 shotgun stage every month.

Information can be found at:

www.arkcity3gun.com

Cheers, and sorry I can't meet you and shoot with you.

[Skunkabilly]

My father and I would like to get a shotgun for home defense. Our permits though only allow five shots and under. Which is best?

If I wanted a good gun for shooting clays -- which barrel length fo a 5'2" 115lb woman?

Thread veer!

Mastro, does the '5 shots' include the chamber or just the magazine?

And I thought a lady never tells, but I weigh about the same as you. Do you have long arms?

[Duke of Lawnchair]

what shotgun would you buy for home defense?

Cpt. Scarlet,

I'd opt for a semiauto stoked with 2 3/4" Federal Premium 00 buck.

Why? Because I'm not too fond of pumps and nearly half of the buck I threw down range has been Federal Premium. The fodder has been reliable and patterns well in my scattergun.

Personal preference. I'm too lazy to rack the weapon after each shot fired.

Would I purchase a pump shotgun? Sure, just because I can.

All this jibba-jabba of Benelli this or 870 that or 590 here or there are most likely based upon personal experiences.

Find a shotgun that you're comfortable with and a manual of arms that you dig. Just because a 590 owner loves the simplicity or manual of arms of the 590 doesn't necessarily mean he/she will appreciate the manual of arms of the Benelli Nova and vice versa.

What is das ubergun? The one you shoot best with...

Jim