shotguns for home defense pros & cons

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Sam1911 said:
Pros and cons?

Pros:
1) Familiar manual of arms to many people, if they were raised in hunting traditions.
2) Enough power to do the job if using the right loads and if you actually hit what you're aiming at.
3) Some shotguns have a more "sporting" or "friendly" appearance than do some of the other choices.

Cons:
1) Heavier than some other choices.
2) Longer than some other choices.
3) Requires two hands to operate.
4) Heavier recoil/slower follow-up shots than some other choices.
5) Lower capacity than some other chocies. And slower to reload than some other choices.
6) Difficult to operate a flashlight with, unless you build the gun with a light mount of some sort.

And...

7) Some less experienced people will call it a "shotty." Pretty much reason enough to avoid it entirely.

All of the positives can be overlooked or set aside by folks interested in using something else.
All of the negatives can be overlooked or set aside by folks interested in using a shotgun for home defense.

It's really just personal preference. Whatever you do choose, practice A LOT, and practice in practical applications/scenarios. Don't just stand on the square range and blast clays. Fighting with a firearm is different from target shooting.
Click to expand...

I gave you a like if for nothing else #7!

Every time I hear or read "shotty" it's all I can do not to throw up in my mouth.....

Chuck
 
C0untZer0 said:
The question is pretty general and there is a wide variety of shotguns. While there are models made specifically for "Home Defense" - in fact I think Mossberg had a 930 they called "Home Defender" IIRC, if I had to guess, I'd say the majority of shotguns that are slated for a home defense role are used as hunting guns first and foremost, and pull double duty as defense weapons.

IMO it would be better to evaluate a particular shotgun model using the list of pros and cons - for instance,a short barreled shotgun like the Shockwave or even a bullpup shotgun mitigates the problem of having a long length of firearm out in front of you with all the problems that entails. You can apply those pros and cons to using a 5-shot semi-auto with a 30" competition barrel on it, or talk about the pros and cons of a lever-action shotgun.

I do think however that the shotgun offers the best terminal ballistics per pull of the trigger of any civilian-legal non NFA firearm.

This is a gun forum and people will argue everything and anything but in my opinion a single shot from a shotgun, using the right ammo, will stop an assailant more quickly and more effectively than anything else - just my opinion.
Click to expand...

I am with you brother.
 
Short barrel. No choke. Pump or auto. Certainly a weapon of destruction..........

But the after math (not to the Perp) but to your home could be massive! Especially if you fire multi rounds.
Depending on what type of loads you intend on using, injury to others in the area is possible.
All this said if your using it as a "home defense" weapon only.
 
Intimidation. The old I Love Lucy show. Lucy and Ricky enter a house in the country they want to buy. IIRC, they enter the wrong house or the occupants of the one they bought haven't moved out yet. The occupants hear them and the husband retrieves a sporting shotgun. He confronts Lucy and Ricky with the 'shotty' and they surrender. Lucy would probably would not have surrendered to any other gun. She was a fighting gal of red headed fury.

Sorry, couldn't resist.
 
Hi from another new forum member!

I like shotguns too but IMHO the answer to your question depends on what you call home and where it is. I mean, the shortest of my shotguns would be an excellent option for a flat but it would be a very poor choice for a farm.

Besides your particular shooting skills, the design of the home heavily determines, to me, the sort of weapon you would like to have for HD.

On the lighter side, just the noise of the pump can be flippant for the intruder. It might be the worst sound to be heard if one is on the wrong end of the gun :D
 
I have always liked the idea of a shotgun for HD, but when it came down to a choice as to what to augment a pistol with.....I, personally, came to a different conclusion.

A shotgun seems great, if there is one attacker, the BG is framed in a small space (doorway) and you are groggy and cannot spend much time aiming. However....to ME....the advantages break down if there are multiple attackers. Or....if you want to be want to be very precise and accurate (and when I pull the trigger, those are my immediate goals).

SO....to me....a pistol cal carbine makes more sense. Hi capacity, fast reloads (did someone post a vid of John Wick, reloading a shotgun?...that is convincing), very accurate, lower blast, very rapid follow up shots. Also....if need be....a carbine is a superior standoff weapon...being more accurate and more lethal at greater distances.

I respect anyone's decision to use a shotgun for HD. Even more respect if they can use a pump quickly and accurately. However, I know that I can use a carbine quickly and accurately, in a high stress situation and while experienced shooting shotguns, not sure that I am experienced enough to want to rely on one when my life is on the line.

A semi auto shotgun might be good, there are many with 8-10 round capacities. But, most pistol cal carbines start at 17 rounds and can go up to 30.

Fight like you train, train like you fight.

Just some $0.02, excellent discussion.
 
Captain33036 said:
I have always liked the idea of a shotgun for HD, but when it came down to a choice as to what to augment a pistol with.....I, personally, came to a different conclusion.

A shotgun seems great, if there is one attacker, the BG is framed in a small space (doorway) and you are groggy and cannot spend much time aiming. However....to ME....the advantages break down if there are multiple attackers. Or....if you want to be want to be very precise and accurate (and when I pull the trigger, those are my immediate goals).

SO....to me....a pistol cal carbine makes more sense. Hi capacity, fast reloads (did someone post a vid of John Wick, reloading a shotgun?...that is convincing), very accurate, lower blast, very rapid follow up shots. Also....if need be....a carbine is a superior standoff weapon...being more accurate and more lethal at greater distances.

I respect anyone's decision to use a shotgun for HD. Even more respect if they can use a pump quickly and accurately. However, I know that I can use a carbine quickly and accurately, in a high stress situation and while experienced shooting shotguns, not sure that I am experienced enough to want to rely on one when my life is on the line.

A semi auto shotgun might be good, there are many with 8-10 round capacities. But, most pistol cal carbines start at 17 rounds and can go up to 30.

Fight like you train, train like you fight.

Just some $0.02, excellent discussion.
Click to expand...
A carbine is a fair enough alternative, however as with handguns, it takes quite a bit of skill to point shoot accurately. One "con" may be that in the longer than pistol barrel of a carbine, that handgun round is going to develop a lot of velocity and penetration through walls to a greater extent than with "00" may be an issue. A "pro" would have to be the apparent lack of recoil when compared to a 12 or 20 gauge.
My two cents, anyway
 
Good point. Although, the difference between a 5 inch barrel and a 16 inch barrel for standard 9mm ammo is about 50 ft lbs. Might be as much as 100 ft lbs for +P ammo. 357 mag is much greater.

Not sure how much over penetration there is with 9mm HP. And, of course.....the point of using a carbine would be to be more precise and accurate in shooting, thus not missing your target.

But...point taken, especially for those who might...."spray and pray."
 
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