Empty Chamber

I keep a pistol gripped 870 close by the bed in much the same way that you have instructed her to keep the shotgun. The magazine tube is fully loaded and I keep it trigger locked, when I go to bed at night I just stick the trigger lock key into the lock. If something were to happen, all I would have to do is reach over, turn the key, let the lock drop away and rack the shotgun. I've got four rounds ready to go and a box of ammunition sits on a shelf a few feet away.

One other thing you might want to tell her is that a good dog makes an excellent security system. Her racking the shotgun might wake up the rest of the family but you have to make sure that she will be awake and ready to rack that shotgun if the BG comes around.

I keep it trigger locked

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Just a quick thought to mull over. Trigger locks are a violation of the four rules.
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
Putting a "Trigger lock" on the trigger is placing something INSIDE the trigger guard (same as putting your finger there) and is not really a good idea.

I have seen more than one weapon fired with a trigger lock installed.

Not slammin' ya, just trying to look out for ya.

If you want to use noise as a deterrent, get a good alarm system or a poodle.

If you want to defend against violent attack, keep the shotgun loaded.

This "racking the slide" gets brought up on this forum over and over ad nauseum... Don't alert any BGs where you are, ever.

The local sherrif has been out many times and told her "If you see him on you're property, shoot him. If he's still alive, shoot him again."

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That there is what we call "Unsound advice".

While different jurisdictions allow different rules of engagement, NONE of them allow for the summary execution of genuinely helpless bad guys.

I just skimmed this thread and am probably racing against the thread lock as I type, but one point jumped out at me:

the dry firing of the shotgun.

I can almost guarantee there is an AD (accidental discharge) pending in the future with this process. Most if not all slide action shotguns have a slide release, which is the better way to cycle the shotgun. I hope you at least had it pointed in a safe direction when you dry fired it. No flame or insult intended, just made me cringe when that was typed. YMMV

Sorry, I can't see the fear of dry firing an empty shotgun.

Put a snap cap in it if you are that worried about messing up the firing pin. However, the manufacturer and most others agree that the common pump guns available today are not going to be harmed by even extensive dry firing. I've seen people on this forum suggesting that you cycle and dry fire your shotgun 500+ times just to speed the break-in process.

Without delving into the list of what-if's this has generated, I will simply offer that I am most comfortable storing my defensive shotgun with one up, and a full mag behind it.

Back when I lived in an urban setting a lady down the street knew I owned a gun store and came to me for advice on defending herself and her three year old daughter from an ex boyfriend who had put her in the hospital once and was stalking her in spite of a restraining order. She had friends take her and the little one to and from work, store, day care etc. The local big city cops said they'd catch the bad guy if he attacked her again. Whoopie!@@ The lady was afraid of the stalker coming through the front door and attacking her as he had once before. This lady lived in a small apartment where the kitchen faced the front (and only) door through a small living room. I refused to loan or sell her a weapon as she had no time to learn to use one and totally lacked experience in firearms of any kind. I would up taking a four quart saucepan and half filling it with cooking oil and placing it on the stove. I told her "keep it hot just below smoking" If he comes through the door throw it in his face. He did and she did and that ended the whole mess.

Easy to miss, how fast can you reload a saucepan?

With castle doctrine laws, there's really no reason to let the BG know he's been found out by giving out warnings. By making noise, you eliminate YOUR element of surprise and possibly escalating the danger to yourself.

I just skimmed this thread and am probably racing against the thread lock as I type, but one point jumped out at me:

the dry firing of the shotgun.

I can almost guarantee there is an AD (accidental discharge) pending in the future with this process. Most if not all slide action shotguns have a slide release, which is the better way to cycle the shotgun. I hope you at least had it pointed in a safe direction when you dry fired it. No flame or insult intended, just made me cringe when that was typed. YMMV

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I think this was in response my my post where I stated that to get that action to move, they'd have to find the slide release or pull the trigger. And I'm in complete agreement with you here. Pulling the trigger as a means to unlock that action is insanity for just this reason. I just presented it because it's one of two ways to get that slide to move. I was by no means RECOMMENDING it as a method to get that slide action to open. It was intended to mean just the opposite, highlighting the folly via reading between the lines, just as the quote above did. I apologize if it came across as me recommending pulling the trigger to unlock the action. It was NOT intended as such. It was intended to bolster the "this is why the empty chamber is a bad idea with newbies" line of thought.

I was showing her how to operate the gun today as she hasn't had an opportunity to fire it.

And this is an improvement on the situation... how? It might be a little much to ask that she spend three days on the flat range with Louis Awerbuck before she took over running the scattergun, sure- but... don't you think this leaves just a teeny bit to be desired? Isn't she better off with a revolver she has at least a little experience with?

Unless she has some significant pumpgun experience not disclosed so far in this thread (at least to my notice), the question posed in the original post is hardly the most significant matter that needs to be undertaken here IMHO.

lpl/nc

If the stalker enters the house you can bet your bottom dollar they intend on doing bodily harm. That being said...they would be better leaving in a body bag, as they might return with something of their own next time, if it's truly a "stalker" and not some random burglary they WILL be back.

Relying on what an attacker "might" be scared of is not the best medicine. (If it were me, yes, I would most likely call off my attack if I heard a shotgun being racked.) You not only give your position away, but also alert the would be assailant that you know he is there.

Don't seek them out, call 911 if you see them, retreat to a safe location, if it ain't loaded yet, put one in the chamber.

If he's in the house, pull the trigger, repeat as need

Forgot to add, that unless she's seen some range time with the shotgun, it's best to keep the operation simple. Take off safety, pull trigger.

Trying to remember where the little chamber release button is located and successfully chambering a round, aiming, and firing, (oops is the safety off too?) without practice is a recipe for disaster. Keep it simple until you can learn to be familiar with the firearm. This is why there is a revolver on the wifes side of the bed. No safeties, no magazines, put the loud end of the bang stick toward the target and pull the trigger, once again repeat if necessary.

I think the most important part of cocking it is to wake up and alert anyone who didn't hear the break in.

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i guarantee that the first show will wake em right up... no need to give away your position, and waste several precious seconds readying the weapon for use...

Maybe I come from the old school but for me all the chambers are loaded with the biggest 357 I can find.
I do not use flash lights or red dot. When the BG comes through the door it’s just me and 6 chambers and here’s why working the action will not wake any one up all your doing is telling the BG where you are and that you have a gun. now he knows where to shoot but if you hear him brake in and get up as quiet as you can sneak up then you will have a better shot and he wont know what hit him until its to late for him to do anything. Another reason is because if you work the action and think the BG is to your right and he’s to your left then he could grab the gun and use it on you

So for me all 6 chambers loaded and sitting next to the bed

My only real concern was the trigger pull on an empty chamber coupled with the not overly experienced user seeing it done and doing it herself.

Anyway, not a good situation for her having to deal with a stalker and some jurisdictions needing a chargable offense before going forward with a case, which is all too often too late. Hope things work out for her and her family.

As far as the sound aspect goes, 911 dispatch on a speaker phone might have a stronger effect. In the mean time, beyond what you've done so far, maybe get her a few books to help her mindset. Maybe Stressfire or Armed & Alive, or some other comparable book that gets into aspects beyond the threashold while she's out and about as well.
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think the most important part of cocking it is to wake up and allert anyone who didn't hear the break in. Tonight for instance, she has her two oldest daughters and their husband and boyfriend there. The oldest daughter and her husband both carry. The husband also will have his AK there from now on (the stocks are being restained today). So by cocking the shotgun, she has allerted 4 adaults, at least two of which would have guns, and 3 teen boys of the danger. The armed adaults could assist her while the others protected the two little girls in the house. And when it's just the 3 teen boys, her son will have her Ruger and can protect the others and his little sisters. Generally, you'd probobly be screwed if you broke in there.

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I haven't read the rest of the post but will in a second and I'm no expert but thats a lot of people in one house with gun power and one of them sounds like she hasn't had any training or a little hesitate with having a loaded gun. I'd be scared of someone getting shot mistake personally.

She needs to look into a alarm system and a dog to alert everyone. I doubt racking a shot gun is going to wake someone especially if they are on the other end of the house especially if they do like i do sometimes and fall asleep with the tv on.

I don't know if I had a stalker that had got bold enough to break into my house while I'm there, I think I rather take care of that problem once in for all if you know what I mean

There seems to be a lot of disagreement on chambering a shell. Consider a 1911 counterpart. The disagreement is between two "conditions"; condition 1 (cocked and locked) and 3 (hammer down on an empty chamber, safety off, loaded mag). In both conditions doing one thing immediately brings it to Condition 0, either flipping the safety off or racking the slide. Either is simple, but one is simpler than the other, and the only place I would have a firearm in Condition 1 is on my hip, NOT in my closet or on my dresser. It does not take, as one poster posited, "precious seconds" to rack the slide. It can be done (and is in fact designed to be done) with the stock on the shoulder, so you put the sights on the bad guy, rack the slide, and you are ready to unleash a world of incapacitating pain and suffering on the BG. However, small children (I do not know if this applies) will find it more difficult to pump a shotgun than to flip off the safety.

I have an 870 for home defense. The only sound a BG MIGHT hear is that of the safety clicking off.

There is a DANGER in racking slides, either handgun or shotgun. Under extreme stress (like the prospect of taking out a badguy while your family is nearby) there is the risk of "short stroking" the action resulting in a double feed jam that will be nearly impossible to clear quickly. In similar fashion, if you rack the slide on a semiauto pistol, you risk a similar occurence if you don't retract the slide fully to the rear. The simpler thing is to start at slide lock and drop the slide release to chamber a round but then, you lose half that critical "sound."

Also, your scare tactic might not work with a crazed junkie or determined stalker (both are out of their right minds and tend to be fearless) and your move will have alerted the BG to your approx location. Now he's got the upper hand.

Finally I question the wisdom of using 0-0 Buck inside a dwelling. It's liable to bust right thru a dividing wall (non load bearing) and kill a family member. The buck won't have a chance to open up to any discernable "pattern" inside. I'd use a small game load with less chance of wall penetration.

Actually I just had another thought: If the BG enters your home what actions are you going to take with the shottie? You going to go look for him before he enters the room of a loved one? Room clearing has to be done by a well trained two man team. Otherwise it's a recipe for disaster.

But s'pose you do go creeping around after the Bad Guy (BG). How are you going to move in the semi cramped area of your home with that big ol barrel? Low Ready or High Ready? Either way, the barrel is going to present itself around a corner before you can put eyes on that area. What happens if somebody grabs that barrel? OH-OH.

Hint: Take a big step to the rear. Anybody who grabs a barrel will shove it out of the way of their body while still holding the weapon where he grabbed it. Step to the rear and the BGs own grip will simply move the MUZZLE back into centerline with his body. Take a step back and pull the trigger. The nice thing about a shotgun blast at contact range is that the muzzle flash alone will rip his gut apart, let alone the load of shot. So you probably won't need another shot just to make sure. Whereas you might with a handgun.

So I suggested that she leave the chamber empty. That way, she could scare the BG and simultaniously alert her teenage son and possibly embolden herself.

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The only issue is if this guy is crashing through her house at 3 AM running towards her room hopped on on PCP, and she is suddenly trying to rack one into the chamber.

She needs to get to the range and become completely comfortable with the pistol.

so you put the sights on the bad guy, rack the slide, and you are ready to unleash a world of incapacitating pain and suffering on the BG. However, small children (I do not know if this applies) will find it more difficult to pump a shotgun than to flip off the safety.

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For you and I, this is valid. As I opined earlier, for a newbie, this isn't so valid. How many times have you handed a pump anything to a newbie? I always open actions and hand them the pump shotgun/rifle/whatever with the action open and the chamber visible. What's the first thing a newbie does? Close that action (I think it's because they like the chickchick sound) and try to rack it again. Every time I watch 'em fumble and look around trying to find that slide release.

My instructor preaches that it takes 3000 times for an action to become "muscle memory" or truly instinctive. Many of us have probably worked the actions on pistols, shotguns, ARs/M16s (and other weapons we're very familiar with) nearly that many times if not more. We do this without thinking.

Now picture my newbie. It's dark. Just woken up and in a sleep fog. In an incredibly stressful situation. And now is tasked with finding that lever that he/she has maybe only worked a dozen times. I fear that actually getting it done will require significant luck.

For newbies, the KISS principle REALLY applies. Either get a wheelgun (doesn't get much simpler than that) or have that shotgun ready in such a manner that the safety release and a trigger pull is all that's required.

As an afterthought to the KISS principle... there's always "practice practice practice."

I don't buy into it. A stalker is already an unreasonable person.

I keep my shotgun chamber empty because I have kids, and because of the light trigger on shotguns, and because most aren't considered "drop safe".

Finally I question the wisdom of using 0-0 Buck inside a dwelling. It's liable to bust right thru a dividing wall (non load bearing) and kill a family member. The buck won't have a chance to open up to any discernable "pattern" inside. I'd use a small game load with less chance of wall penetration.

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This one's been hashed out over and over around here.