Am I under-gunned without a 12ga for home defense?

Seems like the shotgun would provide decisive firepower - but is that more valuable than having continual access to a smaller concealed weapon?

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Welcome to THR.

In your first post you have asked an eternal question that has been debated since gun forums began It's a good question, but the answers you get will pretty much be split right down the middle.

Personally I always liked the quote "Fear a man with only one gun, he probably knows how to use it".

Welcome to The High Road!

I depend on a 12ga 870 as my primary home defense weapon and recommend them strongly. But if you don't have a lot of trigger time with your GP-100 I think you'd be better off buying ammo and range time. That revolver will do nicely for anything that's likely to go bump in the night.

Personally, I enjoy having a shotgun because it doubles as a fun trap gun but can also act as a HD gun if needed. So if you are into trap, or would like to get into trap (be careful...it's addicting), I would recommend the shotgun. Otherwise, I would say get a GLOCK G17 or G19.

If you personally feel like you need a 12 guage for home defense, then by all means get one if finances allow.

If it makes you sleep better then snatch it up, but I would personally get one that could be used as a "all around" gun. Like a mossberg 500 pump or something like that. I wouldn't get a pistol grip only shotgun or one that is impractical to use for your run of the mill shotgun duties.

IF there are other folks living in your home, you might want to make them part of the decision. They might need to know how to operate it.

Shotguns are nice, and are useful for a LOT more than just home defense. I have one of the HD-styles in a closet. Like you, my main gun is a revolver. I use many other shotguns for targets and hunting

The Ruger is a fine HD gun. The only issue I'd have with it is if there are multiple assailants, and even if one had the 12 Gauge Shotgun it's likely the homeowner will be outgunned.

The revolver offers several advantages: 1. no need to load a magazine (it's already loaded) 2. no silly safety to remember to turn off. 3. It's compact. 4. The round is certainly potent enough.

With $450 to spend, you might want to consider doing a little shopping. With a little effort and some luck, you may be able to find a 12 gauge pump gun that will suit your needs for around $200-$250. A quick search over at Gunbroker found several quality shotguns in that price range. the rest of the money you've saved, you can use to look for either a second handgun (you can find revolvers in that price range), or maybe even a .22 that can become your fun gun.

Well if you have the pistol that is fine, but with 450 why NOT buy a 12-gauge pump. You may find that you take a liking to it and in not very long no goose will be safe!

A rational person will never go through the experience of having a serious threat to their life only to reflect back afterwards and say "If only the gun I was using were less powerful."

The tool doesn't matter so much as the user, but since the tool is what's under discussion I'd always take a long gun over a handgun whenever pragmatic. Real-world, is there any reason you can't work your way up to having both?

The shotgun is vastly over-rated for HD.

Oh, c'mon, guys...don't you realize he's just looking for encouragement and then enablement? What kind of gun forum are y'all runnin' here? Give it to him!!!

rspeer, yes, you are woefully undergunned without a 12 gauge. The fact that you do not have one not only endangers your home, it puts your block, your city, your county, your state, your country, indeed, the entire free world as we know it, AT RISK.

To rectify this unfortunate circumstance, RUN, I say RUN to your nearest 12 gauge store and get one! Don't forget a brick or two of 00!

Seriously, though, you can get a pretty decent 12 gauge pump gun for $200--$300. Do your self a favor and forget all that tacticool crap, it just adds weight and expense. Just get an ammo sleeve for the stock and keep the gun loaded and you will have ten rounds available and a gun that can actually be used for sport, when not in HD mode.

You know you want to buy a shotgun, you can't fool us...

ed

Did you mean to say, "Am I underarmed without a shotgun?" Saying undergunned or outgunned means you are worried about the force the OTHER guy posesses.

If you think that a shotgun is overrated, I would respectfully submit that a handgun is vastly overrated in your mind for ANY kind of defensive use. A handgun is what you use to fight your way back to the long gun you never should have put down in the first place. When you are fighting for your life, you want to have overwhelming force in your hands. There should be nothing equal at all about your response to the threat.

Use what you have. It's your keyster, do what you want. But think hard and get some training. Ask yourself if not wanting to use a long gun is because a pistol is all you have, or if it's just because you are unwilling to spring for the time and expense involved in using something bigger.

Bubba613 said:

The shotgun is vastly over-rated for HD.

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Now that we've got your opinion are you just going to leave us hanging or are you going to pass on your reasoning that the most popular home defense weapon in history is "vastly over-rated"?

The shotgun is vastly over-rated for HD.

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So are alarm systems but that depends on who you ask.
I just shot my 500 SPX at the range yesterday to stay in practice with it and i highly disagree its over rated.
One not so well placed shot can take the place of 9-15 rounds of 9mm.
They can be purchased with collapsible stocks and short barrels so you have lots of room in tight houses to maneuver. Pistol grips imo are great as long as they also have a stock behind them, But allow for easier point and shoot capabilities.

And yes i also agree the less crap on the gun the better. Most stuff will just fly off under recoil anyhow.
I like a collapsible stock, Pistol grip and short barrel with a 5 round saddle on the stock.
My house stays lit well enough at night i dont feel a flashlight is needed and lasers usually cant hold up the the recoil.
Mine has M4 style sights which i really like, But even a bead will work just as well. In a house you will be so close aiming is almost not even needed if your well practiced in the guns natural pointing abilities.

Next to my bed is my 1911 in .45acp, SA XD SC .40 and the 500 SPX.
Questionable noises that need investigated i take the 1911.
Big crashes that spell impending doom im taking the 500 and very confident it can handle multiple BG's with fewer rounds.

A 12 gauge has advantages and disadvantages. For a safe room defense weapon it is hard to beat. For a search the property weapon it could be bad. If you need to round a corner the barrel may get there long before you do. Also in this same situation a person hidng behind the corner has an easier chance of taking it from you. Searching a building or property is a special skill that one should be trained at before they try it for real. Do you have to have one to be adequately armed for home defense? I don't believe so. As long as you have a good to high quality, reliable handgun in an appropriate caliber that you can handle you should be good to go. Your Ruger GP100 should be just fine. Also remember that a shotgun does a lot of damage, to an attacker as well as a wall, plus the muzzle blast will be quite severe inside a home. If you are in an appartment a shotgun round (buckshot or slug) could easily go through a connecting wall and into the next appartment.

You may not be undergunned, but it wouldn't hurt to have a 12 ga. around.

I like the old saying that TexasRifleman mentioned - "Fear a man with only one gun, he probably knows how to use it". It may be worth thinking about getting 1 or 2 more handguns that are identicle to the one you use for HD now. That way there are no surprises when things get dicey in the middle of the night. Training becomes easier because you only need to bring the one gun and ammo inventory is way less complicated. I'm thinking that there would be nothing worse than hearing a crash after midnight and grabbing the wrong ammo for your weapon.

Am I undergunned without a 12 gauge?

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No. You're better gunned with one, but not undergunned without one. I keep a 12 gauge coach gun in the house with standard #4 buckshot in both pipes because it's comforting...but not because I feel undergunned without it.

Having a gun is a big step up from not having a gun. After that, what gun you have matters less than some think (Within some reasonable boundaries).

Buy a 12ga because you want a 12ga.

MOVED to S&T.

Reason being, it would be much more constructive to give rspeer helpful suggestions as to HOW to train and how to use his guns -- whichever he has or buys -- to defend his home.

Arguing which gun is better between a good revolver and a good shotgun is, beyond a certain point, one of those "how many angels can dance the polka on a pin head?" types of questions.

Get your MINDset right. Then get your SKILLset right. Your TOOLset is good enough, and will be even more good enough if you add a 12 ga.

So, can we help him with the really IMPORTANT stuff, folks?

Can't remember if that quote is Elmer Keith, Skeeter Skelton, or Jeff Cooper, but pretty sure it was one of them.

Now that we've got your opinion are you just going to leave us hanging or are you going to pass on your reasoning that the most popular home defense weapon in history is "vastly over-rated"?

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All of this has been hashed over again and again. No need for me to rehearse all of that.
But I would like to see some substantiation for the assertion that it is "the most popular HD weapon in history." Based on seeing reports of dozens of incidents I would say the most popular is the handgun. The USSC said so too.

A handgun is what you use to fight your way back to the long gun you never should have put down in the first place.

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I think we need a "chest thumping" smiley.
Someone did a very good job here not too long ago debunking that old cliche. Basically the idea being that if you can get out of the situation long enough to get somewhere else then you probably don't need any gun.

a single family dwelling is really not a good idea to be firing off a 12 in. I would say a handgun is far better in a house than a 12 gauge. more maneuverable, more ammo and less likely to go through too many walls.