Shotguns still good enoughfor me

Inside home defense distances, (25 yards), there is no shoulder fired weapon that is more destructive IMO. If you get shot in the head with an AR, yeah, you're probably dead. Get shot in the head with a 12 gauge, you don't have a head. Once I've picked up my hand gun next to my bed when something goes 'bump' in the night, head for the 12 gauge. The AR is behind it.

As an LEO our job inside a structure is a little different then a homeowner, but even when we go hunting trouble my prefered choice inside a structure is the venerable 12 gauge. Loaded with a good tight patterning shell, and with a few slugs to have the capability to handle distance shots it really can solve pretty much everything we might run into. The rifle certainly has it's place in LE work, but the shotgun doesn't give up much. For a homeowner it's pretty much the perfect go to choice.

-Jenrick

While I generally agree with JamieC, the destructiveness of the 12 gauge is contingent upon ammo. Getting shot in the head with some #8 shot, its gonna hurt, but your head will still be fully intact. 00 buck, or slugs with change that story considerably.

I'm not going to volunteer to stand in front of any 12 gauge load, though. But for the guy breaking into my house, I see that as consent to volunteer.

The 12 gauge pump will always have a role in home defense.

I agree about the bird shot to the head not necessarily killing, but with that many pellets, the man is probably going to be blind. A face full of #8 is going to be really bad for the intruder. While many folk think the AR is now superior to all other home-defense weapons (and they are certainly welcome to that opinion), a shotgun is just as effective today as it ever was. In my neck of the woods, it also serves nicely as an anti-armadillo tool as well as a solid rabbit gun.

Mine is a Savage 720 version of the Remington 11 version of the A5. It works great for rabbits or armadillos. While I haven't experienced it with 2-legged intruders, the buckshot I use on armadillos makes me pretty confident. Incidentally, I got it because my grandfather always kept a Remington 11 at his farm for the same roles (though the home invasion he experienced in the 1950's was stopped with a Hopkins and Allen Safety Police).

I don't use it for ducks or other fowl because the Mossberg handles steel shot and is easier to clean after muddy water hunting, but it does what it needs to do. 2 3/4 inch shells are all I need for the 720.

While I keep a Mini-14 for longer-distance hog/coyote/rabid racoon duty, the shotgun is my primary for the house. Not to go all anti-tactical or anything, but in my experience with vermin has taught me simplicity is best.

Dick Cheney's hunting buddy took a face full of #6 if I recall. Other than some minor scarring, he was otherwise fine. Even held a press conference and publicly apologized to the VP for the mishap.

A load of birdshot (even #8 or 9) to the face inside the distance of any normal size home is going to end a bad guys day right now. I certainly wouldn't recommend it as a first choice, but if you think you are just going to leave a few scars try shooting something like a watermelon or a large piece of meat from 10 yards with your 12ga.

It's been my home defense weapon of choice for 25 years.

Cheney's friend got peppered from a greater distance than in a house. 400 .22 caliber pellets in house ranges at the face is going to be brutal. Now, typing this, I wouldn't use bird shot in the house, I don't even keep it in the house. But, you put #8 bird shot in a man's face at 20 feet and he's going be screwed.

USAF_Vet said:

Dick Cheney's hunting buddy took a face full of #6 if I recall. Other than some minor scarring, he was otherwise fine. Even held a press conference and publicly apologized to the VP for the mishap.

Click to expand...

He was yards away not feet away. Can't use that to prove anything except be careful who you hunt with.

They are still good enough for me.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

I'll stick to my Benelli Nova Tactical and my 12 gauge 3.5" magnum buckshot loads with 18 pellets of 00 per shot.

It's pretty much like being hit with an entire magazine from a Czech Vz. 61 Skorpion submachine gun in one hit.

It should make an intruder feel less welcome than he thought he was.

Mossberg 930 alternating loads of 00B and slugs. Should do the trick.

My wife loves hers!

There really is a lot to be said for a gun that can be purchased for under $300, and reliably throw a full ounce of lead at a time into a pattern that gives some (slight, at close distance) margin for error when aiming.
I have a friend who was in the Air Force, got out 12 years ago and hadn't shot a gun since his discharge, until he and I went to the range last year. Even in the AF, he was in a non-combat role, so he really wasn't shooting more than just for basic familiarization.

Of all my guns that he's shot, he told me the platform he wants for his first gun is a 12ga pump. As a neophyte, he finds the simple manual of arms to be comforting. He feels the same way about revolvers, incidentally.

I agree 100% with the OP. A 12 gauge will always be my house gun of choice.

FYI, Cheney was hunting quail with a 28 gauge O/U that day. I doubt he was using #6 shot.

I keep an 18" mossy with wood stock in 12ga close by and wife uses a 20ga sxs. I still think there is nothing better for HD. I like #4 buck for this, and not too worried about family if I'm not around, wife doesn't miss with that old 20.

Come on you know you can't live with out this:

Are you using a punt gun for home defense? Because 400 pellets of .22 size would be somewhere around an 8 oz load.

Or am I a complete moron and you meant eight one oz shells?

Dan, it should have been .09 caliber, and it should have been 410 pellets. You are not a moron, but I thought it was rather common knowledge among shotgunners that #8 held about 400 pellets.

Shot
Number Pellet Diameter (Inches) Average Pellet Weight (Grains) Approximate # of Pellets per Ounce
12 .05 .18 2385
11 .06 .25 1750
9 .08 .75 585
8 1/2 .085 .88 485
8 .09 1.07 410
7 1/2 .095 1.25 350
6 .11 1.95 225
5 .12 2.58 170
4 .13 3.24 135
2 .15 4.86 90

Many years ago we were on our way to a dove hunt. Came around a corner and my friend's Dad hit a hog that ran into the road. Hog was laying on the side of the road squealing in obvious distress. Farmer came walking down from the house and asked if my friend's Dad would shoot it in the head and put it out of its misery. He'd take care of it after he finished lunch. Hog weighed about 400 pounds. My friend's Dad shot it at about 10 feet with a load of low brass #8s. Holy crap !! All of us, the car, everything, had hog brains and pieces of bone and gore all over us. Hog looked like someone stuck a stick of dynamite in its ear. Made a deep impression on me as to the power in a shotgun load.

The main reason for switching to a ar or other medium caliber rifle is the use of ballistic tip rounds to minimize the posability of collateral damage. A ballistic tip round is very effective against offending targets but will break up after hitting dry wall turning into smaller ineffective bits that are unlikely to harm the granny next door or little Timmy in the next room where as buck or slugs are still extremely effective after passing through MULTIPLE walls. People aren't forgoing the traditional shotgun do to some perceived lack of effectiveness they are forgoing it as there are just as effective options that are overall safer and cheaper to practice with

Gold standard for home defense for more than a century...

My 870 has been my standby for nearly 40 years, 00 buck and Federal rifled HP slugs will do the job.

Shotgun and devastating are married at the hip!