Anyone keep their HD shotgun loaded with +1 in the pipe??

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Monkeybear

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I have decided that it is now a priority to procure a solid HD specific shotgun.

I picked a Mossberg 590 A1 w/ghost ring. Its heavy, has a tang safety and holds 8+1. I am open to suggestions for other shotguns that meet these requirements. I plan on loading 00 low recoil Winchester Ranger buck shot. If its good enough for government work its good enough for me.

mossberg590a1_resize_oudx.jpg


I have heard countless times that should an intruder appear in your home one should just rack the slide loudly and the criminal will make a hasty exit stopping only to gently close your door and all the while shouting out his very sincere apologies. As one friend put it; "you would have to be a moron not to leave after hearing that sound". I said "well I hope any criminal who enters your house is either afraid of guns or possess sound judgement because if they're stupid and/or have a familiarity with violence that shick-click is just gonna get their adrenaline pumping"

Personally, and I will concede that I have little experience in the matter, I expect racking the slide on a shotgun for home defense to be about as effective as racking the slide on my pistol for self defense. I can see situations where it could work, but none where its a good idea. See, I think of it like this: You either need your gun or you do not. You never kinda need your gun or mostly need your gun. You desperately need your gun. Because when you need your gun, your life is on the line. When your life is on the line you don't have time for hesitation or hoping that maybe the other person will just leave and it will all work out.

The point of all this is that I plan on keeping my new shotgun loaded with one in the pipe.

But.....like I said I don't have any experience in the matter so I want to hear from your warriors, real and armchair alike. What do you think? Should the first sound you attacker hears from you be "shick-click" or ..



BOOM!!!.

I would like to add that I am aware that situations are fluid and that any situation that occurs will have its own unique circumstances which must be judged and blah blah blah... What I want to know is your default mode, how do you train, ect.




Below I have added a bit more background on my reasoning. This is optional and will not be on the test.


Professional burglars do not enter peoples homes when they are present. Desperate drug addicts and predators looking for a victim will. With this in mind I have concluded that any situation where someone forcibly enters my home is a life or death situation.

I live in a small 4 room apartment and I don't expect to have much, if any, time to respond to such a threat if I am asleep. If I am lucky enough to wake up, access the situation, and react in time to find myself on my feet with my HD shotgun I will be very lucky. Practice will reduce the degree of luck involved but the fact is that it takes about 5 seconds to walk from my front door to my room.

I practiced waking up quickly. When some event causes me to wake unexpectedly I always make sure I am up on my feet and alert with the greatest haste possible. I have not timed myself, nor do I plan to, but I think I am able to get to my feet about as quick as I ever will.

That said, action is always faster than reaction and action from a pumped up killer is much faster than reaction from a non-violent law-abiding citizen who was sound asleep forty-five seconds ago. I may need that half second it takes to rack the slide.
 
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Hiya MB,
The 590s from Mossberg are great SGs and a good value .
As far as keeping a round in the chamber --- I don't/won't do it. I think if you have the time to pick up a pumpgun , it takes about 1/10 of a second to rack it.
If you have guests or children , having a rd. in the chamber could be fatal to them OR YOU ----- I seen a guy get shot by a 6 year old like that once.
Also , a small 4 room apt. ?? What is on the other side of the wall ??? Heavy birdshot like BBs or even #4 shot may be better.
Just my 2 cents !!!!
GF123
 
Also , a small 4 room apt. ?? What is on the other side of the wall ??? Heavy birdshot like BBs or even #4 shot may be better.
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Well the way I figure, if I get this gun next week its gonna be about a year before I have it next to the bed. I am good enough with the G19 that I am not worried about missing. I would like to think that I understand the responsibilities of gun ownership enough not to risk the lives of my neighbors to save my own. I will not spray-and-pray.


When I feel confident in my ability to very quickly place a panicked shot where I want it I'll start looking for a good rack to mount over my head board.
 
I keep my fully loaded Shotgun up high. The only problem is keeping the cat from coughing up hair balls on it and making a mess.
I check it serveral times a year and the cat is happy to have some firepower the Doberman can't reach.
 
I don't like to keep one in the pipe of my home defense gun. I don't subscribe to the "scare them off with the sound" idea, but keeping the chamber empty is safer. If the pump action sound runs the bad guy off that's awesome, but that's not the idea.
 
I DO keep a round in the chamber of my HD pump 12 gauge. (While the shotgun is my preferred in-house defensive firearm, a revolver is my bedside gun.) Like MrCleanOK, I don't really give a Shumer about frightening the bad guys with the sound of a pump shotgun being "racked". If some dude ignores the alarm siren, the floodlights and the dog, he's not likely to be intimidated by just another sound. The next important sound he hears will be a loud bang, just before he feels the #4 buck.:what:

All of that said, there are no other adults or children living in our house. When we have children in the house, ALL firearms are locked away. If they are staying overnight, only the bedside revolver is retrieved and our bedroom door is locked. Life is pretty simple for us old folks - I do not envy those of you who have small children in the home........ :banghead:
 
My .357 is in a blind keypad safe. The shotgun locker key is in there. Both ready to go. Two for the price of one. :D
 
I'm not a fan of keeping a round chambered for a couple of reasons. One, it's not very safe. Two, it keeps the gun cocked all the time which causes extra wear on the striker spring. It takes only a moment to rack it, and if it makes the bad guy run like hell it's an added bonus. If you need a gun you can store ready at all times, keep a revolver or a single/double pistol.

In the case of your apartment, I would recommend locking the bedroom door, if possible. That will give you precious time to get your gun before they manage to break into the room you are staying.
 
I do but not exactly what you expect. I keep my tube fully loaded with +1 snap cap in the chamber :)

That is because I like to pull the trigger on the chamber so it is ready to be racked. I don't like having to press the action release every time I have to rack a round into a road ready shotgun.
 
I don't really give a Shumer
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Priceless CU74, haven't heard that one and will use it soon.

I have a semi-auto and usually keep it un-chambered. I live alone and have kept it chambered before. I haven't really made up my mind about it but lean towards keeping one chambered. I usually keep one chambered in my 1911 so will probably settle on the same for every weapon just so I don't make a mistake.

The only problem is that I woke up yesterday and was so muzzy headed after taking benadryl for ichy eyes that I was having trouble doing normal things. That could be worrisome if surprised in the middle of the night and go fumbling around not thinking straight.
 
keeps the gun cocked all the time which causes extra wear on the striker spring.
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Not so much; springs fatigue from cycling, not from being stored in a compressed or extended state.

The point of all this is that I plan on keeping my new shotgun loaded with one in the pipe.

But.....like I said I don't have any experience in the matter so I want to hear from your warriors, real and armchair alike. What do you think? Should the first sound you attacker hears from you be "shick-click" or ..
Click to expand...

We talk about this topic here a lot, it seems; a search for the phrase 'cruiser ready' will reveal a plethora of reading material on the subject....
 
Since all my young-uns are grown and gone and I have very few young visitors, I keep one in the pipe.

I retired from LE in 1993. The LE agencies in my area were, at that time, doing away with shotguns and going to 223 semiautos. Now it is impossible to find a shotgun in a patrol car around here. I go on ride alongs from time to time and the LEOs like the 223s. It seems that liability issues were the reason. You can't control 9-12 big shot going everywhere it wants to but you can control a single projectile, according to the guys I talked to.

I carried a shotgun 30 years in the gun lock or in the trunk. Never used it for serious business. The Mini-14 came into play when a serious take down was necessary.

I prefer a shotgun if there are no innocent citizens in the area but that is hard to find. The 223 won't penetrate a human body and it disintegrates if you miss on the first hard object it strikes.

Some of the big cities still issue them but it has been a long time since I've heard of a LE using anything other than his sidearm or the SWAT team using a rifle. Long live the old Cruiser gun packed with 00. It gave you a real sense of security.
 
We keep chambers empty, magazines loaded one round short with 00 buckshot that patterns tightly (Federal LE full velocity loads with FliteControl wads) and Sidesaddles loaded with Brenneke KO slugs.

I don't subscribe to the scare-em-off-racking-the-slide thing, the empty chambers are for safety's sake. The first thing any intruder here is going to hear is the growls of a couple hundred pounds of very unhappy Fila, the shotguns are just to back up the dogs.

Best advice I can offer- take a shotgun class from one of the several world class instructors out there teaching: Louis Awerbuck, Randy Cain, John Farnam etc. If you have questions that don't get covered, ask them in class.

hth,

lpl
 
Mossberg 500 with one in the pipe - safety on. Locked in the safe until lights out. Then its next to the bed, along with a handgun, flashlight and cellphone. We have an intruder plan just like we have a tornado warning plan, and everyone in the household knows what to do and where to go (with options of course).

All of my kids are gun-savy and most importantly gun safety savy. They all (including my youngest at nine) have hours and hours of range practice behind the barn and have seen first hand the results of shooting animals. They know that firearms are tools just like the tractor or the table saw, and that messing around with any of them can get someone hurt or dead.

Works for our home.

rd
 
I don't keep a round in the chamber but thats because I put a trigger lock on the gun during the day. I worry that the trigger lock could get pushed far enough to pull the trigger and fire if a round was chambered.
 
Mossberg 500 - leaning against my bedpost with 8-shot magazine loaded. Bolt closed on an empty chamber.

I hope when I rack the slide, no one hears it. I wouldn't want to surprise anybody.:rolleyes:
 
No I don't keep one chambered. Most shotguns are not drop safe. I keep mine magazine loaded one short, slide locked on empty chamber, safety on.
 
No I don't keep one chambered. Most shotguns are not drop safe
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And THAT is why it's not a good idea to keep one chambered. I don't consider ANY firearm truly drop-safe, even if it's supposed to be (exception: French firearms; they all have to be drop-tested. An accidental discharge could spoil a surrender). There's always the risk of it getting knocked over or something happening that triggers it at a very unfortunate moment. Most shotgun safeties are also vulnerable to being bumped off by a light impact.

Let's say you bump into it one day. Doesn't knock it over or off the wall, but you bump the safety off (and what are the odds of you actually noticing that you bumped the button?). Next day / week / month / year you bump into it again, and it either discharges right there or it falls, then discharges. That's a VERY real example of how a chambered shotgun can be accidentally discharged, even if you keep the safety on.
 
drop safe

Finally someone brings up the drop safety. Any firearm that is not equipped with some kind of drop safety has the possibility to fire if jarred sufficiently.

The possible risk of a negligent discharge should be the most important aspect of storing a loaded weapon, it may be intended to save your life but if it takes a life unintentionally it would be a real shame.

When I say this I mean with any ammunition loaded in the weapon including the chamber(s) or stored nearby in such a manner that an individual of age (your determination) could discharge the weapon with reasonable ease(again your determination).

As much as I can advocate having a readied firearm for personal defence (+1 in the chamber if it is your preference) while on your person, any firearm left unattended (in a vehicle or at home while not under your supervision) with ammunition loaded in the magazine(s) or clip(s)or chamber(s) or within easy access to ammunition for has the possibility to be misused while not under your control.

Anyone killed or injured or property destroyed with the firearm is due to your negligence unless a safety measure ensuring the weapon can be used unintentionally is used. A precaution could be it stored unloaded or in a locked container or receptacle while not under your control.

My opinion creeps out... If you are going to use a firearm for home defence, in my opinion there is no reason to leave it loaded while you are not at home to defend yourself. I realise that it is a terrible pain in the ass to ready a home defence firearm before you go to sleep but in the end it may prevent a death that should have been in your control
 
There's no round in the pipe for me.

Further, I recently got rid of my mag extension on my 870P. I love the way it feels now. That's worth more to me than unwieldy rounds and accessories weighing down the gun.
 
Mine are kept empty chamber, safety on, action locked shut. The mags are loaded one round down from capacity.

I can ready these to fire in a heartbeat, However, it's nigh impossible for kids or ignorami to make them shoot.

Personal HD confrontations tend to have low round counts, not sound like The Battle For Hue. With a minimum of 5 rounds on tap I'm well prepared.

Even a standard length mag with 3 rounds in it should cover the bases, given an operator than knows how to run the gun.
 
The LE agency I work with issues 870's, however they are kept in a trunk lid mounted rack and usually unloaded. They are usually only called into service when going into a high risk situation. The officers also have the option of providing their own .223 or .308 cal semi auto rifle. They have to qualify with said gun. Those who do keep a rifle often keep it at ready with a loaded mag but empty chamber in a soft bag in the trunk. My guys still carry .45's and most of them have a good bit of faith in it, but come time to serve papers on a real BG and the old 870 comes off the rack and filled with Federal 00
 
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