Are shotguns really best for home defense?

[3KillerBs]

I think it would depend a great deal on the specific shotgun, the specific user, and the specific house.

A short-barreled shotgun in the hands of a person thoroughly familiar with its operation in a house with generous hallways or an open floor plan is probably excellent.

My 17yo's Mossberg in my hands (he's 6'2", I'm 5'3" -- I short-stroke the Mossberg 7 times out of 10), in our 1969 ranch with its narrow hallways and chopped-up rooms is not an optimal choice.

 

[NonConformist]

There is no 'BEST' for any one situation

All have merits, all have shortcomings

use what YOU are best with!

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Ideally, you have run your defense plan, and worked it so the bad guys have to come to you. In that case, there is no worry about how big the rooms are, how chopped up the house is, or how narrow the halls are. They have to come down that hall to get to you, and you're under cover with a shotgun pointed down that hall.

 

[Jeff F]

and maybe #9 shot for the SG. jwr

Thats a new one to me. I know some of the folks that teach SD and not one of them has ever recommended the use of bird shot for serious social situations, only buckshot and slugs, baby.

A shot gun so loaded is the best close range weapon to end a threat and it does not matter what that threat is packing. It will end a fight way faster then a side arm or a rifle for that matter and with slugs it will reach out there a ways.

 

[3KillerBs]

Ideally, yes. Ideally you've got a two-story house with a stairwell leading to the main door and an indoor balcony overlooking the other door.

Unfortunately, when the the floor plan of your one-level home places a door between the living area and the bedrooms and the other door is in the laundry room around 2 tight corners things aren't necessarily optimal for creating a defensive perimeter.

When there is no upstairs and no basement there is no way to make certain that the bad guys can't get to you from behind either because every room has windows. Manuverability is desirable in less than optimal situations.

As is a 20gauge, semi-auto shotgun with a reduced-length stock of my own too.

 

[Floppy_D]

Take a HD shotgun course, and you'll see how maneuverable they can be... it will surprise you.

If you are handier with one than the other, I'd stick to it until your profiiency changes.

I grab a pistol, but I'm trained with it, continue to train, shoot one handed, and bring my flashlight with me to the range to practice. My wife prefers the shotgun, so that's what she uses.

 

[Youngster]

I would not reach for a handgun in a HD situation unless I had to, the hit probability and terminal effectiveness of the shotgun are just too good to give up. That said, not everybody is a shotgun minded enough to get the best out of one.

 

[jpatterson]

I was thinking about what XD_Fan said and took some pictures to compare what he was talking about. Here's what I came up with...

The first picture is with my 18" 870 Express. The second is with my 4" XD45.

Seems only about a 6 inch addition with the use of the shotgun, but as Deanimator said you can bend your arms with the pistol in your hands and obviously not with the shotgun.

This is where a PGO shotgun would be the ultimate. Just kidding, don't flame me

Anyway, I think I'll stick with my 870 loaded with Magnum 00 for HD. Something about getting shot with 15 .33 balls sounds more painful than one hollowpoint .45. Just my .02 though, of course.

 

[3KillerBs]

An often unmentioned advantage of a handgun is the ability to hold your cell phone or portable phone up to your ear while keeping your weapon at the ready as you talk to the emergency dispatcher.

 

[Ramone]

Having cleared rooms with a sidearm (m1911a1), M16A1E2, a shotgun (870, full stock) and Gawdhelpme I-kid-you-not, an M60 (Beirut, 1983), I have this to offer...

The Platoon leader (O-2) Usually hogged the 870, and would often trade his sidearm to someone who griped about having to go in with with their service rifle or the M60.

Given my druthers, I'll defer to Col Cooper, who told us that a handgun is used to fight your way to a real weapon, and my first choice for a long arm would be a shotgun, not just for it's awesome 1 shot hallway/stairwell clearing ability, but for (in the case of my rather modest home) the lower penetration of birdshot. Also, I I do end up wrestling for it, I am a lot more confident of being sure that the muzzle isn't coving me when I fire it to shake him off.

Ramone

 

[kcshooter]

A shotgun, unless you have one of the brutally expensive drum magazine types, holds a max of 11 rounds(I am thinking 870 or 1100 with 10 round tube magazine), and an AR type rifle can hold 31.

11 shells with 9 pellets equals 99 projectiles, over 3 times as many as an AR. (Just another way to think about it, I would never feel undergunned in most home defense situations with a shotgun.)

I prefer a shotgun. I have a child in the house. I live in a suburb and have neighbors. Overpenetration risk is a serious concern for me, legally and morally. My shotguns are all loaded with 6-9rds of #4 buck, and have 00 buck in the sidesaddles. I have several around the house.

I also have a 1911 with a light rail by my bed, and my cellphone. I have surefires thruout the house also. I have an AR and AK in the bedroom also, though they are locked up. I have options available, and I like it that way.


Another reason shotguns are often recommended is the fact that they are simple to use, uber-reliable, and inexpensive. (I often hear "plus, you don't even have to aim, just point in the general direction and fire", which is an all-too-common myth.)

 

[Chuck Dye]

Read Kathy Jackson's (pax) arguments at The Cornered Cat for handgun carry in the home.

Those who think a shotgun needn't be aimed should pattern theirs with defense loads at household ranges, the longest of which in my home is 29 feet measured wall-to-wall and probably less than 20 feet in any realistic confrontation.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

shotguns...

...best for home defense?

well they sure beat a pocket full of lint.
(sorry I read that elsewhere here tonight, not my line but I love it!)

For me it's a .45 at the bedside and once I get to the closet it's a choice between the 870 or the .357 levergun. In most cases I'm thinking I'll be putting my money on the 870, 20inch barrel, one 1oz slug followed by 00.

.02

 

[MinnMooney]

Short-barreled shotguns, pistols and revolvers are are great. Handguns don't present an advanced warning when you're coming around a corner but shotguns (w/0 or 00 Buckshot) are much more capable of stopping an attack.

It's nice to have both available for different scenerios.

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

http://www.minutemanreview.com/2008/08/shotgun-or-ar15-for-home-defense.html

That is my take on the issue.

 

[GregGry]

I have my supernova ready to go incase shtf. Could I grab my ar15, or a pistol? Sure. I trust my pump action more then any other firearm I own. I have no doubts of its stopping power. Its a bit long (even with the 18 inch barrel), but that isn't a bad thing since my houses layout wouldn't make manuvering an issue.

 

[CountGlockula]

Train with both SG and HG in your home defense scenario.

Problem solved.

 

[Kentak]

There's no way anyone can make a hard and fast rule about what is the best weapon for home defense since there are so many possible variables: the size of house and it's floorplan; the number of people in the household, their ages, and location of their rooms; the physical ability and training of the armed person to handle a given type of firearm; is the household going to hunker down in a safe room? Investigate suspicious noises? Stay inside? Go outside? Etc.

K

 

[GregGry]

The recoil of a shotgun is huge in comparison to say a .223 ar15. which is a factor for some.

However after shooting my ar-15 in a concrete blocked indoor range with just ear plugs I think I would be deaf instantly if I shot that off in my basement. The shotgun is loud sure, but with just ear plugs in it didn't make my ears ring.

 

[Boxing Buffalo]

I'm a total newbie in the gun world but I've done a lot of research on just this topic.

What it always came back to was one key thing. Safety for the people that aren't trying to cause me harm. My Glock 19 9mm will easily go right through my wall and into my neighbors house. My Mossberg 500 12 gauge with 5 shot? Highly doubtful those bb's are going through these old plaster walls or through the ceiling into the loft over my house.

I find more and more people that keep .45's by their bed for home defense and in my opinion, that just doesn't make sense to me. The size makes sense, but the safety of your neighbors is immediately in jeopardy when you pull that trigger.

EDIT: Also, speaking of recoil and comparing a AR-15 to a shotgun... The shotgun is going to have a lot more recoil sure, but, that .223 is going to travel a long ways. I spent the $100 to get a Knoxx Spec Ops stock and it was worth every penny. It doesn't change the muzzle pull but I put 50 rounds though her today and I can't even tell. It's worth it for sure.

 

[DAVIDSDIVAD]

I really think it depends on the person.

I mean, my 20" barreled 590 is just fine for me.
The two times I've been startled enough(slamming on door at 2 am, etc..) I found it easy to move around my apartment with the weapon shouldered.

 

[amprecon]

AFAIK, no country every complained to the powers-that-be about the use of pistols in combat. However, they have complained about the use of shotguns in combat. The Germans complained about the American use of shotguns in WWI as they were gassing people.
I was awakened out of a dead sleep to noises in my house one night and all I had available to me was my ccw, a Bersa .380. As I grabbed it up I instantly wished for a bigger gun with more bullets. Now I keep my lighted 870 by my bedside loaded down with 6 "00" buckshot shells.
As long as everyone is accounted for, there isn't a human being alive that'll get close enough quick enough to grab the barrel of my 870 without getting all 9 .33 caliber pellets in the gut.

 

[Kind of Blued]

Ideally, yes. Ideally you've got a two-story house with a stairwell leading to the main door and an indoor balcony overlooking the other door.

Did you build my house?

As always, it depends on your situation. Given mine, I'd REALLY like a 14" pump-action 12-gauge with a Surefire front end, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

My current bedside defense is my 9mm autoloader that I carry every day and my J-frame that I carry everyday in an ankle holster. Slide my weak hand through the J-frame, thus creating a wrist holster, flashlight in weak hand, 9mm in right hand. Why? Because that's what I have.

 

[Boxing Buffalo]

Just out of curiosity, what made you choose 00 buck for home defense? Won't 00 Buck travel through walls pretty easy?

 

[Kind of Blued]

Just out of curiosity, what made you choose 00 buck for home defense? Won't 00 Buck travel through walls pretty easy?

Well, yeah, but they're still a lot lighter than pistol rounds and a lot slower than rifle rounds. Speed and weight make for penetration.