Beretta vs. Shotgun for HD

[uspJ]

i would go with the beretta if you have to move through the house, if your going to sit tight i would use the shotgun even with lower training and keep the handgun with you should you have a malfunction. i'm in somewhat the same situation as far as training with my firearms. i'm well more versed with my handguns and rifles than i am with my shotguns. i'm not a novice with my shotguns but i have considerable more trigger time with my other weapons.

i have two shotguns in my home ( an 870 and a mossy 500 ). i keep one in my bedroom and one in my den, next to them i keep one of my handguns. i also keep a pistol on me or beside me until i go to bed. imo the pistol just makes more sense when you have to move through a home either offensively or defensively, being able to move quickly and smoothly will most likely play a bigger factor in surviving than what you brought to the fight.

 

[TEXMEX]

Your house does sound a mite different than most, Strambo!!!

 

[easyg]

I posted this on a similar thread not too long ago....


Forget the shotgun and keep the pistol.
Here's why...

I have great respect for a shotgun, but a pistol is something that you can have on your side at all times, and everywhere you go.

Say you're watching TV late one night, the shotgun is close by, the wife and kids are sleeping...
Okay, commercial break, and nature calls....so what do you do?
Well, you get up and go to the bathroom just like anyone would.
I'm betting that you don't take the shotgun with you to the bathroom for every potty break.
Now you're done and just as you're washing your hands, you hear the sound of breaking glass....

You would probably be wishing that you had a pistol on your side right about then.



Let's say you're in your home checking out The High Road on your computer, and it's about 9:00pm, when suddenly you remember that you didn't turn off the sprinkler (you were watering the garden or lawn, whatever)....
Of course you're just going to run out and turn the water off, and it will only take a minute or two, so you don't take the shotgun with you....
Just as you turning the water off you catch some movement out of the corner of your eye....
You turn and see three guys in your backyard, positioning themselves between you and the entrance to your home.

You would probably be wishing that you had a pistol on your side right about then.



I think you get the point....
You can never tell when you might need a weapon, and a pistol is something that you can have on your side nearly all the time, and nearly everywhere you go.
A rifle or shotgun is just not something that you're likely to have with you when you really need it.


Good luck,
Easy

 

[WhippingBoy]

This isn't home defense, directly, but my experience last night was revealing.

I'll start by saying I have a shooting range in the yard and I do lots of drills with my CCW 1911. I'm definitely just an amateur with it, but shooting that gun has become a very comfortable exercise. I've got a 870 shotgun too, but I haven't really been fascinated with it like I am the hand-gun. I really like my 1911. So, I don't practice with the shotgun.


Over the last couple of weeks something has been killing off our chickens one by one. Last night there's a lot of noise coming from the coop and I run down with the 1911. No, I don't! I grab the shotgun because it's dark and I don't want any projectiles making it to the neighbors, or hitting the horses. I just can't see them because I don't have my good bright flashlight in the house (another story there).

Well, I run down to the coop and there's this big raccoon climbing the fence. The gun comes up, trigger press. . .nothing. Dang, rack the slide. Point the light again, press the trigger. . .nothing. Dang! Safety off, light and gun come back up. Dumb raccoon is way across the pasture and just a dot now, really. Well, might as well impress him: BOOM! There isn't even a point in looking to see if I hit him.

So, the lesson: practice with the shotgun! Otherwise forget it and go back to what I practice with. The latter isn't really an option, I can't shoot hollowpoints into the night since I can't see what's beyond the target (horses, houses, or whatever).

That's my long winded opinion to stick with what you know. Had I been in a dangerous situation, instead of chasing animals, that lost time might have been truly serious.

 

[hso]

the gun you feel best with, is the one you should grab.

What can you make reliable hits in low light with? That's what you should be using if you don't have a light hanging off of it.

OTOH, lights for shotguns are so cheap that almost anyone can afford to hang a minimag off of an 870 and give yourself an advantage.

 

[007BondJamesBond007]

I would learn to use the shotgun. Just the noise of racking it might scare the bg away. I would install a Crimson Trace on the 92 for use @ night.

OTOH, lights for shotguns are so cheap that almost anyone can afford to hang a minimag off of an 870 and give yourself an advantage.
______

Even a cheap flashlight taped to the barrel will work. And you can get a lasar for the Remy too.

http://www.midwesthuntersoutlet.com/item.aspx?PID=80668&w=PQ+JDyOLrQE=

 

[smhbbag1]

Why choose?

I carry in the house, and when sleeping, I leave the holster attached to my pants near the bed.

Bump in the night? Put pants on with loaded handgun already in it, and grab the shotgun. Total process - 10 seconds, and I have both guns.

 

[easyg]

I would learn to use the shotgun. Just the noise of racking it might scare the bg away.

Yeah, it lets the BG know that you are armed AND that your weapon is a shotgun.

This info will be very useful to the BG later....when he comes back, when you're not there, and steals your shotgun.

 

[007BondJamesBond007]

Guess when I'm not home?

 

[rc601962]

Here is why you want to use the shotgun for home defense. Things will happen at extreme close distance. This means, unless you hit the bad guy directly in the brain with a handgun, he will probably live long enough to shoot you back. It can take 10 seconds, even with a good hit, for him to bleed out. In the mean time, you get shot too. The end result is that one or both of you die.

The same thing can happen with a shotgun. However, statistically, it will happen less often due to the fact that you essentially have a 9 round burst weapon with every pull of the trigger. You are increasing the probability of one of the projectiles hitting the CNS and you are launching one full ounce of lead into the bad guy. This improves your odds of not getting shot back.

No guaranty. Just better odds. At extreme close distance, the most vital attribute needed is speed of incapacitation.