Folks,
Shotguns with proper defensive ammo (slugs or 00, 000, or #1 Buchshot) over-penetrate more than an AR15 loaded with defensive ammo.
It is a ballistic fact. There are no disputes with the science.
Alot of people use shotguns cause they "feel" that a shotgun is the most devastating weapon for home defense.
It is just not true ballistically speaking.
9 leads .33"diameter balls that travel at 1,300 fps is not providing the home defender with some "nuclear option" that is akin to some untouchable awesomeness that is unsurpassed... Compare a typical 00 buck payload to the terminal ballistics of a 75gr .224" diameter spitzer bullet traveling at over 2,600 fps (in my hand-loads).
or
Both will ruin a bad guys day,,,however one has less recoil, faster follow up shots, carries more ammo, has infinitely faster reloads, and has less over penetration characteristics....Answer: 75gr BTHP loaded to 5.56 specs in a semi-auto rifle.
Shotguns are cheaper, however, if things get so bad that you have to use a long arm to defend your life/family/home then why use a "cheap" option? You are fighting for the ultimate prize: your life/family members lives. Don't use a cheap tool?!
Would you feel great about a Surgeon using the cheapest MRI machine or cheapest medical equipment when you are undergoing lifesaving surgery to save some money?
Would you want someone to build your seat belts and airbags with the cheapest materials just to save a buck?
Don't misinterpret me and think that by using the most expensive tool that it will automatically dictate the best outcome...everything is based on the nut behind the butt of the gun to determine the outcome. Practice and learn as much as you can. Making life changing decisions based on your feelings or by just parroting stuff that you've heard from others is a poor way to prepare yourself for a life changing event where your life is on the line.
"You don't leap forwards to doing difficult things in an emergency, you fall back to your training to see you through the crisis".
To those that choose a low capacity firearm for home defense, you are statistically correct, you will most likely never need to fire your gun multiple times at multiple bad guys (if ever),,,however, you don't need to look far back in the current news to see more than one instance where MULTIPLE ARMED ATTACKERS have laid siege to people in their residences.
In those instances, I'd hate to have a 6 shot revolver and have run it 6x so that I've got an empty gun while staring at the 7th bad guy...It is not about the chances or odds of getting into armed confrontation, its about what is at stake when trying to survive an armed confrontation.