Charlie1022
Member
What is your favorite shotgun for home defense/ tactical use and why?
Best tactical shotgun, pump or semi auto?
- Thread starter Charlie1022
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Semi-Automatic, Mossberg 930 with 18.5” barrel loaded with 8 rounds of Fiocchi 00 Buck 9 pellet at 1325 fps
It fires as fast as I can pull the trigger. 100% Reliable. Made in USA. Matte black steel and synthetic stock. Easy to clean. 12 gauge.
Push doors open with left hand while my right hand keeps shotgun shouldered and ready to rap off 3 or 4 rounds. I can shoot it one shot, one handed with my arm extended like shooting a handgun, around a corner or doorframe into a room.
I like my 870 pump, also. But I keep the Mossberg loaded and ready, while the 870 is empty and locked up, if that says anything about my preference for when SHTF.
It fires as fast as I can pull the trigger. 100% Reliable. Made in USA. Matte black steel and synthetic stock. Easy to clean. 12 gauge.
Push doors open with left hand while my right hand keeps shotgun shouldered and ready to rap off 3 or 4 rounds. I can shoot it one shot, one handed with my arm extended like shooting a handgun, around a corner or doorframe into a room.
I like my 870 pump, also. But I keep the Mossberg loaded and ready, while the 870 is empty and locked up, if that says anything about my preference for when SHTF.
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Under normal circumstances I prefer a semi-auto. Mine is a Benelli. In theory a pump is more reliable, but they are manually operated and in the real world malfunction more often due to operator error. Kept reasonably clean and fed quality ammo a semi is just as reliable.
But if looking for a survival shotgun that had to function with no excuses in harsh conditions even with poor quality ammo or if filthy I'd choose a pump. My Benelli is the 1st shotgun I'd reach for at home. But if I were looking for a shotgun to survive for a month in the wilderness I'd take my 870.
But if looking for a survival shotgun that had to function with no excuses in harsh conditions even with poor quality ammo or if filthy I'd choose a pump. My Benelli is the 1st shotgun I'd reach for at home. But if I were looking for a shotgun to survive for a month in the wilderness I'd take my 870.
Alex Clayton
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- Jun 25, 2020
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I no longer use a short shoty for the home protection, still have an old Win 1300 but safe queen now. One gun makes me want to get one anyway, the Moss930. VERY damn nice for this.
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lemaymiami
Member
I'll take a basic Remington 870 in riot configuration every day (it's what I carried and used on the street for many years). 18 - 20" barrel, simple bead sight, standard four round tube, improved cylinder choke. Only two accessories wanted - a sling and an elastic butt cuff that holds five additional rounds. You'll see used examples of them on Gunbroker - usually listed as Wingmaster riot guns. Quite a few of those ex-police shotguns look to be in poor condition - but rarely have a lot of rounds run through them. They mostly spend their lives either in an electro-lock or rattling around in the trunk of a police car - and rarely receive much care... For many years every Remington in a Department's arsenal was only a Wingmaster - in later years they came out with the Police model (pretty much the same gun as the Wingmaster but without the high polished bluing..).
Using ordinary 2 3/4" 00buck rounds it's a one shot fight ender, period - within 15 meters range. With a bit of practice you should be able to hit a 10" paper plate at 25 meters with a standard rifled slug - all day long using only that simple bead sight...
These days that same configuration comes in an Express model with synthetic stocks and is still available... Matter of fact, the only one I own currently is just that, set up exactly as noted above.... only in cylinder bore. Modern Flite-Control rounds take care of the need for any choke...
Every time I see a "tactical" shotgun with high capacity magazine and a few other bells and whistles I'm reminded just how well those old "riot guns" pointed in hand and that speed and accuracy are life itself in a confrontation... A center of mass impact within 15 meters with ordinary 00buck will very rarely require a second shot if the target has two legs... If an opponent is armored (wearing body armor) simply lowering your point of aim about 10 inches should provide the same results
Using ordinary 2 3/4" 00buck rounds it's a one shot fight ender, period - within 15 meters range. With a bit of practice you should be able to hit a 10" paper plate at 25 meters with a standard rifled slug - all day long using only that simple bead sight...
These days that same configuration comes in an Express model with synthetic stocks and is still available... Matter of fact, the only one I own currently is just that, set up exactly as noted above.... only in cylinder bore. Modern Flite-Control rounds take care of the need for any choke...
Every time I see a "tactical" shotgun with high capacity magazine and a few other bells and whistles I'm reminded just how well those old "riot guns" pointed in hand and that speed and accuracy are life itself in a confrontation... A center of mass impact within 15 meters with ordinary 00buck will very rarely require a second shot if the target has two legs... If an opponent is armored (wearing body armor) simply lowering your point of aim about 10 inches should provide the same results
Winchester M97. Not an original but a Norinco replica in trench configuration. Otherwise I'd probably pick semi auto, but the M97 looks mean, the sound of operating pump action is definitely a deterrent and if excrement truly collides with the ventilator, it has an auto sear: keep the trigger depressed, pump and it'll fire as many rounds as needed.
Bayonet is optional.
Bayonet is optional.
FL-NC
Member
SGT 870 with Trijicon iron sights and surefire light. Reliable with any ammunition, night capable.
Corpral_Agarn
Member
I like my FN SLP.
Can get finicky with light birdshot loads but ive not had any trouble with buckshot or slugs.
Can get finicky with light birdshot loads but ive not had any trouble with buckshot or slugs.
The same 870 Wingmaster that I have hunted with for over 40 years now. I'm fairly familiar with it by now. 2 3/4" 00 buck in the the magazine, empty chamber with trigger pulled and safety on so ready to pump with springs relaxed. Spare rounds in fabric butt cuff. Sure there are other systems, but I like mine for me. I surely trust it and my ability to use it.
Armored farmer
Member
Ditto....
I hunt with 3 different 870s compete with an 870, so my HD gun is an 870 with 2¾ #4 buck set up just like @Boattale has his.
dh1633pm
Contributing Member
I also like my FN SLP. I can shoot anything from Target Loads (I took it to Sporting Clays) to double 00 to slugs. Had some issues with cycling til I figured out the gas. Reliable as the day is long. Gentler than most on the shoulder. Funny thing is I have a Linberta that is just as reliable that was around $300. Weird. The FN sits by the bed. I practice with it often.
rabid wombat
Member
Mossberg 590, 12 ga, 18 inch Vang ported barrel, short LOP butt stock, Surefire fore end, Federal Flyght control reduced recoil 00....
the short LOP for the wife (it is her shotgun)....I can still make it work, but I will probably sting my nose with my thumb....
mine is a 20 inch with a similar set up with a normal LOP
the short LOP for the wife (it is her shotgun)....I can still make it work, but I will probably sting my nose with my thumb....
mine is a 20 inch with a similar set up with a normal LOP
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lemaymiami
Member
Have to agree with Boattale and the Armored Farmer - with one exception... I always kept my shotgun in "cruiser ready" status... Standard loads in the four shot magazine - but the weapon cocked on an empty chamber so that anyone picking it up (if it came to that..) might have to figure out the slide lock to load one in the chamber... and with safety on. On more than one occasion on the street I had to push my way (or run through) crowds to get to where I was needed and always wanted that slightly extra degree of safety in the event that I was dis-armed (no matter how much weapons retention training we had).
For those who've never been up close and personal on the street, make a point of watching some of the candid camera stuff in places like Portland and others this year. Unless you're part of a well trained crew, you just won't have anyone watching your back and in crowded conditions and that was enough to keep me up at night - way back when...
For those who've never been up close and personal on the street, make a point of watching some of the candid camera stuff in places like Portland and others this year. Unless you're part of a well trained crew, you just won't have anyone watching your back and in crowded conditions and that was enough to keep me up at night - way back when...
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Garandimal
member
Simple.
... just a $86 Bbl swap (18.5" CYL Mossberg 870), and some 2-3/4" Federal Flight-Control #1 Buck, to go from Meat-gitter...
... to House Broom.
GR
... just a $86 Bbl swap (18.5" CYL Mossberg 870), and some 2-3/4" Federal Flight-Control #1 Buck, to go from Meat-gitter...
... to House Broom.
GR
lemaymiami
Member
Great looking thumper...
rbernie
Contributing Member
I'm a Benelli M2 kinda guy, with a +1 mag extender. The adjustable LOP/drop/cast/comb make it fit perfectly for heads-up snap shooting at fast moving targets, and it's boringly reliable cycling any low recoil/full house buck/slugs that I've tried - with no gas system to clean / get malf'ed.
Old Dog
Member
Mossberg 590A1. I much prefer the tang-mounted thumb safety (truly ambidextrous and far more convenient) over Remington's cross-bolt affair on the back of the trigger guard. Also, the action release is at the rear of the trigger guard on the Mossberg, far easier to reach than Remington's at the front of the trigger guard. With the Remington, your trigger finger is spending an awful lot of time around the trigger guard when you don't want your finger near the trigger. 20" barrel accurate with slugs; I've nailed clays in the air easily with this thing as well.
I like the extended mag tube (8 plus 1), the rails for accessories, the short SpeedFeed stock (packs four extra rounds, spring loaded, business end forward), the ghost ring rear sight and high-vis ramped front sight. And, if I need to fix bayonet ... I can
I like the extended mag tube (8 plus 1), the rails for accessories, the short SpeedFeed stock (packs four extra rounds, spring loaded, business end forward), the ghost ring rear sight and high-vis ramped front sight. And, if I need to fix bayonet ... I can
DocRock
member
My favorite
rabid wombat
Member
entropy
Member
Hey, it's a good gun. I regret passing up bunches of them in years past, maybe the next gun show....
My favorite is the 870. However, I traded my 870 Tactical Magnum towards my 1100 Competition, because the Ithaca 37 that sits in my room does the job just as well, and had nowhere near the trade value towards that 1100.
My favorite is the 870. However, I traded my 870 Tactical Magnum towards my 1100 Competition, because the Ithaca 37 that sits in my room does the job just as well, and had nowhere near the trade value towards that 1100.
cdb1
Member
My preferences in order:
1) Benelli M4
2) Remington V3 Tactical if there is
continued support
3) FN SLP
4) Mossberg 930 SPX
What I currently have is my turkey shotgun, a Weatherby SA-459 Turkey. When not in the field it has an extended skeet choke and is loaded with buckshot.
1) Benelli M4
2) Remington V3 Tactical if there is
continued support
3) FN SLP
4) Mossberg 930 SPX
What I currently have is my turkey shotgun, a Weatherby SA-459 Turkey. When not in the field it has an extended skeet choke and is loaded with buckshot.
For home defense, I like the old two-handed battle axe. Mossberg 590a1. Mine is a Retrograde version. It really doesn't matter on how it performs, but I do like the look and weight of a solid wood stock. 20" barrel, 8 rounds of 00, and left cruiser ready safety off.
My home defense strategy is a barricade and wait one. Clear the top floor to the stairs, wife and daughter in a fortified area making the call, one way up or down and narrow so I watch that choke point armed with my shotgun. Blind spot looking up the stairs (your head has to clear the upstairs line of sight before a bead can be made looking up). In short, it's a 16' long shooting gallery.
They can have everything downstairs. I have insurance for that. Take one step around the stairwell toward the upper floor, and I'm going to need to do some plaster work after everything is over.
My home defense strategy is a barricade and wait one. Clear the top floor to the stairs, wife and daughter in a fortified area making the call, one way up or down and narrow so I watch that choke point armed with my shotgun. Blind spot looking up the stairs (your head has to clear the upstairs line of sight before a bead can be made looking up). In short, it's a 16' long shooting gallery.
They can have everything downstairs. I have insurance for that. Take one step around the stairwell toward the upper floor, and I'm going to need to do some plaster work after everything is over.
Garandimal
member
Man...
Wanted one of these so bad I could taste it.
GR
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