Coach Gun for home defense?

Is a Coach Gun a viable weapon for Home Defense?

  • Yes - Any gun that you are familiar with will meet your needs

    Votes: 85 40.9%

  • Yes - 00 Buckshot does not care what gun it comes out of

    Votes: 82 39.4%

  • No - A Coach Gun is too cumbersome and it only holds two rounds

    Votes: 5 2.4%

  • No – What are you thinking? Get an “assault Rifle!!!”

    Votes: 5 2.4%

  • No - If you are going to use a Shotgun get a Pump Action

    Votes: 31 14.9%
  • Total voters
    208
  • Poll closed .
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H

heavyshooter

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Aug 23, 2008
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Location
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Brethren,

I am looking to get a 12g Remington Spartan Coach Gun. Clint Smith has convinced me that I can defend my home with a sling shot and training, so a Coach seemed like a viable option. :D I was wondering what you guys thought about using a Coach for home defense. Comments?

Heavy
 
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About a year ago I had planned on selling an old 16ga SxS I had lying around in order to finance the purchase of a new pistol. I pulled it out of the gun safe and brought it down stairs. My wife asked me what I was doing with the shotgun. When I replied...ummm selling it, she proceeded to tell me that was a stupid idea! She told me that the SxS was "idiot proof" and that was the gun that SHE planned on grabbing if there was a problem in the house! Suffice to say, we still have that old SxS loaded with two #1 buck and backed up by six more on a butt cuff.
 
It will do, if YOU will do. Practice reloading, take some lessons from the SASS cowboy shooters.

lpl
 
My great grandfather had an old coach gun hanging over his bed for 50+ years. I don't know if he ever took it down and shot it in those 50 years but it was there "just in case" covered in years and years of dust. When he died in 99 I took the gun out behind his house to try it out. Both rounds fired (very old shells) and made a mess out of a garbage barrel at 20'. I'm confident that had he woke up to an intruder in his house that old coash gun would have done the same to a robber as it had done to that old steel garbage can.

If your comfortable with a coach gun, and are confident you can use it half awake in the dark, I'm sure it will do it's job as it has for over 100 years.
 
Even though I'm about to add a Coach Gun to my HD, I chose pump action in the poll.

I have an 870 Express as the main HD shotgun for many reasons.

Just want to add a Coach Gun 'cause I like 'em.
 
IMO yes. I have a Stoeger Coach 12ga Mag - right bbl choked imp. cyl left modified. I keep it loaded right bbl hi-brass #5 left 000B 3" Mag. keep it leaned in corner near bed as a back-up to my bed-post mounted Makarov (first one I'd grab) and wall-hung Marlin Camp .45acp w/10 rd magfull of +P. there ain't nothing that has the 'pucker factor' of a dbl bbl 12ga pointed at a goblin.
I'se arful skeered of tha' dark.:eek:
 
The "twice-barreled" gun is very formidable as a HomeLand Security shotgun. You just have to remember in tiny caveat...2 shots is all you get before a reload.

That being said, person on the "Business End" is very much in the deep dark woods o' trouble...it seems like both barrels are pointed raight at your chest, if you have ever been on the "Business End" of one of those...
 
For home defense, a coach gun does have one major advantage over a pump or semiauto: it can be cut down shorter and still be over the legal length.
 
I didn't vote in this poll because none of the answers really fit my frame of mind about coach guns for home defense. On the one hand, they are a very formidable weapon but on the other, after the second shot, you have to reload and that's not an easy task under stress.
I guess I would best sum it up as if it's the gun you have and are familiar with it, go with what works for you. However, if you have other options like a pump or auto with a higher capacity and more modern design, that's what I'd reach for. Sure, you may never need more than one or two rounds for home defense....but what if you do?:uhoh:
 
The first two poll options are equally valid. Spend some time getting to know the gun and remember to grab a couple extra shells if you're ever forced to take it up under duress, and you could certainly do worse.
 
My Spartan with 20" barrels is much shorter than my Mossy 500 with 18.5". Important to me since my house has a lot of twists and turns.
 
2 shots is all you get before a reload.
Click to expand...

Not just a reload, an unload then a shell grab, then a reload, all fumbling, under stress. I've tried it while hunting fast birds. Trust me, you don't want to do it if your life depends on it.

If you don't have ejectors, you can forget about a reload.

Make sure it's at least an ejector gun, not an extractor gun.
 
I think a coach gun is a good choice, being short and easy to maneuver, but they do kick a bit. The view from the receiving end is pretty intimidating too. I would feel secure having one for defense assuming I'd shot it enough to be used to its characteristics.

gp911
 
I prefer a pump, but if you know your gun, THAT's your best weapon.

One theory - from a friend in Dallas: A side-by-side is easier to keep it shells separate from the gun and load when needed. Gun on high shelf in closet, two shells in nightstand. I know many of you will scoff at this idea...but it IS one way to keep a firearm relatively safe from children. You can always move the shells or gun to a safer location when you're out.

You've got two good shots and then a great club against an attacker. The guy who recommended this really knew and practiced loading his side-by-side.

If there are no more rounds ... around, your attacker can't use your shotgun back against you and yours.

Just one approach, but I know there are folks who think this way.

The point is - get to know your weapon of choice and have a plan to keep and bear it safely.
 
It is incredibly better than no gun. It is handy. It is powerful. Anyone can be up and running on it in little time.

For these reasons, I would call it viable.

However, the recoil is heavy and many "non-gun" people would be turned off for that reason, especially non-gun women, in my (sexist?) opinion.

Capacity? I plan on a home invasion with multiple highly-motivated perps when thinking HD. If the enemy turns out to be less in numbers and/or not as determined, all the better.

Because of the recoil and limited capacity, I probably wouldn't recommend it if other better options are available.
 
Recoil is not a problem with my 20 gauge. :D And, it'd take a brave gang member to bust through my bedroom door...well...more like stupid. Firepower is no substitute for accuracy and determination.

Anyway, I don't live in Houston's fifth ward. I live in a rural town of 12K in a county of 30K. There's way more hog population here than people, much less gang members. And, of course, I have a .38 special next to my bed, too. Before I got that coach gun, I didn't keep a shotgun by the bed. I have other shotguns, though, but I ran out of space in the safe, so I gotta keep it somewhere, right? :D That little gun is so handy, I often take it to my place to check my hog trap and just to bum around down there. My Mossberg just seems so HUGE after handling this little thing. I can stand with my hand on the grip part of the stock, the gun doesn't come close to reaching the ground. Can't do that with my duck guns. Besides, no more kids in my house. That was a factor in the past. I'm quite happy relying on a handgun, though. I do know how to use it. Guess I could keep my H&R 10 gauge 24" barrel single shot for intruders. But, then, we're back to recoil. LOL!
 
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a friend of mine has an old 16 guage damascus barreled shotgun. he dont have any ammo for it, but he once was at home when he heard someone climbing up his lattice, so he stuck the barrel in their face as they got to his room. the guy nearly broke his leg just letting go.


this is not my story, i typed it for my dad. it was his friend, not mine
 
I have a Stevens 311H 12 GA that I really love, It came to me already cut to 24" barrels. I keep 4 Buck in it. It is a great shooter. I shoot regularly with it to keep practiced.
 
Here's something to chew on. Many of you say it doesn't matter what you have as long as you know your gun. Well can you answer me this, who would you rather have at your side if things turned bad: a guy who 'knows' his coach gun or a guy who 'knows' his pump?
 
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