Dedicated PD Shotguns

[DAdams]

I have a couple of field shotguns, Remington 870 20, and a Browning Light 12.
These are the two dedicated to personal defense.
Maverick 88 and the Shockwave.

 

[entropy]

Both good choices. And that's from a guy who has owned 870's all his life, and has an Ithaca 37 for a home defense gun.

 

[JCooperfan1911]

I’ve got a Pedersoli Baker short barrel black powder muzzleloading shotgun loaded with a handful of buckshot down each barrel.

Only two shots, but very maneuverable and excellent stopping power.

 

[Switup]

Very nice.

 

[12Bravo20]

I keep my 410 Mossberg 500 and my 410 Shockwave loaded with 3" 000 buckshot loads at the ready. My wife is petite and also disabled so the 410s work well for us. She does well with the 500.

 

[DAdams]

I have an additional 12 Mav for spare parts and tear it up and down. The last configuration as pictured was setup for a trip to Alaska via motorhome through Canada. As setup it complies with RCMP Regulations. Sort of surprised me with the extended magazine. Filled out the paperwork before leaving the US. Got to the border, declared it. They matched the SN on the paperwork with the Shotgun, paid the $20 dollars. The approval paperwork got me in and out of Canada and AK with no problems.

 

[TarDevil]

My wife has Maverick 88, standard stock.
She's not recoil sensitive and shoots it well.

 

[Riomouse911]

I use an 870 Wingmaster with a polymer stock-fire end, a 20” rifle sighted barrel and a +2 mag extension. A 6-shot sidesaddle is mounted to the action and a sling finishes it off.

If that won’t handle the HD chores that a shotgun is good for, I am in need of a mortar team.

Stay safe.

 

[Oninotaki]

It took me a long time to find a shotgun that I felt met all my requirements for a dedicated HD/PD shotgun. Please see my lengthy list of requirements below:

1) 3 Points of contact.
2) Lightweight and easy to maneuver but not too lightweight, and not too easy to maneuver.
3) Buckshot with reasonable recoil because I wanted it to be lightweight. Subsonic buckshot would be even better.
4) Easy manual of arms, so that anyone in the house could use it in an emergency especially when teamed up with requirements 1-3.
5) At least 5 round capacity, with a reasonable ability to be reloaded.
6) Rail for mounting a light/laser.
7) Fiber optic slug gun style sights, cause I hate brass beads, and the light will make that fiber optic pop.
8) Be a double action revolver with a long smooth bore barrel.
9) Cheap so that I dont really care if the police confiscate it after a HD/PD situation.
10) Wood furniture, none of that scary black polymer, needs to look like grandpa's grandma's old hunting gun from before the 20th century.

As you can see my requirements were ridiculous. Surely no firearm on the market could meet that long list of contradictory requirements. Well that is where you would be wrong dear reader. Let me introduce you to the LKCI Eternal Rev410. I keep it loaded with THE gold standard of .410 defensive ammunition Federal Premium Personal Defense 3" 000 Buckshot 5 Pellet, with a speed strip for reloads. I have an offset no brand name laser light combo from amazon mounted on it that makes the fiberoptic front sight pop, and the enemy soil themselves with terror when they notice the red dot. The only thing she needs is a saddle on the buttstock to hold that speed strip for me.

If you are curious as to whether or not that buckshot will be subsonic from such a long barrel (24" cause I cant find a local gunsmith brave enough to tackle her gorgeous Turkish craftsmanship and chop a bit under 6" off the barrel for me) well let me direct you to this site.

https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/loading-mossberg-410-shotguns-for-home-defense/

 

[12Bravo20]

I have to agree that the Federal Premium 3" 5 pellet 000 buckshot loads are some of the best I have tried. I tried my best to mimic those with my reloads.

 

[Oninotaki]

I have to agree that the Federal Premium 3" 5 pellet 000 buckshot loads are some of the best I have tried. I tried my best to mimic those with my reloads.

How are those turning out?

 

[12Bravo20]

@Oninotaki my reloads work great. They hold a tight pattern out to 15 yards and open up to around 12-14 inches at 25 yards with plenty of penetration.

single shot at 7 yards

single shot at 15 yards.

three shots at 25 yards

 

[Oninotaki]

@Oninotaki my reloads work great. They hold a tight pattern out to 15 yards and open up to around 12-14 inches at 25 yards with plenty of penetration.

single shot at 7 yards

single shot at 15 yards.

three shots at 25 yards

Man I thought I replied to this like two weeks ago, guess I didn't. Anyway those are some nice looking groups,, thanks for sharing them!

 

[Capybara]

I don't have an updated picture but I'm running the Smith & Wesson M&P12 Bullpump for PD/HD. I just added a Blue Force Gear Vickers Two Point Sling, a Scalarworks LEAP Picatinny elevated RDS mount and a Holosun 507C Green optic. Still have to setup my Streamlight TLR-1 with the pressure switch, I'll post more pics when it's all together.

I have a three story condo with VERY narrow landings and stairways and I live in California where modern SBSs/SBRs are prohibited by law, but this 26" OAL shotgun is legal. I also have a Beretta 1301 Tactical but the Smith is a full 10" shorter OAL, and just seems to work better for narrow, tight landings and stairways. So far, I like the Smith, it's solid and the recoil is manageable. The fact that the M&P12 can hold FIFTEEN 2 3/4" shells or TWENTY THREE Mini Shells means that the super awkward reloading process would never be a factor in an HD situation.

 

[DustyGmt]

I have a couple shotguns staged around the place, quick access to a shotgun or pistol at any moment, inexpensive 20ga single shot for getting tossed in and out of my rig so I have a long gun when traveling in addition to a pistol.

It would be hard to find a pump shotgun that wouldn't fulfill PD needs but I think a majority of people on this board and basically everywhere else hold the Mossberg 500/590 or 870 as their benchmark pump gun, myself included. I like both mossberg and remington and can use both to pretty good effect.

 

[dh1633pm]

FN SLP. Night sights. Loaded with double oh's. Non pistol grip version.

 

[Capybara]

I've researched the penetration tests with buck versus rifle and pistol projectiles in drywall framed with 2x4 studs and it seems to me, in my situation (shared walls with neighbors top to bottom) that #4 buck is a good compromise
between penetration, over penetration and lethality at close ranges.

 

[Oninotaki]

Please enjoy a Wheel Gun Wednesday update to my PD/HD Shotgun. I finally found a cheek pad, butt pouch, quiver combination that I like.

 

[Oninotaki]

I've researched the penetration tests with buck versus rifle and pistol projectiles in drywall framed with 2x4 studs and it seems to me, in my situation (shared walls with neighbors top to bottom) that #4 buck is a good compromise
between penetration, over penetration and lethality at close ranges.

#4 buckshot is a very interesting option, do you know how it might compare penetration wise to #4 birdshot?

 

[Capybara]

#4 buckshot is a very interesting option, do you know how it might compare penetration wise to #4 birdshot?

Most articles and tests I have seen compare #00 buck with #04 buck. Birdshot is never recommended for HD, I would never use any size of birdshot to stop a threat.

 

[Oninotaki]

Most articles and tests I have seen compare #00 buck with #04 buck. Birdshot is never recommended for HD, I would never use any size of birdshot to stop a threat.

Yeah thats why I was curious, I had heard that #4 Birdshot and #4 Buckshot had comparable penetration. So I was curious, since I never had to do any further research into that claim.

But that claim may have been about their performance from .410 revolver pistols now that I think about it.

 

[Boattale]

This is the standard weight 20 gauge 1100 that I had the barrel and stock shortened for my wife to use as a HD piece. Barrel is now 20" and the stock had 1.5" taken off net with the added recoil pad. Wife and everyone else all seem to like it a lot. Shortening the barrel and the stock did not effect reliability at all. Still handles light loads up through the 2 3/4" buckshot that it's loaded with. The target is #3 buck at 15 yards.

 

[12Bravo20]

Yeah thats why I was curious, I had heard that #4 Birdshot and #4 Buckshot had comparable penetration. So I was curious, since I never had to do any further research into that claim.

But that claim may have been about their performance from .410 revolver pistols now that I think about it.

There is quite a bit of difference between #4 bird shot and #4 buckshot. #4 birdshot is 0.130" in diameter while #4 buckshot is 0.240" in diameter.

Most 410 buckshot loads are either 00 or 000 buckshot while #4 buckshot is more common for 20 gauge buckshot shells.

 

[Capybara]

There is quite a bit of difference between #4 bird shot and #4 buckshot. #4 birdshot is 0.130" in diameter while #4 buckshot is 0.240" in diameter.

Most 410 buckshot loads are either 00 or 000 buckshot while #4 buckshot is more common for 20 gauge buckshot shells.

Haven't bought any lately but coming out of the Pandemic ammo shortage, I had to REALLY hunt to find any #04 buck shells anywhere. Everyone had #00 in stock but #04 was super difficult to find for sale. Not sure if it has become more available now that ammo availability is much better than it was much of last year?

 

[hawg]

Norinco 97 loaded full up with 00 buck. It's a good snake killer too.