Handgun, Rifle, PCC, or Shotgun for Home Defense?

[Jeff White]

Another advantage of a shotgun over a rifle or pistol is that the "cloud" of pellets is more forgiving of poor aiming which can be a factor at night. Also, the area of damage is greater than a single solid projectile.
Think about that - one .38 cal slug (0.355-.358") vs. 12-15 pellets that are .33" (OO Buck) diameter.

Which will give you better "coverage"?

What’s the biggest room in your house? Take your shotgun and preferred defensive load to the range and pattern it at the longest distance you might have to shoot inside the house. I think you’ll find the pattern is about as wide as the bore.

 

[JTHunter]

What’s the biggest room in your house? Take your shotgun and preferred defensive load to the range and pattern it at the longest distance you might have to shoot inside the house. I think you’ll find the pattern is about as wide as the bore.

Using an older Stevens 311 with double triggers, IC choke in the left barrel with a 3" #4 Buck (40 pellets, .25" dia.) and the right barrel with a Skeet 1 choke and a 3" OO Buck (15 pellets) produces a "cloud" about 2" vertical and 3" horizontal at 10 feet. That still makes a wound cavity larger than any single bullet from a rifle or handgun could possibly make. It's a large enough group to take out a knee, the femoral artery in the groin, or the carotid/jugular in the neck. Messy but "down for the count".

 

[valnar]

My answer to these are always the same. A 9mm with 147gr subsonic pills and a silencer if you can afford one. Unless you've been dumb enough to fire a ND in a small room with hard walls, you don't understand how disorienting that may be.

 

[GEM]

One needs to practice running each gun in realistic home scenarios. How do you move, how do manipulate what you need to manipulate - lights, phones, doors, other people. What can you get to in real time if the door or window crashes in?

Oh, rather talk about stopping power - I know. Classes, matches with various guns and good FOF are necessary for an informed decision. Typical for this question on the Internet.

Nice to have a double barreled shotgun - try it with four break in dudes, you in your PJs with a box of shells for reloads.