Help me decide between a shotgun or a pistol.

[sm]

The trick is not getting surprised in the first place.

Oh just great!
Just what we need is some common sense and reality in this thread.

Now we are not going to get to read about duct tape, ceramic plates or any of the good stuff! *kicks rocks*


I did not go down that dark alley, as there may have been 3 or 4 dudes with a baseball bat. - Richard Pryor.

 

[Jamie C.]

So lets review: I have a superior grip on the firearm, you're trying to hold onto the barrel as I backpedal, and now you've got a .729 caliber hole pointing at your chest, with only a twitch of a finger preventing 9 rounds of .33 caliber 00 buckshot from getting extremely well acquainted with your chest cavity.

And if you're feeling ornery, once that steel tube is lined up with their chest, you can step forward and thrust vigorously, before ( or instead of, if you're feeling particularly generous ) you pull the trigger.

Anybody wanna guess at what it feels like to have even an average-sized adult drive a piece of 1 inch steel tubing into their chest or face? I bet you'd forget to hang on to the gun barrel.


J.C.

 

[sm]

I busted a shotgun including a fixed choke shotgun barrel...during some private lessons, once upon a time.

Now the set up was "Survive" and the shotgun was loaded for me, and so was my pistol.
Just how Mentors did things.

One tends to "get into it" as far as Mindset, and I was into "it".

Targets were steel plates and I had to get from where I was to safety...
Mentors had a tendency to load dummy rounds, by the way, and even dummies for spare shells, or in speed strips, speed loaders or magazines.
Just I was not given any spare shells or ammo for handgun.

Steel plate was between me and safety and I was out of ammo and I never heard Mentors yelling "NO!"

My brain was in survival mode screaming;
Take an action...
Do something...
Keep moving...
Don't Quit...
Run what you brung...

I made it to safety...

The barrel had to be cut from 28" to 25" best recall.
New forearm, and buttstock fixed up the gun.
Stuck a new barrel on this gun, and later a external screw in choke was installed in the barrel I split.

Lessons coming up, and that steel plate was not a steel plate to me, instead evil that I had to do something about to get safe.

I busted up a 1911 , and Model 10 doing similar things in lessons.

Just a friggin' tool...and no tool is ever any better than the user of said tool.

 

[jeepmor]

Shotgun versus pistol, ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, why are we having this conversation?

 

[buzz_knox]

Shirley, the very fact that you admit that training is required in order to merely maneuver a bulky shotgun inside the house proves my point.

Training is required to use any weapon. We have no instinctual ability to use any weapon and must be trained to use them.

Unless you were taught by a black monolith, someone taught you how to use the "suppressed mini-mac" or whatever you are advocating.

 

[plumberroy]

Anybody wanna guess at what it feels like to have even an average-sized adult drive a piece of 1 inch steel tubing into their chest or face? I bet you'd forget to hang on to the gun barrel.

that is what I think those breeching devices would be really good for thrust twist withdraw repeat .

 

[md7]

gallo,

you hit the nail on the head. both the 500 and 870 are more than adequate for HD, hunting, and recreational shooting. picking them both up and choosing the one that suits you is the best way to decide between these 2 fine shotguns.

 

[Happiness Is A Warm Gun]

Other than zombie fantasies or the fantasy of "racking the slide to scare the heck out of an intruder," a shotgun is almost useless. It's a big oversized "friend impresser" but that's about it. Taking a shotgun on a shooting trip is bulky and boring. People rush to buy shotguns because they are cheaper brand new than most new handguns.

Well I don't think the Joint Services Combat Program was looking to kill zombies. This was included in their report.

"British examination of its malaya experience determined that, to a range of thirty yards (27.4 meters), the probability of hitting a man-sized target with a shotgun was superior to that of all other weapons. The probability of hitting the intended target with an assault rifle was one in eleven. It was one in eight with a submachine gun firing a five-round burst. Shotguns had a hit probability ratio twice as good as rifles"

The US Armed Forces recently finished testing and is procuring a new shotgun (the M1014) to replace 5 existing models used in the different services.



Then again maybe this guy is hunting zombies in Iraq.



I guess this soldier is on zombie watch?

 

[CHEVELLE427]

"racking the slide to scare the heck out of an intruder,"

this may work, but it also means the gun is empty till you rack the slide. it's just a club

think ill leave mine on ready.
i could give a snot if i scared the intruder or not.
unwanted person comes in on me they will get more then a racking slide.

 

[4xfourfun]

I too would hate to know the feeling of the poor sucker that "grabs part of that 16 inch + barrel".........but he would have asked for it.

I pondered the same question, pistol or shotgun? It's just not right to choose favorites between my firearms so I have a Para Ordnance Nitehog .45 or my Kimber Ultra CDP .45(you have to keep the stock rotated you know) and a Ithaca 37 M&P or Ithaca 37 D.S. Police Special strategically placed just in case the mentioned event may come about, even though I pray I am never forced to use them.

 

[kurts_armory]

get one of those new Remington 870 tactical shottys. i have had several 870's in the past. the finish is rock solid, as is the gun. the standard 870 isn't much $ either, and well worth it.

 

[RDak]

Based on what you already own, a shotgun would be my next purchase. Can't go wrong with a Remington 870 IMHO. Mossbergs are good shotguns also IMHO.

 

[Zedo]

Ten Zillion replies, and as many opinions.

I don't think Bersa is a quality firearm. Mossberg and Remington on the other hand are the law enforcement and military defense standard.

You have a 9mm XD -- Hard to beat that for handgun home defense.

I'm a big fan of the Rem. 870 -- because I got a hell of a deal on a retired police Wingmaster. But the Mossberg is a great option too. My first choice for defense is ALWAYS a shotgun. And they're out of range of a shotgun, I probably don't need a defense firearm.

"Racking the slide" -- Lots of Viet Cong got shot because the safety on the AK-47 is noisy and gave away their position. The first noise you want to make is "BOOM!" . . .

And you're right . . . until the gun is cycled, loaded and ready to rock n' roll, it's just a club.