Home defense/combat shotgun: Which'en?

[gotigers]

For the money i like a Moss 930. I've had several other shotties under $1000. It is the best value and it runs great. It is much better for 3 gun and similar shooting than the Rem 1100.

I also like the Mossberg safety. I have the 930 24" Turkey set up for 3 gun and a 500 Home security 20" 7 shot tube. Both run great and i love the safety location.

The 930 loads fast, actions fast, it groups birdshot perfectly, accurate with slugs and is easy to maintain.

I have $700 in my 930 and $150 in my used 500.

 

[BigSteve57]

I'm not understanding? You want a shotgun for HD or to show off? I picked up a Winchester 1300 Defender (Wood furniture not crazy pistol grip) in fantastic condition for $200. It'll make Mr. Badguy have just as much of a bad day as that $1800 show off toy

Now I'm not understanding. Why is it "or". Why can't I have a shotgun that's good for HD AND can be used as a show off toy? See it's llike my Mercedes S500 and someone else's beat up 1976 Dodge. Both will get me to the grocery store equally well but the envious stares I get in the Merc are simply priceless.

 

[Strykervet]

Well, I have something to say about this. For basic HD, a Mossberg 500 is hard to beat. They don't jam much IF you put them back together right, it is one of the few weapons that can be assembled wrong and still half-function, but it also usually bends the ejector. Ask me how I know. Don't get an auto for HD unless you are willing to go all out on that M4, it is the only one I'd trust. The other, the 930, the 1187, etc., they are all fine weapons, but I've seen them jam a LOT on hunts. The A5 seemed to be the worst. This was dove hunting as a kid when I was around a lot of shotgunners in the field, but those particular weapons haven't really changed since the mid to late '80's.

The 500, it is a real fine shotgun. Simple, cheap, but it works. I think of it as the "AK of shotguns" and I doubt many would disagree. Before doubting its value, go check out "Impossible Shots" or Mossberg's demo shooter (great shooter) use a Walmart 500 to bust several HAND THROWN clays. He did the same thing with 14 pieces of charcoal and a mag extension, but I think that was with either a 590 or 930, I forget.

If you just need this for HD and don't plan on using for much else, I'd highly recommend the 500 and using the rest on something else you plan on using a lot. But if the Benelli IS that and/or you are going 3gun, get the Benelli instead.

I have a 500, but I actually keep an M4, as in AR M4, handy. I just prefer it. I DO plan on getting a Benelli M4 but it will be mostly for 3gun matches. It kind of rules the roost there. If that Keltec turns out to be any good, that thing looks awesome for a defensive shotgun --but Keltec made it, so you need to wait five years and see what everyone says first!

 

[Strykervet]

Now I'm not understanding. Why is it "or". Why can't I have a shotgun that's good for HD AND can be used as a show off toy? See it's llike my Mercedes S500 and someone else's beat up 1976 Dodge. Both will get me to the grocery store equally well but the envious stares I get in the Merc are simply priceless.

If only you knew what they were actually thinking when they stared you wouldn't be so ecstatic. The last guy I complemented on his car was a rusted beat up '70's 4wd Jeep truck. We could go trade in the Magnum for a Mercedes, but to be honest I'd rather have the slant 6 beat up Dodge and spend the rest on a similar car but a GT or GTX version.

Same with shotguns. I'd rather have the 500 and some cheap semi that gets the job done, but it seems in 3gun if you want to be competitive you need the Benelli. That's what I hear anyway. Although it may not be the M4 exactly, I'm not positive on this.

If you want it for show and have millions to blow, then I'd suggest getting a Christie's or another high end auction catalog and go from there, you don't really need us. Like the other fellow said, the 500 will make a guy just as easy as the Benelli.

 

[bassdogs]

To the comment comparing a Merc to a beater when both will get you to the grocery but only one will elicit stares from others in the parking lot; I think the short answer is how pissed will you be when you come out with that loaf of bread and gal of milk only to find a 12g size door ding in the side of that merc? The point is if you can live with USE damage to the M$ caused by any of a number of grimlins that plague tools. At the same time that Show gun left on the seat of the car or leaning in a rack at the range while nature calls, may go home with one of those who were staring at it while you were carrying it around. I remember the wife of a friend who put her Ping golf clubs in the back of her SUV at the Club before returning to the bar for a cocktail. When she returned to the car to head home, bingo the back window was gone as were $2k worth of clubs.

Unless you are in to showing off to yourself and those who see YOU, carrying what is just as effective simply makes more sense. I have owned nice showy cars but tended to drive the 150 to the Mall or on that weekend outing. It never got stolen and I didn't shoot myself when I backed over a metal firepit at the campground.

 

[DocModisett]

defense weapon,,,,,

As a police officer, I found that a 12 ga. shotgun with no. 6 shot was the safest, deadliest thing to use inside a building... 6's will not go thru the walls of an apartment unless you are at right angles at very close range,,,that being not very likely....
For psych effect, a good 12 ga. double barrel or 10 gage double barrel or my WW1 1897 Winchester trench gun got the job done in fine shape....I once took complete controll of 13 members of a motorcycle gang with the 97,,, when I racked a round into the barrel , every head turned like they were on a string...
For women, the double barrels are simple and easy to learn to use and they usually have good confidence with them.... plus when you open the action they automatically go to ''safe'' condition.....

 

[BigSteve57]

I hope this isn't derailing the thread too much from the question put forth by the OP. If so I should repost elsewhere.

@DocModisett. #6 shot is a great tip. What do you think of Winchester PDX1 in 12 GA?

 

[Master Blaster]

A good old remington 1187 sportsman, then add a mag extension and whatever else you want. Get the 28" rem choke barrel with it (hunting trap and skeet) and buy a 18 or 20" slug barrel used for Home defense for about $100. Lots of different stocks and fore ends new and used to customize it.

 

[Girodin]

6's will not go thru the walls

How in the world will they reliable penetrate to the vitals of a BG then?

 

[DocModisett]

huh???

Well,,,, I aint sure what a BG is,,, perp????? but the homicides that I have worked where shotguns were used were always fatal and messy.... up close [ 10 ft. or less] 6 shot acts like a slug,,, tearing a 1'' hole all the way thru...usually with no exit ,,, and at further distances out to say 100 ft. there is so many holes in the person that it is impossible to render any medical aid ,,, the flesh is turned into hamburger... a no.6 shot shell has 360 pellets in it plus the plastic shot cup,,, which takes 40 ft. or so to separate, unless it hits something in route... in the case of a sheetrock wall,,, the first sheet, and any 2x4s in the wall and the 2nd sheet on the off side will usually stop....
i did ballistic tests on all the ammo that the men carried, all calibers, bullet styles, loads ect... there were 2 or 3 that really worked,,, the shotgun loads,,, the hollow based wc rounds,,, even in .38 spl. in a snub nose,,, and the rounds bigger than .40 cal....
In duct seal, the .38 hb loaded backward mushroomed every time to 5/8'' or bigger....in the 357's the speer 158 grain hp that all the guys favored, always just sheared the nose off and the rest over penetrated....
but the shotguns were far and away the best....
Steve,,, I am not that up on the particular gun that you mention,,, I am more old school,,, no doubt it will get the job done,,, police weapons get more abuse from hauling around,, scrubbing up in fights,,, getting in and out of a/c cars and coming in out of the cold into heated buildings and cars... ect.. than any thing else... you need a weapon that will take that and hold up,,,, stainless steel is the way to go,, and the polymer stocks work good....
In this day and age, one needs to consider that someone with small hands and not real strong may need to use a weapon to defend against a drugged up scumbag that intends to not have any witnesses to be in court... and pick something that is simple to use and very effective... shotgun......

And,,, nothing beats training,,,,when the chips are down a human will do what they are trained to do whether right or wrong.... The mind takes over and the person will do what is drilled into them when the stress is out of sight...when there is a intruder into your personal space the stress factor kicks in.... fire arms familiarity , preplaning, ect. can make all the difference in the outcome....I trained my wife to get the kids and her into a corner in the house with a doublebarrel shot gun and stay there untill I showed up , even if she had shot someone......
We had a officer in another dept.. that got into a shoot out and when his pistol was empty,, started picking up the empty brass...IN A GUNFIGHT ,,,, that was what he had been trained to do at the range...dang near got him killed....never again did we fire at the range and then have our guys to pick up the brass... we waited untill the session was over... then picked up the brass.... WHEN YOU ARE STRESSED OUT YOU WILL DO WHAT YOU ARE TRAINED TO DO... NO MORE ,, NO LESS....

 

[Gun Geezer]

My 870 Wingmaster has blasted out many hundreds of CASES of ammo. Too many dove to count. Quail by the truck load. Geese, ducks, coots, cranes, snakes, rabbet, pheasant, squirrel, and the occasional coon. As teenager, we used to reload or own slugs and shot down 4" diameter trees! Cold, rain, frozen stuff, dust, dirt, grime, and powder.

Sound like a lot of shooting. It was, and to a lessor extent is.

The point is though: Not one single failure any kind EVER in the 42 years I've owned it It could use a new blue job and kick pad.

The 870 is my go to "kill that thing" gun.

The M4 is a thing of beauty and sound design. But for the price delta, a nice used 870 Wingmaster is impossible to beat. Just my old opinion.