dfariswheel
Member
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2002
- Messages
- 6,656
There is a wave of accessorizing Home Defense shotguns to the point where they are no longer really effective AS HD shotguns.
What makes a shotgun so effective as a weapon?
The devastating load of shot?
The ease of hitting the target without having to align and aim sights like on a pistol or rifle?
That you don't risk hitting neighbors down the block?
It adaptability?
What really makes the shotgun so effective is the SPEED with which you can do all the above.
A good shotgunner with a properly setup shotgun can blow a threat away, while the threat is still trying to find his safety and align his sights.
A British SAS vet of the Malayan "Emergency" wrote about his first jungle patrol. The patrol leader was armed with an early SAS favorite: A Browning 12 gauge automatic shotgun.
The SAS vet was astounded when the patrol was surprised on a trail by a Chinese messenger, and the shotgunner blew the insurgent away while the highly trained vet was still bringing his FN rifle to his shoulder.
What amazed the SAS vet was the sheer SPEED that the patrol leader had used the Browning.
He heard a loud BOOM, saw the insurgent going down, looked over to the patrol leader, only to see him already inserting another shell into the Brownings magazine.
Where I think we err today is in adding too many "Gee Whiz" and "Hollywood" accessories to HD guns.
I attribute this to the desire to customize our guns, and to the "Cool" factor.
The problem is, when you add ANY accessory to a HD shotgun, you add weight and bulk, and you actually REDUCE the speed of getting that load of shot on target.
What's needed when contemplating adding ANY accessory to a HD gun, is to do a "Real world" cost/benefit analysis:
"If I add THIS to my gun, WHAT do I gain, and does it out weight the LOSS of speed"?
Adding barrel shrouds, bayonet locks, electric sights, folding stocks, AR-15 collapsing stocks, and pistol grip-only grips adds weight and bulk, reduce the effectiveness, and have little "real world" value on a HD gun.
All these accessories have a place on guns used by military and SWAT guns, but those guns are highly specialized guns intended to be used in military combat operations, or as TOOLS used to break down doors, NOT Home Defense or normal police type situations.
Most of these add-on's add weight, bulk, make the gun clumsy to swing, and reduce the speed of getting shot-on-target.
When doing a HD gun Real world analysis, the standard is:
"If I add something to the gun, what exactly do I gain that is worth the loss of speed"?
We'd all like to have a Super Magnum HD gun shooting 3 1/2" Magnum loads of 00 buckshot, but in the "Real world" the recoil and muzzle blast slows the shooter down too much, not to mention reducing magazine capacity.
The cost/benefit is, "The Bad Guy takes a MAJOR hit, but if I need a FAST followup shot, I'm in big trouble".
Real world cost/benefit is: The Super mag is too much for no real gain, so stick with standard 2 3/4" loads.
You should accessorize the HD gun to YOUR "Real world" situation.
Where do you live?
How many Bad Guys are you REALLY likely to encounter? How close are the neighbors?
What kind of lighting is present?
How far away are the police?
How's a situation likely to develop?
How are the Bag Guys going to arrive?
What TYPE of Bad Guys am I likely to face?
A few years ago I bought a Remington 870 Police gun.
I bought a standard magazine, synthetic stocked, rifle sighted gun.
I bought the sights because the 870 tends to shoot hight for me, and I like to use the sights as a "flash" sight picture pointing aid.
At the time, I lived in a house in a small town. I did a "real world" cost/benefit analysis on the HD situation.
Here's the "real world" analysis:
The house had no neighbors behind or in front.
The neighbors on either side were never home.
The police station was literally 1 block away, and response time for a hot 911 call was 1 to 2 minutes.
There were enough street lights and driveway lights in the area, that there was plenty of light even inside the house.
Trouble would arrive on foot.
There would be no more than 2 Bad Guys and they would run as soon as they knew a gun was there.
A fight would require less than 4 shots.
There was no cover for the Bad Guys.
Based on that, the gun was set up with NO accessories and was loaded with 4 rounds of standard #1 buckshot.
The analysis was, the Bad Guys would walk up to the house in a well lighted area with no cover for them. In these conditions, I didn't need a light.
There were no neighbors to worry about so I could use larger shot, but 00 might be a threat down the block.
The police were seconds away and the local Bad Guys don't stay to fight, so I didn't need a magazine extension.
Last Fall I made a temporary move to a house trailer in the country until a new apartment in another small town was ready.
Since the circumstances had changed, so did the threat, so did the cost/benefit analysis, and so did the gun's set up.
This situation was:
The trailer was on a farm 10 miles out of a town.
Law enforcement was a MINIMUM of 20 minutes away.
There was NO light.
There were no neighbors for at least 1 mile.
Trouble would arrive in a car or truck.
There was plenty of cover for Bad Guys.
There would be at least 2 Bad Guys.
The gun's set up was changed to a fore arm light, a magazine extension, a butt cuff with spare ammo, a nylon bag with extra ammo was stored with the gun, and the magazine was "Dutch" loaded.
The likely situation was, Bad Guys would drive up in a car or truck.
They would be confronted, and a shoot-out would take place.
They would have the vehicle for cover.
Help would be far away.
There would be no light.
The shoot-out would consume lots of ammo.
The gun's light provided the needed light.
The extended magazine, butt cuff, and bag provided the ammo.
The gun was "Dutch" loaded with the first two rounds being #1 buckshot, since the confrontation would likely start off with everybody away from cover.
The next two rounds would be 00 buckshot to penetrate their cover, and the last two would be slugs to provide range and penetration of a car body as they took cover.
The analysis was the situation would be a fast-changing, extended gunfight from cover requiring a flexible ammo load.
Later last year, the new apartment was ready, and the situation changed again.
Now I'm in a bigger small town with some big city problems.
This is an apartment with walls that are thin.
There area is filled with County Health offices, a drug and alcohol treatment center, assisted living centers, and behind the apartment, a school for handicapped children.
Light is again plentiful, actually almost day-like.
There is a bad neighborhood 1 block away.
Due to that neighborhood, police help is again in the 1 to 2 minute range.
There is limited cover for Bad Guys.
The Bad Guys are window peepers and burglars looking for drug money, NOT a fight.
There will be ONE bad guy.
Trouble will arrive on foot.
Now my gun is set up without any accessories.
There is no need for an extension or extra ammo, since help is fast, and any trouble brings ALL the neighbors out of their apartments to see what's going on.
The Bad Guys are sneaks and runners, not fighters.
There's plenty of light so no on-board light is needed.
The gun is loaded with #4 buckshot for the shorter ranges.
The bottom line is, as the threat changes, the gun changes to meet the BEST GUESS" as to what will be needed.
In "Real world" TRUE HD situations, the "Hollywood" accessories will actually reduce the effectiveness of the gun and would add nothing of any real value.
When contemplating add an accessory, do a honest cost/benefit analysis and decide if the reduction in speed and effectiveness is offset by any gain.
The best way to do this, is to run the gun through a real combat shotgun course.
Simply taking the gun to the range an blowing off a few rounds at known-distance fixed targets is NOT a true test.
The shotgun is a great HD weapon, but adding items just because they LOOK cool or impress people, will reduce the actual effectiveness.
I guess the bottom line is, when choosing accessories for your HD gun, BE HONEST with yourself.
Remember that with the "perfect" HD shotgun, Less is More.
What makes a shotgun so effective as a weapon?
The devastating load of shot?
The ease of hitting the target without having to align and aim sights like on a pistol or rifle?
That you don't risk hitting neighbors down the block?
It adaptability?
What really makes the shotgun so effective is the SPEED with which you can do all the above.
A good shotgunner with a properly setup shotgun can blow a threat away, while the threat is still trying to find his safety and align his sights.
A British SAS vet of the Malayan "Emergency" wrote about his first jungle patrol. The patrol leader was armed with an early SAS favorite: A Browning 12 gauge automatic shotgun.
The SAS vet was astounded when the patrol was surprised on a trail by a Chinese messenger, and the shotgunner blew the insurgent away while the highly trained vet was still bringing his FN rifle to his shoulder.
What amazed the SAS vet was the sheer SPEED that the patrol leader had used the Browning.
He heard a loud BOOM, saw the insurgent going down, looked over to the patrol leader, only to see him already inserting another shell into the Brownings magazine.
Where I think we err today is in adding too many "Gee Whiz" and "Hollywood" accessories to HD guns.
I attribute this to the desire to customize our guns, and to the "Cool" factor.
The problem is, when you add ANY accessory to a HD shotgun, you add weight and bulk, and you actually REDUCE the speed of getting that load of shot on target.
What's needed when contemplating adding ANY accessory to a HD gun, is to do a "Real world" cost/benefit analysis:
"If I add THIS to my gun, WHAT do I gain, and does it out weight the LOSS of speed"?
Adding barrel shrouds, bayonet locks, electric sights, folding stocks, AR-15 collapsing stocks, and pistol grip-only grips adds weight and bulk, reduce the effectiveness, and have little "real world" value on a HD gun.
All these accessories have a place on guns used by military and SWAT guns, but those guns are highly specialized guns intended to be used in military combat operations, or as TOOLS used to break down doors, NOT Home Defense or normal police type situations.
Most of these add-on's add weight, bulk, make the gun clumsy to swing, and reduce the speed of getting shot-on-target.
When doing a HD gun Real world analysis, the standard is:
"If I add something to the gun, what exactly do I gain that is worth the loss of speed"?
We'd all like to have a Super Magnum HD gun shooting 3 1/2" Magnum loads of 00 buckshot, but in the "Real world" the recoil and muzzle blast slows the shooter down too much, not to mention reducing magazine capacity.
The cost/benefit is, "The Bad Guy takes a MAJOR hit, but if I need a FAST followup shot, I'm in big trouble".
Real world cost/benefit is: The Super mag is too much for no real gain, so stick with standard 2 3/4" loads.
You should accessorize the HD gun to YOUR "Real world" situation.
Where do you live?
How many Bad Guys are you REALLY likely to encounter? How close are the neighbors?
What kind of lighting is present?
How far away are the police?
How's a situation likely to develop?
How are the Bag Guys going to arrive?
What TYPE of Bad Guys am I likely to face?
A few years ago I bought a Remington 870 Police gun.
I bought a standard magazine, synthetic stocked, rifle sighted gun.
I bought the sights because the 870 tends to shoot hight for me, and I like to use the sights as a "flash" sight picture pointing aid.
At the time, I lived in a house in a small town. I did a "real world" cost/benefit analysis on the HD situation.
Here's the "real world" analysis:
The house had no neighbors behind or in front.
The neighbors on either side were never home.
The police station was literally 1 block away, and response time for a hot 911 call was 1 to 2 minutes.
There were enough street lights and driveway lights in the area, that there was plenty of light even inside the house.
Trouble would arrive on foot.
There would be no more than 2 Bad Guys and they would run as soon as they knew a gun was there.
A fight would require less than 4 shots.
There was no cover for the Bad Guys.
Based on that, the gun was set up with NO accessories and was loaded with 4 rounds of standard #1 buckshot.
The analysis was, the Bad Guys would walk up to the house in a well lighted area with no cover for them. In these conditions, I didn't need a light.
There were no neighbors to worry about so I could use larger shot, but 00 might be a threat down the block.
The police were seconds away and the local Bad Guys don't stay to fight, so I didn't need a magazine extension.
Last Fall I made a temporary move to a house trailer in the country until a new apartment in another small town was ready.
Since the circumstances had changed, so did the threat, so did the cost/benefit analysis, and so did the gun's set up.
This situation was:
The trailer was on a farm 10 miles out of a town.
Law enforcement was a MINIMUM of 20 minutes away.
There was NO light.
There were no neighbors for at least 1 mile.
Trouble would arrive in a car or truck.
There was plenty of cover for Bad Guys.
There would be at least 2 Bad Guys.
The gun's set up was changed to a fore arm light, a magazine extension, a butt cuff with spare ammo, a nylon bag with extra ammo was stored with the gun, and the magazine was "Dutch" loaded.
The likely situation was, Bad Guys would drive up in a car or truck.
They would be confronted, and a shoot-out would take place.
They would have the vehicle for cover.
Help would be far away.
There would be no light.
The shoot-out would consume lots of ammo.
The gun's light provided the needed light.
The extended magazine, butt cuff, and bag provided the ammo.
The gun was "Dutch" loaded with the first two rounds being #1 buckshot, since the confrontation would likely start off with everybody away from cover.
The next two rounds would be 00 buckshot to penetrate their cover, and the last two would be slugs to provide range and penetration of a car body as they took cover.
The analysis was the situation would be a fast-changing, extended gunfight from cover requiring a flexible ammo load.
Later last year, the new apartment was ready, and the situation changed again.
Now I'm in a bigger small town with some big city problems.
This is an apartment with walls that are thin.
There area is filled with County Health offices, a drug and alcohol treatment center, assisted living centers, and behind the apartment, a school for handicapped children.
Light is again plentiful, actually almost day-like.
There is a bad neighborhood 1 block away.
Due to that neighborhood, police help is again in the 1 to 2 minute range.
There is limited cover for Bad Guys.
The Bad Guys are window peepers and burglars looking for drug money, NOT a fight.
There will be ONE bad guy.
Trouble will arrive on foot.
Now my gun is set up without any accessories.
There is no need for an extension or extra ammo, since help is fast, and any trouble brings ALL the neighbors out of their apartments to see what's going on.
The Bad Guys are sneaks and runners, not fighters.
There's plenty of light so no on-board light is needed.
The gun is loaded with #4 buckshot for the shorter ranges.
The bottom line is, as the threat changes, the gun changes to meet the BEST GUESS" as to what will be needed.
In "Real world" TRUE HD situations, the "Hollywood" accessories will actually reduce the effectiveness of the gun and would add nothing of any real value.
When contemplating add an accessory, do a honest cost/benefit analysis and decide if the reduction in speed and effectiveness is offset by any gain.
The best way to do this, is to run the gun through a real combat shotgun course.
Simply taking the gun to the range an blowing off a few rounds at known-distance fixed targets is NOT a true test.
The shotgun is a great HD weapon, but adding items just because they LOOK cool or impress people, will reduce the actual effectiveness.
I guess the bottom line is, when choosing accessories for your HD gun, BE HONEST with yourself.
Remember that with the "perfect" HD shotgun, Less is More.
You're right; a scattergun is the perfect close in weapon. No handgun even comes close, imho. One of mine is a simple SxS, with 20" factory bbls. Even better than a pump other than the pucker inducing noise. 
Good post, sir!