Limited options - Shotgun vs carbine

[lemaymiami]

My first choice anywhere for home/personal defense would be a simple pump action 12 ga with the shortest barrel allowed (Ideally an 18 or 19" barrel - but I'd be just fine with a 24" barrel....). I always thought that a pistol was what you used when you couldn't reach anything better.... (but that's just me....). I was equipped with a standard simple 12 ga shotgun in all my years on the street as a cop. I once saw the elephant with one when I had to -so I know it's capabilities..... Here we're talking Remington or Mossberg as the standard (I prefer the Remington). With the wide variety of shotgun loads available in 12 ga. it's suitable for a wide range of uses from hunting to defense...

Whatever you choose though the real work will be learning to use it properly in a variety of circumstances.... and practice, practice, practice...

By the way a longer barreled shotgun held at the hip and shot instinctively will handle most close quarters work (bad breath ranges). Here I'm talking about your trigger hand on your hip and the buttstock extending behind you - effectively shortening the distance that longer barrel is out in front of you....

My second choice (believe it or not) would be an M1 Carbine. Here you have to be a bit careful since many modern reproductions haven't been very reliable. If you look around a bit, though, there are quite a few WWII carbines still around in good condition that will shoot all day long (even at 70+ years old....). Go to soft point ammo and you're in business with a carbine (verify your carbine likes soft points....). There are two makers now building new carbines that I would recommend but both are a bit pricey at around 1300 to 1500 (Fulton Armory and James River Armory). Go to http://m1carbineforum.forumco.com/ if you want to start your education about the 'war baby' in all it's various forms.....

 

[nathan]

Any 12 gauge and getting familiar how to use it is a formidable weapon. Always have been and always will be. With little money you can have a very formidable stand off weapon if needed. 00 buck for short range and slugs for distances pass 30 yrds is a kill zone. If you decide to use the 12 gauge , Midwayusa has Estate Brand 00 buckshots at at great price. Stock up now for the coming days . Economy and national debt crisis tells us its not going to be sustained by all the QEs they like us to believe.

 

[rbernie]

A 12ga repeater would always be my first choice for inside and around my house.

 

[chpilot]

I thought there'd be a consensus about one of the options. Didn't expect people to have such varied opinions about them.

Statistically speaking, a small bullet won't stop a motivated attacker instantly too often. Here's an example of a .38spl to the chest;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXTLR2KOOD4

The guy in blue (good guy) was able to jump the attacker and got shot. He'd still be able to fire a gun, if he had one.

I'm giving the 12ga a hard look, even with the 24" barrel. Stopping power being the driving factor.

 

[Hookeye]

.38 spcl is a wimp round.

Hot .357 mag with JHP is a much better choice.

Same dia. bullet.

 

[strambo]

.38 spcl is a wimp round.

Hot .357 mag with JHP is a much better choice.

Same dia. bullet.

Probably won't make a difference unless you hit the heart. Probably won't make much of a difference if you do... The only "instant" stop comes from a spine or brain (stem) hit. The rest is an interplay of luck and psychology.

Handgun and shotgun rounds just punch holes. Rifle rounds punch a hole plus the high velocity causes tissue damage in the temporary cavity which is what gives them the edge over a handgun round. Shotgun edge is either way more holes all at once, or one big .75" hole (slug).

Lesser power HG rounds may lack power to penetrate deep enough and expand. That is why more powerful HG rounds are better (to a point), they have the oomph to penetrate and expand creating a bigger, deeper hole.

That said, the human body cannot tell the difference between a .356" 125g .38SPL bullet through the heart and a .356" 125g 357 magnum bullet through the heart. Now if the .38SPL stops short of the heart after having to go through the humerous and a rib, that is where the .357 earns its keep.

There is no right answer OP, a 20 GA Saiga, 20 GA pump SBS, 12 GA pump and .40 S&W subgun in well-trained hands would all be extremely effective.

 

[FSJeeper]

As said previously, 12 gauge and then 20 gauge are the obvious choices.

Superior and much more versatile than the other options.

 

[Phaedrus/69]

For home defense I'd go with the .40 cal SBR. I have a Beretta Storm 9mm carbine set up for HD duty and in forty it would be at least as good if not better. In 9mm thirty round magazines are plentiful and relatively cheap; in .40 S&W you're probably limited to 16-17 rounds but you get a bit more 'pop'. The Storm is so short to begin with that you may not even need/want to SBR it. And out of a 16" pipe the .40 gets very close to 10mm velocity (10mm from a 5" barrel, natch). That's some serious medicine in a very compact and easy to shoot package.

That's a big draw of long guns- they're easy to shoot well, even when SBR'd. If the regulations locally limit the amount of ammo you can expend yearly then it's sensible to choose something that doesn't rely on highly perishable skills (like handguns).

 

[chpilot]

My ammo limitations are not too bad but they're still limiting at times, specially if you want to reload. I can always shoot 22lr. 10000 rounds a year Still that's a very intriguing point. I have never though about muscle memory retention in that sense.

I've just received new information and apparently I can have a 12ga with any barrel length I want. It'd be a 'restricted' weapon but that's no biggie (similar to a class 3 weapon in the US).

I'm basically sold on a Saiga 12 SBS. Seems like the right answer