Recommend a nice Coach Gun for home protection please.

[BigBlueEyedDevil]

I live in an apartment. So I think that my .40 Beretta or .45 1911 might not be the best idea for home/apartment protection. I was thinking about a nice Coach Gun. I'm not too familiar with the brands. I looked at the Stoeger website, but that's it. I'd like to stay in the 250-300 range if that's possible. Thanks, Tyler

 

[DonGlock26]

Get a Mossberg pump shotgun w/ 18 1'2" barrel. Cheap,effective, and 5 shots. Shotgun pellets will act like a solid projectile at close range.

 

[Third_Rail]

If you'd rather a coachgun than a pump, do go with a Stoeger coach gun in blued steel and hardwood stocks, they're inexpensive and really nice.

 

[macavada]

Not to disrespect your choice in home defense, but I don't know if I would choose a choach gun as a defense gun. If you want one because you think they're cool, that's one thing, but I don't think they are necessarily the best choice in a pressure situation. You'll have to keep it with two rounds chambered, and if you need more shells, you'll have to be able to calmly and methodically re-load.

I think the pump with 5 shells in the tube is probably a better choice. Plus, you won't have to keep a shell in the chamber. For some reason, I'm more leary of keeping a shotgun in my house with a shell in the chamber than most other types of firearms.

Plus, if you have an intruder in the house, sometimes that racking of the pump might have a good intimidation effect ... or maybe that's just in the movies.

 

[BigBlueEyedDevil]

No offense taken. I have a pump Mossberg 12 gauge in my closet and a .40 and a .45 both loaded and ready to go. I just think a coach gun by my bed would be pretty cool. BIG BLUE

 

[bubbygator]

I had a pistol-handled Mossberg. Then I had an old Stevens SxS that I cut down myself to 18.5".... I gave it to my son-in-law. Then I had a pistol-handled Winchester, and decided I wanted a SxS again. My son-in-law wouldn't give me the Stevens back - even in a trade. So, I bought a brand new 20" Stoeger Coach nickel-plated.

The problem with the new affordable SxS of any flavor is that the opening mechanism requires too much muscle to get it open. It makes for fumbling to get a good grip to really apply the muscle. With my old Stevens, all I had to do was thumb the lock & give the gun a one hand "shake" downward & the action popped right open - and if you need to, the left hand can pop the shells out. Some guns will gravity-drop the shells out if you just raise the barrel. A wonderful feeling.

So now I've got a world of work to do to get the opening action slicked up on this tight mutha.

 

[sm]

I have been in communication with a fellow, a member here on THR in regard to a Coach Gun for HD and hunting.

See in his country a Rem 870 is something like $ 1300.00 !!! A semi auto is upwards to $2k !!! You should see the price of shells! OH the guns laws...atrocious!!

So the Stoeger, Bakail are probably his best bet. I don't believe he will find a used Stevens 311 in his country.

Just thought I would share. We are truly - or should be - grateful we folks in the USA can buy a NIB 870 EXpress as I did for $199 plus tax, From Academy Sports.

So I look at stuff like the needs of shooter, any handicaps of said shooter, regulations and the whole picture. I'm well spoken about being Practical and all for a reason. Look at PA and the recent proposed gun restrictions. Some day we may not have the luxury for extended mags, may be limited to only 2 - 3 rds total in a mag. Get the best tool for the job , get training, and practice. Gadget money might be better spent for trianing and ammo - IMO

Of course "I'm both fool and idiot" that spends monies to protect My /Our Liberites, instead of buying a gun for myself or accessories. Let's see I dropped an easy $3k one year alone.

So do I think a Coach Gun makes sense - Yep. I even go so far as to recommend and have given away many single shot shotguns <gasp>.

Well you know when the NVA shoots your lower arm off it is a bitch to rack a slide or hold a semi. Coach guns and Single shots do allow a 'Nam Vet I know to shoot a SG in defense of self. The Gov't model he carries he is hell on wheels with...should see him do a reload!!

Coach guns/ single shots - They allow a Domestic Victim, an elderly person on fixed income...well you see where I am coming from and how I think.

So I don't jump on a soapbox and bash another's needs. What is the old saw about taking care of needs , and the wants dealie? Yeah , that one.

These folks "needed" a firearm to fit a task, Actions can be smoothed and Koplin elastic ammo cuffs - enhanced with electrical tape to work. Granted some folks keep and still have handy...later that used Repeater they "wanted" became affordable and practical.

Just the way I'm wired. There is reality , and then there is errornet, and flowered shirted writers in this world.

Even had some folks that are the real deal , been to gun schools, instructors agree...<gasp>.

Sigh...it is true . I have become a relic it seems...

Regards

 

[sm]

I am in an apartment myself. I have my CCW guns for HD as FOR ME the greater concern is the entering or leaving my apt. I'm using the 1911 in 45ACP my BUG is a 9mm.

I have "zones of fire" , granted not much room, but the heavy furniture is arranged / used for a purpose - not decoration.

I have a friend's 1300 sitting near me stocked with slugs. Yeah - I like slugs for HD personally. Especially when one has a home /business and "zones of fire".

Part of the training dealie is to simulate your apt, in darkness/ ambient light.

I plan on using cover, zones of fire, and I don't plan on missing...I know the 2 COM and 1 Head works...but I long ago started practicing head shots with slugs...My thinking is problem 1 has already happend, Problem 2 best handled if only one version is given - mine.

Case of slugs and a case of clays, anywhere from 3 to 25 yds ...one of the better investments I made. Even started shooting slugs at low clays simulating low 7. There will be moving and shooting I figure... point small - miss small I say.

 

[Gabby Hayes]

I see the SxS coach gun as the ultimate in simplicity and reliability, which to me are more important than being able to lay down that proverbial solid steel wall of interlocking bands of grazing fire like the pump gun and autoloader fans prefer.

Look around and see if you can find a used Rossi "Overland," although the cowboy crowd seems to have most of them cornered already. If not, I'd go with the Baikal, or any other external hammer design. The mule ear guns have the advantage of being able to be stored loaded but without any springs being compressed -- no hammer springs, no magazine tube springs, nothing. You can load it with the hammers down and come back years later with a good feeling that it will still work if needed. And should that time come, you don't have to remember where the tiny safety button might be, or which way it moves. Also, should lady luck not be on your side and a firing pin or hammer spring break, you still have a complete dupicate mechanism on the other side to do the job. Can't beat that for reliability.

 

[russlate]

I recollect Mas Ayoob doing one of his "Ayoob Files" full critiques on an incident.
As I recall, after going thru the whole thing you learned at the end that the only guy with the smarts to think to take a long gun to the incident ( which they knew ahead of time could turn deadly ) was
















Doc Holiday with his double-barrel.

SAA Colts and double-barrel shotguns are still every bit as potent peacemakers as they ever were - and going with modern ammo, BETTER than ever.

 

[Fred Fuller]

BBED,

My mom's house guns are a S&W 317 in .22LR with a serious action job, and a Stevens 311 in 20 ga. cut down to 18 1/2" barrels and a 12" LOP. She's a petite and fragile 76 year old and that's what she can handle, so that's what she has.

I will be the last to pick on you for thinking of a coach gun, I think they are fine for the job. A local deputy I used to ride with back in the '70s carried a similarly cut-down 311 in 16 ga. as his riot gun. He'd had it nickle plated and it was really showy- got lots of respect too, which helped keep him from having to use it.

Good used doubles do show up from time to time, keep looking for one in your price range. All the new models of coach guns I have handled are so stiff as to present a significant disadvantage in reloading, unless they are well broken in. Learn to hold a reload between the fingers of your weak hand, put a butt cuff on the gun for spare ammo for convenience.

Stay safe,

lpl/nc

 

[SteelyDan]

Um, what is a "coach gun?"

 

[pauli]

i believe the term simply indicates a side by side shotgun, though it could be slightly more nuanced... styling from the mid to late 1800s, perhaps?

 

[Dave McCracken]

Coach gun means a gun similar to those shotguns used to guard stagecoaches in days of yore. Generally defined as a large bore SxS double with short barrels.

The "Ultimate" coach gun was probably the Parkers made up for Wells Fargo. 23" barrels, 10 guage, full choke in both barrels.

The Sicilian version's called a Lupara. Most have outside hammers.

For HD, a Lupara or coach gun has merit. Reliable, simple MOA, effective. The two shot capacity is a drawback, but knowing fast reloading helps.

 

[artech]

The latest issue of Popular Mechanics has a nice short article on coach guns, it got me thinking about one.

like I need another gun to consider...

 

[MK11]

Popular Mechanics? I gotta re-subscribe.

I'm a big fan of coach guns too although I've found it next to impossible to find one with exposed hammers. I'd prefer one stored with loaded chambers and exposed hammers down rather than a hammerless that's cocked and locked all the time. I'm paranoid about the springs going over time.

 

[cleve land]

InterOrdanance is bringing in a Huglu coach gun. The one they had at the NRA Convention was very nice. Your FFL can order direct. TheMSRP was about $650 so the price could be quite reasonable. It seemed like a lot of gun for the money. Colorcase hardened reciever,double hammers and triggers. Worth a look

 

[paul105]

My brother worked at Folsom prison one summer. He said the inmates agreed that what they feared most was to have one leg over the window sill and to hear the racking of a pump action shotgun.

Jeff Cooper recommeds the "Exposed Hammer" short barreled double for home defense.

 

[greyeyezz]

An interesting little trick i did with my Stevens 311a 16ga 18" bbl which i keep loaded at all times: got a pressure switch for my mag lite and attached it to the left side of the fore-end, mounted the maglite under the barrels with a couple of those plastic cable ties, it works very well for a night time intrusion. Add a stock shell holder full of #1B you got a nice home defense weapon.

 

[James Bondrock]

The only disadvantage of these double-barreled shotguns is, well, only having two shots. Otherwise they have a lot going for them, chiefly the fact that they are shorter, lighter and faster handling than pumps or autos of the same barrel length. If you fire both barrels and this is still not enough, be ready to quickly transition to a handgun.

 

[Chewie]

I bought a Norinco SXS with external hammers some years ago. It was very hard to open when purchased. Took it to a machinest friend of mine and had him smooth things out. Now it falls open when you push the lever. I keep it loaded beside the bed with #4 buck and 5 more in a cuff on the stock. With some practice you can reload darn fast. After 2 rounds of #4 buck most household problems will be gone. Inside a house after the blast from 2 rounds, h--- 1 round, nobody is going to be hearing much and will be dazed anyway. If you've never fired a shotgun inside a house try it sometime, especially in a hallway. Find and old house and go for it. I did and my head rang for a couple hours after. The blast was just incredable.

 

[bratch]

I have been wanting a coach gun for years. I will pick one up sometime hopefully. Not so much for defense have my eye on a 500 for that at the moment but just for S&G.

 

[bukijin]

I have a coach gun - a Boito SXS with 18" barrels, internal hammers and 2 triggers. It's perfectly adequate but not a museum piece by any means - very solid and reliable. I trust it. In my situation, internal hammers made more sense. One less step in reloading and I store it unloaded (legalities). I've tried reloading drills, but I'm really dubious about my ability to do it under pressure. I agree with James Bondrock... 2 shots then transition to handgun ... or just "go in with the bayonet" so to speak.

I've never fired it without hearing protection, but I'd hate to think of the noise inside a house. It is an extremely authoritative weapon, but wouldn't a pump action of some kind make more sense in your situation ?

 

[Chewie]

Pump shotgun make more sense

I don't think so. I like the storage capabilities of being loaded and no spring problems. Due to my trying out a shotgun in the old house I really appreciate the blast effect and don't think much will be happening after a couple rounds, even if you would miss.
One other thing after trying out #4 buck is I really dojn't think shot size makes much differance at household ranges on a person. I wouldn't use slugs becase they do penatrate so far, but bird shot or buck will do the job.

 

[Gordon]

I was looking to buy a 10ga rifle slug 24" barrel for my BPS, they want $250 for one! . TODAY I went and was looking over a large box of 10ga reloading components (500 alcan and rem shells, 10 pounds each of BB and 'T' steel shot , 500 each of Ballistic and Rem various wads, buffer., a primer feeder for my used Mec 600 (which I bought from the same old boy for $75 with steel shot drop and micrometer charge bars) and all the stuff except powder and primers (which he will use for his 20 gauge reloads) . When I expressed how I was gonna load for 10ga, (and 28ga) and switch all my wildfowling , turkey hunting and buckshot only deer hunting to 10ga, he brought out a simply gorgeous 10ga AyA matador SXS . When the hoss trading was over I was $500 lighter for the whole works! This blows my budget for a BPS barrel BUT the local gun smith will cut my non steel shot tolerant SxS 32" barrels down to 19" and put on a big glowing bead on my ALLEY CLEANER. That be 36 00 buck or 108 #4 buck in two shots!!!!!!!!!