What Shotgun?
- Thread starter tpaw
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mljdeckard
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Before you get bombarded with yells telling you to use the search function,
Understand that it's mostly going to come down to which design YOU handle best. You didn't specify cost, and this can range a LOT. There is a variety of autoloadeers I would like to have, but the truth is my Remington 870 does the job as well as I can shoot.
If you have the means, try to get to a rental range that will let you try at least a Remington, a Mossberg, and an Ithaca. Understand that there are endless options to put on any of these, but I will steer you away from pistol-grip-only guns. They are much more difficult to control, and you lose the butt as a striking weapon. You can work just fine with a sight-bead only on the barrel, but if you can spring, a set of ghost-ring sights is much better.
For ammo, I mostly use #4 buck. Not because it does less damage than 00, but more because it has more pellets and thereby potentially a higher number of wound channels. I wouldn't mess with birdshot. Certainly not LIGHT birdshot.
When you get the gun and the ammo, you need to pattern it to see with your own eyes what your gun is going to do at indoor ranges. Meaning, take it to a range with some butcher paper or blanh torso target, and shoot it at the longest range you might use within your house, to see how much it spreads. Most people incorrectly believe that a shotgun's spread makes up for poor marksmanship, it doesn't.
Understand that it's mostly going to come down to which design YOU handle best. You didn't specify cost, and this can range a LOT. There is a variety of autoloadeers I would like to have, but the truth is my Remington 870 does the job as well as I can shoot.
If you have the means, try to get to a rental range that will let you try at least a Remington, a Mossberg, and an Ithaca. Understand that there are endless options to put on any of these, but I will steer you away from pistol-grip-only guns. They are much more difficult to control, and you lose the butt as a striking weapon. You can work just fine with a sight-bead only on the barrel, but if you can spring, a set of ghost-ring sights is much better.
For ammo, I mostly use #4 buck. Not because it does less damage than 00, but more because it has more pellets and thereby potentially a higher number of wound channels. I wouldn't mess with birdshot. Certainly not LIGHT birdshot.
When you get the gun and the ammo, you need to pattern it to see with your own eyes what your gun is going to do at indoor ranges. Meaning, take it to a range with some butcher paper or blanh torso target, and shoot it at the longest range you might use within your house, to see how much it spreads. Most people incorrectly believe that a shotgun's spread makes up for poor marksmanship, it doesn't.
Al LaVodka
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What he said tho I lean towards Mossberg, and what used to be called Swan Shot (#2 Shot to #3 Buckshot) especially if you mean in and around the home.
Good luck;
Al
Good luck;
Al
content
Member
Hello friends and neighbors // Go out and pick up/shoot as many as you can find.
Shoulder and sight them wearing proper clothes. One of them will feel better than the others.
If you are familiar with a certain platform (naturally knowing the safety location..pump vs semi-auto, certain type of sights) stick with that model if it feels as comfortable as the others you try. Muscle memory is a great asset.
Not living in the city and mostly lving alone I now use 12ga. reduced recoil 00 buck or slugs, relying on shot placement and known patterning of my shotgun to keep neighbors safe, in the city I used #4.
There are options in 12 ga. from 1inch birdshot to double slug, there are even flame thrower and fin stabilized oc tear gas rocket rounds. In order to choose ammo for your needs wisely I suggest some time at "The Box O' Truth" website.
Good luck with the search and finding a natural feeling firearm.
Shoulder and sight them wearing proper clothes. One of them will feel better than the others.
If you are familiar with a certain platform (naturally knowing the safety location..pump vs semi-auto, certain type of sights) stick with that model if it feels as comfortable as the others you try. Muscle memory is a great asset.
Not living in the city and mostly lving alone I now use 12ga. reduced recoil 00 buck or slugs, relying on shot placement and known patterning of my shotgun to keep neighbors safe, in the city I used #4.
There are options in 12 ga. from 1inch birdshot to double slug, there are even flame thrower and fin stabilized oc tear gas rocket rounds. In order to choose ammo for your needs wisely I suggest some time at "The Box O' Truth" website.
Good luck with the search and finding a natural feeling firearm.
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MachIVshooter
Member
What's your experience and price range? Lots of good guns out there, both new and used, and I consider anything relatively short and with two or more shots adequate for defense.
A side by side coach gun is hard to beat for simplicity and reliability, but not everyone finds them appealing, and you only get two shots without reloading. Pumps are by and large very reliable and also quite simple, but they can malfunction. Auto's have a firepower advantage over both, but are even more prone to malfunction.
If you can give us a few more parameters, we can narrow it down a bit more.
I have four 12 gauges for defense duty. A Remington 870 18.5" with side folding stock and a 2 shot extension that lives near the front door, packed with 2-3/4" 000 buck, a Remington 11-87 Police that stays in the bedroom closet and is alternated with 3" shells of 00 buck and rifled slugs, a New Haven turned coach that hangs on the bedroom wall (more for looks, but stoked with 2-3/4" 00 buck anyway), and a recently acquired Remington model 11 2-3/4" that I shortened to a scant 37". That one lives in my vehicle with 00 buck in the tube and a box of slugs next to it.
L-R: 870, 11-87 Police, Model 11, New Haven SxS
The 11-87, with it's ST ghost ring sights, was brand new and pretty spendy ($850, IIRC). But the others were relatively cheap. The 870 was a freebie on account of being badly rusted (nothing a little wire wheel time and krylon wont fix) and the mag tube extension was $50, the New Haven was had used for $200, and the Model 11 I snagged for $172 out the door. I did all the barrel and stock mods myself, but a smith will cut and recrown for about $50 if you're not confident in doing it.
And on ammo, even though I have 00 or 000 buck in most of mine, I actually prefer #1 or #4. Still pretty big pellets, and lots more of 'em. But no local stores stock them, and I haven't ordered online in some time. If you live in close quarters to neighbors, the smaller buck pellets also have less chance of going through multiple walls. Slugs, while highly effective, would be a very poor choice in tight neighborhoods or apartments/condos. On the other end of the spectrum, I wouldn't consider anything smaller than BB to be adequate. #4 or #2 would probably do the trick, but if the attacker is a big guy, the smaller pellets may not get deep enough to make anything more than a fleshwound. If you do wind up using the larger bird (Turkey) shot instead of buck, stick to lead pellets and high-brass shells with heavy loads. If the gun you buy has 3" chambers, the 3" mag loads give slightly higher velocity and heavier shot loads.
A side by side coach gun is hard to beat for simplicity and reliability, but not everyone finds them appealing, and you only get two shots without reloading. Pumps are by and large very reliable and also quite simple, but they can malfunction. Auto's have a firepower advantage over both, but are even more prone to malfunction.
If you can give us a few more parameters, we can narrow it down a bit more.
I have four 12 gauges for defense duty. A Remington 870 18.5" with side folding stock and a 2 shot extension that lives near the front door, packed with 2-3/4" 000 buck, a Remington 11-87 Police that stays in the bedroom closet and is alternated with 3" shells of 00 buck and rifled slugs, a New Haven turned coach that hangs on the bedroom wall (more for looks, but stoked with 2-3/4" 00 buck anyway), and a recently acquired Remington model 11 2-3/4" that I shortened to a scant 37". That one lives in my vehicle with 00 buck in the tube and a box of slugs next to it.
L-R: 870, 11-87 Police, Model 11, New Haven SxS
The 11-87, with it's ST ghost ring sights, was brand new and pretty spendy ($850, IIRC). But the others were relatively cheap. The 870 was a freebie on account of being badly rusted (nothing a little wire wheel time and krylon wont fix) and the mag tube extension was $50, the New Haven was had used for $200, and the Model 11 I snagged for $172 out the door. I did all the barrel and stock mods myself, but a smith will cut and recrown for about $50 if you're not confident in doing it.
And on ammo, even though I have 00 or 000 buck in most of mine, I actually prefer #1 or #4. Still pretty big pellets, and lots more of 'em. But no local stores stock them, and I haven't ordered online in some time. If you live in close quarters to neighbors, the smaller buck pellets also have less chance of going through multiple walls. Slugs, while highly effective, would be a very poor choice in tight neighborhoods or apartments/condos. On the other end of the spectrum, I wouldn't consider anything smaller than BB to be adequate. #4 or #2 would probably do the trick, but if the attacker is a big guy, the smaller pellets may not get deep enough to make anything more than a fleshwound. If you do wind up using the larger bird (Turkey) shot instead of buck, stick to lead pellets and high-brass shells with heavy loads. If the gun you buy has 3" chambers, the 3" mag loads give slightly higher velocity and heavier shot loads.
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Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
The Search feature is your friend.....
A broad range of opinion on what is the ultimate HD gun and load . The search will turn up a lot of reading material for you.
While the most popular will likely show to be a 12ga. pump gun with 00 buckshot, there are those that dance to a different tune. Me being one of them . While the 12ga. may be a better fighting shotgun for going to war, I have settled on the 20ga. pump gun with #3 buckshot for HD . No need to trick it out in most cases.
Most will agree that a HD shotgun is best with a barrel length of no more than 20 inchs . The 21 inch barrels of the youth model 20ga. shotguns however are a rather ready made fit , and the shorter stock means quicker mounting for most. The 20ga. also makes for quicker handling overall and serves better in my opinion for those who want a HD shotgun that all members of the family can use.
Good luck reading and researching, whatever your choice, become familiar with the gun, and practice as often as you can.
While the most popular will likely show to be a 12ga. pump gun with 00 buckshot, there are those that dance to a different tune. Me being one of them . While the 12ga. may be a better fighting shotgun for going to war, I have settled on the 20ga. pump gun with #3 buckshot for HD . No need to trick it out in most cases.
Most will agree that a HD shotgun is best with a barrel length of no more than 20 inchs . The 21 inch barrels of the youth model 20ga. shotguns however are a rather ready made fit , and the shorter stock means quicker mounting for most. The 20ga. also makes for quicker handling overall and serves better in my opinion for those who want a HD shotgun that all members of the family can use.
Good luck reading and researching, whatever your choice, become familiar with the gun, and practice as often as you can.
MachIVshooter
Member
Yup, the 20 ga. will work just fine, too. Same velocities as a 12, just fewer pellets. But the lighter payload means less recoil, which may be a concern for some. A magnum 2-3/4" or 3" 12 ga. buck load pelts pretty good in a 6 or 7 pound scattergun, more than some people (especially smaller females) can tolerate.
I think most of us will agree, though, that one should not go smaller than 20 ga. Virtually no HD type loads in 28, and the .410 just doesn't have enough payload.
bushmaster1313
Member
I would get a used Remington 870 or a used Mossberg 500 as my first gun.
Each has a video online on how to disassemble and put back together again for cleaning.
Most important is that you like the gun (so you will practice) and that you can operate the safety.
Each has a video online on how to disassemble and put back together again for cleaning.
Most important is that you like the gun (so you will practice) and that you can operate the safety.
My Mossberg 500 is set up like MachIVshooter's 870, and has side saddle, sling, and light. I wasn't sure about the light, but eventually it made sense and so building your shotgun for a HD weapon should involve not only the purchase price but the add-ons you'll want to customize it to your needs. I'm currently running 3 shells of #1 followed by 3 00s. The pistol grip with shoulder stock is a nice setup and range testing has shown this to be both comfortable to shoot and highly accurate. In a defense scenario I'd pick this weapon over any of the .357s.
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