Why Shotguns Are Really Best

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I don't know ... citing a hostage drill as a downfall of a shotgun is like citing a 500 yard shot as the downfall of a snubbie. There is realistic limitations to all guns. Or are we going to cite the lack of a slug option as the crucial downfall of carbines? How about the lack of stopping power as a failure in a Ruger Mark III?

I said it before the transfer and I'll say it again: The most practical gun with no specific scenario in mind for a random person regardless of where they live is arguably the shotgun.
It has its place in a crowded Seattle apartment... it has its place on a ranch... in a cruiser... in a HWMMVV... on a hunt for deer-type stuff... on a hunt for pheasant ... geese... and it *can* do the job everywhere to a degree.
You'd be hard pressed to get a different kind of gun that can actually hunt pheasant, hogs, deer, bad guys in Vietnam, bad guys in NYC, geese, snakes and also still be affordable and easy to feed.
 
Nushif said:
I don't know ... citing a hostage drill as a downfall of a shotgun is like citing a 500 yard shot as the downfall of a snubbie. There is realistic limitations to all guns. Or are we going to cite the lack of a slug option as the crucial downfall of carbines? How about the lack of stopping power as a failure in a Ruger Mark III?

I said it before the transfer and I'll say it again: The most practical gun with no specific scenario in mind for a random person regardless of where they live is arguably the shotgun.
Click to expand...

You're right. You can't criticize a specialized tool for something it doesn't do well - because a specialized tool won't do everything well.
But doesn't the fact that a shotgun is a specialized tool also mean it's not really any better than anything else?
Isn't the shotgun set up for home defense usually different from the one set up for hunting small game? What about when you hunt deer with it?
Would you truly be satisfied with a shotgun as your only gun?
I wouldn't. I would always resent the loss of my .22 for small game, the loss of my centerfire rifle for when I really needed to hit something way out there with precision, and the loss of my handgun when I needed to carry something unobtrusive for self defense.

A shotgun just doesn't do everything well enough to ever really replace my other guns. It never will. Therefore, while it is useful, it is not any better than anything else.
 
My Mossberg 500 can conceavably do *everything* I could ever use it for.

I like blowing things up at the quarry. Check.
I guess I could hunt feathery things with little meat on them. Check.
I could hunt bigger stuff with more meat on it. Check.
I could defend my place. Check.
I could use it in some kind of "world ending" scenario where my unit doesn't issue me a duty gun. Check

My point is that in this case "best" means it is the most universal. It can do the widest range of things of all the standard gun varieties well. One shotgun, the one sitting in my closet right now can do all this. And in common language that would arguably make it the "best" unless you start looking at the edge of the "gun performance envelope" where dedicated guns of course will do better.
 
Lee Lapin said:
...FliteControl loads pattern well enough to manage a hostage shot, but the problem with buckshot loads (including FliteControl) in that situation is that there's a wad flying around loose to be concerned with. While a shotgun wad wouldn't likely be a lethal projectile, it could take out a hostage's eye or do other damage.

Keep practicing the select slug drill, though the odds are it'll never be needed...

lpl
Click to expand...

Which slug loads have wads that stay attached to the projectile, and don't throw off any bits? I think Brenneke works that way. Are there others?

Info on what the options are here would be appreciated. I think the point here is a significant one.
 
i think handguns are the best overall gun because its the only gun you can conceal carry legally ...and thats a protection that is worth more to me than hunting or shooting paper at 500yds...theyre alright for HD with a nice light on them or night sites, and im confident my .40 would drop a deer (oh how i wish that was legal lol)....if i had to only have one gun for the rest of my life, it would be a handgun....sure i would miss my shotgun and bolt action, but i wouldnt give up the handgun to keep the others
 
Which slug loads have wads that stay attached to the projectile, and don't throw off any bits?

Most rifled slug loads are essentially one piece projectiles (not so for sabots). These days I don't shoot anything but Brenneke KOs, so I'm not up on new offerings from other companies. I do know the Federal TruBall can cause problems in this regard...

fedpictruballslugs.jpg

lpl
 
^^ Thanks, Lee. I'm still shooting up some old stock Super-X Fosters I got cheap years ago. (I hardly ever shoot slugs.) They toss out pressed wood fiber chunks. The reasoning, I suppose, was that it makes no difference to the deer. Not sure how Winchester is loading them today.

I wouldn't worry about it but for the specter of eye damage, in a situation like the one shown.

Any slug hunters reading this who want to fill us in on which slug loads throw around no random bits of wadding? If I don't get answers to that here, it might be worth a new thread.

In the mean time, Brenneke for the win, in this regard.
 
myself I have a 'coach gun' 12 ga mag as a backup to my Makarov pistol that I have in a spare cheapo holster velcroed to my bedpost near the nite-lite and my flashlight. I have other arms ready but this combo is good to go
 
we seem to have learned that shotguns have some significant problems when there are things you don't want to shoot downrange.

Seems to me it's more shotgun shooters that have problems than shotguns...

It's up to the shooter to know the limitations of the gun and load, to be able to estimate range with reasonable accuracy and to be able to use the hardware effectively within its inherent limits. Shotguns aren't perfect for every situation - but then, nothing is.

fwiw,

lpl
 
I'm on a slow connection so I can't watch the video. What combination are you using to make hits at that range?
I still lean to the side that while a shotgun is versatile, it's not "the best".
But I'm up for being educated none-the-less. I admit that my experience with shotguns has been largely limited to small game hunting with a few pumps and single barrels, and one sweet little 18" Mossberg 500 12 gauge that impressed the hell out of me, but not enough to make me think it superior to a rifle for defensive use (except in terms of price).
Still, I'd appreciate a little schooling on long-range shotgunning.
 
Hickok45 isn't me. He was running Binelli Super 90 semi-auto with no choke. He switched out the pistol grip stock with a more traditional one. He was using iron sights. He was just using standard 1oz Winchester Foster slugs.
 
Help , I started on a thread about shotguns then my computer just blinks and now I'm stuck on a how much does 30 Russian Short cost thread, what causes that?
 
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