Do I NEED a HD shotgun?

[U.S. Patriot]

I could not see myself without a shotgun. My pistol, is just enough to get me to my safe. Where I have the big boys. First thing I would grab would be my 500.

 

[TiminMishawaka]

I was in a rental house with a couple guys, painting it at night. It was in an iffy neighborhood so I had a Mossberg 500 there. While we were working, someone tried to kick in the back door. Here's what you would have heard:
Thump! (Kick attempt on back door.)
CLAK CLAK!!
thump thump thump thump thump (pitter patter of little ghetto feet running away).

Every language on the planet knows the universal warning of a pump shotgun getting ready.

 

[Airborne33]

For home defense, honestly nothing is better than a shotgun. It's up to you what you go with. Shotguns are great because of their reliability and power. That being said I would recommend a pump action. You never have to worry about a round not loading, and your hand is always ready to cycle another round. Typically you wont have to worry about taking care of two intruders. Your first shot should be simple for you. Most pumps will give you two or three more shots at the least to eliminate or scare off the other intruder. I would very much like to get myself an 870 and it will probably be my next purchase.

Also might I recommend not putting a sling or anything on it that might get caught on a door knob or anything that might get tangled up or in the way when you are half asleep and rudely awakened to the sound of glass. Slings are useful but I don't believe they serve any purpose at all in home defense.

]There's no mistaking the sound of a 12 gauge going off in the night. Most criminals will not risk their life in order to maybe get off with a tv or some jewelry.

So yes.. You DO need a HD Shotgun.

 

[Que]

Check out the Stoeger Double Defense

Stoeger Double Defense


That's one MEAN looking double barrel!

Nice, but they can remove that top rail.

 

[theweakerbrother]

Your firearms are not magic talismans that use voodoo to scare away the repeatedly stupid criminal. The racking of the shotgun seems pretty silly to me. Yes, I agree that it sounds intimidating... to someone smart enough to know that stealing is wrong, bad and is often punishable by death... but isn't it just as silly or stupid as unnecessarily racking a handgun to 'intimidate' the bad guy? If you need to draw your firearm, you've just entered into the business of potentially ending a life. Slowing down your ability to respond to a threat should be the last thing on your mind.

But maybe you guys are a lot faster on the draw than me.

 

[vitamink]

Once SBS's are legal here in indiana, i'm all over one of these.

YouTube - Tromix Saiga 12 SBS

 

[TiminMishawaka]

Vitamink - sign me up. I'm getting one.

 

[downzero]

SBR is nice, but doesn't offer the round selection and you run a chance of hitting your neighbor 2 doors down. You do have more rounds available, so there are pros and cons.

Definately a shotgun is my first choice.

You get several projectiles at once from 00 buck and no where near the over penetration concerns as in say a 223.

I hope you guys don't actually believe this. A shotgun loaded with 00 buck will penetrate a LOT more than a 55 grain FMJ from an AR-15. There are a lot of areas where a shotgun shines, but overpenetration is DEFINITELY not among them.

I would highly suggest that the OP maintain an 18" pump shotgun for home defense. I love and compete with a semi-auto, but as far as I'm concerned, they are not appropriately reliable for home defense. They're also not that much faster, and so it's a tradeoff I wouldn't want to make.

If you're sure that you want to do the semi-auto thing, there are shotties for that.

I do think the AR-15 is in many ways better than a shotgun. That said, if I were taking up a defensive posture in my bedroom while police were on the way, there's nothing I'd rather have in my hand than a high capacity shotgun, unless there was something on the other side of the bad guy that I was worried about hitting.

The AR gives you more range, more accuracy, good lethality, a higher ammo capacity, less chance of overpenetration, and a quick and easy reload.

But nothing is more devastating at 15 feet than a shotgun. Nothing even compares. You don't need 30 shots with a shotgun. I wonder if there's even a single man on earth who has ever survived more than two shots to the center of mass with a decent 00 buck load. I really doubt that such a person exists.

 

[vxtip]

i think this is a personal decision one makes. Would you feel undergunned in any situation defending your home with your SBR? My guns are strewn about so i have any number of otions (i dont own a shotgun) but if i grab my 1911 i feel confident, if id grab my AR i'd feel confident, or if i grabbed my FAL (which would be a horrible idea as far as overpenetrating a few houses) but i'd still feel perfectly equipped with enough gun to feel ok. Ive never spent much time on shotguns and have little interest in them. If i have to shoot someone in self defense ill be happy for the gun to go bang, then bang bang bang. Pumping just doesnt seem natural and it seems like an easy thing to **** up. im just way too partial to semi-autos

 

[RichardR]

I hope you guys don't actually believe this. A shotgun loaded with 00 buck will penetrate a LOT more than a 55 grain FMJ from an AR-15. There are a lot of areas where a shotgun shines, but overpenetration is DEFINITELY not among them.

This is a quote from "the box of truth" test regarding this issue.

Lessons learned:
1. Notice that the #4 and #1 Buck penetrated 6 boards. In previous tests, 9mm, .45 ACP, and M-193 out of an AR all penetrated all 12 boards.

So, it seems that these loads do not "over-penetrate" as much as some have led us to believe.

The 00 Buck penetrated 8 boards, but was stopped by the 9th. Still not as much penetration as the pistol or rifle loads.

The slug penetrated all 12 boards.

 

[Zephri]

This is a quote from "the box of truth" test regarding this issue.

Lessons learned:
1. Notice that the #4 and #1 Buck penetrated 6 boards. In previous tests, 9mm, .45 ACP, and M-193 out of an AR all penetrated all 12 boards.

So, it seems that these loads do not "over-penetrate" as much as some have led us to believe.

The 00 Buck penetrated 8 boards, but was stopped by the 9th. Still not as much penetration as the pistol or rifle loads.

The slug penetrated all 12 boards.

Which means your shotgun rounds are still going to go through walls regardless. Course this has a lot to do with house construction too.

 

[RichardR]

Which means your shotgun rounds are still going to go through walls regardless. Course this has a lot to do with house construction too.

Yup any projectile(s) capable of / powerful enough to stop a threat is going to penetrate a number of wall boards, the question is how quickly does the projectile(s) run out of energy.

Even if there are no "backstop" barriers that are penetrated the less aerodynamic round balls/pellets from a shotgun will start to run out of energy within 100 yards, this is very important IMHO in residential areas.

 

[Zephri]

Yup any projectile(s) capable of / powerful enough to stop a threat is going to penetrate a number of wall boards, the question is how quickly does the projectile(s) run out of energy.

Even if there are no "backstop" barriers that are penetrated the less aerodynamic round balls/pellets from a shotgun will start to run out of energy within 100 yards, this is very important IMHO in residential areas.

Isn't this about hd, like inside a house?

 

[RichardR]

Isn't this about hd, like inside a house?

Yup, but even if the errant/missed shot went through no barriers at all (for instance say an open door or window) the shotgun pellets are going to run out of energy much much faster than a rifle or pistol round, thus are more "neighborhood friendly".

 

[Zephri]

Ah that makes more sense now.

 

[cowboy23]

I myself love the mossberg 500 but the 935 is really nice as well

 

[Regionnus Rattis]

12 Ga pump with #4 buckshot for defending your home. If you have external threats, you use your rifle but inside the home, #4 buckshot is probably the best overall support.

 

[teddy12b]

The way I look at is "home defense" doesn't equal a home killing spree. I keep my 870 18" 6 shot shotgun under the bed with the chamber empty just to make sure I make that sound that is univerally understood.

In the big picture of life, nothing in my house is worth dieing for except the family. If I can run someone off without firing a shot then that's the best case scenario. If they come back when nobody's home, then it's their lucky day and the insurance company will be buying me some new stuff.

Back to the topic of a shotgun for home defense, it's the choice I made. I don't want to fire off a high powered rifle in the house because it'll blow out the ears of everyone in there. A shotgun won't be much better, but it'll be a little easier on the ears. My 12ga is full of 00 because that's what 00 was made for. I don't plan on going outside with the shotgun or leaving my house once it's been breached until the cops get there. As much as I like the shotgun, it's not a good gun past a certain distance depending on the ammo.

 

[cosermann]

... Problem is, I'm just not really a pump gun lover. ...

The 590 is a good example of what it is - a combat pump shotgun - no deficiency there. However, if you don't like it you can either sell it (peferably to me ) or learn to like it (as someone else said).

I don't use a long gun inside my home preferring ease of maneuver and ability to do tasks with my other hand. If my strategy involved a barricaded position, then yeah, I'd switch to a long gun.

There's no hard and fast answer here.

 

[308jake]

I personally like the Winchester PDX1 for HD shotgun.

The goal is to eliminate the threat and maximize family safety. The PDX1 will handle the threat and training will aid in family safety.