Thoughts on shotgun for home defense.

[Mephistopheles]

So what happens when you shoot at him 3 times? Maybe you hit 3, maybe less. A tweaker may not even feel some hits from your 9mm. Do you really want to bet your life that he will run away? Not me.

I'm not stopping at 3. That's how many I can get out in the time I rack the 12. After all 13 rounds are emptied, the HP 995ts comes into play (forget the carpet). Also think I present less of a profile with a pistol if most of me is behind a doorway.

 

[deen_ad]

I have a Taurus Judge in the nightstand, loaded with the .410 Win defense ammo. .45 is in my holster in the closet (a step away from the bed) and the 12 Ga with light and laser is just above that. My bathrobe has a .380 in it. But I'm sure the 6 attack cats would lick someone to death first!

 

[PaulZ]

The moment they start breaking into your house they have threatened you and your family, form that point on they are fair game.

They made the decision to get not the person who pulled the trigger.

That does sound reasonable to a normal man but; LEGALLY you could be screwed to the wall

 

[powersbj]

00 buck + practice. i've seen guys *fast* and accurate with pump 12ga... just takes some practice like everything else. plus nothin' stops like buck.

In a five stand game I have managed to shoot, short stroke causing a stove pipe, clear, rack and get the second clay on a true pair. I like to dream it was skill but it was a hail Mary on the second. True skill would be not short stroking in the first place. point being if your in practice you can run a pump damn fast.

 

[shooter58]

What ever you think will happen, what ever you train for, I guarentee that what actualy happens will be quite different. That's why it makes sense to have a weapon that you are very confident with and that will deliver overkill. That's the only way to be sure with the uncertainty of a self defence situation.

 

[mac9990]

a doorway is not cover unless it's thick reinforced concrete.

I'm not stopping at 3. That's how many I can get out in the time I rack the 12. After all 13 rounds are emptied, the HP 995ts comes into play (forget the carpet). Also think I present less of a profile with a pistol if most of me is behind a doorway.

 

[Kruel J]

I've been in three situations where I had to aim a loaded firearm at another human being. And let me preface this with I am a civilian. I am lucky that none of them required me to fire. The simple fact of the draw was enough to stop the threat. None of these were home invasions. But I can say with certainty that although I am very glad that I didn't have to discharge my firearm, at no point did I consider anything but lethal force. I would love to leave this world without taking another life, but I also won't leave this world because I COULDN'T.

 

[Mephistopheles]

a doorway is not cover unless it's thick reinforced concrete.

Cover is one thing. Concealment is another.

 

[just dan]

let's say i have a friend.
he has been on the receiving end of a home invasion. he's a rifle guy... he loves handguns... but a pump action 12ga is his all-around go-to for home defense. no pistol grip jive... give him a 18" winchester with a stock and he's got 5 rounds of buck followed by a very effective club if need be.

way back when, he had the first two rounds birdshot, followed by buck. lets say he will never again put birdshot in unless hunting birds. it was utterly ineffective. the third round, which was buck... not ineffective.

 

[chemist]

Mas Ayoob is the authority on the subject, and he says the 12 ga. packs a wallop that can''t be matched by any other short-range weapon.
A battle rifle may bring 2500 ft-lbs to the game, but most of it won't end up in the target.

It's unimaginable to me that a near miss indoors would still leave Mr. Tweaker with the desire to charge my gun - and that's worst-case.

It's more likely that I'd connect with at least an arm or a leg, which will almost surely end the fight - and that's my one and only goal.

It has to do with the scenario you're planning for - I'd be hiding in my room at the end of the hall, not "slicing the pie" as I clear my house.

 

[Trailboss]

1911 in .45 on my night stand. A Remington 870 Police in the corner loaded with 00 buck, has a light mounted. If I leave the room to check on a noise, the wife has the 870. Pity any uninvited guests.

 

[BZawlocki]

Somewhere else on this forum, it was suggested that if you have an intruder, your first shot from your shotgun should be through the front window, the following shots should be at the intruder.

I thought that made a lot of sense - now if I could just remember that when someone breaks in!

 

[Blitzkrieg]

One good solid hit with 00 buck on each customer and you won't likely need cover

 

[noyolk]

OP is in a rental unit, and penetrating walls into adjoining units would make me choose a round that would not possibly kill the 7 Y.O sleeping in the next unit. Makes for bad press when this happens.

 

[davemata]

I think everyone on this forum (and most everyone else) would agree that if you have determined that you need to shoot someone in your home, the consequences of injuring an intruder so that they 'ran away or went outside to die' are much more dire than having the the tweaker DRT (dead right there) form a single shotgun blast.

This.

 

[davemata]

Somewhere else on this forum, it was suggested that if you have an intruder, your first shot from your shotgun should be through the front window, the following shots should be at the intruder.

I thought that made a lot of sense - now if I could just remember that when someone breaks in!

That's hilarious.

Do that and you just may get to start a legal fund!

 

[chariot13]

Greetings all, Recently sold my Mossburg 500. I have come to the conclusion that it is not a good fit for home defense. Yea I know. All of the experts say a 12 ga pump is the one to have. I don't know. The longest distance in the house I rent is 33ft down a hallway. At 33 ft my Mossy left a very large hole in a target, but not much else as far as spread goes. In the time I pump another shell into the chamber I can get off 3 rounds from my 9mm with a much larger pattern, Yea, I'm that bad of a shot. As the man said, "Nobody likes to bleed" and if someone has some old geezer blasting away at them with a 9mm, they are going to get out of the area. No one is going to get up after being hit with that 12. I want them to get up and leave. I mentioned I rent. I would much rather some tweeker ran away or went outside to die. My rental agency would love to have me replace this worn out carpet and I would rather explain to the police why the guy is dead in my front yard then explain to the agency why their carpet looks like I spilled wine all over it. As far as the sound of a racking pump goes. It is intimidating, but the sound of me screaming and yelling that if this tweek is going to cost me money, death will be a blessing. Well, that's my take on it.

The idea that a 12 guage shotgun is a great home defense gun is not because of a spread, its quite the opposite you do not want it to spread inside your home due to possible other innocents (family, roomates etc..) The idea behind the 12 guage for home defense is because of the solid size hole you put in your attacker, meaning you only have to shoot them once hopefully. If you want something with 10 shots and a semi auto, look into the .50 beowolf or .458 socom and a few other heavy calibers. They all make heavy hitting and expanding rounds upward of 600 grains. Well, might want to buy after all the crazy prices drop back down, which i think they will. The heavier rounds in these calibers are subsonic and wont go through walls like alot of todays sonic slugs/buckshot. Your neighbors might appreciate it.

 

[Boats]

This is the load I am currently patterning:

 

[raindog]

Most rifles have way too much penetration for urban defense.. anything larger than 5.56, really.

Well I'd start the scale lower (5.56 has too much penetration) but your point is accurate.

The problem I've always found with a shotgun for home defense is how to keep it ready. I have kids, and keep my firearms loaded. For pistols, I can get a quick-open GunVault. For shotguns, I haven't seen anything that is both handy and fast-opening yet safe against unintended access.

One undeniable advantage of the shotgun is the terror-inducing sound that racking a shell makes. Of course, you have to store it with an empty chamber to use that effectively.

 

[davemata]

Are there any biometric locks/shackles that would work attached to a wall? Thumb print a pad, pull the shotgun, it's already loaded. Off goes safe and "say hello to my boomstick."