What's the better bump in the night gun? Long gun or Pistol???

[bbbass]

Ahhhh, well I'm getting senile. I forgot to look for ammo/rounds instead of boolitts for reload. I always use factory rounds for self defense loads due to reliability and also liability control. Sorry guys!!!

 

[TM-Salem]

I do have the Mossberg 500 loaded up with #4 buck but my S&W 1911PD with crimson trace laser grip is my go to gun. I have a cheap 250 luman flashlight with low, high and strobe feature until I can afford one of the nice ones.

My room is closer to the front and side doors then any other in the house so I can get between my kids and grandkids and who ever would be coming in in the middle of the night.

 

[CHLChris]

+1 on #4 Buckshot! As long as you're gonna go with a shotgun in the house, #4 buck is possibly the best balance between effectiveness and less wall penetration than 00.

 

[Ura-Ki]

+1 on #4 Buckshot! As long as you're gonna go with a shotgun in the house, #4 buck is possibly the best balance between effectiveness and less wall penetration than 00.

You might wanna go back and read my post on ammo tests! All shotgun loads except bird shot will kill through walls! I hope i'm not your next door neighbor! Personally I use #8 shot as I have found it very effective at danger close range while not punching through and killing!

 

[CHLChris]

You're right @Ura-Ki . But the devastating effectiveness of buckshot just suggests one thing: AIM!

I, for one, have a Vortex red dot on my HD shotgun. I think pinpoint accuracy is important for a shotgun. I think my only purpose for a shottie isn't a "bump on the night", but if someone was currently trying to break in and I had the time to pull it out and be ready for the very moment they breached.

~The classic 911 call, "I swear, if he breaks in I'm-a gonna have to shoot 'im!"

 

[Joe13]

You might wanna go back and read my post on ammo tests! All shotgun loads except bird shot will kill through walls! I hope i'm not your next door neighbor! Personally I use #8 shot as I have found it very effective at danger close range while not punching through and killing!

You're right @Ura-Ki . But the devastating effectiveness of buckshot just suggests one thing: AIM!

I, for one, have a Vortex red dot on my HD shotgun. I think pinpoint accuracy is important for a shotgun. I think my only purpose for a shottie isn't a "bump on the night", but if someone was currently trying to break in and I had the time to pull it out and be ready for the very moment they breached.

~The classic 911 call, "I swear, if he breaks in I'm-a gonna have to shoot 'im!"

I wouldn't and won't use grouse loads in a SD situation personally.

They look good on steel plates but go buy a big pork roast and shoot that thing with #8 shot and then hit it with #4 buckshot. Then tell me how well the #8 shot did.

Unless you are peppering thier face, you will most likely just piss them off.

I practice going around corners in the house at a kneeling position so that anyone I'm shooting at will be at an elevated angle. My house is at the highest point in the area so over penetrating rounds will have hopefully lost all thier energy by the time it hits something outside.

Just my 2 penny's.

 

[bbbass]

This looks like good AR SD ammo. <broken link removed>

A heck of a good price compared to the $30-$40 boxes I'm seeing out there. But I'd only be buying two boxes so the shipping and Hazmat would eat me up. I'll have to see if I can find some around here. The Hornady TAP loads looked good too.

 

[Doc In UPlace]

I'm also a fan of birdshot for inside apartments or multiple-occupancy houses.
That stuff from inside 10 feet is incredible, nice spread coming out of a cylinder bore and stings like you wouldn't believe. Most folks hit with it die from shock and bleed out. Nothing to sneeze at.

 

[2A2Dend]

Surefire x300U-B mated to my 12ga w/trigger hand activation. 9-shot 00buck. Five rounds as fast as I hit the switch.
In my surrounding, the best "in house" extinguisher.
G21 w/surefire x300u-B as back-up

Similar to this

 

[mjbskwim]

So is it the 556 that tumbles? Something tumbles ;-) maybe a specialty round ...

I believe the tumbling stories were from Vietnam when they didnt have the right bullets for the twist

 

[CHLChris]

Depends on what one means by "tumbling". Problems with the early 1:12 twist caused bullet tumbling in the air with larger and longer bullets. Lethality is aided by tumbling inside the target. Sometimes this is called yaw. 1:9 to 1:7 will keep 50 grain and larger bullets from tumbling in the air. But it is bullet construction and velocity that affect whether or not a bullet will "tumble" in flesh.

 

[TM-Salem]

although I think #4 Buck a much better man stopper, I may have to rethink the shotgun up here. Down in Southern Calif all houses were made of Stucco (a very hard concrete product where up here everything is wood siding.

My go to is still the 45acp with hollow points but if it comes down to using the shotgun I would have to aim at an upward angle like Joe13 does.

 

[Joe13]

It does make me feel better to know that the line of fire down the hall is aimed at a wall that is floor to ceiling books, plus I have thick cedar siding, plus my neighbors house is built of brick facing me.

Otherwise if there are more then one I'll be behind an oak waterbed aiming at an upward angle into the hall.

Good times to plan, hope to never need it.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

Handgun. Though @Joe13 using a .357 may be a bad idea. Lots O muzz flash that will blind you.

Go shoot yours at dusk sometime and check the blindness.

Yes indeed! I had a M-66 with a 2.5" barrel! It was amazing in the dark!

Given how hard it would be to make a loud enough bump in the night to wake either me or the missus...

Our home protection consists of a Beretta Cheetah in the nightstand and an air horn placed by each door. The air horns have a note attached that reads...
"I'm hoping you set off the silent alarm but if you really want to meet the homeowner before the cops arrive, please use this horn."

You're bound to hit an illiterate criminal!

To paraphrase Barbie, "Reading is hard!"

 

[ToddMac]

The discussion seems to be either a pistol or shot gun/long gun preference. I go with both with a handheld shotgun...Taurus Judge with the Winchester PDX1 Defender Ammo in .410...'nuff said.

 

[p_jackson]

Either!
.45ACP and hand held flashlight make me to the closet 6 ft. away. 12ga semi auto w/ 8 rds. of 00 buck and 200 lumen lives in the closet. I don't care who you are-friend or foe-wake me up @ odark thirty and don't know the safe word-you will die of a lead overdose in my home.

 

[Joe13]

The discussion seems to be either a pistol or shot gun/long gun preference. I go with both with a handheld shotgun...Taurus Judge with the Winchester PDX1 Defender Ammo in .410...'nuff said.

I worry about the spread on those things with the rifled barrel. Until I can see one in use, I'm going to stick with things that group closely so I can minimize collateral damage. My TV is in the line of fire this is a serious concern right before over penetration!!!

 

[2A2Dend]

LOL, it's OK, Joe. Your TV is an inanimate object, susceptible to intruder remorse.
Fire for effect.....OVER!!



Watch it on Americas Most Wanted!!

 

[x2ndxall]

Can I just use my KA-BAR? It's easy on the ears and it doesn't travel through walls real well.

 

[bbbass]

I worry about the spread on those things with the rifled barrel. Until I can see one in use, I'm going to stick with things that group closely so I can minimize collateral damage.

I own a Judge and shoot Win PDX loads with it. The first thing to understand is that the Judge comes with two barrel inserts... one rifled for .45LC and the other smoothbore for .410 shotshell.

The next is that PDX is not birdshot. You probably know that it is copper discs in front of copper plated bb shot. When used with the proper insert, the copper plating reduces deformation of the discs and shot, therefore reducing shot spread.

I have grouped my Judge (2" barrel) at 12' and the PDX is entirely within a man sized target at that range. Three devastating hit's from dime-sized discs and 12 hits of bb. The 3" shells have even more.

The final skinny is that IMO it is a bedroom gun and NOT a house clearing gun. I don't plan on leaving the room, but if I have to an AR pistol will be in my hands. Handheld light for the Judge and mounted light on the AR.

Come on over and we'll shoot a watermelon with it... it's a hoot!!!! This is 12ga but the effect is similar.