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It should be a dedicated weapon that is always or virtually always ready, i.e. loaded and accessible yet secure. The main difference between an HD gun and a bird/clays gun (other than that first point) boils down to barrel length- you want 18-20" for HD, shorter if you're willing to consider a stamp. The shorter the weapon is, the easier it will be to move in a home with. If you just plan to shelter-in-place (i.e.- you don't have children or others in the home who need to be secured), a bird gun will probably suffice. If movement is necessary, you will find yourself wanting that 18" barrel. If you have 46 shotguns (lucky!), then an extra $100 or so for a defense-length barrel is no big deal. Buy one, put it on a reliable beater pump, load it with 00, #4, #1, your choice really, and keep it somewhere secure. Add a light, and practice with the weapon frequently.

Also, ammunition selection is key. NO birdshot. Slugs to be used only if overpenetration is not a concern.
 
Good question. My S&W .40...either of them...will work just fine. I do know that they won"t impress the ninjas at the mall...who won't see them anyway...or take out the zombie hordes, but they will certainly work for HD. And, they are a handy size for keeping close at hand.
 
If you have 46 shotguns you don't NEED a dedicated specifically configured Home Defense shotgun.

However, if you have 46 shotguns then certainly some of those shotguns are specifically configured for particular tasks. You might have a lightweight field gun to carry in the field on a hunt. You might have a heavy over under specifically intended for clay games where you carry the gun very little, but fire hundreds of shells at an outing. You probably have several guns that you have an emotional connection with, these could be guns passed down through your family, or guns that you intend on passing down. These reasons for particular gun configurations are valid reasons to own particular guns.

There are those among us, myself included, that also choose to have a shotgun specifically configured for home defense. In my case it is an 870 with a short (18 1/2") barrel and an extended magazine tube that matches the overall length of the barrel. I have added weight in the buttstock to improve the balance and just plain make the gun heavier for the stout buckshot loads. My gun also has a light on the foreend for use in any condition day or night. In my case the gun is locked in a way that prevents access to the trigger so I am comfortable leaving it fully loaded with 1 in the chamber and 6 in the magazine tube. Additionally I have 5 more shells affixed to the exterior of the shotgun.

The gun stays locked in the same place all the time. I have rapid access to the firearm, and always know where it is, and how it is loaded, it is secure and safe from children, houseguests, and even a potential bad guy.

Would a more traditionally configured 870 work just as well, something with a standard magazine and 28" barrel? Sure it would, but it might not be loaded and ready for quick access. Do I plan on needing all of those extra shells? No, I don't think I would ever need that many shells, but what if I did. Having them in or on the gun is no bother for me, and if I ever did need them I certainly don't want to stop and look in the cabinet for them.

It is all about choices. I have chosen to be able to protect myself and my family in a certain way. Others choose to protect themselves in other ways. Many don't choose to protect themselves at all. We live in a country that allows us all the freedom to choose. Your choice is your business, and I support your choice, whatever it might be.
 
Discussion starter · #5 ·
SouthernPhantom said:
It should be a dedicated weapon that is always or virtually always ready, i.e. loaded and accessible yet secure. The main difference between an HD gun and a bird/clays gun (other than that first point) boils down to barrel length- you want 18-20" for HD, shorter if you're willing to consider a stamp. The shorter the weapon is, the easier it will be to move in a home with. If you just plan to shelter-in-place (i.e.- you don't have children or others in the home who need to be secured), a bird gun will probably suffice. If movement is necessary, you will find yourself wanting that 18" barrel. If you have 46 shotguns (lucky!), then an extra $100 or so for a defense-length barrel is no big deal. Buy one, put it on a reliable beater pump, load it with 00, #4, #1, your choice really, and keep it somewhere secure. Add a light, and practice with the weapon frequently.

Also, ammunition selection is key. NO birdshot. Slugs to be used only if overpenetration is not a concern.
Birdshot will do fine at 10-15 feet!
 
Birdshot has been shown, time and time again, to be an extremely poor HD round.

Birdshot is for things with feathers that don't weigh much, aren't amped up on drugs, don't break into a house they have no business being in and aren't looking to steal your stuff.

With 46 others guns that are oriented to the shooting sports or birding, not having the right mindset for HD use of a shotgun is lacking. Not ragging on anyone here but just pointing out that HD is a far different situation with dire consequences, unlike sporting where either the bird flys away or you get a point deduction.

Birdshot makes a nasty wound that is rather shallow that doesn't reach vital organs. Add in the perp wearing a nice winter jacket or perhaps a leather one and and that birdshot simply isn't going to accomplish the immediate need of stopping someone.

#1 or 00 buck is an excellent choice.
 
+1 to everything already justified. 18-21" barrels maneuver a lot better, affording/utilizing life-saving cover in a potential in-home gunfight. Birdshot is for birds; buckshot is for bucks and long LE-PROVEN for way-more critical/hardcore BadGuys.
AND...
And for the handgun-fits-all-minded, even 2-3/4" 9-pellet 00-buck loads calculate to a 3-4x energy/force (=payloadload x acceleration)/"horsepower" over a single 9mm - 45ACP handgun hit. So, MORE/faster fight-stopping large bleed-outs.
AND, for liability purposes, your ready-access HD set-up SG should have a reliable light for often 0'dark:30 dookie. Not to search, but to confirm (eg., firmly attest to cross-exam questions as to certainty of life-threatening intruder's) target ID and not, say, your daughter's stupid (but CTJ-experiencing) boyfriend....
And, you don't want it in a relatively slow-access safe with the other 45 shotguns. I keep my primary in a fast-access ShotLock by my bed.
 
Birdshot will stop a reasonable person.

The sound of a pump shotgun slide racking in a shell will stop a reasonable person.

No reasonable person wants to be shot with a shotgun at close range.

The unfortunate reality in a home defense situation is that the bad guy just might NOT be reasonable.

I have several other firearms available to me in my home, but for use inside my home my HD shotgun is my first choice. Use the right too for the job.
 
Cause 9 round magazine tube extensions are frowned upon on the sporting clays courses, ha! But seriously, a HD shotgun would likely have more shell capacity.
Any of the shotguns made for 3 gun events could be used for HD since they typically have extended magazines and are typically touted as very reliable in order to win these types of timed events.
http://www.3gunshotgun.com/3-gun-shotgun-choices.html
 
Road Man said:
The unfortunate reality in a home defense situation is that the bad guy(s) just might NOT be reasonable.
ABSOLUTELY. Most truly DANGEROUS perps elect to defy the law because they're experienced in gaining their means/needs. Hyped "racking of a pump" sound won't necessarily deter them. Y'all need to learn/understand the background/"NON-SOCIETAL vs personally reasonable" motivation/DANGER logic/assessments of true human PREDATORS. William April's insight, amongst current others is a great SD incite.
YES! In these times, if you elect to "break and enter" into someone else's premises you're going to be hard-pressed to be a reasonable/non-threatening entity without a high$ attorney. But as potential unrecoverable victim (including anyone/family you're responsible for) you're going to have to pre-think/accept the consequences of ultimate fight-stopper: deadly threat mitigation up to a DRT predator, else accept "reasonable?" personal losses...
 
Here's where I may get labelled as an (albeit LE-proven)old-school heretic. Nevertheless...
Sorry, I'm having a problem seeing an in-between, (3-gun)gaming-designed 4-6"plus-HD barrel length (4-8"minus hunting) as more in-home practical/effective vs "cool" looking...
Each one of my 18/18.5" barreled 870Ps is stoked (-1 spring-benefiting) 5-tubed rounds + 5 on the butt-cuff (or side-saddle, if you prefer).
 
GDubya said:
Here's where I may get labelled as an (albeit LE-proven)old-school heretic. Nevertheless...
Sorry, I'm having a problem seeing an in-between, (3-gun)gaming-designed 4-6"plus-HD barrel length (4-8"minus hunting) as more in-home practical/effective vs "cool" looking...
Each one of my 18/18.5" barreled 870Ps is stoked (-1 spring-benefiting) 5-tubed rounds + 5 on the butt-cuff (or side-saddle, if you prefer).
Heretic? You're right, not a heretic. Game guns are not designed for work in confined spaces; 18.5" and below is where it's at. That extra 6" will get in the way badly, whether in your home or just out in the woods.
 
I was being silly with my use of the "cool" word, but I do think a high capacity semi auto is the way to go for a self defense shotgun.

And yes I would like to have a 10 round 930 only because it would be fun to shoot.

You guys think a 5 shot, 18.5" pump is the easy to go? I can't argue it, I have little experience in that area. Seems like more and faster firepower would be better to me.
 
Mindset, Tactics, Skill, and then/lastly..., Gear.

I'm fortunate in having had access to old-school (multiple ex-)cops/nationally-renowned instructors training. I'm not trying to preach, rather share my opportunities to learn/practice/meld their various montras/gunfight-surviving experience, including observing other students successes & failures with various equipment in numerous classes and matches. On that basis, a short-barreled pump (870) is MY current tool of choice. But Hell yes an M2/M4 is on my wanna/bucket list. Everyone else's mileage may vary, but...
Yes, it kicks harder than inertia and gas guns. Fear=adrenaline + shortened LOP + Limbsaver recoil pads help overcome that.
Yes, you have to learn/practice reloading more, avoiding short-stroking, but you can keep up/beat semi-autos, especially with in-experienced operators.
Maintained pumps will reliably eat/fire/extract/repeat even all manner of Wally-world or BFE country store 2-3/4" low brass birdshot (not SD ideal but better than a sharp stick) and somebody's grand-daddy's basement-stashed rounds which I find if I ever have to resort to taking apocalyptic refuge. SAs can be more finicky to cycling.

This all goes towards SouthernPhantom's initial assertion that combat/HD shotguns are different from sporting set-ups. My HD 870Ps have 18-18.5" IC barrels, extra rounds on-board, a quality light, no ATTACHED sling for in-house maneuvering (but QD unit in primary's buttcuff), XS Big Dot tritium sight(s), a VC Big Dome safety (for practice/training/match requirements though I don't ever anticipate "On-ing" it for HD: if I need to chamber a round I'm absolutely HOT until I clear the chamber and/or wait for Po-Po to take report/clean up). It's not a setup to harvest quackers.
 
A handgun has better maneuverability, higher round count, and only requires one hand to use while the other can be used for other needs. If you need longgun firepower, a PDW or AR/AK will do the job with less overpenetration than a shotgun with buckshot.

Racking a pump to scare people is an old wives' tale that also means you are giving up whatever element of surprise you originally had.
 
All body penetrations cause tissue disruption/damage, either via crushing or stretching forces. Given the Kinetic Energy=1/2 Mass x velocity (squared) calculation, velocity ultimately has over-riding influence towards stretching. But at lower <1500 fps, that factor yields ~1/2 influence of >2000 fps (rifle-vel) affects. Hence most handgun and shotgun ballistic energies are more significantly influenced by payload:125-230 gr bullets of typical handguns vs 450+ gr total for buckshot = 3-4x is transmitted energy. And I don't care to personally experience even HALF-payload HITS of the 9-PELLET .30-CAL 00-buck which should bleed out faster than even a single high-velocity 40ACP-cal strike .
Yes, shotguns are more difficult to operate and have capacity restrictions, but their optimum first-shot fight-stopping affects are devastating...
 
oneounceload said:
A handgun has better maneuverability, higher round count, and only requires one hand to use while the other can be used for other needs. If you need longgun firepower, a PDW or AR/AK will do the job with less overpenetration than a shotgun with buckshot.

Racking a pump to scare people is an old wives' tale that also means you are giving up whatever element of surprise you originally had.
Exactly right! No firearm in my home will EVER sit around with an EMPTY CHAMBER waiting for the STHTF. Everything always loaded all the way; safety off and fire, NO WARNING!
 
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