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Why bother with a shot gun? (is this a dumb question)

9K views 41 replies 15 participants last post by  stiletto raggio 
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#1 ·
Why would a decked out shot gun be better that a decked out SKS for pesonal protection ???
 
#2 ·
The SKS has entirely too much penetration power to be safely used in a developed area. You can easily shoot through a wall and injure neighbors or people on the street. A shotgun loaded with 00 will not penetrate as much nor will a wayward round travel as far as that out of a rifle. Another reason would be the possibility of lawsuits. If you were to use an assault rifle as home protection, you open yourself up to claims that you intentionally set out to kill someone. A good lawyer will have the jury believing that you are some kind of crazed wanna-be killer that was just waiting in the dark with his suped up rifle to kill some innocent passer-by. I would stick with the shotgun for home defense.---AFG
 
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#3 ·
I appreciate your reply.

1) but how about when you need to win this one, and you and your family would rather be alive than worry about a potential law suit?

2) and how would you explain in court how your Mossberg 590 with a bayonett lug is not as bad as an SKS? With the same magazine capacity.

I have both, I just wonder why I should feel safer with one over the other. Is this a dumb question?
 
#4 ·
Some thoughts for you:

Bad guy can be just as dead, if not more so, with a shotgun as with a SKS. I've seen jacketed bullets go thru lots and lots of things that a modest load of 00 buck will not. However, they will both kill very effectively.

Forget lawsuits for a minute, do you want to put you neighbors at risk of being killed along with the bad guy. What if the tables were turned? How would you feel if your neighbor practiced very regularily with a 458 H&H magnum for home defense, and it is a semi-automatic (does not exist, but imagine that it did)--and you both lived in mobile homes, 15 feet apart? Would you feel warm and comfortable about your wife and kids living next to him?

Like I said, something to think about.
 
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#9 ·
i can't speak for everyone, but i worry more about the guilt of knowing i hurt an innocent person than i worry about being prosecuted for it.

tacticaly speaking, with the appropriate ammo at in house close quater ranges a dead on hit would result in the intruder having around one full ounce of shot blown into his center mass reaching his vital organs, and most likely not leaving his body.

i think a rifle like the sks would be a better all purpose gun, but for close quarter situations i prefer hitting my target with a heavier load that is more likely to stay in their body.
 
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#10 ·
Tacticaly speaking...#1 every time that you will have to be involved in shooting,you are going to be stressed out,specialy when intruder wake you up,...at that moment you have better chanse to make a decent shot with a shotgun than with SKS,and take him out.#2 7.62x39 is NOT something that you can call "a man stoper".I have seen soldiers resist after been shot several times with AK-47(same round),or SKS.I've never seen a person to keep on walking after been hit twice with the slug,or 00 in the upper abdomen or the ribcage area. :shock:

vet.of the civil war in Croatia 91-95
 
#12 ·
Another point in favor of the shotgun: There is no more intimidating sound than that of someone jacking a round into the pipe on a pumpgun. That Shachink noise in the dark will put the fear of god into an atheist.---AFG
 
#14 ·
AFGunner said:
Another point in favor of the shotgun: There is no more intimidating sound than that of someone jacking a round into the pipe on a pumpgun. That Shachink noise in the dark will put the fear of god into an atheist.---AFG
You still get a nice noise when chambering a round into an AR or AK, and you would have 29 cartridges behind that one, rather than 7 or 8. I wouldn't pick the shotgun just because of the noise it makes. The sounds of most assault rifles are familiar and threatening to everyone due to experience and/or movies. I'd also think that most people on the receiving end at that point would not even know or care whether it was an AK or a shotgun.

I like the shotgun because you get a lot of lead into the target in one shot. BOOM. Done. With a light-caliber assault rifle like an M-16, I would probably put several rounds into the target, before I paused to see whether it went down or not. POP POP POP. It's more work for my finger.
 
#15 ·
Even though it is really a secondary issue, the legal stuff does matter. With a shotgun in a home defense situation you can get "one shot - one kill". With a rifle it will probably take multiple hits, especially if there is little or no time. I would imagine explaining why you continued to pull the rifle trigger in a courtroom is a lot harder than explaining the single trigger pull with the shotgun. Just make sure you're not defending yourself with birdshot or "less than lethal" rounds.

CW
 
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#16 ·
Once again, I apreciate all your comments,
especaily fro the guest#2 who has actualy seen the effects of combat in Croatia.

But in general, it seems the big thing about the tactical shotgun is for "legal conserns if I ever live in a trailer park".

I was hopeing to get more information why it is a prefered entry weapon or why the soilder on point likes one.

Mahalo
 
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#17 ·
If I was limited to one gun in my collection,it would be a shotgun.Rifles for me really aren't an advantage unless your talking about working out 200 yards plus in distance.This is where the rifle exceeds performance of a shotgun,long distances.Under 200 yards a 12 gauge is pretty much master.I mean you can get an ar-15 and put 30 round mags in the gun,but we're talking about a 55 grain projectile,not an impressive manstopper.A shotgun can put small game,big game on the dinner table and buck shot or a slug is a extremely effective manstopper.The huge amount of ammo choices are another big plus all types of defense ammo,non-lethal,high performance slugs.I myself like Brenneke slugs and 00Buck.If the doody hit the fan I would grab the shotgun,in my opinion it is the ultimate survival gun.
 
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#19 ·
Good point Lee

I think a multi burst shot would be the plan though.
There is a bonus, added penetration behind walls and cars could be a plus.

I do not mean to come to your fourum and seem disrespectful.
Just need some convincing!
 
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#21 ·
Having lived through the l.a. riots of 92, i can definitely vouch for the 12ga. You do not have shoot people
to protect yourself against the raging mob. With a generous magazine capacity you can load the first two with birdshot
and launch a couple of shots over their heads. this outta
disperse the unarmed ones. the armed ones you can deal with the buckshot the rest of the tube is filled with. The sks is a fine gun. Used to have one until my ex "best friend" borrowed -stole- it. rifle cartridges will penetrate almost anything in its way- walls, cars, little children etc. birdshot at close range will
pulverize, it may or may not get a stop but if it passes thru a wall and gets an unfortunate family member on the other side they'll just get wounded. The law abiding have to deal with
being responsible for what that rifle bullet does downrange.
The lawless don't give a damn. if you care what that bullet does further down then you'll have to hesitate on firing. birdshot will disperse and distance will soon render it harmless.
often times the sound of shotgun racking up will deter the criminal. To the home defender the shotgun is definitely the more versatile. :D
 
#24 ·
Guest -

From the classic "Rules for a gunfight"... I believe rule 1 is "have a gun"... the part about the handgun, if I recall correctly, is "do not bring a handgun unless it starts with a '4' ". But I still like my S&W Model 19. I do have one that starts with a "4", but a Super Redhawk with a 2X scope on it isn't so great for home defense.

From personal experience, I can tell you that the score in a gunfight is always 1-0. You get no points for shooting first or for shooting most. You get 1 point for hitting first, and that's the game.
 
#25 ·
Anonymous said:
Once again, I apreciate all your comments,
especaily fro the guest#2 who has actualy seen the effects of combat in Croatia.

But in general, it seems the big thing about the tactical shotgun is for "legal conserns if I ever live in a trailer park".

I was hopeing to get more information why it is a prefered entry weapon or why the soilder on point likes one.

Mahalo
Entry teams:
SWAT: Use it to blow open locks, hinges, and to fire less-than-lethal rounds.
Military: Locks, hinges

The rest of the team is usually armed with subguns or carbines (SWAT) or rifles (military)

Police usually use them for less-than-lethal, and a big battering ram to get the door down, then toss in a flash-bang and go in.

Military can't afford to carry a battering ram, so if it's a reinforced door, a shotgun is handy to blow the lock open. If it's a weak door, it can be kicked in. Then, toss in a frag grenade, wait, then clean up what's left.
 
#26 ·
Shotguns in the military like pistols only heavier. The range is too short for anything but door to door.

In your own house that range restriction isn't even going to bother you. As most everyone has said already, buckshot typically won't go through a wall. An SKS firing your typical 7.62x39 will do that easily. I don't know about your wife, but mine would cash in on my insurance policy if I shot a guy in my house and got a round within 5ft of our son.

If you're going use something firing a 7.62x39 go with a frangible round (break up easy). I know they have them for the lead free ranges, copper jacket with powered tungsten in them. Sure they cost more, but plasterboard takes them apart. Imagine how the human body would do.

http://www.bigskysurplus.com/7.62X39.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ ... ngible.htm
 
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