Best home defense shotgun ?
- Thread starter trap666
- Start date
I'm not sure if you've patterned your shotgun or not, but at the distances in my house (I am not filthy rich with rooms that are 25 yards across or with 50 meter long halls) I'm looking at MAYBE a 3 inch spread of 00 buck pellets at 20 feet. The goal is put them all in the baddie not for 7 to miss and to only hit with 1.
Cameron SS
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Ground Zero
Not worried about missing per se, although even at short distances, I would not assume perfect accuracy in low light under stress.
I am just as concerned about what I shoot at the bad guy staying in the bad guy.
Your house, your rules, of course. Not trying to tell you how to manage yours, just offering food for thought.
In my house, the kids bedroom is on the opposite side of the landing that any intruder would be standing on if they made it to the top of the stairs. A straight line from my bedroom door way through a bad guy has any over penetration going into the kids room. My risk tolerance for over penetration is subsequently zero. I am quite satisfied of the lethality and pattern of #9 from a 12" barrel @15 yards and I know that it will be mostly harmless to anyone if it has to travel through a wall to get there.
I live on a farm. Police are about 45 minutes away.
Have had a break in while we slept. Two guys came with bolt cutters and opened my gun lockers. They sold the guns for drug money.
Have shot 21 raccoons around the house. They seem to like to rip the siding off the house. Foxes and coyotes abound. Have seen bear scat once.
I keep a shot gun in the downstairs office where I spend most of my time and another in the bedroom. Each has a combination lock. All I need to do is spin it one digit and it is off. Each has a velcro strip on the receiver. Each room has a old hotel safe that pops open with a 4 digit code. In the safe is a loaded velcro strip of shells, BB and 00Buck.
It takes me about a minute to hear or see something and get a loaded shotgun in my hands.
Each gun has a light/laser.
The light is blinding bright and freezes any animal I aim at. The laser marks the POI at about 20 feet. The rail attachment for mag tube cost about $6.00 on ebay. The light laser was about $15 on ebay. I have shot quite a few raccoons at night that were fighting with my dog. A laser is the only way to quickly put a bullet where you want it at night. I have a laser on a 22 rifle, too.
I could speed things up a bit by taking advantage of the "predator gun" provision in the law, but there are kids in the house from time to time. Although the guns are not readily seen, I would rather have a lock on them.
I shot a IDPA practice at the club one night where the room lights were turned off. This made it clear that those of us who had lights and lasers had a huge advantage over those who did not. Also, in one of the stages, a flashlight was turned on and aimed back at the shooter. I was shocked at how upsetting this was, and got me thinking that a flashlight was critically important if I had to confront a 2 legged predator.
OP, the other thing to consider is how your wife can respond if you get in a surprise confrontation. Could she unlock the gun, load it and make a convincing challenge to save you?
If not, maybe she should know where there is a 7 and 9 iron stashed in the house.
I once got attacked in the front yard by a wacko. I did not know I was in a fight until I was on the ground, looking at his boots. Fortunately my wife saw it coming and was able to step out the front door with a rifle. She looking convincing.
If your wife is not real good with gun handling, loading a pump will not be intuitive. My bedroom gun is a double barrel. Much easier to load in a hurry.
There are excellent older shotguns on EE right now, like a Winchester 1200 Ranger for $200. Cut the barrel off at 19" and you have a very handy, reliable and effective gun. No need to buy anything expensive.
Have had a break in while we slept. Two guys came with bolt cutters and opened my gun lockers. They sold the guns for drug money.
Have shot 21 raccoons around the house. They seem to like to rip the siding off the house. Foxes and coyotes abound. Have seen bear scat once.
I keep a shot gun in the downstairs office where I spend most of my time and another in the bedroom. Each has a combination lock. All I need to do is spin it one digit and it is off. Each has a velcro strip on the receiver. Each room has a old hotel safe that pops open with a 4 digit code. In the safe is a loaded velcro strip of shells, BB and 00Buck.
It takes me about a minute to hear or see something and get a loaded shotgun in my hands.
Each gun has a light/laser.
The light is blinding bright and freezes any animal I aim at. The laser marks the POI at about 20 feet. The rail attachment for mag tube cost about $6.00 on ebay. The light laser was about $15 on ebay. I have shot quite a few raccoons at night that were fighting with my dog. A laser is the only way to quickly put a bullet where you want it at night. I have a laser on a 22 rifle, too.
I could speed things up a bit by taking advantage of the "predator gun" provision in the law, but there are kids in the house from time to time. Although the guns are not readily seen, I would rather have a lock on them.
I shot a IDPA practice at the club one night where the room lights were turned off. This made it clear that those of us who had lights and lasers had a huge advantage over those who did not. Also, in one of the stages, a flashlight was turned on and aimed back at the shooter. I was shocked at how upsetting this was, and got me thinking that a flashlight was critically important if I had to confront a 2 legged predator.
OP, the other thing to consider is how your wife can respond if you get in a surprise confrontation. Could she unlock the gun, load it and make a convincing challenge to save you?
If not, maybe she should know where there is a 7 and 9 iron stashed in the house.
I once got attacked in the front yard by a wacko. I did not know I was in a fight until I was on the ground, looking at his boots. Fortunately my wife saw it coming and was able to step out the front door with a rifle. She looking convincing.
If your wife is not real good with gun handling, loading a pump will not be intuitive. My bedroom gun is a double barrel. Much easier to load in a hurry.
There are excellent older shotguns on EE right now, like a Winchester 1200 Ranger for $200. Cut the barrel off at 19" and you have a very handy, reliable and effective gun. No need to buy anything expensive.
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Shoot-Shovel-Shut up is so viable where I live it's no joke.
Wanna test the "theory" ?
There are others on here know exactly what I'm talking about. You appear not to have grown up around hardened men who take no #### and do what needs to be done. Worrying about the police/law in such situations is an after thought at best.
Wanna test the "theory" ?
There are others on here know exactly what I'm talking about. You appear not to have grown up around hardened men who take no #### and do what needs to be done. Worrying about the police/law in such situations is an after thought at best.
The old Winchester 1300 Defenders are great.
My choice, ideally, would be an old WWI Winchester Model 12 trench gun.... slam fire, baby!! Otherwise the 1300 Defender or Fabarm 14" Martial.
TBH, in that layout, I'd share your concern for over penetration. In the layout of my house, someone would have to get passed me to get to the kids room so over penetrating a bad guy isn't the same concern for me. TBH, I'll parrot what I used to say in the infantry, If the day ever comes where I HAVE to shoot someone (and I stress HAVE to shoot, where bad guy has put me in a position where the only choices are to either shoot or have myself or a loved one hurt/killed), I want to make sure that ####er goes down ASAP and stays down. Winging, wounding or incapacitating is not an option. No, I don't mean in a legal perspective to cover my ass so I can lie about what happened, I mean in a TRUE, threat to my life incident where the intruder has a gun, and has demonstrated the skillset and motivation to use it. An injured intruder on the floor with a gun is still someone with a gun that may continue try to kill me or my family, a dead intruder with a gun by their side is just a tripping hazard.
I have a 1897 trench gun clone and it is not one of the guns deployed for a quick response. But it could be. Nothing wrong with it.
BUT, if I was going to keep a gun loaded, it would be my first choice. It is a hammer gun, so I could have a round in the chamber, hammer down. All I (or more importantly, my wife) would have to do is #### the hammer. No safety to forget; no manipulation required.
+ 1
I have been involved in some imminent death situations and found that my body basically takes over, by passing my brain. I am guessing that if I was confronted with an armed intruder, it would take but a fraction of a second for my brain to process the risk and then shoot.
After being broken into while we slept, we are now forced to consider the risk, even though the risk was there and foreseeable before the incident. I have made a point of staying aware of where two shotguns are located (unloaded and locked) and where a strip of shells is located (locked up) and how to load the two guns quickly - about a minute. Our house is large and alarmed and we have two dogs. I hope I would have the minute.
The strip has BB for inside the house (less penetration) and 00Buck, in case I meet something big outside.
Lol annnd u win the prize for comment excellence !
If it works for your home setup, I have a Door Guardian on our bedroom door to buy me the time I would need to unlock my SG and ammo safe.
If it works for your home setup, I have a Door Guardian on our bedroom door to buy me the time I would need to unlock my SG and ammo safe.
Our bedroom doors are oak, so that would actually buy some real time.
But, as I think of it, I could just change the door knob to the bathroom style, where you push a button to lock the door and it opens automatically, just by turning the inside knob.
I trusted my life to a STF 12 compact when I went black bear hunting with it. I would trust my life to it in any law/military situation too. I'm sure many militarys and law enforcement units would love to utilize the STF 12.... but being a $1200 shotgun, and lacking major manufacturing support. Its rarely adopted.
I don't trust passageway doorsets to stop the big boot.
