Question About Firearm Selection for Home Defense (VANITY)

vanity | April 13, 2003 | Jim Noble

[Jim Noble]

I have been trying to select a home defense firearm. I have handled and fired .38 special, .357 Magnum, and .45 ACP handguns, and 12-gauge and 20-gauge shotguns, but I'm not (yet) an experienced shooter.

I also have small kids at home.

I like the shotgun option, but have 2 concerns. 1) Do I like it because blowing away bad guys with a shotgun looks cool in the movies? (i.e., is this as viable an option as a handgun). 2) Can a bad guy with a handgun kill me before he is in lethal range of my shotgun?

Thanks in advance to all the experienced shooters here.

[RIGHT IN SEATTLE]

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[Restorer]

Inside a house, there is no such place as outside the lethal range of a shotgun loaded with appropriate ammo.

[AdA$tra]

I use a Mossberg 590 12 Ga. shotgun loaded with just plain birdshot. 8 or 9 rounds of birdshot. Must handgun or rifle projectiles can be lethal to neighbors in tight situations.

[sd-joe]

>> "2) Can a bad guy with a handgun kill me before he is in lethal range of my shotgun?"

Not likely. Shotgun can be lethal to 40 yards or more. Most home encounters are in the 10 ft range.

[mtbrandon49]

I am partial to a Remington 870, 12 gauge, loaded with 00 Buckshot. At 50 feet it will tear a whole through a 1/2 inch sheet of plywood. Plus with a scatter gun you don't need a whole lot of light to get a bead on your target.

[facedown]

Ditto!

[fella]

Winchestesrs 'Defender' in 12-gauge loaded with 4-ought buck will throw more bullets faster than submachine gun and will out range the majority of hand guns in the open and at close quarters is the scaryist weapon around.

[x1stcav]

I agree with post #6 as to a 12 ga. loaded with birdshot. The birdshot tend to shed energy very quickly as it passes through something solid like a wall and therefore may not be as much a danger to neighbors, livestock, etc.

You still have to practice on a repeated basis to develop and maintain proficiency, as you would with any weapon you're depending on for defense.

The best thing a shotgun has going for it, IMHO, is that the sound or racking a round into the chamber should soil the undergarments of almost any intruder.

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

An ex-Navy Seal once told me that a sawed off 12 gauge shotgun is the home defence weapon of choice. Of course, being so effective, it's also illegal.

[ez]

I use a Mossberg 20 guage with a pistol grip. The pistol grip reduces the lenght of the firearm and the handgun's manueverability advantage if your opponent is packing one.

I use 00 buck loaded with #4 shot.

My rifles are packed to fly.

[Shooter 2.5]

Bang!

The shotgun is the most versatile weapon ever made. Some of the best shotguns for home defense are the Winchester Defender, the Mossberg 500 series, the Remington 870 and the Benelli M-1.

[Armedanddangerous]

Get a handgun with a magazine safety if you have kids in the house and no safe of any sort.

These include the Smith and Wesson autos, like the 4506 in 45 caliber, or the 6906 in 9MM or their variants.

You can also opt for a Browning High Power or one of the clone variants in 9mm or 40 caliber. It has a mag safety also.

This means you can take the magazine out of the gun, even if it has a round in the chamber, and it won't fire.

If you go for a shotgun, get the 870, it's the best of the bunch, and easy to learn the manual of arms for it.

[antaresequity]

The pump action shotgun has a very distinct advantageous side effect: 

The pumping of the slide is such an ominous and distinctive sound it scares the crap out of 99.99% of those that hear and understand they might be on the receiving end of a close quarters load of buckshot...

This alone makes it a fabulous choice. 

Sun Tzu:

"To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

I have a Ruger Super Redhawk .44 Magnum that I use for home defense. I'm in the market for a 12 gauge shotgun right now. If you really need to kill somebody, use a shotgun.

Incidentally, I was told by a former cop that a 12 gauge shotgun loaded with 00 shot has the stopping power of nine .357 rounds. I can't confirm that, but a more gun savvy Freeper probably could.

[Shooter 2.5]

Trying to chamber a round within earshot of a burglar isn't a smart thing to do. You wouldn't do it with a semi-automatic pistol so why do it with a shotgun.

[antaresequity]

The best thing a shotgun has going for it, IMHO, is that the sound or racking a round into the chamber should soil the undergarments of almost any intruder.

Sun Tzu:

"To fight and conquer in all our battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting."