[Rio]

16 gauge is the sweet spot. Harder to find, though.

[JimRed]

A little less knockdown power, a shortcoming which can be overcome. Inject a fast-acting poison into each shot shell so any hit is a kill.

[Jim Noble]

I have the Turkish-made Mossberg SA-20 which is fun to shoot. I don’t enjoy shooting 18” barrel 12 ga.

Massad Ayoob recommends 20 ga. for home defense, which is good enough for me.

[ataDude]

Holy smokes! How can this obvious grammatically-incorrect headline get past their editors?

[JoeFromSidney]

I never tell people what gun they should have. However, my bedside gun is a 1911, and I have another one within reach now. One of them served me well the night I awoke to find an intruder in my bedroom. Now I have a burglar alarm so I won’t get surprised again.

[McGruff]

I had an old Sears 12 gage bolt action shotgun I sawed off the barrel for home defense. Should scare the hell out of an intruder. Lost it when we moved.

[Billthedrill]

I is not sure, but it strikes me that 20 gauge is less prevalent because the ammunition is less widely available, which is because 20 gauge is less prevalent.

[stevio]

Friend moved to Florida and was cleaning out his place, gave me an Ithica Model 37 20 gauge. Said “thanks” and didn’t really think too much about it until I looked it up. Knew it was a nice gun just by the way the slide felt. But it’s like a $900-$1500 gun! What a friend! I’m going to try it with slugs for deer hunting this year.

[SauronOfMordor]

If recoil is an issue, you can get light tactical loads for the 12.

[editor-surveyor]

.
No need for down-sizing your protection.

Just buy Law Enforcement grade 00 buck.

It has a few less pellets, thus reduces the kick.

[freedomjusticeruleoflaw]

Why aren’t your English teacher turning over in her grave?