Home Defense Shotguns

[BillD]

Buy a Taurus Judge. Who wants to fool with a long gun in the middle of the night. If you need a shotgun get a Serbu. If not try the Judge it shoots 410's or 45 long colts. In a house these are Ideal!

See what the penetration is from a .410 out of a 3" barrel before you espouse it's use. Try shooting a heavy winter coat or a leather jacket with a gallon water jug behind it from 10 feet.

You might be surprised at how weak it actually is.

.410's are notoriously worthless on game a lot of the time. Let alone trying to take down a 200 lb human. Nobody hunts deer with a .410 because it sucks at it.

.45LC is a good HD round but if the .410 is so ineffective, why bother with the judge?

 

[dschantz]

Remington 870 and the Mossberg 500 are both classics. Either should do very well.

 

[Lock n Load]

I prefer the Rem 870 over the Mossbergs, IMO they are just more solid and better built.

Here are my 2 Rem 870s w/ accessories from TacticalShotgunner.com :

 

[BillD]

Turning your shells upside down in the sidesaddle will let you reload them a bit faster. All motions will be done under the sidesaddle, where the loading gate is.

 

[dukeboy_318]

I prefer the Rem 870 over the Mossbergs, IMO they are just more solid and better built.

Here are my 2 Rem 870s w/ accessories from TacticalShotgunner.com :

agreed, having them both, id take my 870 police tactical over my built 500 any dya but my mossberg is used more, it rides around on the four wheeler and tractors alot,

 

[Agan_08]

my Winchester 1200 will have to do until I have the funds for a Remington 1100 tactical

 

[PurdueGunLover]

I have heard of people bear hnting in thick brush like this.

However, I have a remington 1100 LT - completely reliable.

I have the plug out at home. I usually hunt with it.

At home (in home) I have a short 18" non rifled slug barrel that i keep on it. I use #6 shot or so with high brass loads. I do this for a few reasons one shot will stay close in a home defense distance and the shot will remain in the body ensuring maximum energy transferfor knock down power. It is a semi auto and i am a shot gunner and can follow up with a head shot in less that a sec or two. It will do damage in my opinioin.

Main reason I am protecting my family bottom line. Small shot will not go through a wall and seriously hurt or kill a wife child or a family member. A slug might not stop so easy. Thoughts?

 

[Cemetery-man]

.

410's are notoriously worthless on game a lot of the time. Let alone trying to take down a 200 lb human. Nobody hunts deer with a .410 because it sucks at it.

Of course you aren't shooting deer from 20 ft or less.

Rent a Judge and take it for a test drive before you rule it out completely. I have shot one many times now and having seen first hand what they can do at short range, I feel sorry for any BG that steps foot in my house. Kill? who knows. Stop? almost guaranteed.

 

[451_Detonics]

At home (in home) I have a short 18" non rifled slug barrel that i keep on it. I use #6 shot or so with high brass loads. I do this for a few reasons one shot will stay close in a home defense distance and the shot will remain in the body ensuring maximum energy transferfor knock down power. It is a semi auto and i am a shot gunner and can follow up with a head shot in less that a sec or two. It will do damage in my opinioin.

Main reason I am protecting my family bottom line. Small shot will not go through a wall and seriously hurt or kill a wife child or a family member. A slug might not stop so easy. Thoughts?

The birdshot for home defense argument is so rehashed it resembles WWII spam. It is not a good choice for home defense. As for "knockdown power"...the only way it can knock an attacker down is if it is powerful enough that the recoil knocks you down as well...can't get around those pesky laws of physics. Problem with birdshot is the weight of the individual pellets, they simply do not have the mass to penetrate far enough to stop a determined attacker. Yes, they can make a messy surface wound but I wouldn't trust them to stop an attacker.

If you are deploying a shotgun in home defense it should be done with your family already behind you in a single room. They are defensive firearms, not what you want to roam through your house with. That bump in the night should be followed by getting all family members into a single room with the shotgun, loaded with 00 Buck, trained on the door. Your responsibility is your family...not your material possessions. Get the family into one room, call the police, and keep your family safe and don't worry about the plasma tv in the living room.

My home defense routine was developed over the years and has been much the same for some time now. When I had a wife and daughter at home and that bump in the night ( or the sound of a breaking window) happens the first thing that happens is a bright light goes on in every room of the house except my bedroom. I use X10 remote switches for this, costs under 100 buck to do a whole house. I then get all the family into a single room (the only unlit room in the house) and with a shotgun and a 2 mil spotlight cover the door. I wait for 5 minutes and if no further noise is heard I pass the shotgun to my wife and clear the house with a handgun. A shotgun is a terrible tool for house clearing when alone. Of course if any noise is heard during the 5 minute time period I would call the police. Odds are if someone breaks into your house and is suddenly confronted with the entire house lighting up very brightly is going to run.

I have only had to use this routine one time...was Halloween and the breaking window was nothing more than a vandal with a rock thrown through a window.

A few things to do to be prepared.

1. Practice this routine enough your family knows what to do.
2. No one but people who live in your house should have keys, 3 am is a bad time for a drunk buddy to show up unannounced.
3. Keep your cell phone in the bedroom with you, home invaders have been known to cut phone lines.
4. Have a spare house key attached to a glow stick to toss out the bedroom window to police.
5. If your kids are old enough to be out late, or a spouse works a late shift, etc., have them call you before coming into the house. I would rather be woken up that way than thinking someone is breaking in.

Your only job during a home invasion is to protect your family...everything else can be replaced.

 

[BillD]

.

Of course you aren't shooting deer from 20 ft or less.

Rent a Judge and take it for a test drive before you rule it out completely. I have shot one many times now and having seen first hand what they can do at short range, I feel sorry for any BG that steps foot in my house. Kill? who knows. Stop? almost guaranteed.

The Judge, IMO, is not a very good SD weapon. Try firing one at a target wrapped in a heavy jacket at 15 ft. The lack of penetration of birdshot out of a 3" barrel cuts down the target to only the head. Of course, a facefull of #6's at 3 ft will do the job, I'm sure. But if you have to take a shot through any kind of cover, they come up pretty short.

However, it's your life and your decision. Hopefully, none of us will ever have to find out.

 

[roscott]

Any concerns about short-stroking a pump gun in the heat of a conflict? I've narrowed my search to either an 870 or 11-87, and I'm trying to make up my mind.

 

[Indy500]

A converted Saiga 12 would be hard to beat as a home defense shotgun.

 

[VUPDblue]

Any concerns about short-stroking a pump gun in the heat of a conflict? I've narrowed my search to either an 870 or 11-87, and I'm trying to make up my mind.

Those concerns, if any, can be addressed by actually practicing running your gun. If you have it set in your mind that you'll short-stroke your gun, you probably will...

 

[BillD]

Short stroking a pump gun? It can happen, especially in the heat of the moment.

 

[VUPDblue]

Short stroking a pump gun? It can happen, especially in the heat of the moment.

Sure can. Don't do it in front of Awerbuck or you'll earn the nickname of "running bolt"....

 

[22lr]

Any concerns about short-stroking a pump gun in the heat of a conflict? I've narrowed my search to either an 870 or 11-87, and I'm trying to make up my mind.

For what its worth

I have done a good bit of duck, goose, rabbit and deer hunting with my Mossberg 500 and have never short stroked. Whilst no one was throwing lead back at me, my heart rate still approaches supersonic speeds at times. Just my 2 cents but not really a concern for me. I have lost shots thanks to a 870 jamming up on me, but never to a short stroke. Just use some force going each way and you'll be good.

 

[BillD]

To not shortstroke, run an 870 like you hate it.

Mr. Awerbuck can be hatefull at times......lol

 

[baldmax]

Here is my HD shotty:

Yes, I know, it has a pistol grip. I train with it and shoot it. It is small to fit through my house. The longest shot in my house would be 20 ft.

It has the Hogue Tammer grip and forearm, the best pistol grip you can get, IMHO.

 

[mercop]

I think a bigger problem than short stroking a shotgun during a home defense situation would be falling down the steps or banging againsy walls because the majority of shotgun "training" is dedicated only to keeping the gun running and shooting enough ammo so you wade through hulls on your way off the range.- George

 

[roscott]

I think a bigger problem than short stroking a shotgun during a home defense situation would be falling down the steps or banging againsy walls because the majority of shotgun "training" is dedicated only to keeping the gun running and shooting enough ammo so you wade through hulls on your way off the range.- George

Perhaps we should have a training class on walking?