HD Shotgun Thoughts

[promiseofwar]

SHTF? Pick up a shotgun...
http://loadoutroom.com/15366/shtf-drop-ak-pick-shotgun/

 

[zghorner]

IMO, FOR YOU...Keep the wingmaster, ditch the Mossberg. I spent a ton of time and money tacticooling my first 870 and in the end I regretted it. Buy a magazine clamp for $10 and use it to mount a good flashlight to the barrel and call it a day. With the vent rib the flashlight would be in the 6 o'clock position but practice with it and it shouldn't be a big deal. If you feel like it, you can easily upgrade the extractor and dog latch spring. Inspect the mag spring and follower and replace if needed. Mag extensions are not necessary IMO.

Why so pro birdshot? If you don't want to use buckshot then at least go with a high velocity #5.

With that said, I personally like autoloaders. Why pump when you can just pull the trigger again? Pump guns have a lot more felt recoil which makes it more difficult to stay on target and/or might cause you to flinch before squeezing the trigger. I personally use a VEPR 12 as my HD shotgun with my CZ75 SP01 in the room as well. I keep one factory 5rd mag loaded with 3" 00 buckshot.

 

[O4L]

SHTF? Pick up a shotgun...
http://loadoutroom.com/15366/shtf-drop-ak-pick-shotgun/

Makes sense to me.

 

[O4L]

IMO, FOR YOU...Keep the wingmaster, ditch the Mossberg. I spent a ton of time and money tacticooling my first 870 and in the end I regretted it. Buy a magazine clamp for $10 and use it to mount a good flashlight to the barrel and call it a day. With the vent rib the flashlight would be in the 6 o'clock position but practice with it and it shouldn't be a big deal. If you feel like it, you can easily upgrade the extractor and dog latch spring. Inspect the mag spring and follower and replace if needed. Mag extensions are not necessary IMO.

Why so pro birdshot? If you don't want to use buckshot then at least go with a high velocity #5.

With that said, I personally like autoloaders. Why pump when you can just pull the trigger again? Pump guns have a lot more felt recoil which makes it more difficult to stay on target and/or might cause you to flinch before squeezing the trigger. I personally use a VEPR 12 as my HD shotgun with my CZ75 SP01 in the room as well. I keep one factory 5rd mag loaded with 3" 00 buckshot.

I will have a light/laser mounted on it.

I consider that #5 birdshot. It even has a bird on the box.

 

[zghorner]

lol I gotcha. when I hear bird shot I think low brass low velocity #7 or 8.

 

[Redmule454]

I know it is not as popular as the Remington but I am partial to the Winchester Defender. It has an 18" barrel, extended magazine (holds (6) 3" shells or (7) 2 3/4", and the action is recoil assisted. That means recoil opens the bolt about half way, it starts the pump action for you, just half a stroke back and then slam it forward.....very fast. And it helps reduce felt recoil. You can find a used one for around $250 or new for $450.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=480818164
They even make a marine version.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=480698631

I am also partial to #1 or #4 buckshot, better penetration and bigger wounds than birdshot, more pellets than buckshot with less over penetration thru walls. A couple of those followed by 00 buck. I figure if I have to fire 2 rounds and the fight is not over then I am in it deep and I am not too concerned with over penetration, may actually need it. I also have slugs mounted on the side if I need to reach out further.

My 2 cents

 

[aviator41]

So, here are my schools of though on a home defense gun:

1. shotgun - use a shotgun. NOT an AR or other semi auto rifle. In the moment of sheer panic and terror that surrounds a home invasion, you want something with a larger hit radius than a 223 round. a shotgun is literally point and shoot. not AIM and shoot. just point and shoot. even big names like Jerry Miculek recommend a shotgun. (He recommends a Mossberg 930 BTW) - and if THAT dude isn't using an AR for home defense as the go-to gun, no one should.
2. Keep in mind that any shotgun you end up using for home defense is going to end up in the police evidence locker. Do you want a high-end shotgun in there? nope. I don't even want a medium-end shotgun in there. That Maverick 88 will certainly get the job done. Millions of those shotguns have been sold. Millions! They ain't pretty, they ain't fancy. but they work and usually work well. (it's my HD shotgun, BTW) - and they're cheap. if it gets "lost" in the evidence locker you're not out a nice shotgun.
3. practice with what you're using. You must pattern the gun and know that at X paces, I have a circle of shot x large.
4. nothing wrong with a pump. chances are you will be so amped up that racking it won't be a problem. keep it full of ammo, some alternate between two different shot types, or #8 shot, #7 shot, bb shot, slug, slug because if you're getting down to the last couple of shots, it's time to get serious. At that point, forget about the neighbors house. be around to apologize for putting a hole in their siding - but be BE AROUND. If you have the variety of ammo to load a gun this way, great, but practice shooting it with THAT load-out.

In a 900sf house, #7 or even #8 bird shot will do enough damage to a perp to get him to stop or kill him. Unless you're being invaded by plate-wearing swat team wanna be mall cops, it will do what you want it to do. go buy a box of 100, shoot 90 of them to get to know your shotgun then keep ten for home defense.

Remember, watermelon farmers used to use rock-salt in their shotguns to catch watermelon thieves. Why? because every other load had the potential to deliver a mortal wound. but rock salt would leave enough tissue damage to make the thief easily identifiable for about a week. We humans are fragile creatures. we have soft skin, delicate eyes and very little protecting our vitals. #7 shot to your junk will do wonders.

 

[Norman]

I just went to the safe and bumped the hell out of my 1100 on the carpet as well as a 1928 Model 12 Win. None fired. Not sure of this info.

It's good info. It's why LEO's around the nation are taught to ride around with the chamber empty. There is a respected fellow who used to post here quite a bit. He chambered a shell before he drove to a house. In the process of hopping s curb, his patrol car got a nice new sunroof. I also personally know of a guy who was killed when his chamber loaded Winchester fell over and went off.

 

[Norman]

So, here are my schools of though on a home defense gun:

1. shotgun - use a shotgun. NOT an AR or other semi auto rifle. In the moment of sheer panic and terror that surrounds a home invasion, you want something with a larger hit radius than a 223 round. a shotgun is literally point and shoot. not AIM and shoot. just point and shoot.
   
   keep it full of ammo, some alternate between two different shot types, or #8 shot, #7 shot, bb shot, slug, slug because if you're getting down to the last couple of shots, it's time to get serious.
   
   Remember, watermelon farmers used to use rock-salt in their shotguns to catch watermelon thieves. Why? because every other load had the potential to deliver a mortal wound. but rock salt would leave enough tissue damage to make the thief easily identifiable for about a week. We humans are fragile creatures. we have soft skin, delicate eyes and very little protecting our vitals. #7 shot to your junk will do wonders.

1. 
   
   Shotguns are no more "point and shoot" thank ANY other weapon. Inside an out 5 yards, the shot will most likely be in a 2-3 inch circle. Shotguns don't spread like the movies, and there is no reason to advocate firing them differently than a carbine.
   
   Loading the firearm with multiple types of ammunition is also dangerous. By doing that, you are trying to script your gunfight. If it isn't "time to get serious" when you pull the trigger the first time, you have no business shooting someone. #6 shot won't even penetrate my shooting glasses, let alone bone and large blood/air filled organs. The goal is rapid incapacitation. That is done by adequate penetration and proper placement. BIRDSHOT just doesn't reliably penetrate to an adequate depth.

 

[zghorner]

Shotguns are no more "point and shoot" thank ANY other weapon. Inside an out 5 yards, the shot will most likely be in a 2-3 inch circle. Shotguns don't spread like the movies, and there is no reason to advocate firing them differently than a carbine.

shotguns provide a greater room for error PERIOD!

3" circle or 5.7mm? Id take the 2-3".