ShotGun Guru's....HELP!

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93 FOX

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I bet you can find peace of mind in a nice lightly used 870/590 or similar with a front bead. Make sure it cycles, test fire it two dozen times to make sure it didn't fall off the truck. Then load it, lock it, leave it, and don't forget to aim if you have to use it.
Pretty much this. The shorter the barrel the better for home defense. I personally would put a few hundred rounds thru it (but the more the better) to make sure of the reliability.
 

ldp4570

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Being one of those who are stuck having to use a 20Ga, a pump or semi will do. I will ask that you measure the longest distance in your home, then go to the range and shoot at that distance. Your going to find that everything from 000buck down to the smaller loadings (BB's), are going to show you the spread that you can expect to find that your gun is going to shoot. Its not going to be a street sweeper. Actually your probably going to find that your group is not going to be much more the size of your hand, which means your going to have to aim. With a group much larger(if your lucky) than your hand, a forward bead will work if you plan on practicing alot, I would suggest that you find a shotgun with ghost-ring sights. For a pump I highly recommend the Mossberg 500/590A1(also the safety is ambidextrius), if your planning on an semi-auto I would take a long hard look at another Mossberg the 930SP(special purpose). Other than being a semi, all other controls(safety) are in the same place.
 

ronny

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Semi-auto or pump? It really doesn't matter. You have to spend some money on ammo and practice. Familiarize yourself with whichever you get so that it's operation is second-nature to you.
 

ProBusiness

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mavericks are good guns - $169 (or they were) at Academy.

i think you can buy a great pump 870 or mossberg 500 series. what i mean is $200 or $300 on a pump and why spend more.

now for a semi-auto - buy a proven action. I am not up to date on all the semis that have come out in the last 10 years.

do you want a 20 vs a 12 for reasons? if there is no hard reason, a 12 is going to give you more pellets per load and thus a higher percentage of stopping the guy.

as far at the pellets being delivered, shotguns are not like rifles. rifles supposedly you spend more money for a better barrel, accuracy,. and action. imo a $200 shotgun vs a $1500 still delivers the same pattern of pellets for HOME DEFENSE.

Now, for hunting, (greater distances than home defense distance) a better barrel can deliver a better pattern. I know this to be true because I have patterned quite a few shotguns/barrels at 30 to 40 yards and there is a difference in barrels. for some cheaper barrels the pattern can be off high, low, left or right by 1/2 of a pattern or more but i don't think this makes a difference at 8-18 feet.
 

ronny

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Didn't see anything on page one that would convince me that a semi would be that much better than a pump given the OP's situation. If you would re-read what I proposed, you'd see that my emphasis was on familiarity with whatever he chooses. By the time he developes that familiarity, he'll know whether his weapon is reliable, whatever it is, and he'll know how to use it.
 

Sanford

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By the time he developes that familiarity, he'll know whether his weapon is reliable, whatever it is, and he'll know how to use it.
Well ... he (and anybody else who might use it) will need to fire a pump gun much more to develop the muscle memory that makes its operation habit simply because of the extra movements involved. And muscle memory also fades with time if not refreshed, so developing that familiarity is not the same as retaining it - there will be a need for the shooter to go back to the range from time to time.

Assuming the shotgun is stored with one in the pipe with a semiauto it's only a matter of point, click off the safety, and shoot - with repeat shots taking no more than an additional pull of the trigger. The only valid arguments for a pump gun, IMHO, is that they're cheaper and arguably more reliable due to their slightly simpler mechanics - and even the reliability is a tossup for any given gun under any given set of conditions.

Just my opinion, of course - I'm not a Shotgun Guru, no matter where I stayed last night.
 

ronny

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When I was a kid and got to shoot a pump for the first time, it took me exactly one pump to learn how to operate it effectively.

But, whatever.
 

Sanford

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When I was a kid and got to shoot a pump for the first time, it took me exactly one pump to learn how to operate it effectively.
True - operating a pump gun doesn't require motor skills as fine as playing the violin. But doing anything effectively in a situation where you feel your life and those of your loved ones may be at risk while at the same time trying to stay aware of anything and everything else going on around you, especially if you also just happen to be in the dark, makes everything different. If the shoot/pump motion hasn't become so automatic to you that you do it without even thinking about it the chances go way up that you'll muff it - either by short stroking or forgetting entirely - and you may not have a second chance.

Creating that kind of habitual muscle memory takes hundreds if not thousands of repetitions over an extended period of time to be most effective. It's even better if the actual conditions can be simulated, but most of us don't have access to a moving target range at night - especially not one where success is as critical as it is in an HD situation, and where the targets shoot back. Even those that shoot a lot and are highly familiar with guns in general and their own in particular can find themselves less capable than they thought they were. Think of it like practicing with target loads but having magnum slugs in the gun for HD use - in addition to everything else that's going on the shooter is now dealing with something for which they may be less prepared than they expected they would be. Basically, anything that serves to reduce the number of variables in the entire equation is a "good" thing.

Not to say that a pump gun doesn't work for some or even many people as every shooter and every situation is different - but a semiautomatic is a safer bet for most, in many cases even those with previous experience with a pump. I thought differently once, but realized that in the end there's a reasonable probability that when needed the semi will be more effective than the pump - and while I may be just as good with a pump I wouldn't bet my life and that of my loved ones on it. That's why I now have a 20ga semi sitting in the safe next to my 12ga pump - at least during the day. You can probably guess from the above which one's at the side of the bed at night.

Since the OP asked for "and why", that's mine. :)
 

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