"Shotguns for Home Protection"

[Ready_fire_aim]

High velocity and light bullet weight always means reduced penetration and more fragmentation. The right .223/5.56 load is excellent home defense medicine.

But a 12 ga buckshot load to center mass is formidable. Perp ain’t gonna make it

 

[CHenry]

Number 4 birdshot to the face will work every time.
And if its a miss, 5 more follow.

 

[magna19]

For those that do not know about rifled shotgun choke tubes for home defense shotguns. Try it and you will be a believer. It will open up enough for inside home close range use.

 

[Steelers Fan]

I remember reading a report by what I believe was put together by a ballistician and a coroner. It was in reference to pistols primarily if I remember correctly. It basically said on the humans shallow body depth that the best one stop shot killer was the .357 mag. The speed of the bullet allows rapid expansion and energy transfer that the blow thru .40's and .44's couldn't match on that frame size. The 9mm's are preferred by everyone for shot control and capacity but the coroner said it almost always takes multiple shots to take a man down and especially kill. (Special note here - cops are well aware of this and they are the only ones allowed to overkill a target without repercussions. Even with quality ammo.) Bear in mind the majority of people shot with 9's are shot with plinking ammo, not quality rounds. The "American Thuggernaut" doesn't understand bullet performance and pops caps on the cheap side. Bustin' clips of the good stuff takes dope money away and they have to keep their priorities straight. As far as the shot gun goes it must be short enough to swing horizontally from the hip in a narrow hallway. A friend of mine says the " Remington 870 20ga Youth Jr." fits the bill without modifications. Rifle rounds are subject to come up short on home protection too. A nice, short AR can puke too if not in what I would call a stud busting caliber. I know my house as you know yours. In the home, if my wife and dog are in the room with me, I won't wait to identify target visually. Always be first to fire. Watch the cops and crooks, it matters not who you are, everyones knees get weak when the unexpected round goes off and all the fleas flee. When you shoot first there is no question if your afraid to fire the gun. I've alway told my wife and kids to shoot first. It gets the attention of of the culprit and the neighbors. I keep a shot gun and a pistol (not a nine) in bedroom.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

I don't even know what to say to ^^ that post...

 

[Red Dirt Walker]

I have looked into a shotgun for home defense for my situation here's what I determined.
1. It has to be a Semi-auto. While racking the slide on a pump makes a horrifying sound to the intruder I don't think many people don't have the muscle memory or the sense in the moment to pump it after the first shot. Adrenalin, tunnel vision and all that.
2. It would need to be a 20 Ga. or smaller as it would be intended for my wife to use in my absence and she's not a big woman. The kick of the 12 Ga. would likely mean she gets 1 shot. Not sure how efficient a 20 Ga. would be.
3. In a really short distance the spread of the pellets isn't much. Even bird shot at 10 yards is only about the size of a softball from a smooth bore. Maybe a choke would be needed.

For these reasons I've chosen a rifle in 0.223 as it doesn't have much kick, is semi-auto, and while the bullet is smaller than a softball in the grand scheme of things it's not all that small comparatively.

 

[TerryP]

I like shotguns..
I like artillery too,
fortunately we can choose what stick fits the job best.
I’ve trained like some here have with all types of shotguns from bird/field types to police/tactical shotguns.
Shot some 3 gun years ago.
In fights you’ll likely be running slugs and buckshot to cover your bases best.
As odd as it sounds to some I ran slugs up front and would “add” 00buck as distance allowed.
I never wanted to come up unable to reach the target. I would “buckshot select” as the target distance got under 20 yards or so.
I’m not recoil sensitive but I found out that shooting these types of rounds through shotguns in training got to you a good bit as you worked around walls, automobiles etc.
and while off balance and from varying shooting positions you’d get the recoil effects..
I know this isn’t really what we’re talking about here but I just have found the carbine to be so more user friendly across the course.
I do agree that they are good stoppers.

 

[streak]

Hehe, 870 with slugs and buckshot go big boom

 

[bigred1]

Hehe, 870 with slugs and buckshot go big boomView attachment 370794

Damn....think I'd rather see toes in the pic.

 

[TerryP]

Something else to remember about using buckshot. Your goal is to run the larger shot sizes so the balls penetrate the target to a satisfactory depth. Penetration is very important.
Next thing is shooting a variety of buckshot load combinations to discover what patterns the best in yours, the goal is to keep all the pellets in the target as far out as possible to extend the range the shot charge is effective.
I even tried the various 3in magnum 00buck loads in my 500 and gave up due to the harsh recoil. Sellier & Bellot made an odd one that in my 500 would place all 00 pellets inside the zero zone of a idpa target at 25 yards. That was as good as it got.