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My brother has had a rash of violent break-ins in his area with threats of murder by the thugs when confronted by the home owners. He is very concerned because his wife is home alone by herself quite often. I have suggested a short barreled auto shotgun for home defense, but I am not up on my models and brands for the same. I'd appreciate any and all advice on this topic. I will be calling him tomorrow to discuss. He already has a five shot, short barreled, Taurus .38, but frankly, I think he'd be outgunned with what the thugs carry these days. Please give me your suggestions for a good short shotgun for home defense. Thanks!

I have a Rem 870 Police 12ga for my wife. It's kept ready with 00 buckshot.

A friend's wife has a Rem 11-87 tactical, very easy to use and reliable (even though it's a semi-auto).


Whatever you use, run at least a box of shells (25 rds) thru it to check for reliability.

MtnHtr

Remington is making a very nice 870 in 20ga with a collapseable AR-15 type stock and pistol grip. These can be had for about $400 retail. I really like them, particularly for use by women because recoil is lower, the gun itself is slightly smaller than a 12ga, and the stock is easily adjustable for length of pull.

Any reasonably short barreled cylinder bore shotgun, preferably a pump, loaded with 00 Buck or SSG Special -- and some practice at getting it into play quickly. Familiarity with a weapon is a must in a defense situation when all hell has broken loose.

The Shootist hit the nail on the head. What gun you pick is far less important than her ability to use it when scared half to death.

That being said a pump shotgun chambered in .410ga would be plenty to detour the bad guys and recoil is light enough she should have fun practicing.

When me and my wife got together I wanted her to have something of her own for carry and around the house.. We went to a gun show and bought a Taurus .357 snubby. Even with light .38sp loads the noise and recoil really put her off of that gun. I like it just fine. But I should of bought something better suited for her than me.

A question about load choice, would buckshot go through an interior wall? I'm moving my 20ga 870 Express to the bedroom and was wondering what I should load it with. I'm thinking at the ranges an encounter would happen in a home, just about anything would work, but I'd prefer it to not go through walls (kid sleeps in across the hall).

thanks for the replies. I was thinking that a semi-auto would be easier for his wife to deal with than a pump. What are your opinions on this?

Pointer, I think buckshot would go through a wall, especially up close. Buckshot is pretty devastating within the range is what designed for.

12 gauge pump and #4 buckshot with a mounted light and a liberal dose of practice.

It seems to me some studies were done on this a few years back and the result was that a heavy load of #4 Bird ( not buck...) shot was the preffered indoor load. Partially cause it didn't get through most walls, and partially cause it did put the bad guys down...anybody remember this????
And oh, yeah, one of my favorite myths is " nothing scares them like the sound of a pump shotgun being racked..."
To the contrary, the sound of a shotgun going " BANG!" scares them more...
Ingwe

I saw a show on TV a couple Sundays ago showing a 12 gauge with birdshot, buckshot and a slug.

They had 3 "mock" walls approximately 3'X3'. these mock walls had sheetrock on both sides with no insulation between them (simulated interior wall). The 3 walls were probably 10 feet apart in a straight line.

The birdshot went through the first wall front and back and when it hit the second wall some of it lodged in the sheetrock and some bounced off.

The buckshot went through all 3 walls front and back as well as the slug.

Even though I would hate to be shot at close range with birdshot, I would really hate to be shot at any range with buckshot. I keep an autoloader in my bedroom full of #4 buck because I have no pity on the fool who gives me reason to use it on them. Before you get on me for I may kill someone else in the house, it's just my wife and me and I don't live in a populated area, plus I may need to shoot through a door or wall to reach the intruder?

The only gun in my house thats not locked in the safe is a cheapy express model 870 in 12 gauge. I always keep the chamber empty and the safety off. Just rack the slide and hose away.

Six 3" #4 buck loads in the mag makes me sleep better at night

My wife loves blowing holes in stuff with it too.

At house ranges (1 room away or 20 feet), any shot charge will not expand (think of a 2" group). Buck shot is just too penetrative of walls; I'd go with a charge of birdshot. Just as effective and still a 2" group but less penetration of walls.

Wasn't gonna get on you... If there is no collateral damage to be done, I figured you'd know that...Besides, spackling compound and touch-up paint are pretty cheap. I say Light 'em up!
BTW, thanks for the reference to the TV show, sounds like what I figured for penetration, and as someone else mentioned, at indoor ranges a dose of birdshot may be a small slug like "pattern" anyay...
Ingwe

FWIW,I keep my 870 cylinder bore stoked with #2 lead...old goose loads from the pre-steel shot days. I've seen that load's effect on furred things at very short range and it isn't pretty.

I have an 870 20 gauge youth model that the boys have out grown and the daughter isn't ready for yet. The short stock/barrel are ideal for inside the house. I keep two loads of bird shot up front, followed by three rounds of buck. A load of bird shot at ten feet is nasty.

Don't forget to keep a good flashlight with the gun.

On the subject of ammunition, lets clear up the wives tales.

Birdshot, in any form is inadequate. There are those who say that all the shot joins together to make sort of a slug, and pellets in back, push pellets in front, giving birdshot adequate penetration. This is a complete fallacy, it doesn't happen in the real world. Each projectile needs to be considered on the strength of that individual projectile and the energy it transmits. All birdshot, regardless of size, gives inadequate penetration for self defense use.

Wall penetration: Any weapon capable of ending a fight with a human being, is also capable of penetrating multiple modern day interior walls; not much getting around that. The lesson here is: Don't miss. And no, the shot spread will not give you flyers. At interior ranges, the shot pattern is so tight, you could take out a bad guy holding a hostage. Try it for yourself on a paper target at 10 yards or shorter.

Last - The most appropriate loads are #4 buck and larger. When you get to 000, you may have a situation were penetration could become complete. For me, it's #4 buck indoors. Outside, it's 00 or 000 with the understanding that buckshot is effective on humans (in reviewing police shootings) out to about 25 yards, after that, it's effectiveness drops off dramatically.

For most defensive situations, I consider the shotgun to be mostly obsolete. Any job the shotgun does from a defensvie standpoint, can be done with a short barreled .223 better. Studdies have shown that a .223 typically will not perforate a human target indoors.

I bought my Wife an 870 20 ga. youth model pump, and keep it loaded with #4 buck. We're country and worry more about Cougars in the yard that perps.
Virgil B.

Good choice, the 20 bore is often overlooked for defense.

Mr. Slidellkid;
You�ve been given some excellent advice that I won�t repeat, but I will share an experience that was sobering for me.

For years our standby camping and �heavy� yard gun for our rural property has been an ancient cousin to the Mossberg 500, a made in Canada Lakefield Mossberg 500AB that I bought as a duck gun when I was a teenager. It had fired cases of shells without a bobble for me, until�

A young bear was hanging out in our yard and was reluctant to leave when politely asked to do so. I didn�t really wish to shoot him, I just wanted him to understand my side of the conversation if the need for clarification arose, so I retrieved the faithful 500AB and stoked it with the standard yard load which is alternate Federal 3� 00 Buck and Slugs.

As I approached where I�d last spotted the bear, I cycled the action and did not hear the familiar sound of a shell hitting the carrier and cycling into the chamber. A quick visual showed that my ears were correct. I poked the shells in the magazine tube and cycled the action 2 more times to no avail.

At some point the bear left, no doubt bored with the noise I was making�bad language warning!

I immediately took the shotgun into the shop and stripped it. As I�m sure most have surmised, a dirty magazine tube was the culprit causing the follower to bind.

So anyway, should one care to learn from my error, if you use a tubular magazine firearm for social purposes, a regular cleaning of the tube, spring and follower might be in order.

Good luck in your choice whichever way you decide and here�s hoping it will never be needed for its intended purpose

Regards,
Dwayne

Can't see how a short barreled double would be a bad thing...