Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Maybe a shotgun is better for home defense...

A little sheetrock repair, some paint and life was back to normal for you, I hope. 😎

A shotgun is a great self-defense weapon. Personally I use two #4 in front of three 000 buck for home defense. I've shot thousands of sharks with everything from a 458 to a 22, and a shotgun loaded with bird shot at 6' was as good or better than everything we tried. Believe it or not bird shot seemed to have more stopping power than buckshot at 6' or less. Buckshot would completely penetrate through the shark where as birdshot wouldn't.

If you hear somebody in your house holler hey listen then rack a round in your pump shotgun. If they aren’t totally stupid they will then be seen running out the door. Lol. Ed k

My wife complains about her off hand accuracy at 10 yards with a pistol. Hand her her 20ga youth model or 10" braced AR and her complaints go away. That third point of contact make a real difference for a lot of shooters, especially those who don't practice enough.

And, it means you either didn't have one in the chamber to begin with, or, you just ejected a live round onto the floor.

Both, really bad tactical mistakes.

LOL

Get outta dodge.

Of all the firearms I have, I am 10 times more comfortable with a Remington 870 in my hand than any other firearm I own. I have some other firearms throughout the house, but I have an 870 12 inches away from our bed.

I have shot tens of thousands of rounds from 870's, so that's what I'd trust.

Only tactical disadvantage I can see is in close quarters, the bad guy might be able to control the barrel. So my home defense 870 is 1/4" longer than the federally allowed minimum length, and it is a full open (non-choked) barrel. The slightly shorter sight radius was worth the trade-off of barrel length disadvantage for me personally, since I am a skilled shotgunner (in my own mind).

With the open choke, it opens up quickly. And it's loaded with HEVI-Shot Dead Coyote (https://www.hevishot.com/catalog/dead-coyote/) 00 buck, which is heavier than lead and less malleable. I also know will go through 2 sheets of drywall if it doesn't hit a stud, because I've tried it.

Interesting take. I've shot a lot of deer with 45 and 50 cal and even 62 cal round balls. Performance was never at all impressive. But dead. Change any of those to a conical and the results were much quicker, better blood trails etc....

I'm not convinced that a load of buckshot has much more over a good handgun round. Sure more holes but I just shot a group of pigs with 20 ga buckshot a week ago. 50ish pounders. 5 of the 6 fell at the first 2 shots at about 25 yards. One lay there, others got up and left and the one laying eventually got up and had to be shot again. From my camera results I killed 2 of the 6. That might even be wrong because now there are 5 back in the area and I'm not saying they didn't pick up a stray but.... One round from the 9mm or 10mms of ours and they are done after a short run.

Bottom line, use what works best for you. And that you have total confidence in. Us, we can put more rounds on target quicker with an AR223. Might even be better if we had one in handgun caliber, but 223 doesn't over penetrate unless using heavy rounds like 69 SMK or such.... and its quick and easy to shoot.

I've seen one deer killed with 00 buck. One shot from about 20 yards dropped it right there. As I remember all pellets hit in ribs and exited the far side. I don't think any human is going to walk away from it. When I took my hunters safety course the instructor showed us pictures of people who were killed in hunting accidents. One that sticks in my head showed a guy who took a load of buckshot to the face from close range. His head looked like a pumpkin that had been smashed on the road. Obviously his skull was completely shattered and the back of his head was gone.

...and they sewed him back up and we still have Blackheart to this day!

I think the longer sighting radius is a big deal. I have a Winchester Defender shotgun — 12 gauge, 18” barrel, cylinder bore, with a magazine that holds eight 2-3/4” shells. Years ago I saw advice from a source that is now long forgotten that #4 buckshot was quite lethal in home defense but reduced potential over-penetration in home walls. Made sense to me so that’s what I have. In a 2-3/4” shell there are 27 #4 buckshot, each having a diameter of .130”.

Shotgun patterns at close range are indeed tight. Folks sometimes wonder how they missed a turkey’s head with a shotgun. If the turkey gets too close, that tight turkey choke is not your friend. Might as well be shooting a rifle.

Wasn't it the late famous shootist, Bill Jordan, who wrote in No Second Place Winner, "You can't miss fast enough to win a gunfight."

Just sayin'.

L.W.

Grow up you pathetic little attention whore. You're only cute and witty to you.

From here on your Delta Tau Chi name is:

Humpty-Dumpty.

This is why the butt stroke was invented. The bad guy's face is the preferred target.

Yes, but without a functional right arm and a large portion of his liver and lower intestines.

He right hand and the stolen Glock that he was holding in it were damaged beyond repair.

OR just ejecting the birdshot to get to buck.

Ithaca 37, 20 ga. #3 buck at about 20 yards.


One shot and done. That particular gun and load accounted for over 70 hogs in the '95-'97 time frame and none had to be shot twice.

Nice shootin'!