You can put the brace on it and it makes a nice light handy little defender out of it. Much easier to shoot too. I built one of the Mossberg versions for a buddy and it shot great. The 870 is better in my opinion because you can reach the safety with your shooting hand.
All the people who are hypothesizing a sudden groggy wake up from sleep at the sound of a home invader bumping a piece of furniture in the darkness of your home must not have dogs. Dog will wake you up when the invaders enter your property line outside, or before. By the time they get to the door or window, you will be fully awake.
Back in college, we'd shoot flies off the wall with 22 LRs. We'd run out of .22s on occasion, so we'd dump the pellets out of some quail loads, and fire the wads at the flies. Those wads never once failed to penetrate sheetrock. That's my way of saying, shotguns have serious potential, especially at self defense range.
Shotguns have made the absolutely nastiest wounds, on people or critters I have ever seen and yes: the sound of a pump being racked is a psychological deterrent. I've seen it. Maybe not to someone whacked out on meth, but to anyone resembling sober it can very possibly have a guy avoiding a lot of paperwork, lawyer troubles and mental issues. Killing anyone who breaks in may sound good in theory but I'll bet $ most folks who are unfortunately put into that situation have different afterthoughts...Lethal shot absolutely has it's place, but I think the non-lethal loads do too.
Probably 10-12 years ago, some Rambo near my hometown shot at a burglar in his home, fully intent on killing him and ended up shooting and killing a family member in the next room over. I can't remember if it was with a shotgun or rifle, or any specifics about the situation, but Rambo committed suicide a while later. Chew on that for a while.
Therein is found the basis for thinking before one jerks the trigger, and some thought before the fact. Situational awareness is the path to success and key to avoiding disaster. Using friends, family and neighbors as backstops is a poor idea.
I have no idea how many of you fellas have been in a gunfight, but keeping emotions under control is paramount. You and your chosen weapon have capabilities. Operate within those limits and avoid the Hail Mary theory like someone’s life depends on it, because it does.
I am..........disturbed.
Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn't any. But this wrongs the jackass. -Twain
Having foresight would be helpful but impossible, so you could know if the dipshît was armed or just a stupid kid who’d learn a good lesson by you beating him bloody vs cutting him in half with a shotgun
But, those fûckers that come in armed - Sorry Travis, I’m all in for ending them on my tile, hardwood or carpets with prejudice.
😎
Curiosity Killed the Cat & The Prairie Dog “Molon Labe”
Foresight is quite possible, and is not constrained by the multitude of variables at play. One might imagine the perp’s vulnerability by looking at his/her perspective as they force entry for example.
I am..........disturbed.
Concerning the difference between man and the jackass: some observers hold that there isn't any. But this wrongs the jackass. -Twain
Did that once in a house I rented in Oak Cliff a Dallas suburb. They had broken into the garage which was built into the house. The door from the garage into the house had been built in so I went out the front door and accosted the two jerks who immediately became submissive when they saw my 45. Had them lay on the grass face down till the police got there. I was interrogated for an hour, they cuffed the two illegals and took them to jail. Apparently they let them go that evening and they were standing in front of my place when I left for work the next day! I called the cops at the corner convenience store and asked WTH, they said they had released them because of lack of evidence! When I got home from work everything of value in the house was gone right down to a POS toaster, the dishes and they even took my dog! So screw being a nice guy and the hell with the Dallas cops.
Did that once in a house I rented in Oak Cliff a Dallas suburb. They had broken into the garage which was built into the house. The door from the garage into the house had been built in so I went out the front door and accosted the two jerks who immediately became submissive when they saw my 45. Had them lay on the grass face down till the police got there. I was interrogated for an hour, they cuffed the two illegals and took them to jail. Apparently they let them go that evening and they were standing in front of my place when I left for work the next day! I called the cops at the corner convenience store and asked WTH, they said they had released them because of lack of evidence! When I got home from work everything of value in the house was gone right down to a POS toaster, the dishes and they even took my dog! So screw being a nice guy and the hell with the Dallas cops.
sorry to hear about that ,that just enforced what i would do if that happens to me > looks like i will be showing my attorney`s card and cleaning and washing my garage floor.
Guys, this racking the slide, slamming a bolt home on a semi, rubber bullets chit has got to go, if you're alone, job one is staying alive, if your wife, kids, grandkids are in the residence, job one is keeping them alive, ANYTHING that has breached your home doesn't even need to be able to hear you release the safety.
^^^This. Dad found out the shotgun by my bed was always hot, round chambered, and asked me why. Said chamber empty was safer, and the intruder gets the warning of hearing that slide rack. I said, “Exactly”. If one breaks into my home, the last thing they will get is a warning. The first thing they will see is a disorienting and momentary blast of light, and if they are a threat, the immediate result will be muzzle blast. The only thing that may prevent that follow up is if the light identifies one as less than a mortal threat, such as a disoriented person from meds or similar, or being a member of the family or a friend. The latter group all knows better than to break in, and the former group would be assessed on a pretty harsh scale. But things happen, and I am willing to take that half a second to identify what I am fixing to snatch the life out of.
Years ago, as a young man, I was renting a room from a lady I worked with, and I usually left for work at around 5 am. So one morning in particular, I walk out the door, and as I turn to lock it behind me, I hear someone rack a slide on a shotgun in the dark. The sound came from the driveway around the corner of the house. That gets your attention.
About two seconds later, I am looking at a guy standing there in the light of my Surefire, across the sights of my Glock, and he is blinded and hearing some yahoo screaming at him to drop the weapon. Which he does immediately. About this time, I notice he is all geared up in camo, and my brain realizes it’s turkey season. Turns out he is the landlady’s son in law, coming to turkey hunt on her place. She never mentioned it to me.
Both of us were a bit frazzled after that, but he was pretty understanding about the whole thing, and the landlady was apologetic about it. All of us were simply glad that nobody got hurt or killed. It cemented in my mind early on the importance of a proper light being properly employed with a weapon, as well as the requirement to identify the target prior to opening fire. There are a million things that can happen, many of them may seem like a threat, but turn out to be something else entirely. The slim chance of being killed by taking a moment to identify your target in such situations is far less of a concern to me than living life having taken the life of someone who was no threat to me.
Yessir, I'm no copper or master trainer at the shoot em up academy, only have the simple thought that I DONT know how many there are, and DONT know what they're carrying, so, with thieves basically being the cowardice coyotes they are, if they see one of their felonious partners in crime get splattered they'll be getting some gone, don't believe they'll take up a position to return fire trying to steal something that doesn't belong to them, even to them, their asses [lives] have to be more valuable.
Some of you fuggers sound like you’ve turned your house into a huge bait site, with you laid up waiting, hoping to cull a human unworthy of reproducing offspring....This is for the betterment of society, of course.
Cull Away boyz!
😜😎
Curiosity Killed the Cat & The Prairie Dog “Molon Labe”
I fell down the rabbit hole watching YouTube videos where armed homeowners were shooting up their home interiors trying to hit intruders.
From what I saw, it was evident that a handgun wasn’t getting the job done, unless scaring the living shît out of the burglar was the only intention.
... Getting off anything more than a snap shot before the burglar disappears behind a wall, or through a doorway, or down a hall juking and sliding trying to get out of the house was the norm from what I watched.
Made me think the average homeowner might do better with a gauge as their choice for home protection.
Caveat. Some may consider scaring the bad guys away with missed shots is a win. YMMV.
Those missed shots go somewhere. They may not hit the target, but they are still dangerous for other people.
I'm getting the impression that a shotgun is recommended because you can't miss with one. That's not true. Those big 40" wide patterns you see in pictures are shot at 40 yards. The longest shot possible inside my home is 21 feet or 7 yards. At that distance, the shot pattern is only as big as a fist. You still have to aim. The advantage of a shotgun is that it's easier to aim than a handgun and hits are more effective.
I had the opportunity to shoot 3 different Intruders and never pulled the trigger, thank God. Two of the times were black dudes that entered the wrong hotel room and wrong condo to fix a sink. I had the lazer on their heads and one pizzed himself. The other one was doped up and just opened the door and walked right in. He started waving his hands at me when I jumped up so I pistol wipped him to the ground. The only person I actually shot at I missed but he definitely got the message. I'd have a hard time shooting someone if I wasn't in fear of my life.
cv540 - "This thread has me debating 00 buck vs #4 buck however."
Just as a point of information, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Dept. has long issued #4 buckshot to deputy sheriffs for its shotguns. I know that load has been highly effective in stopping the actions of bad guys. (I think that #4 buckshot is also issued to Los Angeles Police Dept. officers, too, but am not positive.)
FWIW.
L.W.
"Always go straight forward, and if you meet the devil, cut him in two and go between the pieces." (William Sturgis, clipper ship captain, 1830s.)