Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles Shotgun or PC

Looking for a supplement to existing inventory for home defense. Already have a pistol, hunting shotgun and an AR. Kind of wanting something else and considering either a tactical shotgun or pistol caliber carbine. I know you guys are shy with your opinions, but hoping someone might share...

I vote shotgun, older police model 870.

Another AR. PC’s don’t do anything better. Do you need an additional home defense gun or looking for a different capability?

Mostly just looking for something new. And the current mayhem makes me think a home defense weapon might be the best spend right now.

VR80 and a 20 round drum.

With a PCC you can do some very good AR practice with less expense.

9mm ball ammo about 27 cents a round, buckshot about 80 cents a round, 556 ball now seems to be 45 cents a round. In your house I am not sure if 124 grain HP would out penetrate a 55 or 52 grain soft point, I seem to think it probably would, In my opinion 00 buckshot solid lead pellets would probably out penetrate both of them, but have not done any side by side tests lately. You almost wonder without ear pro if a 556 fired 3-4 times inside a room might not give you permanent hearing damage, not that a 9mm would be terribly better. I do know that a shotgun at room distances might as well be a rifle because the pattern is in the inches wide range, this I have tested. For me i would be looking for a "force multiplier" something that would give me the upper hand over a criminal breaking into my house armed with a pistol. To me either of the 2 you mentioned would give you an edge, but the PC can be in my opinion set up easier to hit better with, is lighter, less recoil, cheaper to practice with, is like the ar your already familiar with, more accurate than your bedside glock, and retains value better than an 870. You might also visit some indoor ranges that will not allow the ar or a shotgun but the PCC is OK. The advantage of cheaper practice ammo, and lighter weight, and possibly retaining a tad bit more of your hearing might make it something to consider over a 556. Plus if you just got to spend money, the PCC is cooler than an 870, but the vr80 is cool.

Thanks for the input. Would an AR pistol change any of your thoughts? I have a pretty good stash of 556 ball ammo for practice. And I found a PSA 10.5” kit that I can add a lower to and add in the fun of assembling my own. I did find one 24-hour post about a PSA pistol that had function problems, although I do tend to over analyze...

I agree with jimmyp regarding the ability to shoot PC at indoor ranges and less hearing damage should it need to be fired at home.

The AR pistol would be even louder than an AR carbine. Get the 9mm PCC.

Off topic a little bit, but what mounted light is better than a TlR-1 for a carbine/shotgun? I remember there was a thread on this before, but I can’t remember.

I have a Benelli with extended tube and light as my bump in the middle of the night setup. It fits my house and setting the best.

I have ARs and am getting another setup specifically for more of a defense gun but I like the shotgun at my house. In a more rural or open setting, the AR would be #1.

the benelli with ghost ring rear sight and a mounted streamlight on the tube is definitely a great idea as well, my problem is familiarity. If you shoot something all the time, or most of the time when you pick up something else while half asleep you may have to think, thinking takes time. AR pattern guns are more familiar to me personally. Keep it simple.

I know Blue does not like the CMMG banshee's but they sure look nice.

Have you considered a belt fed platform?

Well yes, of course. I checked though and they're out of stock at Bud's...

Shotgun.

For you or to outfit the household? Having different platforms can be fun, and useful, if you have time to train on all of them. Having commonality of platforms between blue forces can be of more value, which argues for a second AR. Limiting options is also a proven way to decrease reaction times.

I don't really see the point in a pistol caliber carbine, unless it shares magazines with your pistol. Even then, I would take a 300 blackout over a 9mm carbine if I wanted a bigger bullet than 5.56mm.

I've always been a shotgun for home defense guy but recent events caused me to rethink my strategy a bit. I recently purchased a Ruger PC9 and mounted a streamlight on it. So far, I'm very happy with it. It's compact, relatively light weight, accurate and has minimal recoil. It's cheap to shoot and with the right ammo should do whatever I might need it to do around the house. Much more capacity than a shotgun but much easier for me to shoot accurately than a pistol.
And it's just fun to shoot.

while the shotgun is more powerful, it still must be aimed like a rifle indoors.

Jimmy, anyone worth spit in the shooting world will tell you that effective application of a load of shot has nothing to do with aim. It is instinctive, and success hinges on fit. Not complicated but fundamentally true. Doesn't matter if it's light or dark. See a shadow move? Blast it. Matters not the distance in a home, or the pattern size. One load of heavy bird shot is a show stopper.

You ever shoot the head off a close in quail with a 12ga? It ain't hard to do and saves a lot of meat for the skillet. Fug the bells and whistles....SHOTGUN.