Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Self Defense

"A close friend was shot at 20 yds with a load of #6 shot from a 12 gauge (pheasant hunting accident). He survived, but it was touch and go for awhile, and not pretty."

Sixty feet. Not "inside the house" and yet he barely made it.

As a paramedic I worked about 200 GSW. I saw people hit with everything from a 7mm mag rifle, to a .22 LR. Very popular round, I probably saw 50 patients hit with the .22 LR.
I have been up to my elbows in blood, dozens of times, working gunshot cases. Scores of times. Have you ever been up to your elbows in blood, trying to save a victim of a shooting?

The most lethal load I saw was the close range shotgun. Down South, most people keep a loaded shotgun right there in the living room closet, loaded with birdshot, usually #8. Might be a crow in the garden out back. Might want to go squirrel hunting. And, at midnight when folks are drunk, an argument starts, and son grabs the gun, and shoots dad. Or girlfriend shoots boyfriend. Right there in the living room, 12 feet away.

Of all these shootings I worked, the most lethal was the shotgun. I saw 14 such cases, all with birdshot, and every one went to the morgue. Belly, or chest it didn't matter the close range birdshot is a real killer.

Never shot anybody myself, and although I've talked to a fair number of men who have, either in the military or in police work, I have never met and talked to anybody who had occasion to shoot an intruder who had broken into his home.

When I do, and if he's willing to discuss it, I'd like to ask him particulars about the layout of his his house, nearness of the neighbors, composition of exterior walls and where all his bedrooms are in relation to the spot where he pulled the trigger.

Also, whether the experience had caused him to change his mind about which weapons to reach for in the future.

With houses and neighbors in close proximity all around my house, I keep a short bbl ( legal) 870 with 5 rounds of high brass #2 lead shot in it, I think it would ruin a persons day, any where in my house. I also have others handguns stashed throughout the house. In past times of unrest, there was plenty of firepower available within arms reach.

I'm in the 12 gauge 00 camp. If I'm going to shoot, I want no lasting issues. I have 2 spaced, and plenty of other toys in between. I don't have neighbors close enough to worry about, and wife knows to keep her head down.

I'm in the 12 gauge 00 camp. If I'm going to shoot, I want no lasting issues. I have 2 spaced, and plenty of other toys in between. I don't have neighbors close enough to worry about, and wife knows to keep her head down. For in the house things.

For surroundings, I have a selection of very capable toys to take down anything up to a bear at 200 yards.

I have a 25 round box of 3" magnum lead BB shot as well.

They won't make anyone happy.

i'll take a short AR. much more easier to handle and maneuver in tight quarters.. three to 4 hits with 55 grain polymer tipped bullets or 64 grain Gold dots will stop the fight.

A shotgun would be nice inside the house, and if I kept one it would be loaded with heavy shot #4 buck or the like, because in any self defense scenario the thought is to kill them. However, I just have a few handguns laying about through the house and carry one daily. Have found out through harsh experience "if you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with". Every scenario is different and always not what you think its gonna be. In answer to your last question. Handgun.

The OP knows my thoughts on this.
Shotgun all the way for home defense. This is just what I am comfortable with. 1897 Trench gun with #6 pheasant loads bedside, Rem 870 Marine with #4 buck in the living room and for times I want a SD shotgun outside when out camping or whatever.

Home defense to me means one or two bad guys, and a desire to not shoot through concrete walls. 5 shots with limited penetration seems adequate, generally. A full 30 round mag seems more desirable for anything concerning offense but not defense, to me at least.

If you ever touched off a rifle round in the dark confined space of the hallway of your house I would bet you would be reluctant the do it again.

I'm back.

So, the years passed and I continued hunting here and there, and eventually wound up retiring. Moved to the banks of a river in a region about 40 miles from Ocala, FL. One of the first things noted was the presence of hogs in the front yard, rooting up my lawn. That was the day I discovered how lethal .22 CB shorts were when properly placed. Pop and flop, 38 yards. It's buddies squealed and ran. Little time passed and the overseer of a state preserve noted my shenanigans. He invited me to thin the herd in the preserve at will, and only restricted me to RF guns due to the proximity of residential properties. Time passed and somewhere around 150 hogs kicked the bucket. A large boar was the only one that had to be shot twice, mostly because I was not familiar with fact that hogs have two skull layer in the back half of their noggin. Live and learn. I shot a few with a 10/22 as well, but found out something odd. Where the CB shorts would fully penetrate a skull or neck on smaller hogs, the LR ammo would not. They died, but it took awhile for me to understand that the CB's did not tumble but the LR ammo did. Hmmmm....

I neglected to mention that I had, before I retired and a little bit after, pursued the game of clay busting with zeal. I learned that many who do so had not yet figured out how important proper geometry and use of scatterguns. Here's a clue. If you mount the gun as if in a hurry and after the fact are not looking at a bead nested in the receiver groove, the gun needs fit adjustment. Clue #2: Shoot your shotgun with both eyes open and assuming it fits, ignore the "sight picture". Shoot instinctively, every time. One of the last times I hunted with dad was up near Tallahassee on a private game farm. I took the Ithaca that dad had purchased for mom circa 1960 and killed 42 quail without a miss. He made a comment I'll not forget. "You're chitthot with that gun!" Reckon so....

the same goes for a shotgun blast been there on all three accounts if you add in handguns.

Take your pick.

But you would be generally correct with that. A shotgun pretty much trumps most other things. Now for a small frame person an AR might be a better choice.

Perhaps judgement and resolve are more important than what weapon.

There is a reason I started wearing hearing aids in my mid 20s, and it wasn't to impress the bitches by looking bad ass.

I'm in the 12 ga/0000 buckshot group. However, I would grab the AR and let the wife have the 870. She is not a gun person, but can handle the pump gun.

If am home alone, shotgun all the way. I've owned that 870 since '74 and it is an old friend.

That's my plan if we're in bed. We have an alarm system and use it any time we're away and at night. I keep a pistol beside me at night. If the alarm goes off our plan is for her to get in the master bathroom and I get behind the armoire that in line with the door. If the door handle moves I'll ventilate the door. The way our house layout is anyone that breaks in has the advantage. Our plan shows a real reason to fear for our safety. We have a castle doctrine law here.

Unfortunately my sister service aquatint Thomas Daniel Capel aka “Dirty Dan” born the same year I was both physically and metaphorical has passed away. He sold me on the shotgun and the demilitarization of rifles if you want to survive.

“There are too many things to focus on instead of having to shoot Freddy Krueger twice”.

A shotgun has no equal other than a 40mm.

I will always chuckle from the No experience puss nutted Kunnys that think anything other than a shotgun is best for close quarters combat.

Yessir I have as well. The short barrel rifle is much worse in my view. I led to a serious loss of hearing for me. Some handguns are much less severe and shotguns with bird shot are even less in terms of muzzle flash and concussion for me. I dont wish to repeat any of those.