Home defense shotgun

We have had a rash of home invasion and other assualts in the home lately and I have started revisiting my thoughts on the home defense scattergun. What I have decided to do stays within the realm I have always thought good but with a few non-permanent enhancements.

What I have always used is a stock 12 guage Mossberg 500 with a 20 inch adjustable rifle sighted accuchoke barrel with replaceable shotgun chokes for various hunting uses from partridge, to turkey and deer. This has always sufficed for my home shotgun also. For whatever reason I have always like this shotgun better than the 870 or others I have had.

Firstly I am going to replace the stock with a rigid pistol grip stock combo. I have never beeen a huge pistol grip fan but I think it would give better one handed control for "clearing the home" opening doors etc.

I will leave the forearm as is, perhaps. I might go with a Surefire forearm (when I can afford one). I will add a barrel clamp setup for a tactical light of some type, perhaps a T1 or T2 Inova, until I can afford the Surefire forend.

I might or might not add the three point sling with a special sidemount barrel swivel I found, this allows the shotgun to hang in a ready position.
Then I am taking the barrel to Williams for thier Fire Sights lowlight sight system. Lastly a sidesaddle for extra rounds.

This should give utility but easily switch back to bird and turkey mode simply by swapping out the stock and forearm at most.

What if anything are others using for this purpose?

If you really think that there is someone in your house, why not stay put and wait for them to come for you. You and your shotgun would be a real surprise for someone entering an area of your house that you control. Call 911, if possible, and stay put. Let the LEO's clear your house.

Bill

Personally I think this is better answered on a gun forum. But, there's a ton of home shotgun related threads here already.

As for your setup... well, it's your money. But really, the more "tacticool" a gun looks, the worse it's going to look (IMO) in front of a jury. Kind of like, if you're going to be making your gun into a person-killer, then you're planning on killing a person.

My 870 is stock, unloaded and in a closet. If I need it, it's there. But if I need it, I'm also not planning to walk around my house and clear rooms. Your personal situation may be different (kids, invalids in the house, etc). But I'm not paid or trained to pretend I'm SWAT.

I would head straight to the baby's room with my XD9 Subcompact,turning on the hall light on my way in. That way I can see the hallway as can my wife. I don't see a bad guy making it very far as my Boxer pit mix sleeps in my boys room, and a smaller mutt in my room.

I keep a revolver loaded with hollow points by the bed. Along with a FM1794 light. I do have a double barrel .410 that is not kept loaded but has 000 buckshot in a shell carrier on the stock... also in the bedroom. The dog sleeps in the room with us so hopefully he'd alert us to something before they got to the bedroom.

I don't know much about firearms, but wouldn't a handgun be more appropriate for using inside the house?

T0RN4D0 said:

I don't know much about firearms, but wouldn't a handgun be more appropriate for using inside the house?

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Only if you are a really good shot and you don't mind bullets passing through your walls. Shotguns are generally preferable for home defense because you don't have to be a great shot and the shot is less likely to pass through walls.

Just the sound of the action being racked will give most burglars & home invaders the incentive to find another house, but if things go from bad to worse a pistol might not be enough. Especially when woken up in the middle of the night.

I use the 870 Rem Marine magnum strictly for close encounters 6+1 with 6 on the stock. with a backup Marlin 38spl/.357 lever action. BTW everyone shoud have a Marlin lever gun for home defense if you're unconfortable with a shotgun. Their easy to practice with at an indoor range and you can teach anyone how to shoot them.

For the shotgun fans here watch this clip from Aliens, after all these years it still makes me ROFL and gives a great reason for having a pump shotgun around http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAVgjlRCCAs&feature=related

If you google "The Taurus Judge" you will find a revolver that shoots shotgun shells. The " Ultimate home defense weapon". Interesting stuff. Might fit the bill.:thumbsup:

I would leave the shotgun STOCK and put a lock on my bedroom door. In an emergency I would stay put, call 911 on my cell and let the PROs clear those rooms. No gun mounted lights. If they Kick your door in, then CLEAR that door and wait for the POSSE. Pistol grips on a shot gun are tough to use and a full stock is much better. Read the book- IN THE GRAVEST EXTREAME by Massad Ayoob.
IMHO
Jim

+1

Bill

for a home defense tool, keep it as simple and reliable as you can. Don't add on too much shiny add-ons. You will lose your gun to evidence room for at least a long time if you have to use it.

Get a basic home defense 500 or 870 with extended magazine to hold 6-8 rounds, and load it with the heaviest load you can safely use if you miss, ie 00 buck if you don't have neighbors close by, and #4 buck if you live in a populated area.


And practice, practice, practice. Make sure you gun is absolutely reliable.

Lumenz said:

Only if you are a really good shot and you don't mind bullets passing through your walls. Shotguns are generally preferable for home defense because you don't have to be a great shot and the shot is less likely to pass through walls.

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That's a myth. Unless you have a shotgun with a spreader choke, at the distances it would be used in a typical house you better aim and aim well. Also, sheetrock isn't armor. If you use 00 buckshot it will easily penetrate a wall or two.

At close ranges shotguns will very neatly incapacitate an intruder, but so will my 1911, and I'm more comfortable aiming and pulling the trigger on my 1911. A 1911 is my house gun, and combined with half a dozen magazines stored in my fanny pack, it's easy to grab it and retreat if possible.

Retreat? My state doesn't yet have the castle doctrine so I have a responsibility to retreat, if I can, rather than confront an intruder. The laws in your state may be different.

Get a dog, an alarm system, bars to windows.
As a last resort use your hunting shotgun.

Or you could get a "home defense" shotgun, leave the front door unlocked and shoot everyone entering the house at night.
You can always say that the door was locked and the neightbours kids were a pita anyway.

Shotguns are a fine home defense weapon, as in Chicago you aren't allowed to legally possess a handgun unless you were grandfathered in since 1983 (anyone out there? yeah right....) or you are LEO. Legally speakin, shotguns/rilfes are ok as long as the barrel length is over 18".

How much propery do you have? Some people with larger property prefer a rifle, like a lever action 30/30, .44 mag, .357 like vinnie above me. I don't really think its a great HD weapon, but its easy to shoot and has great stopping power.

Are you going to use...

Buckshot? There is pros and cons to 0, 00, and 000 buckshot rounds
Slugs?
Generic skeet/clay pigeon rounds?

Each will effect how your weapon performs and what distances are needed to effectively neutralize a threat. I live in the city, and although I live in a residential single family house, my neighbors are practically on top of me, and I have very little property and enough grass for my dog to poop on, thats about it. I use the lower power generic bird shot in mine, as I don't wish to over penetrate anything, as I'm legally responsible if I do. However I do keep slugs in the side saddle just in case, and keep the magazine filled with the former. Make sure you test fire your ammo, if you can, and feel comfortable with whatever you choose.

Don't forget, you can find and purchase a handgun "safe/lockbox" with the keyless button passcode fairly easily and cheaply, but where are you going to store a 3 ft shotgun? If you have kids, hopefully in a safe, as leaving it hidden and unloaded isn't very tactical, appropriate, or safe. I have a push button passcode safe, and its not in my hallway closet, or downstairs in the basement, its in my bedroom. If someone is entering your home I don't think you'll be able to persuade them to wait for you while you get you mossy in the basement, you'll need fast access to it, which is a pro for handguns, but a con for long guns. Just something to consider.

For the poster above me who said they'd turn the hallway light on, what if the power is out? What if your area is having a blackout and thats why joe ****head is breaking into your home? What if the entire power grid is down like in New York before and your area has some rioting? You need a light, but of course, thats why you're on cpf, right? :naughty:

I love the surefire forend, and the fact that there is a constant on (push the button and it stays on) as well as a momentary is a big +. This is not 100% true, but in MOST cases the person (or persons) breaking into your home does not want a confrontation, and the only weapon they have is a pry bar, screwdriver, or knife, and the only reason they have that was because they used it to break into your home. In my experience, these types will usually run or freeze upon meeting ANYONE in the home. If they do freeze, you will have to tell them to lay on the floor and wait the 5-10 minutes (plus the phone call) until police arrive. That means you need at least one free hand to use the phone, and one free hand to hold the weapon, so pistol grip w/fixed stock is a good idea, but you want to make sure your light has a constant on feature, as you obviously don't want things going dark as you contact the police.

As far as the jury thing goes, I wouldn't spraypaint the gun to read "death to humans" or "kill everthing" or anything, but if someone enters my home to injure myself or my family, I would rather have the "tacti-cool" features that are tactical and one dead bad guy rather than worry about my weapon being confiscated. Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. My whole shotgun setup was about $600. Pricey, sure, but nothing that I can't buy all over again in case the first one is submitted for evidence. Just make sure everything you do is roughly the same thing a "reasonable person" would've done in your shoes, and you'll be fine.

I'm a big proponet for HD weapons, as long as the person owning it is responsible and reasonable. The police need time to get to your house, on bad snowy days, friday and saturday nights, or if a big disaster occurs, the police may take even longer. I know if some type of terrorist incident occurs in downtown Chicago w/high casualties, and about two hours later a burglar breaks into your home (which can happen, as these ****heads know the police will have their hands filled), I don't know how long the police will take to get to your home, but I know I wouldn't want to wait to find out. Responsibly arm yourself and take care of you and yours.

I still have a pic of my shottie from when I asked a question a little while back on cpf, here it is so you can see my setup. I turned the extra ammo ring on the stock just for picture purposes, it is usually facing the other way so it doesn't kick up and hit your face when you fire. Good luck, stay safe, and purchase that surefire light, its worth the extra $$$. I found mine for less than $200 NIB on ebay.

One more thing, this guy below is HEAVY so if you think you be able to hold it level with one hand for awhile, think again.

Your shotgun is fine as it is. It is in a basic configuration that you are already familiar with, The pistol grip, on other weapons besides the Mossberg are fine, but on the Mossberg, your safety is on the tang on the top of the gun, where it should be. Unless your thumbs are rrrreeeeeaaaallllyyyy long, you cannot access the safety, without taking your hand completely off the gun when using the pistol grip style stock. With the traditional stock, this is not a problem. Think KISS....Keep It Simple Stupid.

As to lights, just remember to use proper light techniques.
Do not leave the light on all the time. Light= bullet magnet. There is no guarantee that the criminal in your home will not be armed with a firearm.
Use the light to identify the target as a threat/non-threat.
Use the light to gain a tactical advantage, then shut it off and move.
Also, use a handheld as much as possible, you wouldn't want to light up your wife with a light attached to a 12gauge, would you. Although you could 'wand' the ceiling, unless you have neighbors upstairs to illuminate the general area to ID the target, just remember to keep moving.

One last thing, from a homeowners perspective, if there is no reason, ie kids or others who require you to retrive them back to central location in the house, there is nothing at all wrong, with dialing 911 and locking the bedroom door. Keep in mind, depending on where you live, the local LE response times may not be all that great, especially if the police are spread thin.

Just remember, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away!!

OK, maybe an hour!:shakehead

take a few gun classes, they might have some "home defense" classes

I keep a 1911 under the bed. I wouldn't want to manipulate a shotgun around my house.

Imagine what happens to a human body when it's hit with a 12 gauge shell or a slug for that matter.. Who is going to clean that up

The best thing to do is sit in a dark corner and wait for someone to come in. "The best defense is a good offense" doesn't really work in this situation.

:bow:Mossberg 500 Persauder 00'' buckshot :thumbsup:

[QUOTEShotguns are generally preferable for home defense because you don't have to be a great shot and the shot is less likely to pass through walls.[/QUOTE]


Actually, shotguns must be aim just as precisely as conventional rifles and pistols whether you're defending your life at 7 yards with buckshot or shooting clay pigeons at 50 yards. The typical spread of a 00 buck pattern at 21', a fairly long distance in a house, is only about 2 inches. From the 27 yard line in trap shooting it's not uncommon to be shooting birds 20 yards from the trap house or 47 yards away. Since you're trying to hit the bird with the most dense portion of the shot pattern, you need to aim and fire nearly as if it's a single projectile. That's the mindset many top competition clay shooters use.

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There's nothing wrong wrong with tacticool as long as it's functionally appropriate to the task at hand. No, hunting shotguns are not a good choice for home protection because they're often not functionally suited for a multitude of reasons. Only a silly goose would posit that a 3 round, magazine plugged, 28" barreled duck gun was the ideal home defense weapon. Yes, it would be far better than nothing but what if you couldn't hide in a corner? What if it was necessary to move? The defender at this point has some serious tactical handicaps to overcome with their duck hunting gun. 18-21" shotguns with 5 round plus capability are far better options. We have such good products available to us today that there's no reason to negatively stack the defensive deck against yourself with something totally ill-suited for the job.

History hasn't shown "black guns" to be an obstacle in a legal defense as long as the defender was justified in their actions. I wouldn't get too hung up about the legal issue of whether or not your home defense gun looks scary or not. As long as you haven't carved "scumbag bagger" into your buttstock or done some other hyper-ridiculous, testosterone driven, imbecility, there shouldn't be any issue here. Defensive experts write articles about this sort of thing all the time and none them are suggesting that we should paint our home defense guns in pretty colors and affix flower stickers onto them.

Yes, it's best to lock a door and hold up in a room if possible but if the situation changes and you must move, then by all means move. Getting trapped into pre-programed, rigid thinking can be very bad if the scenario doesn't call for that specific set of actions. I don't know of many family households where the entire family sleeps in the same room. Often, locking yourself in the bedroom isn't an option if the safety of your loved ones is undetermined. You may have to move, gather and exit, or move gather and defend, or move to defend, or move to rescue. The possibilities great and it's important to have a flexible and fluid plan.





Just a note about the Taurus Judge. It's an interesting handgun but I really consider it more of a novelty than anything else. It's by no means the ultimate home defense gun for many reasons and is far inferior to a 12 gauge shotgun or handgun with conventional, high quality, expanding bullets. The Judge is a rather heavy, long, un-ergonomic handgun that's slow to load and has limited terminal ballistic effectiveness due to the .410 shell itself. They are sort of interesting and perhaps even fun to shoot just because they're different but the disadvantages outweigh the advantages of the Judge in the home defense role. I fired 20 rounds through a customer's gun this week with a Crimson Trace laser grip on it. Again, interestingly novel but not the proper/ideal tool.