Good shotgun for home defense?

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I have a 12ga mossberg 500 but Im wondering if a .410 or 20ga would do the job and if so what shells would be recommended? I'd like to have something smaller in size with less of a kick thats not quite as loud.
 
A .410 to the testicles would deter most.....I've never handled a multishot .410 (I do have a single shot .410). They are fun guns, but maybe rather uncommon anymore. Ammo is not super cheap. Gotta figure it won't have much punch at distance.

A 20 g should do the job nicely. I have a 12 g for my home defense, Winchester Featherweight with tube block removed, I wouldn't hesitate to pump an intruder with a couple more as he lay.....but G0D willing I will never have to use the gun for such.
 
I would keep the 12GA as your home defense gun. If you had to fire it in anger, you would not feel the kick or hear the blast. I have not experienced this 1st hand in defense but have read accounts of this phenomenon. I have hunted though and I can tell you when you have the target in your sights, you have no recollection of any recoil or muzzle blast.
 
A 12 guage is IMO the best home defense piece cause it'll get the job done. Period, end of story. No worry about whether multiple shots etc.

I like the 870 pump with a short barrel and a pistol grip.

Only problem is you might need to do drywall work after an incident
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Mossberg 500 with 18.5" cylinder bore barrel, 1 round of #6 shot then 5 rounds of 3" 000 buck. Works for us. but if that won't stop them, then there's the wife to deal with, and her 20ga with the same -1 000 buck.
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Drywall is still fairly cheap. It's the new front door I worry about.
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20 ga. 870 pump youth model with #3 or 4 buck. Light weight, easy to handle and operate, plenty of hitting power at close range, reduced recoil, doesn't look like a killing machine in court, and is very female friendly to handle and shoot.

The light buckshot won't penetrate as many walls as the heavier 00 or 000, but will easily get the job done in the confines of a house.
 
I'd like to have a pistol grip on my mossberg 500. I have the 18" barrel and that'd be a lot easier to aim and manuver thru the house with it, but I wonder if it would hurt my wrists because I shot it once without holding it against my shoulder and my wrists hurt for a little while afterwards. I could always get a better recoil pad if I keep the stock.

Ive read posts on other forums saying that 7 1/2 shot and 8 shot are more than enough to kill people. One wrote that he actually saw a man get killed with 7 1/2 shot to the chest from within 3yds who fell and yelled for an ambulance then died. The wadding penetrated his chest also. Another account I read was that a man saw a 300lb hog killed with 7 1/2 shot that blew a hole all the way thru it. No word on the range it was shot but it mustve been real close and the man said he was certain of its weight since it had been weighed beforehand and said it was killed because it attacked a man.
 
.410 is quite underpowered. It's less powerful than most of the larger handgun cartridges, even when using slugs. The benefit is the lessened recoil would make it easier for a small female to use.

Your 500 would be fine, but you will want to reconsider a pistol grip. Pistol grip 12ga guns aren't that fun to shoot, and you lose a lot of control of the weapon. Get yourself a SpeedFeed or Knox butt stock with built in pistol grip. It will make it more manageable, and some of them have built in recoil reducing features.

Do not use birdshot for home defense. Period. Sure it may stay one tight cloud of lead until it hits the person, but it will disperse and slow very quickly when it hits them. You probably won't get the penetration needed to do the necessary damage.

Some people modify birdshot loads by cutting a ring around the hull below the wad. This makes the front of the hull tear away and stay in one solid piece until it hits the target. This can do a lot of damage to the target, but many guns will not eject the stubby case that's left behind. I've shot bottles of water with these and the destruction is impressive. Video of said bottle. You can see the forward section of hull, and the wad land just above the CD spindles shortly after the explosion. I wouldn't recommend using this type of load in a barrel that has a choke. If you can fit a dime in the muzzle of your 12ga then it should be safe.

Get some low recoil tactical buckshot and you'll be good to go.
 
I'm hesitant to recomend a shotgun as the primary home defense weapon. Yes, they are quite destructive at close range but that's only one part of the whole self defense package. A shotgun obviously requires the use of both hands which makes it extremely dificult to handle a flashlight. I would never consider going into a possible armed encounter in a building without a good flashlight. Even if it's just to check a suspicious noise at 2 AM a flashligt is a must for positive target identification. We're trained to take a flashlight any time we search a building, even in the daytime. Our shotguns are equipted with slings which helps free up the hands. Personally, I prefer to sling the shotgun and use my Glock as the primary weapon if I'm searching a building.If things turn ugly I can holster the handgun and go quickly to the shotgun.I'm just more comfortable having a free hand if it's needed.

It's more dificult to open and close doors or turn on/off lights while holding a shotgun. Sometimes there are obstacles that have to be moved out of the way. In a hous this could be toys, clothes hamper, chairs,etc.

Also if you're surprised at close range and both hands are holding the shotgun then you have less ability to protect yourself from punches, etc. A shotgun is easier for a bad guy to grab and gain control of then a handgun in some situations.

Just a few things to consider. When it comes to armed encounters remember; whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.
 
I just picked up a new Mossberg 500 with the heat shield and the 18.5" barrel on clearance at my local sporting goods store for 229 bucks. You cannot beat that for a good reliable shotgun. I threw in another fifty bucks and got the folding stock/pistol grip. My only other add on will be the flash light on the front. I think this will make a great HD weapon. Remington 870's are nice, but come on, just over 200 bucks for a proven weapon? You can't beat that.

I don't buy the "don't use a shotgun because it takes two hands" theory. I guarantee with adrenaline pumping in that kind of situation, BOTH of my hands are also going to be on my M&P .45 or my Glock 27. Let's be real here. Are any of you going to rely on one hand to lock on to a bad guy downrange? I'd be awfully afraid of having just one hand. I think that could invite a jam in the form a limp wrist etc.

Shoot with two hands in a home invasion scenario. If you need a flashlight, mount it on your shotgun or get one put on the rail of your semi-auto.
 
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Originally Posted By: chevrofreak
.410 is quite underpowered. It's less powerful than most of the larger handgun cartridges, even when using slugs. The benefit is the lessened recoil would make it easier for a small female to use.

Your 500 would be fine, but you will want to reconsider a pistol grip. Pistol grip 12ga guns aren't that fun to shoot, and you lose a lot of control of the weapon. Get yourself a SpeedFeed or Knox butt stock with built in pistol grip. It will make it more manageable, and some of them have built in recoil reducing features.

Do not use birdshot for home defense. Period. Sure it may stay one tight cloud of lead until it hits the person, but it will disperse and slow very quickly when it hits them. You probably won't get the penetration needed to do the necessary damage.

Some people modify birdshot loads by cutting a ring around the hull below the wad. This makes the front of the hull tear away and stay in one solid piece until it hits the target. This can do a lot of damage to the target, but many guns will not eject the stubby case that's left behind. I've shot bottles of water with these and the destruction is impressive. Video of said bottle. You can see the forward section of hull, and the wad land just above the CD spindles shortly after the explosion. I wouldn't recommend using this type of load in a barrel that has a choke. If you can fit a dime in the muzzle of your 12ga then it should be safe.

Get some low recoil tactical buckshot and you'll be good to go.


Check out the articles on the .410 and how some of the loads will actually surpass the penetration/damage of a .357 magnum. Recoil is manageable for females/smaller folks, etc. I would not lose any sleep at all if all i had in a HD scenario was a Mossberg HS410. The HS410 is a solid weapon.
 
Originally Posted By: Mucho_MPG
I just picked up a new Mossberg 500 with the heat shield and the 18.5" barrel on clearance at my local sporting goods store for 229 bucks. You cannot beat that for a good reliable shotgun. I threw in another fifty bucks and got the folding stock/pistol grip. My only other add on will be the flash light on the front. I think this will make a great HD weapon. Remington 870's are nice, but come on, just over 200 bucks for a proven weapon? You can't beat that.

I don't buy the "don't use a shotgun because it takes two hands" theory. I guarantee with adrenaline pumping in that kind of situation, BOTH of my hands are also going to be on my M&P .45 or my Glock 27. Let's be real here. Are any of you going to rely on one hand to lock on to a bad guy downrange? I'd be awfully afraid of having just one hand. I think that could invite a jam in the form a limp wrist etc.

Shoot with two hands in a home invasion scenario. If you need a flashlight, mount it on your shotgun or get one put on the rail of your semi-auto.


You better be prepared to shoot with one hand. I guarantee you I am, especially in a low light situation.I'm going to have a flashlight if at all possible. If one of your arms is injured what do you plan on doing, giving up? Practise shooting and reloading one hand strong side and one hand weak side. Practise shooting with a flashlight. If you can see in the dark then you don't need a flashlight, but most humans don't have night vision and have to rely on a flashlight or room lights to see and identify the target. It may not be as simple as just picking up a weapon and shooting a bad guy standing still in a well lit room. It might involve moving from room to room, going up or down stairs, opening/closing doors, trying not to trip over objects on the floor,ducking behind a sofa for cover. There's hundreds of possibilities that might have to be dealt with.

There's more to it than buying a really cool gun, loading it with the most macho ammo they sell and then having visions of blasting the guy into an unrecognizable pile of goo. There is a lot of thinking and planning that should go into it.
 
I have a flashlight mounted to my 870 with a grip switch.

Grab the pistol grip and hit the grip with your thumb and the perpetrator will see the light........and experience his/her death.

They make em!
 
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Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
I have a flashlight mounted to my 870 with a grip switch.

Grab the pistol grip and hit the grip with your thumb and the perpetrator will see the light........and experience his/her death.

They make em!

Yep, they're a wonderful tool but it's not something the average homeowner is going to buy. I'm always a little concerned that the mere presence of a shotgun loaded with "double-ought" buckshot gives some people a false sense of security. I'm just trying to throw out some things that have been learned the hard way by police, soldiers and unfortunate homeowners that have been involved in close quartrer combat scenarios.
 
Originally Posted By: leftlane
I have a 12ga mossberg 500 but Im wondering if a .410 or 20ga would do the job and if so what shells would be recommended? I'd like to have something smaller in size with less of a kick thats not quite as loud.


If you ever "see the elephant" the weight of the firearm,recoil, and muzzle blast will be the least of your worries. Your 500 is already as good as it gets.

Bob
 
Flashlight mounted to your Glock/MP/HK/etc. handgun rail or onto to the front of your favorite shotgun. If you are gonna sit there with a handgun in one hand an a freakin' mag lite in the other, you're not too bright.
 
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Using a flash light could give my position away to where they'd see me coming and be able to position on me and be more likely to get the first shot accurately, but on the other hand in the dark after my first shot if I needed to shoot again then I wouldnt be able to pinpoint their location in the room by sound since my ears would be ringing to where either a flashlight or turning on the room lights would be needed. Thanks for all the replies so far. Good things to consider.

In my case having a huge fierce dog is in my favor to likely prevent an altercation with an intruder since he is very aggressive and intimidating but I realize he could always be shot too and I know he'll run if shot at because its happened before when he trespassed on a neighbors ranch and got hostile with him which thankfully he only fired a warning shot at him. So in that case more than likely it'd be up to me to shoot the intruder before they shot me because the dog would probably run to the other part of the house at that point if he wasnt hit.
 
So what you're really saying is that all of the law enforcement training that FarrarFan1 and many other current and former law enforcement officers on this board have gone through is complete bull? Let's all go out and buy mounts to put our little flashlights under our weapons. Let me run this by you as well... heaven forbid someone gets the jump on YOU. What's at the end of YOUR mounted flashlight? Your FACE. Proven point of aim, just ask the office who took a bullet 3 cells deep in a mag light because that's exactly where the bad guy aimed.
 
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Leftlane,

Ever fire a weapon in the dark? Ever use a flashlight aid? If not, I would recommend that you do before you have to. That way, you will know how you will react to the noise and flash. Flashlight shooting is not "Point the light, shoot the gun". It's "Acquire approx target, illuminate VERY briefly, shoot". One should only be lighting the subject long enough to confirm sight picture.

Nothing can be mistaken for that sound of a shotgun racking a round. Nothing can really match that power in a tight situation. You can put a lot of lead down range very quickly. However, if you have children or other people in the household, a pistol "may" be a better option depending on the load.
 
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