My "house gun" is a 12 ga Maverick Model 88, made by Mossberg, the safety is a button on the trigger guard instead of the sliding switch at the top rear receiver as on the Mossbergs. Since I grew up shooting pumpguns with trigger-guard safeties, I much prefer the safety there.
This gun has a black plastic full stock(w/recoil pad, thank goodness!
) & pump handle/forearm, 20" cylinder bore barrel w/3" chamber, full length magazine tube, capacity 7 + 1 with 2 3/4" shells. The receiver is bright aluminum with a clearcoat, and the barrel & magazine tube are what Mossberg/Maverick calls "MarineKote"(spelling?), a bright silver paint/powdercoat. I bought it used(still looks near-new), maybe 15 years ago, with about $45 in ammunition included, paid $120 total. It's a real attention-getter, that's for sure.
I keep 00 buck in it, because it's on hand- lots of it! Some came with the gun, a couple years later got lots more on closeout when the "Bud's" stores folded. Most of it is short magnum(12 pellets), some is 3"(15 pellets)- and let me tell you, that 3" 00 Buck is a real attention getter at the shoulder end!
Way too much for house duty, IMO.
If I was gonna go out & buy some ammo specifically for house duty, I'd get standard 12 ga #1 buck. Your preference may vary.
And BTW- someone I know, a retired Texas DPS trooper, saw it a few years ago, & thought it was a near-perfect home defense shotgun. He told me, "When you get out the shotgun, you want 'em to *Know* you have a shotgun- and that big silver sumb***h will do just fine!" I keep a 5-loop elastic shell sleeve on the stock, with an extra 5 fresh rounds in it. Someday I'd like follow his advice & get a full length bandolier sling for it, with shell-loops from the toe of the stock to the end of the magazine- that should hold about a full box of shells! Something about getting the biggest "Oh Sh*t!" factor out of it.
This gun has a black plastic full stock(w/recoil pad, thank goodness!
I keep 00 buck in it, because it's on hand- lots of it! Some came with the gun, a couple years later got lots more on closeout when the "Bud's" stores folded. Most of it is short magnum(12 pellets), some is 3"(15 pellets)- and let me tell you, that 3" 00 Buck is a real attention getter at the shoulder end!
If I was gonna go out & buy some ammo specifically for house duty, I'd get standard 12 ga #1 buck. Your preference may vary.
And BTW- someone I know, a retired Texas DPS trooper, saw it a few years ago, & thought it was a near-perfect home defense shotgun. He told me, "When you get out the shotgun, you want 'em to *Know* you have a shotgun- and that big silver sumb***h will do just fine!" I keep a 5-loop elastic shell sleeve on the stock, with an extra 5 fresh rounds in it. Someday I'd like follow his advice & get a full length bandolier sling for it, with shell-loops from the toe of the stock to the end of the magazine- that should hold about a full box of shells! Something about getting the biggest "Oh Sh*t!" factor out of it.
