Best weapon for home Self Defense

[JDSTEB]

I am looking at getting a 12 ga, but I am truly wanting to know, what rounds are best for home defense. Short barrel, medium barrel, definitely not long barrel due to corners and hallways. Best gun? Mossberg 500, Remington 870, I have seen a lot of shotguns lately. Need some advice.

 

[blueribbonman]

Personaly I like the Taurus Judge, with it you have a pistol & shotgun in one.

 

[DHinNC]

Hi JDSTEB,

You'll probably get 500 different opinions on this question, but I'll give you my take on this. Personally, I have a Benelli M4 tactical shotgun that I keep loaded in our bedroom (I actually bought it for the wife when I'm out of town) in addition to my handgun on the bedside table. This shotgun has an 18.5 inch barrel length, which I consider "medium" length. I keep it loaded with 6 rounds of 00 buckshot, because nothing says "get out of my house" better than that.

I would certainly recommend a short to medium barrel length for home defense, hallways and corners are always an obstacle when trying to clear a home.

Anyway, that's my two cents worth, I'm sure you'll get other advice that my contradict mine. At the end of the day, it's whatever YOU are comfortable with that makes the difference.

Best of luck on your selection.

Regards,

David

 

[FL180]

Don't think you can go wrong with either a Mossberg or a Remington, both great weapons. I have a Mossberg 590A1 pump shot gun with an 18" barrel and love it! It holds 8+1 and can hold an additional 4 shells in the stock. I have a light on the forend and a red dot sight up top. It also has ghost ring sights which are awesome! The 590A1 has a thicker barrel, metal safety and metal trigger guard. It's a little heavier but not too bad. Extremely sturdy, tough and it will eat any kind of ammo I run through it.

In my opinion a shotgun is a great home defense weapon but not to clear a house with. It's too long and cumbersome. It can be done but takes lots of practice. A pistol is more practical. I don't recommend clearing a house if you are involved in a home invasion unless you absolutly have to get to another part of your house to get to other family members like kids. Your best option is to barricade yourself in a safe room, arm yourself with your shotgun and call the police. Let them clear the house.

Anyway, like I said both Mossberg and Remington are excellent choices.

 

[Sir Diealotz]

Benelli tactical with 00 here.

 

[wolf_fire]

Get the cheapest most reliable 12 ga you can find and cut that barrel down as short as possible so you can still control it. You will not need a lot of aim in such a short trajectory. I would also screw a short piece of a turned chair leg to the forend pump so that way you can pump it quickly for follow up shots and it gives you another handhold for added control. As far as the nice models that people have been suggesting, use those when hunting or shooting trap/skeet.

00 buckshot works well.

If you are hell bent on buying something specific for home defense and want to buy new, then I would suggest a KSG or a UTS-15. More ammo than anything suggested so far.

 

[DanJ]

JDSTEB

My two cents. As stated above, Mossberg 500 or 590A1 or a Remington 870 are excellent. Both used by the military. They are not the only good choices. A medium length barrel in my opinion. Shot spread will be around 4 to 6 inches at 20 feet. What round to use? 00 shot is recommended for personal defense. The smaller the number the better, (smaller number means the balls in the shell are larger and fewer in number) but any size will hurt someone. If you can find 1 shot buy it. It is usually cheaper that 00 with similar results. You do not need magnum loads because you will get over penetration. Standard load will go through walls. Slugs are also a good choice. Most important, buy what every adult in the house can use if needed. You can add a light and or laser depending on the model. Learn to use it in your house. There are classes you can attend and several YouTube videos on what to do and what not to do. Practice. As stated before a pistol is easier in close tight spaces. There are advantages and disadvantages. What works for you is best for you.

 

[jdsonice]

Here is a great set of articles on Shotguns and on all things concerned with shotguns. You will find many more on the net, I find this one to be well written and easy to understand.

Survival Shotgun Part 1: 6 Reasons You Need One

Also if you are new to shotguns Remington has a great 16 page book on their website called Guide to Shotguns (www.damascusiwla.org/remingtonguidetoshotguns.pdf‎) that you should read.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

I am looking at getting a 12 ga, but I am truly wanting to know, what rounds are best for home defense. Short barrel, medium barrel, definitely not long barrel due to corners and hallways. Best gun? Mossberg 500, Remington 870, I have seen a lot of shotguns lately. Need some advice.

More information is needed before we can make a recommendation. Is your location Urban, Suburban or Rural? How close are your neighbors? What type of house do you live in? Condo/apartment, mass produced drywall interior ranch house, sturdy brick sided house, other? Who are the occupants of your house and can the youngest/smallest person use a 12 gauge to defend the house if necessary?

For me it is a 12 gauge Mossberg 500a 18.5" barrel loaded with #4 Buckshot.

 

[BC1]

Personally I like my Mossberg 590. 8 + 1.
.
But it really depends on the household. Are there others to be endangered? Neighbors? Condo or house? Kids?

 

[Warrior1256]

I have a Mossburg 500 tactical with a 15 1/2" barrell and folding stock, great for HD. As I live in a condo apartment I use #2 shot.

 

[AtlasFBG2]

I have two H&R Pardner pump protectors. Both loaded with military grade 00 buckshot.
They are a clone of the Remington 870 and can be bought at Walmart or Duhams sports for under $200.
Most of the Remington 870 accessories fit them. I put pistol grips on both of them.

 

[BC1]

I have a Mossburg 500 tactical with a 15 1/2" barrell and folding stock, great for HD. As I live in a condo apartment I use #2 shot.

Good thinking. Works well in-close and reduces the chance of an innocent getting clipped. I don't have any neighbors within range so I use a little more punch, even a couple slugs in the tube. The only drawback to shotguns is there's a lot of drywall to fix afterwards.

 

[Naybor]

My HD shotgun is a Coach double barrel 12 ga w/20" barrels, using 00 buck.

Works for me.

 

[ezkl2230]

I like the remington 870 express tactical blackhawk in 20 ga with either a good buck shot or winchester defense elite round. For intimidation, racking a round into the chamber of a pump action shotgun is quite effective. My XD-S .45 should also get the job done.

 

[AndeyHall]

I never have been a fan of the shotgun for a primary home defense weapon. Turns and corners being the main reason. Round capacity (for the normal shotgun that is) is my second. I mean when I think about what I want to use (or not use) for home defense, I think about what I would rather the person I'm fighting against to have or not have. I'd rather go up against a shotgun over a pistol any day. If I can sneak up on him around a corner I can probably grab the gun and push it away or hold it away from me. If I can get him to waste 5 or so shots, he probably out (vs 15 or so with some pistols), plus reloading a shotgun is much slower.

 

[Rich kid]

Get the cheapest most reliable 12 ga you can find and cut that barrel down as short as possible so you can still control it. You will not need a lot of aim in such a short trajectory. I would also screw a short piece of a turned chair leg to the forend pump so that way you can pump it quickly for follow up shots and it gives you another handhold for added control.

You might want mention what kind of hacksaw he should use for his barrel modification as well as the minimum legal barrel length for a shotgun. You post this kind of nonsense and then you wonder why I question your intelligence.

 

[Steve40th]

Any shotgun out there is enough. Once an intruder here the gun rack, that should be enough.
Also, get a dog, as they will wake you up. Dont kid yourself, unless you have something to alert you you arent getting up in time to think. And when you have kids, or even a roomate, make sure you train them to identify themselves whenever they come in the house.

 

[kelcarry]

Pretty good replies that cover many options. I have an 18 inch/12g Pardner Pump--inexpensive exact replica of Rem 870 (around $200 and I have never had an issue at the range)--I even use the Rem 870 manual as a guide. You do not need a lot of fancy crap if this is close home defense--that is the purpose of having the shotgun--this is not going to be skeet shooting. I do agree with Reply #9 by Nick--use #4 buckshot and not 00 buckshot if this is for close home defense. It is easy to pick 00 because it is devastating and just sounds right but do a lot of reading and you will appreciate that devastating is not what you need--00 can devastate more than just the BG; #4 will definitely end the BG's fun---it will put more shot in the BG and cause less collateral damage in the confines of a home.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

I picked #4 buck based on the 82' distance from my front porch to the bedroom window of the neighbors kid across the street as measured by my construction laser. 00 Buck may over penetrate or a miss would be bad news for my neighbors. #4 Buck has less chance of overpenetration yet still gets the job done

YMMV if you live out in the country and favour 00 or 000 buck go for it. If your live in a condo and want to use BB shot I won't dis you for that either.