Is a shotgun good for home defense?

Actually you point a shotgun, most do not have rear sights just a bead. Shooting 3 gun has really helped my shotgun skills. Pump is not an issue and recoil on bird is not that much. If I am using a shotgun it is down the stairs and that is 15 yards probably. It has a fixed open choke barrel and the pattern at that distance is easily man sizedfor 7.5. With any home defense weapon you need to use it and know it. If it is a shotgun pattern it at the distance you will likely use it at.
The bead is for aiming, lol. I dare suggest that Millie is not going to be shooting 15 yards in her home. Take any legal shotgun and shoot across a normal room distance, your pattern is not going to be more than an inch or two at the most.

Having said that, any long gun (including PCCs) can effectively be pointed without lining up sights at such short distance. The advantages I see of a PCC over a shotgun are muzzle blast, recoil, rate of fire, and magazine capacity. The shotgun only has one real advantage and that is the power of a single round. PCCs are also fun to shoot and are much more likely to be practiced with by people without a lot of shooting experience.
 
The bead is for aiming, lol. I dare suggest that Millie is not going to be shooting 15 yards in her home. Take any legal shotgun and shoot across a normal room distance, your pattern is not going to be more than an inch or two at the most.

Having said that, any long gun (including PCCs) can effectively be pointed without lining up sights at such short distance. The advantages I see of a PCC over a shotgun are muzzle blast, recoil, rate of fire, and magazine capacity. The shotgun only has one real advantage and that is the power of a single round. PCCs are also fun to shoot and are much more likely to be practiced with by people without a lot of shooting experience.
OK, I'll keep these points in mind.
 
Consider a 410. Its very deadly and less amounts of recoil. There is no perfect home defence gun. All will have negatives. A short 410 and some practice and you be a regular mall ninja in no time.
Lol. No malls out here in the boonies, though! Thanks for the advice.
 
As usual I'll come in here and offer an opinion that goes against the grain. My wife is not a large woman, but she has a 12 ga coach gun beside her bed. That replaced a 12 ga Remington 870 pump. She can shoot both of them, and shoot them well. She's not scared of the recoil, although she does not "enjoy" shooting them. The main thing for handling recoil, on any gun, is good form. A lot of women compensate for the weight of the gun by leaning back. That INCREASES felt recoil. You have to lean into a gun to handle the recoil. If you learn to shoot a shotgun you can handle whatever you want to use. Nothing wrong with a .410 or 20 ga, but don't go that route to compensate for recoil without learning how to shoot the gun properly. Once you can shoot the gun with the proper stance you can decide how much recoil is too much. My oldest daughter, 16 years old, has been shooting sporting clays with a 20 ga for 3 years. She can handle the gun very well. My youngest, 13, is starting to shoot clays some with a 20 ga.
 
As usual I'll come in here and offer an opinion that goes against the grain. My wife is not a large woman, but she has a 12 ga coach gun beside her bed. That replaced a 12 ga Remington 870 pump. She can shoot both of them, and shoot them well. She's not scared of the recoil, although she does not "enjoy" shooting them. The main thing for handling recoil, on any gun, is good form. A lot of women compensate for the weight of the gun by leaning back. That INCREASES felt recoil. You have to lean into a gun to handle the recoil. If you learn to shoot a shotgun you can handle whatever you want to use. Nothing wrong with a .410 or 20 ga, but don't go that route to compensate for recoil without learning how to shoot the gun properly. Once you can shoot the gun with the proper stance you can decide how much recoil is too much. My oldest daughter, 16 years old, has been shooting sporting clays with a 20 ga for 3 years. She can handle the gun very well. My youngest, 13, is starting to shoot clays some with a 20 ga.
Thanks! I'll keep all this in mind.
 
Millie, my best suggestion is get comfortable with your revolver and think of how to apply it for your tasks. Get proficient with it. Then add another firearm to the stable and do the same thing. Repeat again as you see fit. As you build you stable you then adapt their usage for various situations where each excels. To do that means training more than just standing straight up and firing at static paper. There is an old saying to beware the man with only one gun; he knows how to use it. Most of us have that one gun we turn to for pretty much everything, whether for hunting, personal defense, competitive shooting etc. It might not be the newest, the most expensive or even the most powerful, but when business needs to get taken care of, that one gun is there.
 
The bead is for aiming, lol. I dare suggest that Millie is not going to be shooting 15 yards in her home. Take any legal shotgun and shoot across a normal room distance, your pattern is not going to be more than an inch or two at the most.

Having said that, any long gun (including PCCs) can effectively be pointed without lining up sights at such short distance. The advantages I see of a PCC over a shotgun are muzzle blast, recoil, rate of fire, and magazine capacity. The shotgun only has one real advantage and that is the power of a single round. PCCs are also fun to shoot and are much more likely to be practiced with by people without a lot of shooting experience.


Each have their advantages. Pistol caliber rounds tend to over penetrate though. I would choose a 5.56 over a pistol. Again my situation the shotgun is great as I would be shooting down stairs and at a distance long enough that the pattern is going to open up especially with my fixed choke Nova. Will not argue with you over how you acquire a target with a shotgun versuses other firearms.
 
Each have their advantages. Pistol caliber rounds tend to over penetrate though. I would choose a 5.56 over a pistol. Again my situation the shotgun is great as I would be shooting down stairs and at a distance long enough that the pattern is going to open up especially with my fixed choke Nova. Will not argue with you over how you acquire a target with a shotgun versuses other firearms.
I'd like to see the pattern over that distance. To each his own. Me, I'm more concerned about preserving my hearing both immediate and long term over overpenetration issues that I feel are overblown. Biggest thing is have plan, a tool, and the mindset and training to use it. :)
 
This is obviously a very personal decision.

In my case, a 12ga is the preferred weapon I hope to reach in case of a home invasion. I've never heard the blast without hearing protection but I guess it will be devastating, particularly with the ammo I'd use and bouncing off the interior walls. If I ever have to hear that sound, it will mean it was the only way to defend myself and family. I guess some potential hearing damage will be a small price to pay.

I hope to never hear it.
 
FLITECONTROL® Wad
I'd like to see the pattern over that distance. To each his own. Me, I'm more concerned about preserving my hearing both immediate and long term over overpenetration issues that I feel are overblown. Biggest thing is have plan, a tool, and the mindset and training to use it. :)

Different barrel lengths and different choke will open (or tighten up) the pattern but ammo selection can also. My choice for buck is Federal LE 00 Buck w/ FLITECONTROL® Wad. That round tightens up the pattern out of my HD shotgun by almost have at HD distances ... at 10 yards I can cover all 9 holes and sometimes the wadding hole with my hand. Any firearm you are going to use for HD/SD distances needs to be tested as to POA vs POI shift ... if you’re going with an AR you’ve zeroed at 50 yards at 10 yards (my longest HD distance) the translates to being about 1.25” low which will be okay unless your are trying to really pinpoint a certain spot on the target. The shotgun’s variable won’t be the POA/POI shift the pattern is and having an idea is good. At 5 yards my HD shotgun with the FLITECONTROL® Wad barely even has those 9 pellets leaving the shotcup so it would be sub-fist size and nasty ... the right place and old boy is down. At 10 yards it is hand size ... the trash is likely down but a 2nd round might be needed. Farther distances would be outside and another topic altogether but you still should have a good idea of your shotgun’s patterning with certain ammo at distances out to ... ah, well you likely shouldn’t be firing outside but you train and know be familiar with what happens if you do take the fight outside physically and legal wise.

Anyway this is my choice of HD ammo for my HD shotgun, an old Benelli M1S90 18.5” barrel with IC choke, because they are actually managed recoil loads not some hot loaded magnum super shell so you can pretty much stay on target for a faster follow up shot if need be and I can dump 7+1 rounds into center mass of a B27 target pretty easily.

463824B0-6164-4673-B6DB-4DEECC72467C.jpeg
 
might want to get a pair of these

ear-muffs-cat.jpg
 
As another member said shoot what you’re comfortable with.

For me personally, I don’t like them for home defense for several reasons.

First and foremost, I don’t like something that kicks that hard for CQB. And since my HD long weapon also needs to be able to be handled by my wife I really don’t want something that kicks that hard.

For HD I prefer an AR. A short barreled AR to be exact. I’m extremely familiar with it’s funciton and so is my wife. It will penetrate most body armor, at close CQB range is devastating on soft tissue and the light recoil will ensure I don’t lose site of my threat.

I also really like the idea of having 30 rounds at my disposal. Just in case.

Where do you live that body armor is a concern if someone breaks into your home? I live and work 10 minutes from Camp Lejeune( tons of Marines and Sailors and a lot of body armor that gets stolen from houses and vehicles) and have investigated a decent amount of "home invasions" in my 9 years as a Detective and I have NEVER seen body armor used by the suspects.

That being said, defend your home with what your comfortable with and choose a firearm that you can work/run/manipulate under stress. I have an 870 Youth Model 20 gauge with 7 1/2 shot. It functions the same as my 870P that rides in my car with me and it's small enough that my wife can use it. I have an SOE velcro backed shotgun card mounted on it to give me 6 extra rounds and I've taken it to the range and "patterned" it and at the distances in my house, the 7 1/2 shot would be an effective round without going through the walls. I've investigated shootings where shotguns have been used and rarely do they use buckshot or slugs, I've seen bird shot devastate the human body at close distances.
 
Where do you live that body armor is a concern if someone breaks into your home? I live and work 10 minutes from Camp Lejeune( tons of Marines and Sailors and a lot of body armor that gets stolen from houses and vehicles) and have investigated a decent amount of "home invasions" in my 9 years as a Detective and I have NEVER seen body armor used by the suspects.

That being said, defend your home with what your comfortable with and choose a firearm that you can work/run/manipulate under stress. I have an 870 Youth Model 20 gauge with 7 1/2 shot. It functions the same as my 870P that rides in my car with me and it's small enough that my wife can use it. I have an SOE velcro backed shotgun card mounted on it to give me 6 extra rounds and I've taken it to the range and "patterned" it and at the distances in my house, the 7 1/2 shot would be an effective round without going through the walls. I've investigated shootings where shotguns have been used and rarely do they use buckshot or slugs, I've seen bird shot devastate the human body at close distances.

I don’t believe that I said it was a concern I just stated the fact that it would penetrate body armor.

But that said there have been mass shootings with people using body armor. Add to that the uncertainties of things going on in the country with antifa aholes threatening violence etc not to mention no knock warrants being served on the wrong homes and I’ll choose a caliber for home defense that gives me the best possible chance to stop any potential threat that enters my home in the middle of the night.

The biggest issue with a shotgun for a HD weapon when a woman is using it is the recoil. Not all women but it is an issue for a lot of women my wife included. She is not comfortable with a shotgun at all. But she can shoot a competition with an AR and put several hundred rounds down range accurately and without being recoil shy.

As you said use whatever you are comfortable using.
 
Just wanted to add that no home defense weapon will be of any use unless one has it to hand when the danger comes. So in addition to the many good points already raised, I'd simply suggest that one think about home defense as a multi-platform problem, to wit: a weapon that is portable/carry within the home/property and one that is "night-stand" or "if I have time to get to it." There's the aphorism: my handgun is there to allow me to get to my rifle (or shotgun).
 
I don’t believe that I said it was a concern I just stated the fact that it would penetrate body armor.

But that said there have been mass shootings with people using body armor. Add to that the uncertainties of things going on in the country with antifa aholes threatening violence etc not to mention no knock warrants being served on the wrong homes and I’ll choose a caliber for home defense that gives me the best possible chance to stop any potential threat that enters my home in the middle of the night.

The biggest issue with a shotgun for a HD weapon when a woman is using it is the recoil. Not all women but it is an issue for a lot of women my wife included. She is not comfortable with a shotgun at all. But she can shoot a competition with an AR and put several hundred rounds down range accurately and without being recoil shy.

As you said use whatever you are comfortable using.

Glad you and your wife can agree on a weapon/caliber for HD, most couples cant agree on what to have for dinner :)
 
@Michael Gibbs I meant to ask you. How much of that body armor was stolen and how much “fell off a truck” lol.

We only had flack jackets when I was there but that fell off a truck a lot too.

I swear staff sgt it was there. It must have been that rough road.
 
@Michael Gibbs I meant to ask you. How much of that body armor was stolen and how much “fell off a truck” lol.

We only had flack jackets when I was there but that fell off a truck a lot too.

I swear staff sgt it was there. It must have been that rough road.

Same with me, flak jacket only, I think when I was in the majority was lost in the field or left on a range and the "gear adrift is a gift" rule kicked in. Nowadays they take them to the pawnshops, especially the SAPI plates which have serial numbers and can be tracked. The hot button issue on base now is domestic violence and not a lot gets done with lost or stolen gear unless its a conex box full of it
 
Just wanted to add that no home defense weapon will be of any use unless one has it to hand when the danger comes. So in addition to the many good points already raised, I'd simply suggest that one think about home defense as a multi-platform problem, to wit: a weapon that is portable/carry within the home/property and one that is "night-stand" or "if I have time to get to it." There's the aphorism: my handgun is there to allow me to get to my rifle (or shotgun).
On your note, I still opine that a Taurus Judge is an excellent HD weapon. Even better would be the S&W Governor, as not only is it a better quality revolver, but it holds 6 instead of 5 and shoots 45acp...and the price reflects that. Twice as much as the Judge.
My Judge(full size model 4510/3"magnum/3"barrel) carries 3 Winchester PDX 410 defenders and 2 Hornady Critical defense 45lc. The PDX rounds explode a milk jug full of water at 20 feet, they're nasty. If I need to go further than those first 3, the hornady's take no prisoners either.

Things in the Judge's favor-
Plug & play. Pick it up, pull the trigger.
It's heavy, which substantially mitigates recoil. (the judge defender models are considerably lighter for carry, and increases recoil)
410 rounds of most all flavors are not a huge concern regarding over-penetration.
Just pointing this hand-cannon at bad guys is enough to make them reconsider what they got themselves into.

Drawbacks-
The stock ribber grips. Grips in the technical sense, crap in the real sense. Get the Pachmayr's. Judge 002 .20.jpg
 
On your note, I still opine that a Taurus Judge is an excellent HD weapon. Even better would be the S&W Governor, as not only is it a better quality revolver, but it holds 6 instead of 5 and shoots 45acp...and the price reflects that. Twice as much as the Judge.
My Judge(full size model 4510/3"magnum/3"barrel) carries 3 Winchester PDX 410 defenders and 2 Hornady Critical defense 45lc. The PDX rounds explode a milk jug full of water at 20 feet, they're nasty. If I need to go further than those first 3, the hornady's take no prisoners either.

Things in the Judge's favor-
Plug & play. Pick it up, pull the trigger.
It's heavy, which substantially mitigates recoil. (the judge defender models are considerably lighter for carry, and increases recoil)
410 rounds of most all flavors are not a huge concern regarding over-penetration.
Just pointing this hand-cannon at bad guys is enough to make them reconsider what they got themselves into.

Drawbacks-
The stock ribber grips. Grips in the technical sense, crap in the real sense. Get the Pachmayr's. View attachment 28274



Is that a Simply Rugged Sourdough Pancake holster? I have one from my S&W M65-3 , great holsters....
 
Good eye. Indeed it is.
Wonderful holster for the Judge. Besides a quality build, it distributes the heft of the Judge nicely and makes carry actually do-able and comfortable.
 
Back
Top Bottom