For home defence I can't imagine me using anything other than a pistol of some sort. Quick and maneuverable.
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Also short and maneuverable. Trying to efficiently handle a long gun indoors in tight quarters has never made sense to "me".
Not by experts.
No, it was because they were cheap and available. Shotguns are only the "best" choice for people who shoot enough shotgun sports, that they're much faster with a shotgun than anything.
A modern carbine is much easier to learn to shoot well, hits decisively, and can easily address multiple targets in much less time than shotgun shooters can. And, it's more versatile, being able to work just as well at 5 yards as 50 or 100. The big difference was, until fairly recently, a decent shotgun was much cheaper than a decent modern carbine. It's been proven, ad nauseam, that shotgun rounds capable of stopping a threat also go through a lot of structural material, with the sole exception of number four buckshot. There are several lightweight expanding 5.56 mm rounds that penetrate even less structural material then number four buck, while still hitting decisively.
John
Lots of gun questions and choices are based in fantasy or nostalgia and may not be the most rational choice. Fewer of us would buy guns if we didn't have romantic notions, myself included. Imagined scenarios along with SHTF is long on fantasy and short on realistic analysis in my opinion. Chances of it really mattering in real life are so small I don't think it matters. Even if the OP's home is invaded by multiple perps, chances are a double barrel shotgun would send them running on sight. I still would choose something else though. As a veteran I prefer more firepower and something more versatile and reliable just in case.
Given the choice between a lever action rifle chambered in a pistol caliber cartridge (take your pick, I'm going with .357 Magnum) vs something along the lines of a hammerless coach gun in 12ga; which would you select for home defense in the modern era ?
simply, like most internet forum questions, speculation for the sheer heck of it.
In the following video, expert Paul Harrell, USMC (and fun guy; shooters use him as their "go to" guy; great dry sense of humor, has over 750 followers), shoots through two interior walls, plus an exterior wall using 5.56 hollow points out of a carbine. The result is exploding water bottles outside his test "house". This part of the video occurs after eight minutes (8 minutes, 20 seconds; this video got 243,653 views). The ammunition he used as frangible rounds was Hornady "Critical Defense". Of course the FMJs in 5.56 go through the interior walls and exterior wall, duh!; but it was amazing to watch the hollow point frangible rounds do the same thing, i.e. massively over-penetrate. If you do not wish frangible 5.56 bullets to penetrate interior walls, you MUST hit the intruder every time -- if you miss, then the frangible rounds go through walls like a hot knife through butter.
He then discusses the use of shotguns for self defense.
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Check yourself my acquaintance.... I didn't ask about AR-15's, or pump scatterguns... I inquired about XX Vs. YY, in this case; pistol cartridge lever rifles and double barreled coach guns... Anything beyond those two items in question is absolutely, completely, and totally irrelevant to the question at hand, and simply should not be posted.Might wanna see a doc to be sure your blood pressure meds are on track.
The reality is simple - leverguns were the pinnacle of defensive small arms 150 years ago. They’re not today. The OP asked about coach guns and lever guns, and neither are a proper options for the task in 2022 and beyond - or really, WWII and beyond… Doesn’t have anything to do with AR’s themselves, other than the fact a defensive AR can be bought for half the price of a levergun these days, so we see more of them being sold in market.
The only defense for the thought experiment is whimsy, as prescribed by the OP on page 2:
So we can speculate about the best solution for slaying dragons, or point out the impracticality of the thought experiment. When my 5 year old niece tells me she saw a unicorn in the woods down by the creek, we go investigate together for the sake of childlike whimsy. If my 9 year old son said he saw Bigfoot, we wouldn’t. I expect our OP is a bit more mature than 9yoa.
I love leverguns, and find whimsical excuses to use them as often as I can. But I damned sure wouldn’t risk my life or that of my wife or child just to pretend I’m John Wayne or Lucas McCain… it’s bad enough so many folks play cowboy in so many other embarrassing ways - but risking their own life for whimsy doesn’t make sense.
There are so many better options than either. This whole thread is folly and fantasy. Self defense is not a fantasy and playing these types of fantasy scenarios as if they were valid questions is dangerous nonsense, pure and simple.
Chastising people for pointing this out is delusional.
FightLite Industries is well-known in the industry for some truly remarkable firearms innovations like the MCR belt-fed upper receiver, SCR 5.56 pistol, and of course their extensive lineup of aftermarket parts and accessories. FightLite is now excited to announce the launch of its brand-new multi-caliber lever action rifle, the Herring Model 2024. Unlike other lever action rifles, the Herring Model 2024 features a purpose-built modernized design complete with AR-15 magazine compatibility, and a whole host of both rifle and pistol calibers to choose from depending on what you’d like to use the rifle for.
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog...tm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss
Interesting concept for ban states. I wonder how it fits their various laws. Obviously, the mag limits will apply.