Capacity Home Defense Shotgun

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For my HD situation, the shotgun is one of my last options. I have a couple of ARs at the ready in strategic locations and a couple of pistols ready as well. The shotgun I have ready is a Benelli SBE 2 24" barrel with extended tube to hold 8+1. If I have to go to that one, my idea is to hunker down in the walk-in closet or maybe stay in the far end of the master bedroom and call (cell phone) for help. It was my original 3-gun shotgun, so I'm pretty familiar with it and have quite a bit of experience handling it, but I don't plan on moving tactically through the house with it. I kinda subscribe to jmr40's line of thinking and analysis.
 
5+1 semi-auto, a Turkish import by ATI. Should be plenty. If not, the 20+1 Sig Sauer 9mm should help quash the invaders.
 
I'm not for "tactical" with my shotgun. I have a light on it because I live in the country with animals so if I need it chances are good I'm going to want to have a clear look at what I may need to shoot so that I'm sure it really is a coon and not my neighbor's cat. Otherwise I have the four in magazine and six more in a lace-on shellholder on the stock.

For inside the house I'm going to reach for a handgun for reasons of maneuverability and use one handed. The shotgun is for outside for the most part.
 
geologist said:
Mine is 5+1 with a 7 round sidesaddle. I'm not sold on the sidesaddle as it throws off the balance but in Canada, they have to be unloaded and rendered inoperable eg. trigger lock, to be compliant with the laws.

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Yes, I like it.
I see you also have no rattle sling attachments.
That thing looks wicked.
 
Unless you're involved in things you shouldn't be involved in, a home invasion is really unlikely in most places in the US. With that background in mind I think a 4 or 5 +1 12 gauge with a side saddle for top-off loading is certainly an adequate home defense gun. I think an AR or alternate magazine fed semiautomatic centerfire rifle is better for a lot of reasons, but I wouldn't feel vulnerable if I had to rely on the aforementioned shotgun setup.
 
Say the Petit family. Anyway, I agree that I wouldn't be helpless with my pump gun but I would also go for my carbine first.

When it comes to single shot reloads, under stress - I recall the Sleepy Hollow movie with Johnny Depp - in it, Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones (played by killed them all Starship Trooper dude) faced the Headless Horseman. Brom had a BP rifle. Bang and he knocks down the Headless Horseman. Being supernatural, he gets right up. Brom frantically tries to reload, just like the good old day - 30 sec for such. Now Headless being on a mission walks past him. Brom not taking the hint, picks up two farm implements to take him on. Ichabod says we cannot win this. Brom tries and get cut in half - (see thread what you can do with a sword, esp. when you are a super powered ghost).
 
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I think I have more shells on board than I would ever need.....but keep two more 7 round cards close by!
(Mossberg 500)
 
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JCooperfan1911 said:
What capacity do you all think is appropriate for a house gun? I have an 870 Police Magnum with a +1 extension bringing total capacity to 5+1. I also have a sidesaddle with 6 on the side and practice reloading the chamber one at a time and also topping off the tube. I feel pretty good with it but don't know if 5 in the fully loaded tube is considered enough rounds.
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I have a Mossberg 590 with a Surefire foregrip and a side saddle holding 6 shells. It can take 8+1 in total capacity, but I leave it with 7 in the tube (because a longer spring seems more prone to weakening, from my experience) and the chamber empty.

If you took it and swapped it for the shotgun you described, I'd only care because I prefer the tang safety to the cross bolt on a Remington. So yeah, I'd be fine with 5 in the tube, and would keep the chamber empty and safety off. After I racked a shell into the chamber, I'd immediately top off if possible.
 
I would rather grab my handgun or carbine instead of a shotgun for HD. However I do have both a carbine and shotgun setup for HD should the need arise. Where I live, I am far more likely to use a weapon on a threatening or pest animal than a person, so it pays to have options. Both have little storage compartments where I have put a pair of ear plugs.

My HD shotgun has an extended tube which can hold 8+1, 2 3/4 inch shells. But I have it loaded with mini-shells bringing the capacity to 13 shells in the tube of mixed buckshot. I also have a 6 round side saddle holder comprised of 2 3/4" shells: 2 birdshot, 2 00 buck, and 2 slugs. I know full well this is probably more firepower than I will need in almost any situation. But I set it up trying to equal the firepower of a 30 round carbine as close as possible. And, most importantly, I can handle a shotgun better than my wife can. If worse came to worse, she gets the carbine and I grab the shotgun.

Realistically I would be comfortable with anything over 4+1 in a 12ga.
 
Kleanbore said:
So is a fire, but we do take precautions.
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Sure, that's why I lock up, utilize exterior and interior lighting at night and have multiple loaded AR mags and an AR in my bedroom. My point was just that home invasions aren't all that common for folks who mind their own business, and the OP's shotgun capacity situation was probably fine.
 
IdaD said:
My point was just that home invasions aren't all that common for folks who mind their own business, and the OP's shotgun capacity situation was probably fine.
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No, they are not all that common. As a matter of fact, they are extremely uncommon. But if one occurs, how much or little it may have been been expected does not influence what it takes to react to it.
 
Versa Max Tactical Zombie model......8+1, 3" magnum shells. Fiber optic front sight. Over-sized bolt handle and feed port.
Here's the business end of the door breacher.....just in case you lose the keys.


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"Yes, I like it.
I see you also have no rattle sling attachments.
That thing looks wicked."

I like it because it is very reliable and short in length.

I also have a Turk semiauto but my government, bypassed our Parliament with the Canadian version of an Executive Order to ban the legally purchased shotgun on the left because it LOOKS like an AR rifle.

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All you really need is one round. Cause after you shoot a 12ga inside your house, everyone in the room will have or is very close to having blood coming out of their ears. It’s no joke! The flash and concussion is wicked compared to outside.

I have some electronic headphones (ones that allow you to hear and talk normal but automatically protect from a certain decibel range and above) and an old Mossberg 500 that holds five or six and one. And a couple of single shot H&R Toppers in the barn and garage.

Like someone smarter than me stated before, I like a PCC with a light on it for inside the house. I have been trained in clearing rooms and structures, but I let the Malinois’ do that now. Figure I will just mop up what’s left behind.
 
I have a very good friend who, for years (ever since they came out, actually); has kept a Stevens/Savage 301 in 12ga by his bed loaded with 1x 2-3/4" 00 buckshot. It was all he had- all he could afford- and he could run it well. Has an aftermarket fiber optic bead on it, and a clamp on flashlight. On the table next to it is a wicked sharp knife, and on the opposite side of the bed is his heirloom Winchester 94 loaded to the max.

He finally bought a Remington 870, and it has replaced his 100yr old Winchester, but he still keeps that crack barrel Savage by his bed. I asked him why, and he simply said "It handles just like my dad's H&R, and I'm more familiar with it than with anything else".

Me *personally*, I'd feel just as comfortable with a good single shot as I would a 4+1 pump- though it'd have to be in 20ga or less. I know what a properly loaded shotgun will do to a man at close quarters. It ain't pretty, but it is pretty effective.
 
Armored farmer said:
Back in the 70s we were struggling to get foster slug accuracy from our upland shotguns. Those sights came from a long-gone gunshop, decades ago.
I haven't seen anything similar lately. They clamp onto the rib.
No packaging or info......sorry.
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Well, crud. I was gonna buy a set of em. Thank you, good sir.
 
17 should be able to handle most situations :rofl:

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