Has the 12 gauge lost popularity as a HD gun over the past few years

[Pyzon]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pyzon View Post
...And they are popular as always, more so than ever for HD, with the societal degrade of the past 20 years or so.
I don't get this mindset. Violent crime has decreased dramatically in the past 20 years and peaked in 1993. Say what you will about societal an cultural changes but the USA is without a doubt safer than 20 years ago.

Robbery is one of the 4 types of crime that is considered violent crime by the FBI. But common theft, vandalism and B&E are not. Do most of us feel safer, is the real question. I doubt it.

In my area, and likely in most of the US, theft to support drug use is what is driving the interest in HD, as well as the increase in 'undocumented' residents.

I guess I also would include political 'unrest' as societal degrade, but that is another topic, right ?

 

[rdhood]

They are no less formidable or appropriate than ever before.

Less glamorous to discuss, though, when compared to discussing the latest greatest "tactical" pistol, rifle, etc.

This. Lets face it, how many times can you talk up a Mossberg 500 or Maverick 88? Yeah, they try to push the "tactical shotgun", but in the end any old version of the gun will do, and a shorter barrel to put on your 20-year-old turkey gun costs just $100.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I grew up with one and my 870 still gets everything done I need to do.

 

[wrdwrght]

I was an artillery forward observer in Vietnam during 1969. Among other weapons my RTO, recon sergeant and I carried, one of us always slung an 870.

Very effective in close quarters. Almost as many projectiles in two rounds as in a full M16 mag...

My safe holds an 870 Police. I move it to my bedside only when I think the SIG P229 on the nightstand will not be enough for what goes bump in the night. Nice to have real options. Rifles and HD aren't a combination I would consider.

 

[herrwalther]

12ga is for when 3 or 4 zombies are kicking down your door. AR is for when 15+ zombies are kicking down your door.

 

[scotjute]

My first gun is pistol by the bedside. But I always have a shotgun loaded and ready. These days that is usually a 20 gage rather than a 12.

 

[M1key]

For me and the wife a 870 Youth Model 20 gauge loaded with #3...

M

 

[nathan]

Joe Horn with his trusty Winchester 1300 Defender shotgun shot down the robbers when he met them in his front door. He was hailed a hero. This was in Pasadena , Texas back in 2007.

 

[JSH1]

Joe Horn with his trusty Winchester 1300 Defender shotgun shot down the robbers when he met them in his front door. He was hailed a hero. This was in Pasadena , Texas back in 2007.

Joe Horn used a shotgun to kill two men. He is in no way a hero.

 

[Zach S]

I don't think gun forums are really representative of most American homes, and I think that for the average non gun-forum frequenting individual, the shotgun is as useful an popular as it ever was.

Another thing to consider is that most American homes have a shotgun or pistol tucked away somewhere, just in case, but has never or has rarely been fired.

A lot of those non-shooting gun owners purchased their shotgun just because they were told "they're the best, even with birdshot, and all you have to do is rack it to scare them off."

 

[FAS1]

I have this chambered with safety on in my safe, but it is secondary




to my primary weapon at my bedside.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

Living alone a pump 12ga with buckshot is still my first choice. When this changes I am considering an AR loaded with Winchester Power-Points (great performance on soft tissue poor performance on hard drywall).

Read the results of this experiment: http://how-i-did-it.org/drywall/index.html
It's very sobering, esp. this table on the bottom of the results page:

Buckshot and handgun ammo with go to the next room and the next room . . .

Mike

 

[Officers'Wife]

Interesting, I wonder if I could talk hubby into building a full size model of one of the outside walls of our house for a similar test...

Now you have me curious just what the penetration would be for drywall+ 3" syrofoam insulation + 1 by oak lumber & siding.

Hmm, parameters...

20 ga #2 shot
223
32-20
and just for giggles and grins grandpa's 45-70.

 

[george burns]

Nice job, Mike.

 

[Cee Zee]

I have this chambered with safety on in my safe, but it is secondary

Shotguns aren't really designed to have a round left in the chamber. They are prone to firing if they are dropped or hit hard even with the safety on. A guy I went to grade school with lost his arm because of this.

 

[bigride]

Got a Mossberg 500 ready to go. My pop has a double barrel 12 with a 20 inch barrel that I gave him for home duty.

Nothing new or techy to discuss...still just as effective.

Of course, I don't just have a shotgun ready to go.

 

[FAS1]

Shotguns aren't really designed to have a round left in the chamber. They are prone to firing if they are dropped or hit hard even with the safety on. A guy I went to grade school with lost his arm because of this.

Yes, I understand that. If it were in a vehicle I would leave a round floating in the carrier instead of the chamber. This is muzzle down and is grabbed from the safe by the pistol grip.

 

[Cee Zee]

This is muzzle down and is grabbed from the safe by the pistol grip.

Keeping it in a safe certainly will make it safer to store with a round in the chamber but still I'd be careful with that. Bad things jump out really fast sometimes.

 

[justice06rr]

Shotguns are powerful and formidable weapons for sure.

The issue to consider are recoil, and reloading for pump shotguns, which are majority of them. Other factors to think about are capacity and ergonomics (size and weight). Pistols and rifles can generally carry more ammo and have smaller profile than a typical stocked shotgun.

I don't think it has lost its popularity for HD purposes, but rifles(carbines) and pistols definitely have some advantages over it.

 

[Arizona_Mike]

Nice job, Mike.

Not my test, but it is one I ink/reference often.
Credit reads: "© 2009 C. Kaukl and B. Toombs - All Rights Reserved"

Mike

 

[Vern Humphrey]

As I see it, a handgun has serious problems in home defense. In the dark, you really don't know exactly where a handgun is pointing.

But a shotgun is designed for point shooting. Bring the butt to your shoulder, get your cheek on the comb, and it's going to shoot where you're looking, even in the dimmest condition.

 

[oneounceload]

Then practice so you can do the same with your handgun......my eyes will NOT let me focus on a front site and a target at even close distance, so for ME - it is look at my target, bring my gun up and point it and shoot.

 

[Panzerschwein]

From the trenches of WW1, to the bunkers on Iwo in WW2, to the thick jungles of Vietnam, to the buildings in Iraq, throughout our U.S. military history the 12 gauge pump-action shotgun has been the preferred weapon of choice for close quarters by our boys in green. The same boys had Garands, Thompsons, M16s, M4s, throughout those years but the 12 gauge pump-action combat shotgun refuses to die due to the simple fact that it it the most devastating weapons system ever devised for rapidly killing human beings at ranges less than 50 meters or so.

Now I'm not a soldier, sailor, or Marine, but if it's good enough for them for the task at hand... by God it's good enough for me.

 

[Officers'Wife]

I have it on good authority that at least in the jungles of Vietnam the 12 gauge was fitted with a device called a "duckbill" which made it a better defensive weapon. Ergo you can only claim military preference if your weapon has that device as well.

Please note the sarcasm.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Then practice so you can do the same with your handgun......my eyes will NOT let me focus on a front site and a target at even close distance, so for ME - it is look at my target, bring my gun up and point it and shoot.

That's like saying "Practice until you can fly your canoe." A canoe was not designed to fly, and practice will not change that.

Similarly, a pistol was not designed for point shooting in dim light conditions. So why try to make it do what it is not designed for when shotguns ARE designed for point shooting under all conditions and are in good supply?