hunting shotgun for defense???

[kmrcstintn]

I am seeking feedback on a scenario I am contemplating...use my 'hunting' shotgun for defense; I have a Benelli Nova and money is tight...replacement barrels (either Benelli or Carlson's) cost $200 to over $300, so buying a new barrel is out of the question (as well as a dedicated shotgun for defense); would you have a problem with using a hunting shotgun (with longer barrel) for defense if that is the only shottie you had available?!?

 

[bluekouki86]

I would use a stick or a can of beans if thats all I had. Any gun will do the job, as will a knife or even a good flashlight and a bat.

 

[huntsman]

The SD shotgun is just a marketing ploy to feed the Taci-cool need.

Any gun company will be glad to sell a standard model shotgun with an 18.5" barrel that they don't need to finish out with choke or threads for more money.

 

[bluekouki86]

Check out my model 12 revival thread, I got that gun for free and put minimal money into fixing it. You don't have to spend $1000 on a remingbenchesterberg with ghost ring night sights and zombie logos.

 

[LeonCarr]

The hunting shotgun will work just fine for defense, the only drawback is with the longer barrel it will be harder to move in confined spaces with the longer barrel.

bluekouri86 - I have witnessed a canned good placed inside a sock and swung rapidly inflict major blunt force trauma...it was not a pretty sight. In a fight, everything can be a weapon.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[CA Raider]

if someone points a shotgun at me ... it's for da** sure I'm not going to be debating whether it was a hunting weapon at one time or another. i don't even care if it's a 12-gage, 20-gage or a 410. i'm just hoping i can get out of there before the guy pulls the trigger

CA R

 

[foghornl]

If a "hunting" shotgun is what you have, then "Run Whacha Brung"...USE IT. It may be a bit unweildy in tight places, but it works.

 

[Virginian]

I have never felt undergunned with my waterfowl guns, with the plugs in. If I need more than 3 shots i think I'll move.

 

[jmr40]

Having something with a shorter barrel is a definate advantage. I've never been impressed with a lot of the other un-necessary add-ons that are popular. I'd take out the plug and run with what you have for now. I like the Nova guns, but extra barrels just aren't worth the cost on them. When funds permit you can often find used Mossbergs and 870's cheaper than another barrel for the Nova.

 

[kmrcstintn]

thanks for the feedback...I'm not about tacti-cool, just practical; my Benelli has the factory plug out and I had a damaged aluminum arrow cut down to the same length (as the Benelli plug) to drop in when I need to meet capacity restrictions for hunting...kinda what Mossberg does with a wood dowel rod for their magazine plugs

 

[FIVETWOSEVEN]

The SD shotgun is just a marketing ploy to feed the Taci-cool need.

Any gun company will be glad to sell a standard model shotgun with an 18" barrel that they don't need to finish out with choke or threads for more money.

18" is tacticool? Seriously? Didn't realize that short barrels were tacticool. Police must be doing it wrong.

 

[huntsman]

deleleted

 

[Dirty Bob]

Training and tactics trump hardware.

The ideal shotgun use for home defense is "forted up," so the bad guy comes to you. In that scenario, a long barrel is not much of a disadvantage.

In a situation like the aftermath of a Katrina or Sandy, you could conceivably face a threat in your yard, while watching over a generator or clearing a downed tree, etc. In that case, the longer barrel (well, actually the choke) will probably give you better patterns out to 15 yards or more. Again, tactics and training will keep you safer than a shorter barrel on a shotgun.

All my best,
Dirty Bob

 

[Husker_Fan]

My SD shotgun is my turkey gun. I take out the turkey choke and put in an IC. Load it with buckshot and put slugs in the butt cuff and call it good.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Using "whatever is at hand" for self-defense looks better to random juries that might find a design-intent antipersonnel weapon a little off-putting. I think some prosecutors will weed out of the jury pool potential jurors comfortable with arming for self-defense.

 

[Fred Fuller]

The shotgun will do, if the shooter will do...

 

[threefortyduster]

18" is tacticool? Seriously? Didn't realize that short barrels were tacticool. Police must be doing it wrong.

Read what he said. He didn't say the 18" barrel was the reason. He simply stated that the shotgun manufacturer will sell a gun with a shorter barrel (less component cost), no choke, no nothing (even less component cost) to someone for more money than the comparable "hunting" version. Chill out a little bit and read and understand.

Besides, how super sweet would you look with flashlights and optics and all that jazz on a wood-stocked shotgun? Terrible. You HAVE to have the black synthetic stock (cheaper than wood) and make it all dark to be truly worthy of defense.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

A hunting shotgun will work but I don't hunt. Now what?
20" smooth bore 870 with 2 rd mag extension.. I'm debating on the mag extension.

 

[psyopspec]

Any gun will do

This. But you can always cruise your area pawn shops for a rattle trap 870, 1300, etc, if you wanted to get something exclusively for the SD roll on a budget.

 

[kmrcstintn]

if I understand this BULLS&*T correctly, basically anything other than a single barrel or double barrel is in trouble!!! what the hell is Colorado doing?!? :banghead:

http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/03/01/popular-standard-shotgun-could-be-banned-under-proposed-bill/

 

[psyopspec]

^ The bill was amended yesterday by the CO state senate. Instead of a round requirement, the standard is now 28 inches of ammunition.

 

[browningguy]

The SD shotgun is just a marketing ploy to feed the Taci-cool need.

That is wrong in so many ways I don't even know how to address it.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

You will be fine. When you can save up first for a shotgun class and then second for a shorter barrel. If possible one should avoid moving about their house anyway unless you absolutely must for kids and such. Otherwise hunker down at defend the bedroom.

When I travel, I usually have at most one long arm. Usually either a lever action or a pump shotgun. If its a pump it's got the long barrel for clays and I don't bother bringing a shorter barrel.

 

[bikemutt]

I know my shotgun far better than any others, perhaps because I've spent so much time walking the fields with it. It may not be my first choice in a SD situation but its not my last choice either. Browning Citori 28 ga.

 

[Kymasabe]

I have a MOssy 500 that I picked up at a local shop years ago. Bought it with an 18 inch barrel for $200. Later that year I picked up another used hunting barrel in good shape, and this year I finally found a nice slug barrel for the gun. Neither barrel cost more than $50 at the pawn shop.
There are deals out there, you just have to look for them.