Rethinking rifle vs. shotgun

[the naked prophet]

Some may remember my post, several months ago, about my decision to use a rifle as a main HD weapon vs a shotgun. From a "tactical" standpoint, the rifle makes more sense to me - more ammo, can reach out farther if necessary, a red dot 1x scope for night use, and I have way more practice with the rifle.

Problem is, it's not nearly as fast to access or as easy to get into ready condition. I'm not convinced of the safety of keeping one in the chamber, so all my long guns have a full mag and empty chamber, safety off.

The AK is my go-to rifle, but getting it into play while lying in bed is very difficult. Especially with the sling. It's just so... having-things-sticky-out-y. Don't get me wrong, I like having a pistol grip, especially on a rifle. But with the pistol grip, magazine, front sight, red dot, charging handle, and sling, there's just so much to get caught on the covers, to get in the way, etc. And having to turn on the red dot sight and pull the charging handle is way more complicated than just grabbing and pumping once - not to mention the shotgun only requires gross motor movements and not fine movements.

I found this out, of course, before it became necessary to use the gun, by doing simple drills in my home. I think an often-overlooked and seldom-discussed advantage of the pump shotgun is its simplicity.

So I've decided to practice more with the shotgun. But I don't know how to practice for that kind of thing.

What are some drills I can do with a shotgun? Can I use the cheap birdshot for practice and drills, or do I have to use the expensive, $1/shot buckshot?

Thanks.

 

[Matt304]

Some people may disagree, but do you really need to perform practice runs of hitting a human target at 10 feet with buckshot? I do not, and most would never need such practice.

Just get the gun where you can access it, or use something more comfortable like a pistol. Don't over-think into some "what if" scheme where you determine the optimal tactical weapon for a Navy SEAL mission. It isn't needed, in the heat of adrenaline you act now or die, and gizmos and firepower aren't as important as reliability and accessability in a home invasion scenario.

I don't put a lot of thought into my HD besides a loaded 1911 in the top dresser drawer.

 

[arizona98tj]

So I've decided to practice more with the shotgun. But I don't know how to practice for that kind of thing.

What are some drills I can do with a shotgun? Can I use the cheap birdshot for practice and drills, or do I have to use the expensive, $1/shot buckshot?

Since you mentioned practicing with your rifle while laying in bed led you to find the issue with bringing it quickly into use, I'll assume you asked the question regarding practicing with your shotgun while also in bed.

1. Take a camping cot to the range and park it some 15 feet in front of the target.
2. Lay a tarp on the ground (to keep your shotgun out of the dirt/rocks).
3. Start your practice drills.
4. I see no reason why the majority of your practice can not be done with field loads. I would conclude it with buckshot (assuming that is your HD load) just to confirm POI is what you expect from the load you will be using.

 

[The Deer Hunter]

You could practice reloading...

 

[SpookyPistolero]

I'd agree on practicing reloading, and on getting a system down for how you want to keep spare ammo. It was hard for me to get 'smooth' at reloading a scattergun, and sadly I've let most of that slip away. I plan to start back up on that one...

 

[Pete409]

Cheap birdshot will work fine for practice, and practice is a good idea, even if your shot is not likely to be more than 15 to 20 feet in distance.

 

[GigaBuist]

Some people may disagree, but do you really need to perform practice runs of hitting a human target at 10 feet with buckshot? I do not, and most would never need such practice.

I asked a similiar question on here some months ago and Dave McCracken had a few suggestions. The one that really hit me hard (and I have yet, to my own embarassment, actually do this) is to practice with your body under stress. Dave suggested running in place to get your heart rate up.

It's pretty darned hard to miss somebody in your house with a long gun, but it has happened. Stress'll do that kinda thing to you.

 

[CZguy]

It's pretty darned hard to miss somebody in your house with a long gun, but it has happened. Stress'll do that kinda thing to you.

I believe that it's actually very easy to miss your target under stress. The only known cure is practice.

 

[mswestfall]

A shotgun is a tool. Regardless of the tool used for the job it is always a good idea to know it inside out.

We have a Five Stand Flurry competition at out club at least every other month. The game is for 3 people, with 50 shells each to shoot 90 birds that are thrown randomly from 8 stations, 3 seconds apart. The shooters that do the best tend to be the ones that shoot the same gun (not shottie) all the time.

I'm not saying that you can't be proficient with multiple guns but it does take that much more practice.

 

[Brewha]

Nothing wrong with going to the range to get some shooting practice in but if I were doing HD drills I'd be more concerned about my response time to a perceived threat. Set your alarm for 3 AM and time how long it takes to get you and your family into a defensive position.

Also, I apologize if I'm stating the obvious but you should be looking at HD in terms of layers of defense. If you have a fenced yard with a gate then lock the gate when you're not expecting company. Have proximity lights that come on when someone nears your home. Put in steel doors with reinforced deadbolts. Invest a few hundred bucks into a security system. Buy a dog.

I know some people may not be willing or able to apply all of these measures but my HD strategy is to make my home as unappealing a target as possible, to give myself time to react to any potential threat and to have a plan for a last layer of defense which would involve defending a safe room with my family.

 

[wditto]

great points, Brewha

 

[Pete409]

Oops. Never mind. Disregard.

 

[mossberg]

How big is your house, it seems to me that a rifle would be for shooting in the back as the bgs running.

 

[Brewha]

I agree with the old adage of practice, practice practice. IMO, it doesn't matter what load you practice with as long as it patterns somewhat like what you'll be using for HD. As for the types of firing drills you should be doing I don't recommend trying to clear your house but in the event you have to move I would recommend practice in firing your weapon while keeping a low silhouette, firing from a kneeling or prone position, firing from around a doorway or corner, etc. Basically try to model your movements to fit your intended environment while presenting as small of a target as possible.

 

[Kenpo]

From time to time I will have an alarm go off at two or three in the morning. As soon as it goes off, I bring the firearm into "play" so to speak. It can be a little tricky to do in a groggy state.

 

[Titan6]

What are some drills I can do with a shotgun? Can I use the cheap birdshot for practice and drills, or do I have to use the expensive, $1/shot buckshot?

How about $.50 a piece slugs? They pack a much bigger wallop anyway.