Shotgun for defense? Maybe not.
- Thread starter Dfence
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A friend had a 20ga loaded with #6 birdshot go off in an appartment. No one was hurt but it destroyed lots of bathroom tile as it rickoshead around a few times.
I would not want to be shot with #6 at any range.
Shotguns have a wide pattern; pistal bullets do not. This is way shotguns are ideal for home defense.
I would not want to be shot with #6 at any range.
Shotguns have a wide pattern; pistal bullets do not. This is way shotguns are ideal for home defense.
Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
45 ACP, I've never met anyone who can run a PGO shotgun as well as they can a standard stocked shotgun, but then I'm only 64.
And my experience with teaching people to shoot shotguns is a mere 500-1000 qualified personnel.
IMO, if you think a shotgun equipped with two handles instead of a stock is adequate for personal defense, I think your setting your expectations way too low.
Any reasonably proficient shotgunner should be able to do this.....
At 10 yards, hit 5 paper plates or 8" steel targets with good solid hits and do it in less than 5 seconds.
Some of us, including one 12 year old,80 lbs bundle of determination named Maggie I know, can do that in much less time. I would probably do it around 3.5 seconds, if my arthritis wasn't kicking. Maybe even 3 seconds on a good day.
Some of the 3 gun folks do it under 2 seconds. None use anything but a stocked shotgun.
So try that, with a real stocked shotgun and yours with the handles. Betcha times are a lot different and hits way harder to come by with the handles.
I forget the Latin, but Col Cooper wrote of Power,Speed and Accuracy being the triad of good defensive shooting.
Shotguns are powerful. It's up to us to control that power, to place that power where it needs to go and to do so before anything awful happens.
As for ease of handling, until we develop bionic forearms that telescope like an AR stock, the lack of a stock offers no advantage in use. It is easier to store in tight quarters.
We go through this debate every few months. Please check the archives for more input.
Raj, at typical HD ranges, spread is minimal. Here, with my load of choice, it's 5-8".....
And my experience with teaching people to shoot shotguns is a mere 500-1000 qualified personnel.
IMO, if you think a shotgun equipped with two handles instead of a stock is adequate for personal defense, I think your setting your expectations way too low.
Any reasonably proficient shotgunner should be able to do this.....
At 10 yards, hit 5 paper plates or 8" steel targets with good solid hits and do it in less than 5 seconds.
Some of us, including one 12 year old,80 lbs bundle of determination named Maggie I know, can do that in much less time. I would probably do it around 3.5 seconds, if my arthritis wasn't kicking. Maybe even 3 seconds on a good day.
Some of the 3 gun folks do it under 2 seconds. None use anything but a stocked shotgun.
So try that, with a real stocked shotgun and yours with the handles. Betcha times are a lot different and hits way harder to come by with the handles.
I forget the Latin, but Col Cooper wrote of Power,Speed and Accuracy being the triad of good defensive shooting.
Shotguns are powerful. It's up to us to control that power, to place that power where it needs to go and to do so before anything awful happens.
As for ease of handling, until we develop bionic forearms that telescope like an AR stock, the lack of a stock offers no advantage in use. It is easier to store in tight quarters.
We go through this debate every few months. Please check the archives for more input.
Raj, at typical HD ranges, spread is minimal. Here, with my load of choice, it's 5-8".....
Zach S
Member
45ACP has edited his posts, so I dont know what he said about H132...
I'm assuming he was referring to, and recommending, the H132 reduced recoil load from Federal. The LE 132 is what I started using in my 590 since it gave me the best patterns (eight to ten inch spread at 25 yards). H132 doesn't pattern as tight, but patterns plenty tight enough for HD, and is available locally.
Owen Sparks
member
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When hip shooting, a full stocked shotgun it is for all practicle purposes no shorter than one with a pistol grip because the excess length of the stock is tucked under your arm.
tdstout
Member
This may have been covered already, and please forgive my lazyness for not reading through all five pages, but buckshot is definately better. That being said, if someone were to shoot me in the face with birdshot, I think that I would tuck my tail between my legs and run the other way. That is, if I could still see which way the other way was.
For that matter, if I heard the big boom of a twelve gauge after breaking into someones house, even if the pellets didn't hit me, I think I would be running out the door.
For that matter, if I heard the big boom of a twelve gauge after breaking into someones house, even if the pellets didn't hit me, I think I would be running out the door.PT92
Member
Theoretically one can be killed with an air rifle but I would not rely on one for HD. I agree with others that suggest tactical sg ammo (personally, I use a handgun for HD).
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Justin
Moderator Emeritus
Yes. For a defensive situation, you want every advantage possible. This is going to involve everything from the choice of gun, to the kind of ammunition, to how much you've trained with the gun.
For some, evidently they get to the mental notion of "eh, that ought to be good enough" and they decide to use birdshot, or an impaired gun layout like a PGO shotgun.
For some, evidently they get to the mental notion of "eh, that ought to be good enough" and they decide to use birdshot, or an impaired gun layout like a PGO shotgun.
lloveless
Member
birdshot in humans penetrates approx 2.5 inches. As stated elsewhere, shredding lungs is a stopper. I have loaded my shotgun at home with #4 bird in the last 2 months cause I didn't have anything larger. I didn't feel undergunned in the least. I did repair the problem of no 00 buck, and now it has 00 buck in it. ll
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