WHY A SHOTGUN IS BEST FOR HOME DEFENSE (AND ALL SORTS OF OTHER THINGS)

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Jgibs0321

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I believe in precision marksmanship with handguns so…. If in the event a threat gets ahold of my wife, or dog, or child, Within a room Im aiming for an outboard eyeball and Im going to hit that problem not the hostage. Unlike some of the police hostage killings Ive seen. But an AR its the same belief. Marksmanship trumps everything. Shotguns are a great choice just know your limitations. There is no such thing as a safe projectile coming out of a gun in a house. Its an inherent risk for “overpenetration” as people call it every time you shoot in any structure where people are.
 

OK Corgi Rancher

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That article sounds like it was first written in the 80s by Guns and Ammo. All that talk about "energy transfer" and "hydrostatic shock" makes me nostalgic for the good ole days of reading they same nonsense over and over in every gun mag.

There's nothing wrong with a shotgun for HD if that's what you like. But I don't think the author makes a compelling case the shotgun is better than a rifle which brings a lot to the table...less recoil, more ammo, smaller, lighter, easier to maneuver, just as effective with the proper ammo, more accurate.
 

magna19

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His comment about easier to hit with has merit. I remember back when it was legal to hunt spring turkey with a rifle. About 90% of the time taking a rifle I was wishing I had the shotgun. Most home defense scenarios a shotgun is adequate, other scenarios you might wish you had all the rifle firepower plus some. One thing to remember using a shotgun in some scenarios like close range the spread of pellets does not spread much. One exception is using a rifled choke tube or rifled shotgun barrel. Rifled choke tube/barrels will spread pellets greatly.
 

Okie4570

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If you're a shotgun person, shoot sporting clays, trap, etc, it's a no brainer imo. I want my kids using their shotguns for self defense if needed 1000x over using any of my handguns, and they know how to use my handguns. They've got thousands and thousands and thousands of rounds out of their shotguns.
 

HoLeChit

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“Ability to hit a moving target” Man, If you gotta worry about swinging your shotgun like you’re shooting skeet you need to find a less gymnasium-like defensible space. I also doubt anyone is going to be sprinting uninhibited through an unfamiliar house.

“For long range work, just use slugs” What? Again, how big of a room are we talking here? How much does he dislike his neighbors?

The author of the article must not have realized that since we moved away from blunderbusses and muskets that rifles have been ideal and preferable for most close combat situations, at least in the vast majority of cases. He probably uses Birdshot as his first round in HD and keeps his shotgun Cruiser Loaded/Ready in his closet so he can make the bad guys poop themselves when he racks a round into the chamber like the movies.
 

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