Draconis

I'm looking into a shotgun for home safety, b/c of higher armed-entry robberies recently around where I live. I'm a grad student, so I'm trying to keep costs down under 400, and have been looking at Mossberg 500 tacticals (my personal favorite so far being the 8-shot cruiser) but I'd be lying if I said I knew what to go looking for (considering I haven't shot a gun since I was 10). Any other suggestions? I appreciate any and all advice.

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Anormalguy

My experience with shotguns is very limited. I'd consider a handgun, because shotguns, even those with shortened home defense barrels, can be unwieldy in close spaces like a hallway. My handguns are kept handy (bad pun ), but my rifles are kept in the closet.

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Willravel

My second hand understanding is the opposite of Anormaguy; I believe shotguns are perfect for home defense. Which ones? That I'm not sure of. I'd probably get an auto. Don't get me wrong, doubles and pumps are great, but really you want ease of use when you're in a life/death situation. How about a Remington 11-87?

twistedmosaic

Mossberg 500's are good--I'd either get one of those or a pump 12-gage Remington 870. I wouldn't trust an auto in a self defense situation, plus it doesn't make a 'intruders should shit their pants and run away' noise when you rack it. It is pretty close to perfect for home defense.

SSJTWIZTA

i dont know about that. if i were robbing a house and i heard that bolt slam in a shell i would shit.

if you ask me, a good little 20 gauge would work fine. if its for home defense just try to keep it short. oh yeah, buck-shot, no smaller than #1 (thanks to Moot for that tip)

you could just read this thread. pistol- home defense. it's originally about handguns, but it goes on to cover a bit about shot guns as well.

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Willravel

If I were robbing a house and heard the gun cock, I'd open fire first. Which probably isn't the desired result.

Cynthetiq

it's times like this I miss my mossberg hand cannon.

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luciferase75

I have a mossberg 500 just for this purpose currently. Use small shot for safety if you live close to others, since a slug or heavy shot might go barreling through the walls and hit an unintended person.

For home use, shortest legal barrel is best, and it doesn't need to meet SWAT specifications LOL. Shotguns are perfect for small spaces as well, no different than a 2-handed pistol. Hold close while in a tight spot and drop when open, then fire when ready. Long barrels can go one-handed (done this before with 2 shotties) but try that with a short barrel and you'll regret it LOL.

I'm a quiet person by nature, so I already have a shell in the chamber with the safety on. Loudest noise an intruder would hear is the safety click before the final boom.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not out to kill anyone, but if someone is in my house, they will die. Point of no return is long past.

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Cynthetiq

Might not be but then it's ARMED robbery and assault with a deadly weapon versus a plain old simple robbery.

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Jinn

Still not sure why willravel posts in Tilted Weaponry about firearms considering his self-admitted dislike for them and total inexperience with them.

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Willravel

It could even be first degree murder, but the idea behind having a gun for home defense is to save your own life when you feel you or your family is in mortal danger. If someone breaks into your home and you believe that your life is in danger, you have to shoot to kill. I don't make the rules, but these are the rules I'm aware of.
My dislike for guns is in TFPolitics. Tilted Weaponry isn't here for debating whether or not guns are good. I'd appreciate it if you respected the rules.

Cynthetiq

Not in Texas.

And for the matter, if the robber shoots first it's then for SURE saving one's own life. Brandishing a loaded weapon is not a reason for someone else to shoot first.

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Willravel

Having a weapon that you have to cock means that you give an audible signal that you're armed and you likely give away your location. If a home invader is armed, you don't think he would open fire in direction of a gun cocking? My point is that with an automatic weapon, the first sound is a 12 gauge shotgun going off.

Cynthetiq

you play too many first person shooters. normal people do not react like that. a twitchy trigger finger of just shooting because you thought you heard someone load or cock a weapon is an inexperienced weapon handler.

no. I don't.... I believe that hey would more than likely leave the premises, armed or unarmed, in favor of easier pickings or prey.

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Willravel

This is way too speculative, so much so that the conversation has become useless.

I like the Remington, Draconis.

Poppinjay

The thing to do, is record several pumps of a shotgun, in varying degress of stereo, and spend that $400 on a surround sound system.

That is, if you don't mind cleaning up after your criminal.

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Cynthetiq

Or at least have to buy new speakers because Will would have shot them out.

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Jinn

I just think it's disingenuous to claim any sort of knowledge about the mechanics or handling of a gun, particularly recommending a gun to someone who actually intends to use it, when you yourself despise guns and have next to no experience with them. It's like someone who doesn't own a drivers license recommending new car purchases to someone.

You're all over speculative claims in this very thread, yet fail to hold your own posts to the same light. Everything you recommend here is speculative at best, because you do not (to the best my knowledge) own or use a shotgun, nor have actually planned or used a firearm in a home defense situation. It smacks of Know-It-All-ism.

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Willravel

I hate war, but that hasn't stopped me from studying military history. What's with the threadjacks?
The problem with this is my recommendation is actually a really good one (I got an IM right after I posted it from a TFP gun lover who approved of my choice). It kinda shoots your argument in the foot. No pun intended. Again, what's with the threadjacks? You and Cynth need to calm down.

I know that Remington makes decent weapons. Jeez, look at the Remington 870; it's the quintessential shotgun.

dksuddeth

regarding whether a handgun or shotgun is better for home defense, two things enter my mind.

first, what are you more comfortable with? myself, I shoot a handgun a hell of a lot more accurate than a shotgun (as crazy as that sounds)

second, space is a major issue. If you have small rooms and hallways/doorways, a shotgun might not be a very wieldy object as compared to a handgun.

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Draconis

A) Thin walls (apartment), so birdshot's safer than a .308 round or anything like that where I live.
B) Already have a 1000 dollar PA system but that doesn't have a remote.
C) I do have a remote for my projector, so blinding them would work just fine.
D) I'm not really comfortable with any gun yet, so ....
- Draconis

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Anormalguy

Very few people, relatively speaking, own automatic weapons. Most self-feeding pistols, shotguns, rifles, etc., are semi-automatic (you have to release the trigger & then squeeze it again to get the next round to fire).

You can make very little noise pulling the hammer back on a pistol, shotgun, rifle, etc. If I kept a pump-action shotgun (I do have a pump-action rifle) for home defense, I'd have the first round already chambered so that all I had to do was release the safety & be ready to shoot. Semi-automatic weapons need to have the first round chambered before they'll shoot. That can be done fairly quietly; I keep my semi-automatic handguns with the round already chambered.

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twistedmosaic

You're actually wrong here, and the term has been used correctly all thread--I'm only pointing it out because you tried to say that others were wrong. Automatic refers to the fact that you can just pull the trigger over and over without having to manually cycle the action. You are thinking of 'fully automatic' (as opposed to 'semi-automatic'), but both are examples of automatic designs--automatic by itself just means you don't have to do anything to advance a new cartridge.

So quoth wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_firearm

The_Dunedan

Regarding choice of ammo:

NO BIRDSHOT. I repeat; NO BIRDSHOT. Birdshot is for birds, buckshot is for Bad Guys. Buckshot pellets, being more massive than birdshot, conserve their kinetic energy better and therefore penetrate deeper and inflict greater shock damage.
The Box O' Truth #3 - The Shotgun Meets the Box O' Truth - Page 2
The Box O' Truth #17 - I Hear You Knocking - Metal Doors - Page 1
The Box O' Truth #14 - Rifles, Shotguns, and Walls - Page 4

NO BIRDSHOT.

Willravel