Why a shotgun?

[TR675]

Regardless of how a jury in some states may view a shooting with a shotgun vs an AR, a pump action shotgun will be easier to purchase.

...how so?

[peterb]

I was looking at 1000 dollar semi tactical shotguns. I already have an 870. I'm not much of a collector. Everything I have is purpose driven.

If you're already comfortable using the 870 you own, the best bang-for-the-buck in the short term might be to add a light, a detachable sling, and a short barrel if you don't already have them. That gives you a solid home defense option at low cost without having to train on something new.

If adding an AR makes sense, the 6720 thread here might be worth a look.
http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.p...ght-LE-Carbine

[5pins]

...how so?

Well, in places like Connecticut one can buy a pump shotgun but not an AR.

[NH Shooter]

Even if you're attacked by a group of people, the odds of needing to shoot all four to seven crooks in a running gun battle are pretty much nil. In fact they'll probably run when the realize the home invasion turned into a gun fight, which supports Jody's assertion.

This continues to be the scenario on which my in-home defense plans are based. If they are actually an organized group of heavily armed intruders bent on killing me, I am most likely screwed regardless of what I've pulled out of the safe.

[EM_]

For what it's worth I will echo all of Chuck's experience with the gauges. I have very similar qualifications to the good L-T, albeit with less time pushing the car. I also choose a gauge for in-home situations. Caliber, etc., may not matter, until one gets to the gauges. Other guns do not do the damage 12 and 20 gauges do to humans in normal shooting distances.

As for the number of home invaders present, I would be *really* shocked if most, if not all, of those were anything other than drug (or related) ripoffs. I'd be far more interested to hear what the investigating detectives thought over what the news reports. When I gave briefs to the media I never said anything other than the facts of "X happened to Y at Z time, at W location." Not that X was a drug dealer/gang banger/biker/serial robber, and Y was also, and every cop on the street expected something to happen at W on a given night.

[Drang]

Why do so many people recommend shotguns over carbines for home defense? Simple:

TRADITION!

For decades it's what everyone had, because it was the most suitable, it was the most versatile, the most likely single long gun to be owned. It could (and still can) be used in deer season - some places it's all that's legal - bird season, and "Get off my lawn!" season (for both 2- and 4-legged vermin.)
And "everybody knows" the bad guys will experience PSH and run away screaming like little girls when they hear you "rack" the action. (Alas, some still believe that.)
It's still a good choice, it's just not necessarily the best choice these days.

[Jay Cunningham]

I'd be interested in an apples/apples and apples/oranges discussion on close range effects of 12 gauge 00 vs. 12 gauge slug vs. 55 gr. m193.

It'd be cool to have Gary R. and any others with personal experience like Chuck... LEOs, EMTs... doctors...

We have a lot of the theory and testing posted in Gary's threads, but hearing some first hand accounts of long guns vs. criminal (non-military) threats would be quite interesting.

[Chuck Haggard]

There is this; http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.p...ense-Long-Guns that gives a quick thumbnail visual.

And some stuff to watch;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhZf_x8Esms

If one has time then this is interesting;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6noiXAFHAE8

[Jack Ryan]

I have been reading everything I can find about a home defense arsenal. I cannot find any justification for choosing a shotgun over an AR except for cost. The shotgun is slow to reload, carries a limited amount of ammo, the ammo for it is large and heavy, the tube magazine is susceptible to damage rendering the shotgun useless.
Well the only justification I can see is for bears but those are very scarce here. Or for three gun.
Any substantial arguments for a shotgun being a necessity?

edit to add.
Actually I said that wrong. Its not about choosing a shotgun over an AR. What realistically does a shotgun bring to the table that the AR doesn't cover. Or an AR combo of a 5.56 and a .308.

Justification for a shotgun? You know guys will find or not find justifications for just about anything you can imagine they want to buy or not find it for what they don't want. If you really want unbiased comparisons of the performance of weapons under exactly the same conditions by regular gun guys, not professionals, take a look at some competitions guys put together just for fun.

For instance here is one. No prize money. Years of records. Several weapons types from revolver, pistol, rifle, shotgun. They all shoot the same string of targets from the same position. Only thing different is how long does it take to hit six targets. They shoot each set of targets 3 times for a string of 18 targets at each of 5 stations set up in various position. Six shots or several magazines all that is recorded is how long does it take you to hit them. The total is the number of seconds it took at every station.

Look at the shotgun times and compare it to everything else.

http://www.indyrange.org/Friday_Night_Steel.php

[Tamara]

And look how much better a shotgun is at skeet than an AR-15! I mean, since we're picking things with extremely tenuous relationships to shooting some dude in your living room.

(And I say this as someone who switched the 870 propped in the corner out for a 16" 5.56 AR carbine nearly a decade ago.)