What would you reach for, handgun or shotgun?

[Soccerdad1995]

Wow, those are some aspects I had not thought about. Our house is only 1200 sq ft but we're getting ready to add on about 500 sq ft. No kids and we just had to put down our corgi yesterday :-( Maybe the best of both worlds would be a short barrel rifle in a pistol caliber?

Sorry to hear about your pup. That's such a hard thing to do.

Have you looked at the Keltec KSG? Bullpup shotty? A dozen shells in a bullpup capacity. It'll get you the smaller form factor with the 12ga stopping power. I know you mentioned bullpup being tough, but this might work?

+1. Get the model with the light on a forward vertical grip, mount a red dot, and you're good to go.

[Beiruty]

AR or AK, if not any 5" pistol.

[mr surveyor]

simple ...... user's choice

we all have different opinions.

just have an adequate firearm handy.


jd

[Chemist45]

My two cents:
I like the idea of a shotgun with a full magazine and en empty chamber for home defense.
This gives you a degree of safety in that there is not a round in the chamber and, yes, I think that the sound of a shotgun being "racked" does serve as a deterrent. IMHO, most criminals are lazy and cowards.
Why mess with the armed dude when they can go down the street to the Everytown for Gun Safety house and rob them?
If they are high enough not to care, well that is on them.
If the ninjas have invaded my house again, they probably know where I am and what I'm armed with anyway.
If its the feds, they'll just burn the house down with me in it.

As for equipment, I confess that I am not a fan of the Mossberg. However, the Remington Tac14 looks very nice. And if you replace the forend with a Surefire forend light. . .
Well, now you just point and shoot. The shot goes where the light shows.
http://www.surefire.com/dsf-870-shotgun-forend.html

[Dan20703]

...but the idea of a pump shotgun with the racking sound must project a fear factor unless the perps are high on drugs.

My $0.02, for what it's worth.

This is a bad idea. The sound of a slide racking gives away your location, and the element of surprise. The last thing a perp should hear is the click of your safety going from safe to fire. Could chambering a round scare someone in reevaluating their choices? Sure! But I don't want to take that risk personally. The shotty should be loaded already.

ETA: Dan beat me to the punch...too slow on the typing.

Great minds think alike!

[johncanfield]

...Have you looked at the Keltec KSG? Bullpup shotty? A dozen shells in a bullpup capacity. It'll get you the smaller form factor with the 12ga stopping power. I know you mentioned bullpup being tough, but this might work?

If nothing else, that Keltec gets my heart thumping and my credit card wiggling . I do have a lightweight AR in 5.56 I built with a red dot sight that might be a perfect companion.

[flechero]

It's not a one size fits all answer. For example: I'm on acreage and have two widows at the front of the property... so my response may need to be outside/next door. (which I've had to do a few times.) Our LEO response time is good for where we are but not good enough for a widow in distress.

I mentioned that because you said you were also rural and you may have other considerations.

For a bump inside the house a pistol is my usual, I'm more comfortable with it, both in use and in close quarters. I believe that what you are more comfortable shooting and using to maneuver or clear (if appropriate) trumps just having a shotgun. In a fight scenario, you may not remember to pump the shotgun or may make bigger mistakes.

I love a shotgun, but it's not the tool that I'm most proficient with... (even thought the dove, quail and pheasant would surely disagree!!)

[johncanfield]

Our nearest neighbor is a football field away and the Kerr County SO is about 20 minutes away.

[dlh]

This is a great thread! Lots to think about.

I certainly want a weapons system that fires multiple rounds as we are seeing more and more home invasions by multiple attackers (at least 4) all armed with handguns. Burglars may be in your house before you can get to your light-switch so I have a laser light combo on my Glock 26 and usually have a 17 round magazine popped in with Gold Dot or Winchester Defender ammo.

I can also quickly access my Bushmaster AR15 with mounted light and 30 round magazine.

Glock makes a 33 round magazine that fits the Glock 26 so I could always load that monster if I wanted a handgun with even more rounds. On that subject, I wish Glock would also make a 33 round magazine for the Glock 30 .45 ACP!

[parabelum]

Why one or the other? If I hear something outside (we are in a pretty rural area) I grab both my 870 and my p229 (or g19). It’s no different in the middle of night.

Being a vol. FF, I am by now used to getting jarred out of sleep in the middle of night to go from 0 to 100....

[thatguyoverthere]

Like several others have said in more or less words, I think it depends.

If using a pump shotgun for home defense in the middle of the night, I personally DO like the idea of a good loud pump. If it's just a "smash and grab" burglary, just someone trying to make a quick easy score, then if the perps hear it, they will most likely beat feet out of the area.

If, on the other hand, a home invader goes TOWARD the sound of a shotgun being pumped, then they were purposely looking for you anyway - and they WILL find you if they're looking for you. So in that case, you're no worse off either way.

Now as far as whether to use a shotgun (specifically a pump) or a handgun or AR, again... it depends.

Maybe I'm overthinking it, but let me tell you my thoughts for my particular situation. Our bedroom - where my wife and I would be in the middle of the night - is at the end of the house, with only one entry/exit and pretty much a square shaped room, with no "funnel" or tight corridor (other than the door) that would limit a perps movement once inside the bedroom. And after having watched several videos of burglaries inside of homes, I've noticed that many of those perps are very quick and "jumpy" (think of a nervous house cat finding a big tarantula spider or a snake in the yard). Because of their potential quick moves inside my square shaped bedroom if they WERE so crazy as to actually be coming after me, I'm really not sure I would have time to pump and take another good shot if I missed him with the first shot.

So, for now, I've reverted back to my .45ACP SA XD with 13+1 capacity because I can move it and fire off rounds much quicker with it than I can my pump shotgun. I still like the idea of the shotgun, but I need to come up with a way to test out my ability to hit a close target moving quickly toward me in a zig zag pattern.

So mine is still a work in progress, I suppose. Anyway, just my $.02.

[pbwalker]

Our nearest neighbor is a football field away and the Kerr County SO is about 20 minutes away.

Kerr Country! I'm envious...my old Whitetail hunting ground. It's truly God's country out there.

[cmgee67]

I’d grab the shot gun. I grew up on shot guns and it was only three or so years ago that I really got into handguns. I feel more comfortable with a Remington 870 than anything else in my hands.

[The Annoyed Man]

There are several threads on this topic. If you were thinking of one in particular, it may have been this one.
viewtopic.php?f=23&t=52012&hilit=shotgu ... me+defense

As I mentioned in that thread and is still valid today, my first choice is my M4 carbine and then my Glock .45. The carbine has a 40 round mag of hollowpoints and the Glock has a 13 rounder and one in the chamber. Both have lights attached. The Glock has night sights and the M4 has an ACOG. The ACOG is sighted in at 100 yards, as recommended and what it is designed for, but I have also practiced with it at CQC distances quite a bit to be familiar with what is needed for those sighting at those distances. However, at those distances, using the sights may be a moot point since pointing and shooting may be all there is time for and required. Which I also practice using a timer.

I don't bother keeping my shotgun loaded.

There are so many answers to this question, that none of them are wrong. It all kind of depends on what works for you.

Kyle Lamb of Viking Tactics is big on the use of the AR15 as a primary home defense weapon, and for some good reasons: https://www.americanrifleman.org/articl ... s-opinion/. I would add a couple of remarks about. ACOGs (which I love). One is that the price of the ACOG can easily exceed the price of an AR15, so be prepared for sticker shock. The other is that if you do buy an ACOG, don’t let the magnification bother you in CQB. They are designed to use the Bindon Aiming Concept - which is what the “BAC” means in some of the ACOG names. This means that you shoot with both eyes open. At CQB distances, your brain will automatically superimpose the reticle over the target as if you’re seeing it with both eyes.

But, the AR may not be for you. Like others, I think that the bit about the sound of a shotgun being racked is a myth, and it isn’t one I want to stake my life on. Keep a round chambered with the safety on, and store the gun where YOU can reach it, but little ones can’t. Mine is a Mossberg 590A1, loaded with Federal topflight #1 Buck. It’s a pump gun. Kyle Lamb, in his article above, advocates a semiauto, regardless of platform, and including shotguns. In his words:

AR: What about other choices, such as the shotgun, for home defense?

KL: For self-defense, a reliable semi-automatic is king. That is why I would not pick the shotgun. Rarely can you find a semi-automatic shotgun that is 100-percent reliable with assorted ammunition. Add the fact that you may need to shoot without your shoulder to the buttstock and reliability with the scattergun drops even more. Recoil-operated semi-automatic shotguns are light and handy but unreliable when not held tightly, and gas-operated guns are heavier than I prefer for a home-defense scenario. Once again, if you want to carry a shotgun for home defense, knock yourself out. I choose not to do so. I am sure those who carry pump shotguns will chime in with the absolute final word on the proper pick for the home-defense shotgun—all I ask is that you head to the range and try to operate your pump gun with only one hand. Simulating a disabled arm will make you a believer in the semi-automatic carbine. The shotgun is also extremely deficient in magazine capacity. Once again, the AR shines in this category. Even in 10-round-maximum states, in which long-gun rights have been destroyed, you have more firepower than with most shotguns.

In the end, for me, I’ve gone with a Glock 17 with a tactical light mounted, and a suppressed AR15 SBR chambered in .300 blackout subsonics, also with a light mounted. But, in a 1200 to 1700 sq foot house, you may not be confident with a carbine.

Here’s a real good Paul Harrel video about why a shotgun is better than a carbine for home defense:


In the end, it’s a very personal choice, and you have to decide what works best in your home. Just one piece of advice......DON’T use your .308 inside the house!

Lastly, watch this video before making up your mind. Best video I’ve seen yet for bullet performance inside of a house:

[Smokey613]

JMO and .02, We have a designated plan for such an event. The wife has the shotgun on her side of the bed which is farthest from the door. She also has her revolver in her nightstand. I have at least 2 handguns in my nightstand, 1 being my carry weapon of the day and the other my normal BUG. We both also have access to an AR15 (or 2).
If it hit the fan, I would be the first up and out with a handgun. She would take cover either on her side of the bed or in the safe room (we have a 6x8 concrete safe room with steel door as our bedroom closet). If she is on her side of the bed, I either let her know the threat is gone before I walk back into the bedroom, or she shoots the first thing walking through the door because she knows I would be out of action. I would honestly prefer her going into the safe room but stubborn as she is, she wants to be my back up. We drill on this constantly so it is engraved into memory.

Wow, this mirrors our plan almost exactly, the only difference is my wife has 27 years as an LEO and I have 31 years. She has an 870 riot and G22 w/ night sights on her side which is farthest from the door. I have my G20SF (duty gun) and Shield 45 (off duty) on my side. Both with extra loaded mags.