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OK. It's easy to miss with a shotgun. I've done it thousands of times (as ElGato can testify).

Take your shotgun, set up a target, and shoot from three yards. The pattern is around 3 inches in diameter, depending upon the choke and load. With slugs, there is no pattern. It's a bullet (though a big one) and can miss like any other bullet.

If you don't have a shotgun yet, the good old boys at the Box O' Truth have a preview for you:
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot3.htm

- Jim

Stupid wrote:I have a number of pistols and rifles, but have never warmed myself up to get a shotgun - no, I don't do any hunting except for zombies hunting.

What do you guys see in shotgun that a rifle cannot do besides shooting at ducks? Maybe you can help me and give me enough reasons to buy one. :-) My significant other always says it's cool, well, maybe the sound is cool.

Hey Stupid! (Don't get upset folks, his handle is "Stupid") Your significant other is right about the cool part. I took mine down to the Harley shop and got a custom flame job, chrome sights, some tassels hanging from the trigger guard., etc.! Man, it looks likes it's shoot'in when it's just standing still!
Sorry, could'nt help that. But seriously Stupid (thats his handle!) check out a recent thread titled "what do you prefer for home defence" I gained some serious knowledge on that one. And then go get that new full auto drum fed model that "Mac" guy on "Future Weapons" is whispering about. Let us know how it turns out, ok Stupid? (Thats his handle! Leave me alone!") :)

Having used both Shotguns and baseball bats I find baseball bats more satisfying even if not as efficient.

Liberty wrote:Having used both Shotguns and baseball bats I find baseball bats more satisfying even if not as efficient.

We now have an offense of felony cruelty to animals in Texas, so be careful with using a baseball bat on deer.

- Jim

A shotgun is no more "point and click" than a rifle.

Here are pics of the patterning of my shotgun;







At 3 and 7 yards a hit with a rifle is just as guaranteed as a hit with the shotgun. 7 yards is 21 feet. I don't imagine most of us live in homes where we have rooms much larger than 21 feet.

At 15 yards (45 FEET!) the pattern is still only 5 inches across. Point and click? Don't think so.

The last pic is 25 yards (75 feet) All pellets are on the target, but at this distance a miss or even just having pellets miss the target completely is possible.

Shotguns are devastating weapons and great for protection, but they are not magic.

TXI, Thanks for posting the pics. I'll bet that's a full choke.

- Jim

seamusTX wrote:TXI, Thanks for posting the pics. I'll bet that's a full choke.

- Jim

Nope. It is the shotgun pictured in the shotgun thread. 20" barrel, no choke.

txinvestigator wrote:Shotguns are devastating weapons and great for protection, but they are not magic.

I think that pretty much sums it up...

Is a shotty a good thing to add to the arsenal, you bet! But there are times when a pistol or rifle would be the better option in a close environment such as a house.

A shotgun is not the end-all of self defense firearms.

txinvestigator wrote:Nope. It is the shotgun pictured in the shotgun thread. 20" barrel, no choke.

do you mean open? if yours have removable chokes, you should not shoot with out one in place,

if yours does not have removable, then It's choked at the factory, and will say on the side of the barrel. I find it hard to believe that shot at 3yds came out of an open choke?

I have done similar tests with turkey loads, and have paid A LOT of money to get a 6" group at 15 yards, super full turkey chokes ect...

CJATE wrote:

txinvestigator wrote:Nope. It is the shotgun pictured in the shotgun thread. 20" barrel, no choke.

do you mean open? if yours have removable chokes, you should not shoot with out one in place,

if yours does not have removable, then It's choked at the factory, and will say on the side of the barrel. I find it hard to believe that shot at 3yds came out of an open choke?

I have done similar tests with turkey loads, and have paid A LOT of money to get a 6" group at 15 yards, super full turkey chokes ect...

It is cylinder bore, which is NO choke at all.

And hey, you should at least buy me drinks before you call me a liar.

what if you need to take a head shot at 7-10 yards?

Stupid wrote:what if you need to take a head shot at 7-10 yards?

What if what?

You'll need a biohazard cleanup team.

- Jim

One of the misconceptions about shotguns is that you cannot miss with them. Ask anyone who has tried trap or skeet.

As a general rule, police shotguns are open or cylinder bore and have 18 or 20 inch barrels (with many going shorter now). We teach our officers the rule of one inch per yard. When you want to estimate the spread from such a shotgun, figure the pattern will spread out inch for every yard from the target to the muzzle. 3 yards = 3 inches. 15 yards = 15 inches. 25 yards = 25 inches. When we qualify our officers, we use slugs at 25 yards and 00 buck at 15 yards. We have had officers who can reuse the target for the second try because there is not a single hole in it (TX-PT targets, blue life size silhouettes).

Given that, I still think a pump 12 gauge is the best home defense weapon. I also recommend 7 bird shot in it, to minimize the penetration and threat to others. One reason is that it is more intimidating, but the second is that it is even easier to miss with a pistol than the shotgun.

The sticking point is that it anchors you into a defensive spot tactically. Without good training, you do not want to do a search for the bad guy with a shotgun.

srothstein wrote:The sticking point is that it anchors you into a defensive spot tactically. Without good training, you do not want to do a search for the bad guy with a shotgun.

You can use both. If need be, you can cache the shotgun in a place that you know but the attacker does not, and proceed with the handgun.

- Jim

srothstein wrote:
The sticking point is that it anchors you into a defensive spot tactically. Without good training, you do not want to do a search for the bad guy with a shotgun.

'Course without good training, you might not wanna do a search for the bad guy at all, regardless of the weapon.