Why a Home Defense Shotgun?

[TLE2]

Just my two cents, but I have both a loaded .45 and a tactical shotgun. I don't load the shotgun because I can't secure in a "quick get" fashion, yet.

The sound of the slide being racked on the 45 is pretty intimidating too. (Istore in with a loaded magazine but not racked).

But... even though the spread on buck isn't large, it's larger than a 45 bullet. If they're coming in, I'd want to hit 'em with everything I had.

But... since I've never faced that situation, I may be wrong.

/mas

[Armybrat]

Well, I keep a S&W Model 38 Bodyguard Airweight loaded with "personal defense" low velocity SJHPs in the nightstand along with a SA GI.45 (FMJ), and a Winchester 1300 Defender loaded with 8 rounds of 00 buck under the bed.

Across the house in my office (where I type this) there's an H&R single bbl (19") with 5 rounds of 12 ga. 00 buck in the stock sock - just like the one in the Thunder Ranch video.

If the bad guys aren't neutralized or off my property after me utilizing most of that firepower, then the SWAT team better be loaded for bear when they get here.

Have shot them all numerous times and am very comfortable with all of them.

[richbrismith]

you can buy thecheapest short barreled shot gun from Academy ($159.00) and thats all you need . I keep an old sawed off LC Smith for my home defense shotgun and I only load it with #4 steel shot. Definately will be the crowd pleaser if I have to use it on someone.

[Rockrz]

I know some of the more energy conscious people here may be a little upset with me but I leave the downstairs TV and various light on in my house.

Bravo...I'll take leaving lights on for safety and tactical
advantage and supposedly "saving the planet" any day!

[Rugrash]

As Clint Smith puts it (and I totally agree with his philosophy)

"I don't need a $1000 shotgun; I need know how to run the gun i've got"

"The shotgun you have is the right one ... As long as you know how to use it"

"The handgun would not be my choice of weapon if I knew I was going to a fight. I’d choose a rifle, a shotgun, an RPG or an atomic bomb instead."

[Rockrz]

....an RPG or an atomic bomb...

Is there a 3 day waiting period on these items too???

And, who is Clint Smith?

[NcongruNt]

And, who is Clint Smith?

http://www.thunderranchinc.com/director.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ross]

At night there's no other sound like that of a person jacking a round into a pump shotgun. Any BG that hears that and still sticks around deserves to be shot.

[Ross]

As Clint Smith puts it (and I totally agree with his philosophy)

"I don't need a $1000 shotgun; I need know how to run the gun i've got"

"The shotgun you have is the right one ... As long as you know how to use it"

"The handgun would not be my choice of weapon if I knew I was going to a fight. I’d choose a rifle, a shotgun, an RPG or an atomic bomb instead."

Don't know Clint but like the way he thinks!!!!!!

[jimlongley]

At night there's no other sound like that of a person jacking a round into a pump shotgun. Any BG that hears that and still sticks around deserves to be shot.

Besides my dog's nails clicking on the floor, and her best warning growl, the only sound a BG in my house at night is going to hear, before the loud bang, is the safety being taken off. Well, maybe an expletive or two mixed in with the statement that there is nothing worth dying for here so he had better leave, but I subscribe to the theory that if someone has broken into your house they aren't there for tea and cookies.

Why endanger yourself and your family by keeping your gun in anything less than condition one?

[WarHawk-AVG]

Just my two cents, but I have both a loaded .45 and a tactical shotgun. I don't load the shotgun because I can't secure in a "quick get" fashion, yet.

The sound of the slide being racked on the 45 is pretty intimidating too. (Istore in with a loaded magazine but not racked).

But... even though the spread on buck isn't large, it's larger than a 45 bullet. If they're coming in, I'd want to hit 'em with everything I had.

But... since I've never faced that situation, I may be wrong.

/mas

The only sound an intruder gets to hear inside my house is the "click" of the safety after I properly identify if they are a friendly or not...period!

[fickman]

Why endanger yourself and your family by keeping your gun in anything less than condition one?

Because, with my current setup, having a shotgun in condition one would endanger my family.

I don't have a safe yet, and there's no way my 21-month old daughter or 4-month old son can unlock the slide, ratchet the 12-gauge, turn the safety off, and pull the trigger. I can do this entire sequence in under two seconds. She couldn't even pick up the shotgun if she were to stumble upon it (which I have taken several measure to ensure she won't).

Same with the 1911 - she could turn that safety off if she somehow got a hold of it, and the trigger would be too easy for her to pull. Most likely, it would be with the grip against the floor and a little toddler thumb in the trigger area - which would mean the barrel is pointing right at her. There is zero chance of her racking the slide - my wife can barely do it (we're working on her technique).

The shotgun is under the bed in the bedroom. We keep a gate on the door to keep the kids from being able to go in there. We also always watch her while she's playing downstairs so she won't have access to our bedroom. If somehow she did, however, there are too many hurdles for her to overcome to discharge the current HD firearms. In condition one, she could - in theory - accidentally stumble upon the sequence to get it done. She's too young to memorize and apply the four rules. . . we're working on the alphabet song right now.

We plan to continually upgrade and adapt our home safety plan as the kids grow. . . when they reach the right age, they'll get repeated firearm safety lectures. When they reach the next right age, they'll get repeated firearm safety demonstrations. When they reach the next right age, they'll get repeated firearm safety practice.

If we introduced it to her now, she'd be curious and interested by it. Even if we taught her it was a "no-no," it'd be on her radar. She could go to it when being mischievous no matter how strict we are. Right now she doesn't even know they exist, and she doesn't have any toy guns to play with.

[jimlongley]

Why endanger yourself and your family by keeping your gun in anything less than condition one?

Because, with my current setup, having a shotgun in condition one would endanger my family.

I don't have a safe yet, and there's no way my 21-month old daughter or 4-month old son can unlock the slide, ratchet the 12-gauge, turn the safety off, and pull the trigger. I can do this entire sequence in under two seconds. She couldn't even pick up the shotgun if she were to stumble upon it (which I have taken several measure to ensure she won't).

Same with the 1911 - she could turn that safety off if she somehow got a hold of it, and the trigger would be too easy for her to pull. Most likely, it would be with the grip against the floor and a little toddler thumb in the trigger area - which would mean the barrel is pointing right at her. There is zero chance of her racking the slide - my wife can barely do it (we're working on her technique).

The shotgun is under the bed in the bedroom. We keep a gate on the door to keep the kids from being able to go in there. We also always watch her while she's playing downstairs so she won't have access to our bedroom. If somehow she did, however, there are too many hurdles for her to overcome to discharge the current HD firearms. In condition one, she could - in theory - accidentally stumble upon the sequence to get it done. She's too young to memorize and apply the four rules. . . we're working on the alphabet song right now.

We plan to continually upgrade and adapt our home safety plan as the kids grow. . . when they reach the right age, they'll get repeated firearm safety lectures. When they reach the next right age, they'll get repeated firearm safety demonstrations. When they reach the next right age, they'll get repeated firearm safety practice.

If we introduced it to her now, she'd be curious and interested by it. Even if we taught her it was a "no-no," it'd be on her radar. She could go to it when being mischievous no matter how strict we are. Right now she doesn't even know they exist, and she doesn't have any toy guns to play with.

Understood, but I would not bet that an ingenious kid couldn't rack the slide on a shotgun.

[Cutter]

My 13 and 10 year old daughters understand gun safety and are flawless, so that is good. My 3 year old son is incredibly curious, and in my house I know that he will stumble upon a firearm, so I continually give him the "talk" about safety and not to touch it under any circumstances. I tell him that if he wants to touch it, he has to ask me. When I'm cleaning one, he will walk up and show a lot of respect for it and then ask to touch it. He understands that it will hurt him and he already understands that a firearm is not a toy. Even though firearms that are not under my control are locked, I want him to build good safety skills now and demystify firearms so that he will not get himself into trouble at a friend's house or something. I let him to quench his curiosity under my supervision.

This is how my dad taught me and it worked very well. I knew not to touch it unless I was with my dad and if I was curious I went to him and we would look at it together and he would give me a safety speech. Because of the way that he handled it, I never felt that I had to sneak around and I always had his supervision. It worked out well.

The back up plan is a lock though. If not under my control of course.

[fickman]

Understood, but I would not bet that an ingenious kid couldn't rack the slide on a shotgun.

Agree. . . I make no assumptions and take nothing for granted.

This summer when my wife is off (she's a school teacher) and the kids are home all day, the chances of my daughter slipping out of eyesight for a minute will increase. I'll probably go to putting the firearms up during the day and putting them back under / near the bed for nighttime. . . . unless I can afford a good safe with quick access by then. We'll probably get a small nightstand safe for the 1911 in the next few months, but (this is very pertinent to the "Why a Home Defense Shotgun?" topic) a shotgun is much harder to secure without impeding quick access.

(Anybody notice that used safes cost as much as new ones? They don't depreciate much.)

The DAO revolvers and DA/SA Sig are all kept well out of reach at all times - no way they can stack stuff high enough to reach them. I'll need to get a nightstand size safe for the Sig (kept in my home office) in a year or so, too.