• Mossberg Owners is in the process of upgrading the software. Please bear with us while we transition to the new look and new upgraded software.

Best for home defense

The thing that people miss with shotgun rounds is that the projectiles lose velocity rather quickly compared to center fire rifle rounds.

If you use buck shot and it goes through a few barriers it's is losing velocity at a faster rate. So this whole "rounds leaving my house and going to kill my neighbor in their sleep across the street" isn't a high probability.

In fact I'm fairly confident that exact scenario is very rare.
 
ohiomossyoak said:
12 gauge with #4 Buckshot or a Glock23(40s&W) are the current best options in my home..Both of which are a touch to "Wild" for my wife to handle..The Glock23 not so bad,but the old 500 with #4 buck rocks her pretty good.We hope to add a 20ga with a shorter length of pull stock for both of us to enjoy an use as a HD gun.In most cases I prefer a shotgun over a pistol for HD purposes.But I have 3 kids and its easier/cheaper to keep a pistol near the bed in a quick access safe than it is a long-gun..The pistol can also be a advantage if I was to have to pick up one of my children an still defend myself and others in my household..What works for me may not work for you..And I hope I never have to find out if my plan,system an weapons will work in a HD scenario
Click to expand...

I tried to get my wife to be comfortable with the 12 gauge, also. She is way too recoil sensitive. Then I bought a 20 gauge and added a recoil reducing stock. It was STILL too much recoil for her. :mad: Not that there is anything wrong with a 20 gauge, but if I'd known it wasn't going to work for her, I probably wouldn't have bought it. If you want her to be comfortable with a long gun, you might have to resort to a carbine, maybe even with a pistol caliber round in it. As it stands, my wife's go to HD firearm is a full sized .40 cal S&W M&P. Take care. Tom Worthington
 
Pistol caliber carbines are FANTASTIC for recoil sensitive people. Perfect for HD with large pistol calibers like 45 acp.

My buddy picked up the ruger PC 9 and I shot it yesterday. Put a ragged hole at 7 yards center mass with zero kick. He loves it!!
 
Water Monkey said:
The thing that people miss with shotgun rounds is that the projectiles lose velocity rather quickly compared to center fire rifle rounds.

If you use buck shot and it goes through a few barriers it's is losing velocity at a faster rate. So this whole "rounds leaving my house and going to kill my neighbor in their sleep across the street" isn't a high probability.

In fact I'm fairly confident that exact scenario is very rare.
Click to expand...

Thank You, Water Monkey.

Finally.......... somebody who gets it.
 
MikeT said:
Trust me, as a former EMT, number 8 at two yards makes one hell of a mess of the human body.
Click to expand...

I'm sure it would 'make a mess' of a small person with a thin shirt, at a paltry 6 feet. Unfortunately, that's not the reality about which you should be concerned.

Birdshot would not stop a 250-300 pound attacker (or 2 or 3) rushing you (imagine defensive linemen on meth), particularly if they were wearing winter jackets or even Carhartt or leather jackets, or had their arms up protecting themselves while they rushed you.
 
Keith, I have seen the damage first hand. I do not go by internet commandos that read SWAT. Thanks for the tips though.
 
I agree that at two yards the shot cup/wad full of lead pellets is still travelling at close to a single solid mass (but not really) so it has the potential to penetrate somewhat deeply under ideal conditions. And you have seen one of those examples.

Beyond six feet, however, I believe that birdshot degrades exponentially in energy and penetration and lethality. And it does so remarkably quickly.
 
It may travel as a group BUT impact each individual shot pellet doesn't act as a single unit. The size and weight of the individual shot lose kinetic energy significantly faster than that of 00 Buck. People tend to forget the technical physics stuff when they try to relate bird shot to buck shot at specific distances.
 
Water Monkey said:
It may travel as a group BUT impact each individual shot pellet doesn't act as a single unit. The size and weight of the individual shot lose kinetic energy significantly faster than that of 00 Buck.
Click to expand...

Good point. It is all about MASS and sectional density, right W.M.????
 
Kinetic Energy = 1/2 (mass times velocity squared)... the energy is measured in joules.

Laymens terms... to open thy can of whoop ass upon thy enemy... use 00 buck.
 
Water Monkey said:
Kinetic Energy = 1/2 (mass times velocity squared)... the energy is measured in joules.

Laymens terms... to open thy can of whoop ass upon thy enemy... use 00 buck.
Click to expand...

This is exactly why I (and others in possession of Win Model 12's in VN ) used 00 buck instead of birdshot. We weren't shooting birds. :)
 
I've shot a good bit of the Rio. Good tight pattern, hard hitting. I don't restrict myself to just 00 tho. I also like Brenneke slugs (Green Lightning ) for when penetration thru a engine block is called for.
 
15 yards or less, anything receiving a center mass hit from a slug is going to sit down and ponder the meaning of life.

Bird shot, buck shot or slugs you still gotta aim.
 
Tom396 said:
I tried to get my wife to be comfortable with the 12 gauge, also. She is way too recoil sensitive. Then I bought a 20 gauge and added a recoil reducing stock. It was STILL too much recoil for her. :mad: Not that there is anything wrong with a 20 gauge, but if I'd known it wasn't going to work for her, I probably wouldn't have bought it. If you want her to be comfortable with a long gun, you might have to resort to a carbine, maybe even with a pistol caliber round in it. As it stands, my wife's go to HD firearm is a full sized .40 cal S&W M&P. Take care. Tom Worthington
Click to expand...

Thank you Jesus! Today, the wife and I went outside for her to shoot her M&P. I brought one of my Mavericks (12 gauge) out too. After she finished with her pistol, she asked to try my shotgun (!!!). I warned her that she didn't even like the 20 gauge recoil, but she said she wanted to try it again. Guess what? Today she said it wasn't bad. o_O I said (quickly) we should try the 20 gauge. So now, she is fine with the 20 gauge 500 as her go-to HD firearm. Thank you Jesus! Just don't ask me to explain it, other than to say that she is female. Take care. Tom Worthington
 
Good to know she likes it now.

Like most other things in life when it comes to the women in our lives, they tend to work out better when it's their idea...
 
I've gotten my Wife to fire my Stevens/Savage Model 15-A Single Shot and two of my S&W M&Ps so far. She can deal with .22 LR and .38 S&W alright, but was "freaked out" after shooting the .38 Special M&P... But now it is no big deal. So far she has not fired my 16 or 12 gauge shotgun or my .303" Lee-Enfield Rifles yet...

As to shogun ammo for the house... I've both OO Buckshot and target/bird loads... Probably go for the OO Buck first...
Mark
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top