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Shockwave for wife? Home defense

Dr. Marneaus

Dr. Marneaus

.270 WIN
Long story short, its been a long search for something ideal for my wife to use as a HD weapon when I am away. My 1911's grips are too aggressive and I don't think the 1911 is ideal for a novice shooter, she does prefer shooting them to everything else i have though. My revolvers are too big, or too small, and or she doesn't care for the long DA pull in a situation where she would be under stress. This has been pushing me towards a glock or other striker fired semi in 9mm, or possibly .45 if she can handle it in the correctly sized package.


I'm not a fan of long guns for inside the house defense. Heavy, bulky, hard to maneuver with, insanely damaging to ones senses when fired, and also easily taken away.that being said, she mentioned "i'd be comfortable with a shotgun"

All of the above are reasons why I think a regular shockwave is a great option....for somebody experienced and of normal size and stature. My wife is 5'7" 115lbs. Shes not strong, many long guns get heavy for her after a short period of shooting, shes not an advanced shooter nor super experienced. she's safe, and knows the basics.

Here's what I'm thinking.

20 gauge shockwave.
Stabilizing brace.
Something like #4 shot.

Done. Small, effective, light, easily maneuverable, simple to use action, reliable, reduced recoil and noise and flash when compared to a 12, still able to be fired "traditionally"

Thoughts?
 
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You might have her try your 12 with some light loads before you purchase the 20ga to see how she likes it....

Federal and Winchester both makes some great #3 and #4 buck that`s very effective.
 
While I admire you trying to get something your wife could handle and use, invite her to the gun store to "try on" some different handguns for herself. I have found that I have a lot easier time trying on my own shoes for something that I like and fits me, and I will expect that she would probably be the same looking for a gun. Just make sure they're clear and even let her dry fire them and work them however she likes.

I can remember a day when my neighbor Charlie handed his wife a sawed off shotgun with a grip and it spun all 95 pounds of her soaking wet in a complete circle and landed her on her bottom end right there in the front yard.

I will say that I am glad that wasn't me standing over her trying to help her up. It got U-G-L-Y.

Not to discourage you, but it took years before my wife finally found a gun that she liked and could shoot well. Turns out it was a gun that I never would have expected. A stainless Model 66 in 357 magnum 7 shot with a 6 inch barrel adjustable sights, wide trigger/hammer and a Hogue grip on it.

Go figure.

But it works for her, so I'm not complaining.
 
I'll discuss with her this evening. Might just be easiest to get a brace kit for my 12 gauge shockwave and go from there. Could be as simple as that, and then loading it with #4
 
Buckshot for people and animals that cause problems. Buckshot. If it's causing trouble it gets buckshot. Doesn't matter. It gets buckshot.

Have you tried a Glock 19? Or M&P 9c? They are both manageable and inherently accurate while retaining the ability to take on their larger siblings larger capacity magazines up to 33 rounds. With a Streamlight TLR-1HL mounted on the rail, the compact polymer 9mm has almost no recoil. Loaded with +P HSTs you end up very formidable. I keep a pair of Howard Leight electronic earmuffs on each night stand. If the going gets tough I have the ability to hear better than my adversary and preserve my hearing and ability to communicate with my spouse despite the gunfire.
 
I find the 12 gauge Shockwave with Fiocchi low recoil 00 buck, and this, to be very manageable. That said, a reasonably heavy .357 with Hogue grips, loaded with .38+P is hard to beat. No safety, low recoil, easy to shoot at home defense distances.
 
I think.the shockwave has its place but a youth model 20g with a 18" barrel is much more manageable for someone small of stature and less experienced with guns.

Im a big guy who has shot his entire life and I have no desire to sboot a stockless shotgun.

With a little.trainjng a youth model is not hard to maneuver around any obstacles, it is more stable and can be fired from the low position as well if needed.

Fit the gun to the user not the other way around.
 
The Shockwave is difficult to reload well. That's what I've noticed. Giving a novice a short barreled gun that's difficult to reload is a recipe for failure. I teach that the gun goes empty and is dropped right there. Then we move to our secondary and continue holding our own. With the opsol mod and the 8+1 or just 8 in the case of my application, that's a pretty good amount of fire power to be had for one person in a low threat environment. If there's a bear or some more determined n'er-do-wells about then bigger medicine is advised and reloading may be warranted. It's up to you. For a novice shooter I leave it patrol loaded on fire and teach the point, pull the trigger, pump until the threat goes away. That way they become accustomed to the gun going into action from a relative safe condition. They don't need to know all the finer workings of the gun just the four safety rules and three operational actions.
 
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