Shotguns for Home Defense

It seems a lot of people simply take it for granted that a shotgun is the best gun for home defense (HD). I even found a website that contained the following quote:

“The general consensus in the firearms community is that the pump action shotgun is the top choice for home defense.”

I would counter that the “firearms community” is extremely varied and consists of many people with very different priorities and goals. While I do think there are areas of agreement, I think the above quote overstates their point quite dramatically. It is my opinion that there is a strong consensus on which gun is best for HD among those who share my perspective, but this is only a narrow slice of the gun world. More on this later.

For now, here are some pros of shotguns for HD:

• Being a long gun, shotguns provide four points of contact - both hands, the cheek, and shoulder. Many people therefore find them easier to handle than handguns.

• Shotguns tend to be mechanically simple weapons, and are thus easy to use and maintain.

• Pump action (and break-action) shotguns do not depend on the ammunition to run the action like semi-automatic guns do. It is therefore believed by many that these guns are more reliable, or at least easier to fix in the case of a malfunction.

• The greatest strength of shotguns is the terminal ballistics of proper defensive loads. A blast from a shotgun against an unarmored assailant is very likely to make him stop whatever he is doing - immediately. The effect of nine (or twelve) 00 buckshot pellets hitting someone center of mass is difficult to overstate.

Here are some cons of shotguns for HD:

• Being a long gun, shotguns are difficult to maneuver in tight spaces.

• The muzzle blast of a shotgun indoors is significant. While an effect known as auditory exclusion might mitigate this, it's still an important issue.

• The capacity of most shotguns is very restricted, typically being in the 2 – 7 range, and are slow to reload. There are exceptions however, such as a converted Saiga 12.

• The recoil of regular defensive loads (typically 12ga 00 buck) is quite significant. In my experience, most women and quite a few men are very uncomfortable shooting more than a few such cartridges. While reduced recoil loads do exist, they still recoil much more than a carbine or handgun.

There are also a few points that are sometimes brought up with regard to shotguns that should be addressed.

• Some people seem to think that the sound of racking the slide on a shotgun can work to scare an intruder away. While I admit that such a thing has probably happened, it is a terrible tactic for at least three reasons. 1. Your defensive gun was unloaded such that you needed to rack a round into the chamber when confronted by an intruder. or 2. You just threw away a round from a weapon that already has very restricted capacity. or 3. The intruder didn't know your were there, and you making noise destroyed your tactical advantage.

• Shotguns are very versatile when it comes to ammunition choices, but this is of little relevance when considering them for HD. I admit that there may be extraordinary circumstances where birdshot might be used (it's better than a sharp stick), however, essentially all relevant defensive ammo is buckshot – between #4 buck and 000 buck.

• There is a certain degree of spread in the pattern of a buckshot load, but the extent of this is sometimes overstated. At typical HD distances (<20ft) the spread may only be 3 or 4 inches. This is actually a good thing in that the devastating terminal effect is concentrated, but it shows that shotguns must be aimed just like rifles. Yes, that 3 or 4 inch pattern provides a slight cushion in the case of an imprecise shot, but not anything like what is sometimes claimed.

Shotguns are interesting weapons with unique capabilities. I'll address how they rank against other options in a future article.