buckhorn_cortez
New member
In my opinion real Home Defense, Tactical, and 3 Gun are not all the same thing, at all. Most home defense suggestions I see fall in the area of massive overkill.
I think the idea with 3-gun comments is that one of the important parts of the game is reliability. If you have to deal with a jam you lose time = lost points = lost match. If the semi-auto is reliable enough to be used for 3-gun, it should be reliable enough for home defense use.
The only real negative is that the gas guns with shorter barrels aren't as reliable with lighter loads. If you're going to use one with a sub 26" barrel you may have issues with lighter field loads.
That's not true with most modern gas-operated semi-autos. I have an FN SLP and have shot trap with 1oz loads and an 18-inch barrel with the light gas piston. The gun cycled just fine. It will cycle 1-1/8 shells with the heavy gas piston and an 18-inch barrel.
For my uses, I simply leave the heavy gas piston in the gun as 1oz loads are really a specialty load for clay games. With the heavy gas piston the gun will reliably work with anything from 1-1/8 oz loads to buckshot and slugs.
Price being of no concern, which one would get your vote?
I don't think it matters. The quality "tactical" shotguns all work reliably and it's your choice as to ergonomics, features, and favorite manufacturer. The three I would look at in a gas gun would be (in alphabetical order).
Benelli m4
Beretta 1301
FN SLP
The 1301 is allegedly the fastest of the three because of its cross tube gas system - if that makes a difference to you. I can tell you that with my FN SLP I have had 5 empty hulls in the air simultaneously. I can't pull the trigger any faster than that - so for me, the gun being faster than my SLP would be of no benefit.
For an inertia driven semi-auto:
Benelli M2.
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