Help - HD shotgun, SXS/OU?

G

G1R2

New member
Hi guys,

I am considering an 18" shotgun for home defense and short range hunting. I live on a farm in a developing country south of the equator. I am thinking about a double barrel shotgun, either a SXS or an O/U.

Hatcher Gun Company of Elsie, Nebraska has both. Their SXS is called the Stoeger Coach Gun DT. It comes in both 12 or 20 ga. with a single or double triggers. Their O/U is called the Stoeger Double Defense O/U. It comes in both 12 and 20 ga. I would only put a few hundred rounds through it in my lifetime.

Any experiences with or opinions about these shotguns? They’re about $400 each from Hatcher Gun Company.
 
Why double barrel? Are you allowed to own a pump, or semi auto? In certain scenarios two shots might not be adequate for home defense.
 
Yup

I had a Remington 870 pump 12 ga, 18". I regret selling it years ago. I don't know about automatic shotguns, I'll have to check.

I think the situation is a little different here. Just one shot from a 12 ga. shotgun, in the dead of night, in the countryside and the whistling of double 00 or N°1 pellets flying past you, will convince anyone, at least here, that self preservation of life is far more important than any personal gain from a robbery. Better, give them both barrels at once and reload. No one, in their right mind, will stick around to find out what happened. Just go back to bed and in the morning see if anyone is dead, if they were wounded, they will have bled to death before daybreak.
 
The reason that I brought it up is that some relatives of mine used to live out in the woods and one night 5 teenagers with guns tried breaking in. There was gun fire exchanged. When an intruder(s) have guns, they aren't as scared of hearing a gunshot go off. The issue with my relatives happened when I wasa kid, and nobody died. I'll leave it at that.
 
Why would you assume that potential intruders are in their right minds?

I'd look into the legality of owning something with more than 2 shots before reload.
 
If legal in your country, get a decent pump like a Mossberg 500 or a Remington 870 with a short barrel. Later, if you want, you can get an extra barrel that would be more suitable for hunting.
 
+1 on the Mossberg 500 but if you must have an 18" double for your purposes I would recommend the stoeger condor outback it can be had in 12 or 20 ga. and looks pretty interesting. HTH :)
 
Old cop here. I've been at the scene a couple of HD shotgun shootings and am familiar with 2 others. The only one in which more than two rounds were expended involved a couple of dopers who decided to shoot it out (380 vs 12 gauge birdshot) in the living room. Neither was a good shot, yet both were leaking pretty good and they found common ground in correcting that.

Of course you might need more that two shots, but pretty much everybody I know will be ready for new entertainment after being shot (or shot at) twice with a shotgun at HD distances.
 
If 1 out of 4 home defense situations involve a gun battle needing more than 2shots, I would sure as hell want something more than a double gun.

If you do go with a double gun, look at whether it ejects fored shells or if you have to take time removing them to reload.
 
I'll side with everyone else and say look into a pump. They're usually cheaper that a double too.

Something that concerns me:
I would only put a few hundred rounds through it in my lifetime.
Click to expand...

If you're going to own a gun to defend you life with than you need to actually shoot it and shoot it often. The gun is only part of the equation and you'll be so much better off by investing a little time and ammo to make sure you're proficient with it's use.
 
I'd recommend a pump as well. Don't count on the bad guys deciding to run away. When my life is threatened, I prefer to decide when the fight is over, not let the intruder decide when he's had enough.

But to answer the actual question. Between an O/U or SxS. I'd pick a SxS with double triggers. Reason being, firstly, SxS don't have to be swung open as far for you to reload as a O/U. If you only have 2 shots, it's nice to have every advantage to speed up your reloads.
Secondly, when dealing with the budget doubles like Stoegers. Build quality and reliability is generally a huge issue with them. So if you're dead set on a budget double. Keep it simple. A double trigger system is simpler than a single trigger. Less to go wrong.
I notice that people often complain about the single trigger models not wanting to reset or switch tot he second barrel. Don't hear nearly as much problems with the double triggers.
 
If 1 out of 4 home defense situations involve a gun battle needing more than 2shots, I would sure as hell want something more than a double gun.
Click to expand...

Just to be clear, that '1' was a flat-out gunfight between mutual combatants.
 
What I'm saying is that I wouldn't feel shortchanged if my only HD shotgun was reliable 18 or 20 inch SxS with a butt-cuff of fighting ammo on the stock.
 
If a double gun is all that's legal in the OP's country, it's a bunch better than a pointy stick.

OTOH, for the same price you could get an 8 shot Mossberg pump, which not only has a much higher capacity but is far better made than a Stoeger. If that's an option for the OP, it would be a much better choice.
 
kiss

I would go with a SxS double with twin triggers because of their positive connections to the hammers.
Frankily speaking, the SxS looks more intimidating.
Both guns load with similar difficultys, (you still have to hit the holes).
You would hope 2 shots will suffice and only 1 opponent will be faced and can be dissuaded with just 2 shots! Just so the violence stops!
For over a century a double gun has been enough, but honestly a pump or semi-suto with at least 5 shots would be better.
JMHO,
BPDave
 
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