In support of his Saiga-12, The Real Wyatt opines, "Some, not all, require a break-in period, after they're 100% reliable and can be trusted with your life."
Think about that comment, it could apply to almost any shotgun: Your shotgun failed to fire at a critical moment -- sorry, it seems you didn't break-it-in properly.
Q.: How do I know if my shotgun isn't broken-in properly?
A.: If it fails to fire, then it wasn't broken-in properly.
I'm guessing most folks want a gun that's reliable right out of the box after the initial cleaning and lubrication. I don't want to worry about how much breaking-in is required before the gun is reliable.
About his, "Bottom line is, in my opinion, you cannot own a more reliable 'trust your life with it', personal defense shotgun than the Saiga-12." IMHO, the most reliable shotgun is the simplest to operate: the single or double barreled break-open. If you decide to go with a repeater, then you are trading reliability for magazine capacity. Obviously, based on the sales of HD pump guns, many folks select capacity over reliability. How many times have we read threads about a M-500 or R-870 that won't function because of this, or that problem?
I'm not finding fault with Wyatt nor his Saiga-12, I'm sure he's well satisfied with his purchase. But, when discussing overall shotgun reliability let's not forget the autoloader is typically considered the least reliable. This is not to say that there are not those who select an auto-loader as their go-to gun for HD. Personally, I've got many thousands of rounds experience with break-open and auto-loaders in training and competition. For HD, the auto-loading shotgun is not my go-to gun.
ghostriderftl,
What's wrong with your Winchester? You can use only one HD gun at a time. If you're looking at another gun to have HD guns stashed in multiple locations, or as a back-up gun, then it makes sense to have identical guns. If you're anticipating alternate HD situations, then you might consider augmenting your shotgun with a handgun and/or a rifle/carbine. Good luck with your selection, it's not a simple decision.