Shopping for home defense

Shopping for home defense.

Ok, Dudlebugr, fire away then. Hope the Sheriff is a real good friend.

Over here in the People's Republic of Maryland the County I live in has ONE County sheriff, and 3,950 lawyers, 90% of which are the kind that give the rest a bad name. I can rely upon only one outcome of a self defense shooting involving me. I'm the homeowner, and have a job. Therefore the best one to sue over anything that happens, right or wrong, big or small. When I fire my 500, part of me is going to be wanting to go for a head shot at point blank, just so I'll have time to get my lawyer on the phone before the bad guy's surviving relatives know he's dead and call their own ambulance chasers. :eek:
 
A lotta gun for a little cash

I bought a Remington 870 express magnum - stock, it takes 4+1 rounds of 3" or 2.75" 12 ga., has a matte black finish and oiled wood furniture and an 18" barrel.

It's a WHOLE lot of bad-guy hurtin' for $225-250 at WalMart!! :D
 
You should be fine as long as you stick with the big 4 (Rem, win, ithaca, moss).

But I'm biased towards the 870s. Thats what I use for HD application.
 
Thanks everyone for their valuable opinions. One Inch, sorry to hear of such an unfortunate situation regarding lawyers. I hope no one here ever HAS to use their weapon in a defense situation, but like they say, "let a smile be your umbrella, and your butt will get soaking wet."
That was some really interesting information in the links, Xavier. I thought I was looking for one gun, but it makes sense that I should be looking for at least 2. Times are tight, and I'll have to do some shopping and saving. I've never been a big fan of pawn shops, or the guns they have, but a weapon at half price would be a good thing. Something in my head from long ago about having "something nice." I reckon I need to think about the "throw-away" aspect, huh?
Thanks again for all of the great info! Gonna go to the pawn shops today for a look around!
 
Shopping for Columbine

There's a lifetime of a thread here entitled Birdshot vs Buckshot for home defense. Go look through all that shouting and invective, and if your own head does not explode by the time you finish, then do what we all have done, take a wild guess at what is likely to let you walk away while the bad guys gets carried, preferably in a couple of body bags. :D
 
Semiauto versus pump-action

Have there been any published concrete data on which is the most reliable? Let's limit that to 12-ga. I've found a lifetime (?) guaranteed "Traditions" (Turkish) semi-auto here for $175. I think I could stay on target better with the s/auto than pumping one up. All opinions welcome, as no cash spent yet. Also, has anyone bought / fought / sought the Serbu SUPER-SHORTY, which is built on a Mossberg Maverick 12-gauge which came from the factory with a pistol grip. Kinda pricy, but if it's what I need when I need it . . . . .http://www.serbu.com/shorty.htm
 
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A 20 gauge 870 is an excellent defense shotgun in trained hands, Phoenix. The key word there is trained.

We obsess over the hardware when the software is more crucial.

Get a shotgun and shoottheheckoutofit. Shoot it at clays,plates, silohuettes, and/or landfill rats. Shoot it until it feels like a body part.

And, the biggest buck available in 20 gauge is 2 buck. 3 buck is more common. Both will work well at typical HD ranges.

HTH....
 
Semi Vs Pump Shotguns

Most folks use Semi for sport, pumps for home defense. Pumps are simpler, safer for the novice, and generally cheaper. (Wait 10 seconds for the contrarians to weigh in with the opposite opinion.)

Slower cyclic rate on a pump gun will keep you from emptying the magazine before you realize what the heck you're doing, and there is something to be said for a controlled firing sequence.

Cock-aim-fire, check for casualties, cock, aim, etc.,
not point-firefirefirefirefirefireempty-oh,dammit-I-missed :eek:

If you expect to need a rapid fire response in this situation, then get an SKS or an AK or an AR, maybe a Mak-10, and prepare to spray and pray. With a 12 gauge, preferably from the big 3, NOT a cheapie import, 5 rounds ought to be plenty unless you have to take out an entire Rap group at one sitting. :eek:

Just IMHO. I expect there will be LOTS of dissent coming right along, so be ready to be reading all night. :D
 
At present, I'm pretty comfortable concluding that the pumps and semis are equally suited to the home defense job. They each have advantages and disadvantages. Overall, it all pretty much equals out. I believe that with proper ammo and excellent maintenance, a semi-auto can be utterly reliable, easy to use and very effective. And the same thing can certainly be said about pumps... in fact they seem to be ok with less attention to maintenance than the semi-autos.

It is possible that a little more training and practice might be needed with the pump, as the user is called upon to quickly and properly cycle the gun for each shot, whereas with the semi auto, the shooter can focus more on the target and less on the gun itself. The novice might be better served with a semi-auto, provided he is conscientious about cleaning and maintenance. Of course with good training and practice, either gun type is quite well up to the job. As others have said, what's most important is the preparedness and skill of the user, not the tool itself. This is true for so many different disciplines.

Others have given what I think is the most sound advice: consider the pump and semi-auto offerings from Remington, Mossberg, Winchester, Benelli and buy the shotgun at your price point which "speaks" to you and feels good in your hands... then learn to use it right and shoot the snot out of it. And if you can afford it, buy two or three different ones and shoot them enough to really decide which one suits you best... then keep or sell the others.
 
You all recommend 00 buckshot?
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Mountain lions are not a protected species in Texas... yet. If I come across one the next time I'm hunting whitetail deer, I want to make sure that it gets the rough equivalent of twelve 9mm Corbons plugged in its hide all at once. Remington Express, 2-3/4, 0 buck for me, thank you.

As for home defense, BGs deserve no more, no less.
 
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