shotgun self defense tactics

[Freetacos]

For a while I have been considering replacing pistol for a shotgun for use as a home defense gun. I am not familiar with actual incidences involving shotguns or their tactics. My main concern is that a shotgun has a slow rate of fire compared to tapping off rounds from my XD-9.

Off course if I hit a bad guy once center of mass with a shotgun it would ruin his day and improve mine. But if I missed he would likely be able to squeeze off a couple of rounds from a pistol in the time it would take me to rack another shot.

Any knowledgable advice would be appreciated.

 

[Dfariswheel]

"a shotgun has a slow rate of fire compared to tapping off rounds from my XD-9."

That's a matter of practice.
With practice a pump shotgun can be fired about as fast as a semi-auto pistol OR auto shotgun.

As far as getting hits on target, or missing with the shotgun, the shotgun actually has an advantage.
Unlike a pistol which has to have the sights lined up and on target, a shotgun is "pointed" quickly.

Since you have the stability of a long gun combined with the speed of the shotgun, fast hits on target are actually faster then any pistol.
This is one reason the shotgun is the preferred police weapon when they're going into a risky situation.

One poor decision is basing a defense on getting more than ONE shot off.
Bad things happen: your gun jams, the ammunition malfunctions, the bad guy gets off a lucky shot, you trip, etc. and you get to fire just one round.

NEVER count on getting more than one shot, and in most cases your LUCKY to get that one.

Here the shotgun is clearly superior. Shotguns are so powerful that in most cases it's a matter of "one to a customer".
Even the most powerful pistol is underpowered.
The pistol has a definite place in home defense, but selecting a pistol over a shotgun is usually not the best idea.

In order to increase the effectiveness and speed of the shotgun, select a gun that's not overloaded with "KEWL" accessories, and PRACTICE.
The shotgun is the deadliest weapon in the world at close range for a reason, and the big reason is the speed at which you can get that devastating load of shot on target.

 

[Lee Lapin]

Do any of the ranges or shooting clubs near you host 3-gun matches, or IDPA matches with shotgun side matches? Ask around. And when you find one, even if you have to drive for an hour or so to get there, go see the match.

The performance of competitors with shotguns should answer any concern you have about how fast it's possible to get repeat hits with a shotgun, even under pressure.

Training and practice is the answer...

lpl/nc

 

[cloudcroft]

I have two simple rules, regardless of the caliber in question:

1. I don't take a shot when I can't make a hit, even if being shot at.

2. If I DO take a shot, it IS a hit, i.e., one shot = one hit.

Moral?

Don't miss...no one was ever killed by the sound of gunshots (noise).

-- JOhn D.

 

[Lycanthrope]

Barrel length matters. Something between 18.5" and 22" works well in tighter areas. A side saddle is nice because they are slower to reload than pistols. I also like extended magazine tubes.

As for speed, a good semi auto shotgun is rather formidable.

This Remington has an oversized bolt latch, oversized safety button and oversized bolt release. It works well for 3 gun and house duty.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

That's a matter of practice.
With practice a pump shotgun can be fired about as fast as a semi-auto pistol OR auto shotgun.

Right, and with practice a person can shoot COM at 50 yards as fast as 5 yards. With practice, your average person can reload a revolver with half moon clips faster than a person can reload a mag into a semiauto. The problem is that we are talking about a very significant amount of practice to be able to perform the tasks in a manner where it is so ingrained that it can be done cold (as would be the case in virtually all SD situations) in the speeds discussed and with the accuracy required. This is with keeping in mind that such skills are perishable, declining quickly with time for most people, and that most people are still simply trying to be able to have enough skill to hit a target in a self defense situation in a quick and accurate manner. So being a super speed shotgunner will require both the mastery of accuracy and pump speed with the pumping action being significant movement that upsets the the sight picture to some extent for many shooters...so it is a mastery of accuracy with pump speed that works to upset accuracy and it all has to be done cold. This is not an economy of movement situation as such as would be the case with semi-autos.

I have shot with lots of folks who have excellent 'warm-up' skills, but their cold shoot skills are significant less, their times being slower and their pattern size (pistol and rifle) being much larger. These are regular folks who shoot 2-4 times a week. They shoot more than most folks and are better than most general shooters, but they still show this marked difference in cold and warm-up shooting.

With that said, speed, as noted, isn't the only issue and the trade off for a little mechanical advantage speed with a pistol compared to the level of power from a shotgun isn't worth it. The pump shotgun is superior and even under stress, the longer sight radius often allows nervious or scared 'cold' shooters to sight better than with short barreled handguns and hence be able to hit the target more consistently and/or more accurately. Either way, and as noted, practice is still critical even if the average shooter isn't a Jerry Miculek or the like.