Shotguns. No bueno. In many people's heads the be-all end all of home defense. Both folks that believe all the myths, and folks that no. This is the counter argument.
Ok, discounting the people that don't know anything about shooting. Shotguns are sub-optimal even for people that are intermediate shooters. And the article goes into that.
But shotguns are what n00b people in Maryland are buying the most of, in the panic, if they can get their hands on one. Because of myths, because of the laws, it is now the go to home defense iron
10+ years ago? They were buying revolvers for nightstand guns. Or something cheap like a Hi-Point. So amateurs are going to get less than ideal shooting irons no matter what laws are in place.
So what SHOULD they get to protect hearth and home? Well, training, of course. But I can wish in one hand and poop in the other and come to think of it I am slacking on more training my ownself
I don't like shotguns, myself, but I have less training and practice with them compared to an AR or, especially now, a pistol. If I could go back to when I was shotgun-less and advise myself what to get, I'd tell me to learn how chokes work and get a couple doubles. For simplicity. Because you aren't gonna shoot em much.
But say I had the training, and manual of arms was second nature with a proper 'tactical' style shotgun. The comparison of positives (raw power) and negatives (long, bulky, clumsy indoors, low capacity) still makes me eschew the platform. But that's just my opinion. Right now. Jeez, but, I know I can change my opinion over time. I learned to like how Glocks work for me, after all.
I have what I think is the best of both worlds for my home situation. A handgun that shoots .410 shot shells, in my case a S&W Governor. First out of the pipe is a Hornady Critical Defense round. A .41 caliber FTX HP bullet followed by 2 .35 cal round balls. That will be aimed at center mass and at self defense range makes a nice group. The follow up for the cranium is a SIG Performance .45 Long Colt topped with a 230 grain JHP. There are two more of each in the cylinder lined up the same way. In case a reload is needed, I would dump the cylinder of empties and switch to a full moon clip of SIG Performance .45 ACP with the same 230 grain bullet.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same until I took a couple of tactical shotty classes. Still not my primary go-to, but I'm much more comfortable with where it fits in the hierarchy of needs. The classes were a lot of fun. I wish I'd taken them sooner.
ReplyDeleteEver shoot a 3 gun match? It's slow on the reload, but nothing puts down an array of steel better than a shotgun, pump or semi-auto. People certainly need more practice than they will ever bother to get, but a shotgun is and was a go-to weapon for police and military for over a century. The Germans wanted the U.S. shotguns banned in WWI due to their devastating effectiveness.
ReplyDelete~squints at Witold~
ReplyDeletegood for mid-range, single assailant. not so much indoors or multiples. had a corrections dept. buddy show me one day how the inmates train to take away a shotgun. bet him he couldn't do it to me, i'm trained, i thought....he snatched it out of my hands even though i knew he was going to do it. EVERY TIME. traded my shotty in the next day. yeah, yeah, three gun.... range, known distance, targets all lined up n not shooting back, race guns. even jerry miculek pooches it once in a while. once is all you get.
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