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NEF Shotgun for home defence
- Thread starter gangsta965084
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Northern VA, well its still in the south right? ahah
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I don't agree with your opinion. Shotguns are the most-recommend HD tool by every trainer I've ever trained with over the past 20 years in the West, South and East Coasts including with law enforcement trainers. A shotgun will put multiple rounds in roughly a fist/palm-sized pattern in your target at typical SD ranges, that beats any hole or energy dump you will be able to achieve with any pistol and many rifle rounds.
While I wouldn't use slugs indoors unless I absolutely knew what the backstop was, 00 to 0000 buck will stop someone faster than any pistol caliber. Shotguns have a longer sight radius and is easier to aim & hit targets while under stress than pistols. Rifle calibers will have the same problem as slugs in overpenetration dangers.
The key point to using any firearm is to hit what you aim at. This requires practice, which most people don't do enough of. The next thing to understand is that HD is not the same with "clearing" your house like SWAT. If BGs are evident, the purpose is not to wander in your home to look for them, the goal of HD is to hunker-down in a defensible position and let the BGs find you. Wait behind the bed, heavy furniture or in an iron bathtub for the BG to outline himself in the doorframe before taking the shot. Even with a single shot, if you put the first BG down, any 2nd or 3rd BG isn't going to want to go thru that door next... you will have time to reload.
"btw: a shotgun is not necessarily the best weapon for hd." +1
"Shotguns are the most-recommend HD tool......" +1
I had an 870 with a 20" hunting barrel for years. But it was heavy and unwieldy so I relied on my 1911 for HD. The 1911 was faster for me to deploy and easier to maneuver with. Plus I'd put thousands of rounds through the 1911 and only hundreds of rounds through the 870. For a novice with good cover defending against one point of attack the shotgun is probably best. And fronkly this probably the most likely scenerio. But in a situation of tight cover, a closet filled with clothes, with multiple points of attack, a window on one side and a door on the other, a pistol is a probably the better choice.
"Shotguns are the most-recommend HD tool......" +1
I had an 870 with a 20" hunting barrel for years. But it was heavy and unwieldy so I relied on my 1911 for HD. The 1911 was faster for me to deploy and easier to maneuver with. Plus I'd put thousands of rounds through the 1911 and only hundreds of rounds through the 870. For a novice with good cover defending against one point of attack the shotgun is probably best. And fronkly this probably the most likely scenerio. But in a situation of tight cover, a closet filled with clothes, with multiple points of attack, a window on one side and a door on the other, a pistol is a probably the better choice.
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I collect full-house custom M1911s and I've put at least 200K of .45ACP downrange, and that's probably a low estimate, I have put less than 4K of mostly 00 buck downrange. Lots of other pistol & long gun experience as well. My preference in a HD situation is still the shotgun. Still easier to aim when under stress and makes the biggest hole.
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
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They let you geezers own firearms? How do you aim it, by tying a white cane to the front sight?
UffDa
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They let you geezers own firearms? How do you aim it, by tying a white cane to the front sight?
Keep it up. If you're lucky, you may live to be a geezer.
Off topic a bit. A very wealthy older gentleman came into the shop about 10 years ago and wanted me to mount a very large custom made bead on his new
Ruger Red Label 28 ga. shotgun. It was white ivory 3/8" in diameter. I jokingly pulled a golf ball out of a drawer and asked if it was big enough. He quite seriously
told me that if I could figure out how to mount it, he would pay extra.
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UffDa.... as I get older the width of my front sights gets thinner....down to .090 in ..... of course my optician has done wonders making a pair of shooting glasses, with my near vision bifocal prescription the entire dominant eye lens....
Back to the OPs original question. $130 for the NEF single shot is a fair price. The 12 gauge is probably the best round for HD for most shooters. Most 10 gauge shotguns have a very long barrel and the ammo can be hard to get. 20 gauge NEF tend to kick as hard as the 12 gauge NEF as the guns are lighter and the 20 gauge shells cost as much as the 12 gauge shells. If recoil is an issue you can buy shells that have lighter loads. If handling is an issue the 20 gauge is faster. If over penetration is an issue stick to smaller shot. Finally....practice.
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A pump is a better option but if a single is all you can get it will work
[video]http://youtu.be/FhgwHQCJwWw[/video]
all this save up for something better is great but for some young families it just ain't realistic . If you put the money back something all ways comes up and you end up with nothing. 12 ga ammo is cheapest and most available twenty is cheap too but choices or more limited learn how to use it is more inportant than how many rounds it holds
For the record I don't like the butt stock ammo holders on the gun , it changes the balance of the gun. I use one of the elastic ammo hold for the butt stock on my strong side wrist instead
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I know the question was about firearm suitability but with any HD talk must come tactics. Far more important than what gun you buy. Think of the many scenarios that could happen and the best way to handle them. Consider other types of preperation to defending yourself in your home. If your firearm is in your bedroom, what would you do if someone got in the house when you are NOT in the bedroom? If it is dark, how will you identify? DO you have motion detector floodlights? Is there vegatation to hide people outside your windows? Are your door sand windows secure?
Do not just buy a firearm and stop thinking at that point. This is not just the OP but anyone who reads this. Call your local police, non emergency number, and ask if it is possible ot have an officer come by and walk around your house- some will and can be very helpful.
One example is- many people live in ranch style houses, bedrooms are usually at the end of the hall. I have a 500 watt halogen floodlight mounted about 16" from the ceiling at the end of the hall. 3 way switch for the two (inside the bedrooms)bedrooms at the end of the hall and points towards living room in the house. If I hear noises at night, I can turn that light on without stepping into the hallway. If it is nothing- great! If it is a houseguest/kid- we laugh and go back to bed. If it is an aggressor, they are semi blind and must look at the light to come down the hall--- I have positive identification and a nice advantage. Cheap, easy to do, non lethal, allows positive ID and advantage and is even useful in case of housefire to cut through the smoke to aid in egress.
Do not just buy a firearm and stop thinking at that point. This is not just the OP but anyone who reads this. Call your local police, non emergency number, and ask if it is possible ot have an officer come by and walk around your house- some will and can be very helpful.
One example is- many people live in ranch style houses, bedrooms are usually at the end of the hall. I have a 500 watt halogen floodlight mounted about 16" from the ceiling at the end of the hall. 3 way switch for the two (inside the bedrooms)bedrooms at the end of the hall and points towards living room in the house. If I hear noises at night, I can turn that light on without stepping into the hallway. If it is nothing- great! If it is a houseguest/kid- we laugh and go back to bed. If it is an aggressor, they are semi blind and must look at the light to come down the hall--- I have positive identification and a nice advantage. Cheap, easy to do, non lethal, allows positive ID and advantage and is even useful in case of housefire to cut through the smoke to aid in egress.