Shotgun, as good as it sounds?

T

Trigcure

Joined
Mar 7, 2009
Messages
527
I have been thinking about what might be the best overall camping/home defense/emergency weapon available and i have been leaning to a 12-Gauge pistol grip pump action, something like the Mossberg 500 breacher or cruiser.
benefits i see:
Powerfull enough to use on big animals that want you dead, versatile for emergency hunting

Can fire Slugs, shot, flares, or even less lethal/gas rounds(or dragon breath, but that's not legal..)

Price you can get a lot of bang for your buck.

Simplicity/reliability and intimidation factor, not much beats a pump shotgun.

Disadvantages i see:

Big recoil, more expensive ammo and its not as carryable like a pistol.

So i'm just wondering, what is your take on the Pump shotgun for the roll of Home defense, camping possibly boating and emergency defense in a society collapse Thanks for reading!
 
I don't think you'll find many that disagree that a shotgun is a fine weapon for many uses. Everyone should have at least one.

I would loose the pistol grip and put a regular stock on it though. It's much more accurate that way and more pleasant to shoot. Pistol grips look great in the movies but in real life...
 
I agree on the fact that pistol grips are harder to shoot, especially with accuracy but i was just thinking it would be more compact to store and carry camping, should i look for a folding stock instead or just get the full size?
 
how about an 18" barrel on it and an aftermarket collapsible buttstock pistol grip combo? that what i would choose. with a 6 shell side saddle. maybe a surefire flashlight to brighten things up?
 
Trigcure said:
I agree on the fact that pistol grips are harder to shoot, especially with accuracy but i was just thinking it would be more compact to store and carry camping, should i look for a folding stock instead or just get the full size?
Click to expand...

I had an issue shotgun with a folding stock/pistol grip and it was nowhere near as comfortable or controllable to shoot as a regular stock. An option might be one with an AR type collapsible stock, I think that would be a better choice if you want to go that route. I prefer a normal stock.
 
with practice ya can get pretty good w/a PG shotgun, i woul use tactical buck though vs any magnum loads, it just takes practice, and they are pretty handy i suppose, i would prefer a folding stock AK though myself if ya want something handy.

imho the best folding stock is the old remington style which folds over the bbl, i would as soon cut some off the old std butt stock to shorten it vs using an AR15 style collapsible stock,
 
Forget the pistol grip, IMO. Awkward and needs a lot of practice to use accurately.
You really can't go past the tried and proven stock Remington 870/Mossberg 500 type shottie.

Depending on your intended environment and available $$$ look at synthetic furniture, stainless, marine grade etc. options. Forget fancy sights, ammo carriers, and forward handles, may look cool, but not essential.
If you just need a home defense gun that can go camping or boating and will take a beating with minimum maintenance, I would go a rock bottom basic Remington or Mossberg.

It will probably outlive you, if you don't leave it rotting in the bilgewater in your boat.
 
For what you described a shotgun would serve very well. As other have said tho the pistol grip makes it hard to shoot accurately and the recoil can be hard to control for fast follow-up shots. I would pass on folding stocks as well, but that is more personal preference than for any function reasons. Also in some states a folder or pistol grip shotgun comes under some of the same rules as handguns and are more restricted in some ways.

A nice non-threatening full stocked shotgun is much more likely to pass under the radar without making LEOs think you have a Rambo complex.
 
[IRONY]Obviously, living in a crime-free Obama-type Socialist paradise as I do, things like home defence needn't concern me.

:rolleyes:

[/IRONY]

A shotgun is sub-optimal in a building: it's very long, very heavy and very loud.

Also, in the confines of a home, its much-vaunted spread potential is very limited. In a typical length-of-the-hall scenario, you're only going to get a pattern of about 3" to 4"

Are you going to be able to bear to fire enough rounds to make yourself proficient? A hundred or more buckshot and/or slug loads fired in a session will make you feel as though you've been ridden hard and put away wet.

The trade-off is that its intimidation potential rates 11/10

maximus otter
 
Never expect 'intimidation' !! My friend thought that would work but the BG had 4 drugs and high alcohol levels - he never saw the shotgun and didn't hear the commands !!! Use low recoil, 12 ga ,00 buckshot loads for home defense. NO pistol grip ! Practice and develop a tactical plan for your home.
 
one suggestion I heard once was that if you have an issue with the size of the fullsize conventional stocks (ie. taking up too much room) try getting one fitted with a youth sized stock. they are smaller than the fullsize, but more comfortable than the pistol grip types. and they don't need unfolding (which might be a pain when it's 2 o'clock in the morning, and you've just woken up to a noise downstairs)
 
Pistol grips are for posers. A regular-stocked Remington 870 will do just fine. Personally, I prefer a good .45 for home defense. A shotgun is just too long to swing around in the confines of a home, unless you've been properly trained for it IMO. And you are going to do your ears a disservice if you have to touch a 12ga. off in your hallway. Not a primary consideration, but something to think about. Shotguns are LOUD, brutal weapons.

For car camping and boating, you can't get much better than a 12ga. This is my tool of choice:
25012.jpg

That's big medicine. Nothing on this planet is getting near you if you're holding one of those stoked with buckshot.
 
A pistol-gripped shotgun's ONLY advantages are compact storage and fractionally handier maneuvering in tight spaces. Some think the reduced weight's nice, till they shoot one. Weight reduction, all else being equal, increases recoil.

Balancing the overall picture, with practice you can improve on its limitatations somewhat, but you still need to be close, you can't aim worth a damn, slugs are highly impractical beyond a few yards, and there is no real hunting utility.

On long range shots you're fighting weight and a wobbling two-point hold, neither of which is anywhere near as much of a problem with a full-stocked gun in a three-point shoulder-fired position.

Recoil is very difficult to deal with if you're trying for an aimed shot, the arms are extended awkwardly & can't brace against the rearward shove effectively.

Shot to shot recovery time is poor.

A pistol-gripped shotgun does not provide versatility at all, it significantly reduces it.

Denis
 
I consider a shotgun to be the best all-around weapon and in a SHTF situation if I could only take one weapon with me it would be my 870. Home defense weapon of choice for me is a regular stock 870, surefire fore-end, side saddle, loaded with low-recoil federal flight control 00. Whatever you weapon of choice might be, the most important part is TRAINING. IDPA, IPSC, and 3-gun are all good ways to practice.
 
Thank you all for the great input, looks like i'll be getting myself a nice boomstick someday, with a full stock unless i can get a folding one i like.
 
There are a number of newly-designed shotgun slugs that are capable of 4-5" 100yd. groups, so the idea that slugs are only good for a few yards is fallacious.
 
If you're referring to my comment, I was talking about slugs being impractical beyond a few yards with a pistolgripped shotgun.
They are very viable much farther out, but only with some sort of a full stock.
Denis
 
i would say it would depend on how well you can shoot a PG as for how far slugs work well, of course they arent gonna be as accurate as a full stocked one but in the right hands they will do ok, bucks probably better though, i promise you i can shoot one well enough it would most certainly be effective more than a few yards lol.

i would just shoot enough buck/slugs to get used to the recoil and use something cheaper to practice, the tac buck doesnt recoil much (any?)more than a field load imho anyway..........
 
I don't think anyone mentioned that a pistol grip with a Mossberg is a bad idea because of the safety location. If you have a regular stock, the safety is easily reached with your thumb. With a pistol grip, the safety is so far away, you just about have to let go of the pistol grip to activate/deactivate it. That is no good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top