GunnSmokeer
Senior Member
My "go to" shotgun is a 20-gauge, and sometimes I put the 18.5" slug barrel on it and clamp a laser/ tactical light to the barrel just forward of the magazine cap and call this my "home defense" gun.
I have three issues with it, that I hold against it as a combat / home defense weapon, if I'm attacked by a home invasion robbing crew (as contrasted with a single burglar).
1-- Ammo capacity. My gun is 5+1 with 2.75" chamber shells. I know I could get an extended mag tube to bump that up to 7+1, if I relocated my light/ laser unit.
(I prefer a semi-auto carbine that holds 20 or 30 rounds).
2-- A pump shotgun requires 2 hands to operate, to include multiple shots in a short time. A semi-auto carbine with a pistol grip type stock can be used one-handed. That's a big advantage.
3-- NOBODY TALKS ABOUT THIS ONE MUCH, but...
From my own testing, 20-gauge buckshot (#2 and #3 were the biggest sizes I could find) just doesn't impress me as the be-all, end-all Hammer of Thor that both 12 and 20 gauge shotguns are supposed to be.
I've shot my shotgun with that buckshot into soft pine boards, and newspapers, and the penetration is LESS than I expected. It's basically going through about 1.5" worth of wood.
That's compared to my 9mm carry pistol, which shoves its 124-grain bullets about 4" deep into that same wood, tested the same day.
Yes, the shotgun puts several holes in the target.
The 9mm or .38 only makes one hole at a time. But the penetration difference is significant. If I were aiming at a 230 lb muscular felon who just finished a 10 year sentence in prison, pumping iron in the gym daily, I'd have doubts about a one-shot stop from a 20 ga.
(Unless I used slugs. Shotgun slugs really penetrate well and make a huge hole!)
I have three issues with it, that I hold against it as a combat / home defense weapon, if I'm attacked by a home invasion robbing crew (as contrasted with a single burglar).
1-- Ammo capacity. My gun is 5+1 with 2.75" chamber shells. I know I could get an extended mag tube to bump that up to 7+1, if I relocated my light/ laser unit.
(I prefer a semi-auto carbine that holds 20 or 30 rounds).
2-- A pump shotgun requires 2 hands to operate, to include multiple shots in a short time. A semi-auto carbine with a pistol grip type stock can be used one-handed. That's a big advantage.
3-- NOBODY TALKS ABOUT THIS ONE MUCH, but...
From my own testing, 20-gauge buckshot (#2 and #3 were the biggest sizes I could find) just doesn't impress me as the be-all, end-all Hammer of Thor that both 12 and 20 gauge shotguns are supposed to be.
I've shot my shotgun with that buckshot into soft pine boards, and newspapers, and the penetration is LESS than I expected. It's basically going through about 1.5" worth of wood.
That's compared to my 9mm carry pistol, which shoves its 124-grain bullets about 4" deep into that same wood, tested the same day.
Yes, the shotgun puts several holes in the target.
The 9mm or .38 only makes one hole at a time. But the penetration difference is significant. If I were aiming at a 230 lb muscular felon who just finished a 10 year sentence in prison, pumping iron in the gym daily, I'd have doubts about a one-shot stop from a 20 ga.
(Unless I used slugs. Shotgun slugs really penetrate well and make a huge hole!)