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Shotgun for HD

phleye

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2011
Messages
62
Location
Milwaukee
I know this is a "handgun" forum but is there anyone here that also uses a shotgun for HD? I'd like to know where you put it at night. Next to the bed? In the corner? In the closet? I have one and have been trying to decide what to do with it at night. I usually keep it on the floor next to the bed, but I always end up tripping over it and moving it. I did put it in the corner (a little farther away) but I like it there now, it's out of the way but still easily accessible. Any thoughts? Thanks!!
 

protias

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Messages
7,308
Location
SE, WI
I used to have a couple of shotguns, but there were lost in a tragic boating accident. :(

I am not going to say where I kept them, but they were nearby. One place I did keep it was under the bed, within a few inches from the edge, so if you just glanced, you could not see it.
 

Old Grump

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 22, 2010
Messages
387
Location
Blue River, Wisconsin, USA
Night stand a .357 loaded with 38 spcl and a maglight, By my bedroom door leaning against my book shelf are 2 shotguns loaded, chambered and safety on. Handgun if I need to react while still in bed, if I have to get up on my hindlegs and go into the house it gets replaced with one of the shotguns, which one doesn't matter. I am a rifle shooter to the core and a handgun shooter by training but at dark thirty in the morning I will trade both for a little more close up and personal authority.
 

thebigsd

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2010
Messages
3,535
Location
Quarryville, PA
I have a Remington 870 mounted on the wall high above my bed where my son can't reach it. I load it before I go to sleep and mount it. I unload it and lock it away in the morning. I also have my handgun in my nightstand if need be.

Edit: I also leave the chamber empty. I have the belief that the sound of a 12 gauge shotgun racking is a pretty good deterrent by itself...
 
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Firearms Iinstuctor

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Messages
3,428
Location
northern wis
I keep mine against the wall near the door full mag empty chamber. No matter where is best for you it needs to be kept in the same spot all the time so you do not have to go looking for it.
 

rcawdor57

Campaign Veteran
Joined
May 18, 2009
Messages
1,643
Location
Wisconsin, USA
I Thought This Thread Was About .....

Auric. :)

I keep my 12 gauge pump loaded with 000 buckshot leaning in the corner of the room by the bed. Glock on the floor next to the bed. I can personally attest that the sound of the pump racking in a shell DOES make the perpetrator follow your instructions.

Maybe I should get some Dragonsbreath and have that handy? Just a thought.
 

SovereignAxe

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2011
Messages
791
Location
Elizabethton, TN
I have a Remington 1100 16ga I keep under the bed, fully loaded. It's a semi-auto, so the action isn't the same. Plus it still has the wooden dowel in it (can't figure out how to get it out yet) so it only holds 2+1 rounds-no need to handicap myself.

But really, it's way too long for home defense. I'm not sure of the barrel length, but I'm guessing 24", so even getting it out from under the bed would be a chore. I'd love to pick up a 12ga Mossberg 500 with an 18.5" barrel for this purpose. Holds more rounds, shorter barrel, loud pump action. That'll probably be my next firearm purchase-as much as I'd love to have an AR or another pistol, a home defense shotty makes more sense.

Shooting birdshot from a short barreled, unchoked 12ga shotgun is almost gauranteed to hit an intruder even if you just fire towards the sound they're making. Plus the birdshot isn't going to overpenetrate any walls, or the intruder himself-so worrying about the best round with the most stopping power that wont OP walls or the target is a non-issue.
 

Lurchiron

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2009
Messages
1,011
Location
Shawano,WI.
Stoeger 12ga. coach gun(20in. barrels) side-by-side, mounted upside-down on a deer hoove single gun rack; over the bedroom door.
Late night grouse don't stand a chance...
View attachment 6707Is triple buck to much for uninvited guests???
 

Firearms Iinstuctor

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Messages
3,428
Location
northern wis
I would really recommend against fireing towards sounds you think are made by an intruter. If you can not ID your target you most likely shouldn't be fireing.

It is a myth that you can hit something with a shotgun just my point in the general direction. At 15 20 feet away the shot gun pattren is very small. It needs to be aimed.

000 buck is useful I personally use 00 in mine but then I live in the country. Bird shot can be use and is deadly at close range. I know of one self defense shooting that a load of bird shot at about 10 feet dropped and killed a knife wheeling attacker after he stab the owner twice. He had bird shot in his shot gun because he was having racoon trouble. It was the closest and fastest gun he could get to.
 

SovereignAxe

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2011
Messages
791
Location
Elizabethton, TN
Stoeger 12ga. coach gun(20in. barrels) side-by-side, mounted upside-down on a deer hoove single gun rack; over the bedroom door.
Late night grouse don't stand a chance...
View attachment 6707Is triple buck to much for uninvited guests???

depends on whether or not you're worried about what's on the other side of your walls if you miss.

even birdshot is going to ruin anyone's day when hit with it. but since the pellets are so small once they hit a wall they're going to lose all of their energy right then and there. 6 pellets of 000 buckshot are going to carry a little more energy after hitting a wall. I live with no one else other than my fiancee, who I will always have at my back, but I do have neighbors across the street, and I'd rather not get sued for sending stray lead into their property. that's why I'm hesitant to even use my 9mm pointed towards my front door.
 

SovereignAxe

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2011
Messages
791
Location
Elizabethton, TN
I would really recommend against fireing towards sounds you think are made by an intruter. If you can not ID your target you most likely shouldn't be fireing.

It is a myth that you can hit something with a shotgun just my point in the general direction. At 15 20 feet away the shot gun pattren is very small. It needs to be aimed.

000 buck is useful I personally use 00 in mine but then I live in the country. Bird shot can be use and is deadly at close range. I know of one self defense shooting that a load of bird shot at about 10 feet dropped and killed a knife wheeling attacker after he stab the owner twice. He had bird shot in his shot gun because he was having racoon trouble. It was the closest and fastest gun he could get to.

I'll concede that, but my point was that the spread from birdshot is gonig to be a bit bigger than buckshot
 

Interceptor_Knight

Regular Member
Joined
May 18, 2007
Messages
2,851
Location
Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA
Birdshot is intended for birds and not people. You must be able to stop a threat so that it is incapable of inflicting a fatal or otherwise serious wound to yourself or a loved one. There are cases of birdshot being effective but there are far more cases of those shot simply being wounded and able to walk to seek medical attention. I work with someone who was shot at nearly point blank range with birdshot and he was not incapacitated immediately. In order to be effective, the projectile must reach the vitals of what you are shooting at. Birdshot simply does not have enough penetration to do so in most cases. There are a few unlucky folks out there who have received fatal birdshot wounds but scores more who were simply wounded.
Buckshot is far more effective for dangerous game. #4 buckshot is proven to be effective and reliable as a defense load yet will penetrate far less than 00 or any of the popular pistol calibers out there.
 

MAC702

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jul 31, 2011
Messages
6,331
Location
Nevada
Remington 1100 with full extended tube of #1 Buck and a 200-lumen Surefire. Leaning in corner on other side of nightstand. There are no children in the house.

A shotgun is the best tool for defense. A sidearm is because you can't carry a shotgun everywhere.

My dad has a Mossberg 835 Ultimag. 54 pellets of #4 Buck fit in a 3-1/2" shell. THAT's a defensive payload if you needed it.
 
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Shotgun

Wisconsin Carry, Inc.
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Messages
2,668
Location
Madison, Wisconsin, USA


Hah.... yeah so did I! I was wondering "what did I do now?"

Needless to say, I have a few shotguns, and there might be one or two (or three) at the ready... ...along with a few other things. Plus Glockgirl has her own favorites at the ready. Mmmm.... teamwork!
 

TaurusToter

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jul 27, 2011
Messages
308
Location
West Bend, WI
I also leave the chamber empty. I have the belief that the sound of a 12 gauge shotgun racking is a pretty good deterrent by itself...

Agreed. That sound is universal around the world, regardless of what language you speak.


I keep a Remington 7600 around for HD loaded with PDX1. If you're in the market, there are a lot of places around that are selling tactical shotguns for pretty cheap.

REM7300_REM7300.png
 
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