Plus, I think humans are genetically inclined to recognize that “SHLACK-SHLACK” is the sound of a pump action shotgun chambering a round and THIS would be a good time to vacate the area.
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Maybe…. But no bad guy will ever hear me racking a pump shotgun. Going into a fight with an empty chamber does not suit me. If it’s a real deadly force worthy threat I’m addressing the only sound they need to hear is click/boom.
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Agreed. If I had a dollar for every time someone mentioned the old “The racking of a shotgun will make the bad guy think twice … blah … blah” I would have retired 5 years earlier.
I’m not giving my position away.
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I run a supressed Glock 19 with a TLR-1 light with standard sights for HD. I am loaded with Hornady self defense that purports to prevent overpenetration. I was a Mrine CQB instructor in a former life and am was proficient with the Remy 870 which is great to clear a room but for HD, I much prefer the Glock 19 rig I have set up. I am very proficient at the point and shoot and do not need to come down on the sights which are partially obscured by the suppresor anyway. Just my two cents.
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Just get a double barrel shotgun and fire 2 shots in the air. You’ll scare off any bad guy/guy’s and be safe.
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Yo do remember who said that? Correct?
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Thank you!
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Never thought about the seemingly uncontrollable blast of a shotgun in the house; so good topic to bring up… makes me think a revolver might be better…
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Mt wife and I have choices between 2 ARs, 2 shotguns, and multiple handguns for Home Defense. Our shotguns for HD are a Stoeger M3020 Tactical semiauto and a Stevens 320 HD pump. BOTH are in 20ga and have FO GRS. Both are loaded with (3) Remington #3 buckshot, backed up by (2) W-W Defender segmented slugs.
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Ever shot a handgun indoors with NO hearing protection? I have. Ruger Single Six .22 Magnum in July of 1984. My ears are STILL ringing…
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I agree with you. I’m single, no kids, live alone. When I renovated my home, I designed hidden but easily accessible “gun cabinets” in each room of the house, including the “water closet”. How big a hole intruders may encounter depends on which room I’m in, not counting my EDC, which is on an end table next to my favorite chair.
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Sorry I had to take a moment to 
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The Off Duty/On Duty Pocast ( Episode 46- All About The Scattergun) had a great deal of good info about general use and utility of a shotgun for duty and home use.
Weight and recoil for less familiar shooters are real issues. (And they talked about the idiocy of having someone’s first experience be to shoot a full power slug out of a pump.)
But for, ah, I hate to say it…stopping power…a properly loaded shotgun excels.
As an aside, I am less able than I used to be, and currently use an AR and a pistol for myself.
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Vice President Biden always has the best solution.
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I am reasonably proficient with a shotgun for HD and field use and I agree with you about the clumsiness and recoil issues of the shotgun for HD. I am NOT particularly recoil sensitive, but the recoil, loudness and muzzle flash from the shotgun in close quarters is just RUDE. I have an AR, but have chosen a PCC in .45 cal (same cal as my EDC and my night stand firearm) for my home defense, “long gun”. Unfortunately I am limited to 10 round magazines in both PCC and handgun, however, if I can’t get it done in 20 rounds I am probably living in the wrong area. Yes, I have multiple magazines for each firearm, but I doubt that with the adrenaline rush, loss of fine motor skills and general full tilt boogie panic mode I would be able to perform a reload on either weapon. Better to distract the bad guy with the empty carbine being launched in his/her direction and accessing my handgun if it becomes necessary. Just my two cents worth of opinion.
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This kind of hits the nail on the head in this conversation. I spent over 30 years training on numerous weapons in my former career in LE with a sidearm and a Remington 870 as the primary two. I trained of course in others but these were primary. And because of this I have several handguns (One revolver and numerous semi’s) and one 870 as my primary HD weapons. An AR as well but it’s not even 1, 2 or 3) It’s just the wife and I as our kids are long grown and gone. I have no neighbors nearby enough where over penetration of an AR is an issue but the fact remains I do not feel it is the best weapon in the very vast majority of home defense situations. Most of the shootings are over in mere seconds and the need for 30 plus rds is so unheard of, but of course, not impossible. That “unwieldy” shotgun should not be unwieldy if the owner trains properly with it. Just like that AR. But the over penetration is my biggest concern for most shootings when it comes to that AR. My wife knows to grab her 380 and get into our closet in the event an intruder should come in. Can my 870, if I choose to use it, over penetrate? Of course it can. But in comparison to my AR I know what I prefer when it comes to an accidental shooting due to this OP with the wife present and nearby. Plus I know that pretty much all bad guys know exactly what the sound of a shotgun is and that racking sound will send even the most hardened criminal running. I carry every one of my handguns loaded and hot but not the 870. I want that sound to be made of me racking it if it will keep me from shooting and killing someone in my home. People talk about how quickly they will shoot an intruder in their home but the vast majority of these people have never been involved in a shooting situation or trained for such and have no idea how devastating this can be to so many involved.
But this is my logic on why I like that 12ga. I love my AR but it will not be my first or even 2nd home defense weapon unless I know the zombies are outside my walls.
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Acknowledge that is a worry. And I am thinking about the purchase of a shotgun for home defense. Mostly because I am concerned about what the government will ban next. Regardless, I have defense ammo ready to go at home for use in my AR, such as Winchester silver tip. Would never use FMJ, unless amageddon actually hits.
“Winchester Has 4 New Silvertip Defense Loads for 2021 :: Guns.com”
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