How much experience shooting each of the options does your wife have?
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For me it is about what I was trained and proficient with. First would be my 9 mm pistol 147 grain HST. Second pump shotgun number 4 buck short barrel. Last would be a toss-up between my Henry lever action 357 Magnum for my cmmg mutant 762x39
First off I would hope my outside cameras and home security system as well as my 80 lb black mouth cur would deter most Intruders. Hopefully that would be all it took.
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12 ga pump w/00buck, flashlight
pistols, tomahawk, K-BAR, whatever I can grab
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I run a 10.5" suppressed AR loaded with federal XM556FBIT3. Itās an extremely expensive (and hard to find) load, but itās one of the best short barrel 556 loadings out there. My wife shoots an AR pattern gun better than anything and it gives either her or myself an advantage of outgunning any assailant entering our home. Thereās a massive amount of misconceptions on scatter guns; I constantly hear the stereotypical fudd one liners like āyou donāt have to aim a shotgunā, ājust racking the pump will scare em offā, or āshotguns donāt overpenetrateā. All if which are fuddlore that arenāt backed (or even disproven through) science and/or scientific research. Any effective weight shot is going to penetrate household barriers just as much as handgun and small bore-high velocity rifke cartridges like 556. I choose 556 because it offers outstanding terminal ballistics and doesnāt penetrate barriers any more than other choices out there. What it offers greatly outweighs any of itās drawbacks in a home defense scenario.
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Agreed, and welcome to our Community. I hope you like it here.
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How about a 9MM PCC?
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For me, if Iām going to use a rifle, I want the ballistic advantage (significantly better chances of immediately stopping the attacker) of using a rifle. 9mm in any length barrel does not make rifle ballistics (and is still lethal through the interior walls)
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For me it would be 00buck in a Remington 870 tactical. A friend of mine who worked for the IRS In security. Said I should have #6 or #8s sounds reasonable make a lot of holes you canāt stop up. Hope I never have to but if it happens it happens.
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Mossberg has introduced the 590S. It is a military grade 12 gauge pump that will reliable handle 1.75" to 3" shells. 20" barrel with sights. It will hold 13 1.75" shorty shells. Aguilla and Federal are making them. The Aguila buckshot load is 7 #4 buck and 4 #1 buck in each shell. The Federal is 15 #4 buck in each shell. Slugs available in both. Recoil is much reduced with the short shells.
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Well, taking a hostage-saving head shot on the bad guy is kinda hard to do with a shotgun, so for that reason I prefer an AR with a red dot for home defense. Of course, firing off more than one round with an AR is considerably easier than having to manually pump a shotgun to get another round loaded. Especially with certain shotguns that you really have to rack back hard and fast to get consistent reloading. That could be solved with a semi-automatic shotgun, but even still. If Iām in a situation where I need to fire a gun, Iād rather have the extra ammo and not need it than need it and not have it.
On a side note, itās entirely possible to mount a light on shotguns. Youāll just have to buy a mounting kit that can attach to the barrel.
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Not a prolific poster here but the topic fascinates me along with the responses and logic that goes with our choices.
For reasons I will not bother to explain my wife sleeps in a different room in the house than me. She knows that if entry is made that I will be fighting with a handgun. If I do not prevail she will be at the ready behind her bed with the 12 gauge aimed at the bedroom door opening.
Without question at room distance with 00, this is a fight stopper.
We are empty nesters. A full load into a torso dumps enough energy that any pass through will be of minimal risk of penetrating what lies beyond. Yes it will be loud as would any unsuppressed firearm indoors.
Our plan for our situation and the logic and reasoning behind it.
And yes she is very handy with the old 12 gauge.
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Personal choice. I like having the pump with itās very specific sound as a potential deterrence. However, I also have the AR for volume of rounds in case they are needed to stop a threat. That being said, I got the best of both worlds, AR 12. The bolt locking into battery has a very specific sound, and the 20rd drum provides the volume. I keep #6 as to try and avoid over penetration. But in a closer environment such as a home, thatās hard to avoid.
Itās also nice for my wife since the AR 12 is light enough for her to handle effectively as with the AR 15.
Practice your drills, know your plan and hopefully never have to execute that plan.
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Number 6 birdshot?
Or six buckshot cartridges?
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#4 buck is the smallest buckshot size. Shot sizes are numerical and progress from #1 to letter designations.
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All (3), in multiple iterations, are available. It would all boil down to which one I can access the quickest.
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My pistol is the closest option, but on the topic of the question asked here is my 12ga with PDX1 loaded.
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I never realed there was a 0000 buck. How many in a 12 gauge 2 3/4 shell?
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Me either, made as a specialty round. 
12 Gauge 2-3/4" UltraBuck Magnum 0000 Buckshot - 10 Rounds - OUT OF STOCK (wolfhillammo.com)
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