About shotguns... honestly.

[Artos]

I own an 1100. It is fun to shoot. I had to replace the O-rings. I had fun shooting it when they were corroded. It let me practice malfunction drills as sometimes it would cycle and sometimes it won't. Needless to say I am good at clearing it. They can be ammo picky depending, but mine has no problem with anything as of yet, including low recoil Federal 00 buckshot.

My 870 is my go to shotgun. I am not going to wait to wrack the slide when I see the perp(s). I am going to wrack it the second I think there is a problem. No sense is getting popped by a handgun because I had not gotten the shotgun ready. Thankfully, I have not had to go through this and hope I never will, but it is nice to have the tools in the toolbox.

I can say with confidence that the Beretta 390 is the gun you want for taking abuse. Now, this is from several guides who do nothing but shoot birds all day, every day in mexico and argentina. They say the original self cleaning 390 is without a doubt the most reliable after trying them all with multiple chances....i have no idea if any accessories will work for the combat class application, but the design / action is the nutz.

I'm still a benelli man cuz it's never let me down and the 1100 lt 20ga is a must shoot for any scattergun guy before you croak.

[panzerr]

I would take a SBS over an AR for home defense any day.

[Alaskapopo]

I prefer a carbine. Its a lot more versatile in a gun fight than a shotgun. But both are good tools.
Pat

[Iowa Don]

The SxS is a good throw away gun for the first two shots, and I keep one loaded in the safe along with the 97 Win 12 gauge. One would think that would drive off the worst of scum, but you just never know. So with an M4 with a c-mag, I can control the entry and hallway for quite a while. To each his own and whatever he's comfortable with. The only fair fight is the one you win. As Bill Jordan said--there ain't no second place winners in a gunfight.

[Alaskapopo]

My favorite saying is. If you find yourself in a fair fight your tactics suck.
Pat

[goodoleboy]

I'll tell you, there aren't too many shoulder-fired weapons that can rival a 12 gauge with an open choke at 15 yards (unless it's a 10 gauge). In my home, the weapons that remain loaded and within one-arms length are a 870 Remington riot gun and a .45 acp pistol.

I figure that if I'm half asleep in a dark house, I want something that I can aim in the direction of the noise (North, South, East, West), pump off a few rounds, and feel confident that the threat has been eliminated.

The ultimate test is: "If I had to be shot with any common weapon, what would I have as my absolute, last choice if my goal were to survive?" For me, that is a shotgun with buck-shot.

That pretty much sums it up (at distances less than 25 yards).

[Dan Goodwin]

Same basic choices for my HD battery, GoodOleBoy, but from a legal standpoint you might be better off:

Trying to WAKE all the way up,
Using a white light to SEE what's making the noise,
Servicing as necessary with AIMED fire,
Then BE confident the "treat" has been stopped.

Just sayin'...

[SGT D USMC]

I don't like shotguns, so I've spent my time with other weapons, However being old I have certian stubborn opinions about shot guns.

1. shotguns were meant to get on target fast and are some of the most natural weapons to point. ( try hitting quail with a slow pointing weapon)
However when modified for defense one of the first things done is often adding rifle sights. Even with a ghost ring appature this is slower than just a front bead. (how could you possiblely aline the target, the front sight, (if you are a trained marksman at all you will take time at this point to get a sharp focus on the front sight) and the rear site. This is never as fast as just alineing the target, and the bead. when I explain this to shotgunners they look at me kind of strange and say that they have to have the rifle sights to make long shots with slugs.

2. Then comes ammo capacity, or add the extended tube, maybe add the extra rounds via a stock elastic ammo holder, then maybe after seeing how great the weapon is becoming , add the sling with belt loops to hold even more ammo. More weight equal slower on target.

3. loading, with few exceptions shot guns are loaded 1 round at a time this means that most people will have to take their eyes out of the fight when loading.

I was a young Marine radio operator in Vietnam. We had some rem. 870s with metal upper hand guards and normal length magazine tubes. our ammo was 00buck in brass cases, Not a mag load, but I think 9 pellets and equivalent to a high brass load.

We ran into about 30 VC in arvn uniforms in relative dense cover, easy to walk thru but vison was limited to usualy 50 ft or so. the point squad had practicaly merged with them thinking they were arvns when they begain firing. The second squad ran straight into fight and the third squad flanked from the right and it was over real quick. We did take several casualtys. I had called for a medicac and was waiting for their approch to mark the LZ and the plt. leader a young Lt. (who was with the point squad when they made contact) was standing next to me holding a 12 ga.

I ask him how he liked it, He said that he would never carry it again. I said that I thought that it would have been good at close range? He said that it was fast but he said at one VC went down and came up again and there were some that did not go down, but he said that the reason that he didn't like it was reloading. He said that he thought that he was almost empty and it only held 2 more rounds and he later thought that he was almost full and it ran dry, he said that was his fault. but the worst part was getting one round out and taking his eyes out of the game while loading it with lots of action real close all around him.

I think that shot guns have their place, and thats up close and fast, and against not more than 2 or 3 targets. Any modifications that detract from close and fast,
ruin it. If you need the range of slugs and their sights, then get a rifle. If you want to add more weight, you might come in second.

I may not be right and like I said I don't know much about shot guns. I do know that while I was in vietnam, I was extreamly alert and worried about contact at very short ranges (don't even get me started on putting gadgets on an AR15/m16. ) If I used a shotgun It would be bare. At close range I would run it dry then drop it on the ground and draw a hand gun. Not a new thought one of the movies of Wyatt Earp shows Doc. Holliday do this at the O.K. corral.

_____________________________________
he went into younder village and never returned

[LanceOregon]

Like I said, I will always have a SG. At least one. But... well, you know. I guess I am a rifleman.

dog

But why do you own a shotgun? Do you really need one? What do you use yours for? You don't provide us with any real context to judge where you are coming from regarding shotguns.

If you don't bird hunt or shoot clays, then there is really no pressing need for you to own a shotgun at all.

If a person doesn't bird hunt or shoot clays, then they are definitely not a shotgunner.


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[Alaskapopo]

But why do you own a shotgun? Do you really need one? What do you use yours for? You don't provide us with any real context to judge where you are coming from regarding shotguns.

If you don't bird hunt or shoot clays, then there is really no pressing need for you to own a shotgun at all.

If a person doesn't bird hunt or shoot clays, then they are definitely not a shotgunner.


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I use my shotgun for animal calls at work. Its loaded with slugs for bear and moose. So its more of a big bore rifle. I also use shotguns for three gun competition.
Pat