Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Shotguns (esp. for Home Defense)

[Deleted member 79987]

The NRA's Shooting Illustrated blog recently highlighted some of their shotgun-related articles. I did some digging and found a bunch more.

I thought some of them were pretty helpful -- maybe you'll get something out of them too.

1. Why the Shotgun is One of the Best Options for Personal Defense
2. Shotguns and Shotshells: Understanding the Basics
3. 8 Need-to-Know Essentials of Shotgun Shells
4. How to Use a Shotgun for Home Defense
5. Building a Budget Home-Defense Shotgun
6. Choosing Buckshot Loads for Home Defense
7. Shotgun Magazines: Box-Fed vs. Tube-Fed
8. Dealing With Recoil From Your Home-Defense Shotgun
9. Reloading Your Home-Defense Shotgun: Tips & Tactics
10. 5 Must-Know Drills for Your Home-Defense Shotgun
11. Busted: 5 Shotgun Myths You Probably Believe
12. Shotgun-Mounted Light and Lasers: Tactical or Tacti-Cool?
13. Muzzle Energy Math: Comparing Shotgun Gauges for Home Defense
14. 12 Do-or-Die Shotgun Training Tips for Personal and Home Defense
15. 10 Tips & Tricks to Enhance Your Home-Defense Shotgun
16. The 7 Commandments of the Home Defense Shotgun
17. 5 Great Shotguns for Home Defense
18. Tip: Basics of a Pump Shotgun
19. Why You Should Use a Shotgun Sling for Personal Defense
20. What’s The Best Stance for Shooting With Shotguns?

 

[cmshoot]

I teach a class at TruPrep once in a while called Defensive Shotgun: Setup & Use. Good stuff.

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

That one "BUSTED: 5 shotgun myths you probably believe" has some interesting stuff in it.

Except they're not all myths, nor widely popular.
Like the training tip to shoot shotguns squared-off to the target, facing the target directly.
The article says it's how military people are trained with carbines, and they just do the same thing for shotguns. But all shoulder-fired weapons are not the same, and the greater recoil of the 12-gauge demands a stance that controls the recoil better.

(Although the article didnt say so, another reason cops and soldiers face the enemy directly is that's how their body armor with the front plate is most effective, but how many of US would be wearing such armor when we use a shotgun for defense?)

 

[KERTWOOD]

This is going to get good here shortly.

 

[ShooterG]

Why didnt the NRA just link to the all-knowing ODT thread?

 

[GAgunLAWbooklet]

From the article on Choosing Buckshot Loads for Home Defense:

"Combat shotguns and buckshot loads are used to increase terminal performance and not hit probability. To do that, the hit must be well-placed, the pattern must be fairly small..."

Well, that's true, and it HAS to be true at typical home defense distances. You just can't get a wide spread that makes hitting the target (with some of your pellet payload, though not all of it) easier at distances of 10 or even 25 yards. Cylinder bore shotguns with no choke just don't open up that much.

However, if there's a gunfight outdoors where the participants are 25-75 yards apart from each other, THEN I think a shotgun that throws a fairly wide pattern (say, 2 inches of spread for every 3 yards of range) will have an advantage in that you could be off in your aim by a foot, or two, and still plant some buckshot pellets in your adversary.

If the person you're shooting at is running and gunning, he'll make a difficult target, and if you throw a pattern of shot at him the size of a washing machine, you've got better odds of bringing him down.

Naturally, this means that you'll also have better odds of some pellets missing him, since the pattern would be wider than his torso beyond 30-something yards. So, only take that shot when you think it's safe to throw lead that way.

 

[jeep78]

I like the Navy procedure for shotgun use aboard ship. Should work as well on concrete floors as it does on steel decks.

 

[cmshoot]

I always face the threat/target square when shooting handguns, carbines, SMG’s, and shotguns. My stance is the exact same for all weapon systems, only the grip changes.

This doesn’t just work when wearing body armor. You are about twice as likely to survive a GSW to the front of the torso vs a shot to the side. I didn’t make that up, that came from a class I attended that was taught by the Chief Trauma Surgeon at Grady. Anyone that has taken one of my classes has gotten the entire spiel on that.

 

[cmshoot]

With 9-pellet, Federal LE Reduced Recoil 00 buck, my 14” Rem870 groups about 5 1/2” at 25 yards. At 7 yards the “pattern” isn’t appreciably wider than a 12ga slug.

Too much bad info out there on use of buckshot for self defense. Too many folks trying to OPEN their patterns when they should be tightening them up. I paid good money to have my Modified choke barrel worked on by Vang Comp; backbored and forcing cone lengthened.

 

[Bear44]

Oh, never mind.