• ODT Gun Show & Swap Meet - May 4, 2024! - Click here for info

For Snr. Citizen-which shotty: Mossberg 835 or Shockwave

I agree with this choice. Get him something that is both manageable and familiar to him. Definitely not something out of his ordinary that will require practice to become effective with.

Most of my elders are familiar with pump action shotguns. A few of my aunt's have been known to tote one through the garden in case they were to run across Johnny no-shoulders.
Johnny no shoulders. Now that's a good one. And one I've never heard before.
 
OP, I owned a 20 gauge coach gun, Mossberg 18" barrel 12 gauge, and now own a , as one asstute member stated, a novelty, Shockwave. Shooting the same length shell out of the 20 gauge and the 12 gauge the difference in recoil was not what I expected. The 20 gauge is lighter than the 12 gauge, and the lighter frame, on the 20 gauge made the recoil, to me anyway, not an appreciable amount less than the 12 gauge. But that is just me, and was by no means a scientific study.

With the Shockwave, you know that novelty item, shooting the Mini Shell buckshot rounds, there was a little less recoil than the 20 gauge and the 12 gauge. But I have to admit, the Shockwave did not feel like a .22 when I fired it. The downsize to the Shockwave to me is accuracy. One must work with that shotgun to find the right position when firing the shotgun. I could not hit anything by shooting from the hip. I did get more accurate with firing from just off the hip. Maybe the addition of a red dot would help, but I will go with it as it is. Since recoil is an issue, I would suggest shooting a 12 gauge and see how the recoil is managed. Someone mentioned using a .38 revolver, and I agree, but if the revolver is a light weight model, given the lighter weight, those can be a handful for someone who is recoil sensitive.

I do not believe there is one perfect weapon for everyone. The only way to know what will work is to get out and try some different weapons.

For me, I like the novelty item as my weapon of choice for home defense right now. I may change my mind later, but right now, I guess it is the novelty of having a weapon that is easy to fire, with manageable recoil, holds enough rounds to make a difference. Just my opinion.
 
Type of round and distance of intruder all play a factor. Let's just agree that we disagree.

For me and my house I have a shotgun and pistol by the bed and yes I have plenty of other weapons to choose from.

Bird shot will typically open up faster than Buckshot and is almost useless past about 15 feet. Buckshot only opens to around 6 inches with a cylinder choke at 20 feet. Just my opinion, but a 6 inch patter does not give you an enough higher hit ratio to off set the other negatives about a shotgun. This is particularity true when you consider how slow the shot to shot recovery will be for an inexperienced shooter with a pump action shotgun compared to the speed they would have with a low recoiling semi auto.

Boom.............boom.............boom...........boom............boom..............boom...............boom..............boom............OOPS, time to reload one round at a time.

Compared to:

Pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop,pop...OOPS, time to reload... another 30 rounds in the same time it takes for one round with a shotgun.

This is just my opinion, but to me there is no comparison.
 
320.png

this is what I have , plenty of control. savage 320
 
get a 12 or 20 gage Mossberg maverick of 500 (either is less expensive than the Remington) or Remington 870 with a pistol grip that shockwave will jump out of your hand and isn't as controllable as a pistol grip, 18 1/2 inch barrel and 2 more shells than the shorty.
I tried both the mossy and REM shockwave guns and both are a handful and not near as accurate as my 18 1/2 pump and it is only 3 inches longer and holds more shells than the new fad shottys.
33" longer than those new fad
shotgun.jpg
 
A full sized stock aids in pointing accurately.
Much better than a pistol-grip only.
The stock makes for better recoil control, too.
But I think a 12 or 20 ga shotgun is STILL going to have more recoil than many elderly folks can comfortably handle.

I say get a .223 caliber carbine, with 50-grain soft point varmint ammo.
16” pencil barrel, fixed stock (M16A1 for the shorter length of pull.

And put a tactical light on it.

A 20-rd. magazine was my choice for my CAR-15 in HD role.
I don’t want a long mag sticking several inches below the gun.
 
Someone mentioned the Hi Point carbine. I vote for that in any of the three calibers you prefer. And I say that because an M1 Carbine is just too expensive these days. Otherwise I would recommend that over anything else.
 
If you find a reliable one, the USGI .30 carbine is a good choice too.

6 lbs. short, with a 17.5” bbl.
Little recoil.
A 110 gr. soft point bullet at 1950 f.p.s. is decent protection.
The 15 round mags are handy.
Better than 5 round tube mags on 18” barreled shotguns.
 
Back
Top Bottom