Shotgun with a flashlight!

i killed a coyote with #6 shot outta a 20 gauge while quail hunting.....he wasn't a happy camper.


at home defense ranges, i don't think it really matters what you hit them with as long as you hit them.

This has been a very informative thread. I have changed my thinking to consider )) Buck as the more optimal load. Up to this point I was a proponent of #4 buckshot.

Thanks THF!

I've shot quite a few pigs with #3 buck out of a 20 ga- every single one of them required a follow up shot, all were shot inside of 20 yards. If it didn't matter and bird shot were just as effective, the police would use it. SWAT teams that respond to overcrowded apartments would use it. They don't because it isn't. It will create a hellacious superficial wound, but that's it. If you are close enough that the shot hasn't seperated from the wad and strikes en masse, then no, it wouldn't matter- Are you willing to bet your life on a confrontation occurring at that distance?

12 ga. pump with bird shot......only way to go for inside the house defense.

I like to have options..... I like 12ga, and good old 00Buck works wonders.... There's usually a P228/P226 handy and an M4

anyone gets into my house, it dosen't matter how superficial the first couple wounds are, their getting one in the skull regardless

12 ga pump all the way.

I found some 2-3/4", and some 3" #2 lead shells awhile back.
And while i was standing there looking at them, i was thinking, what the heck would a person use those for?
And then the light came on. just the ticket.

#2 lead .15" in diameter. thats gonna leave a mark.

This might be the greatest line I have read in the THF!!

Main problem is the logistics - I don't think hippie hair grease is legal in Texas. It's too nasty.

AR-15 loaded with a good softpoint like Hornady TAP.

Contrary to gunshop commando belief the 5.56 does NOT penetrate walls nearly as bad as pistol rounds. Been proven by FBI testing, among many others. Powerful but not as overpenetrating as most think. Pistol hollowpoints plug up and keep going where the rifle rounds tumble and stop. Yes they'll go through a wall, but they generally won't go through six.

Having seen quite a few people shot with various pistol rounds as well as shotguns.......any shotgun load will overpenetrate even light ones, but I would only ever use 00 Buck or No.4 if 00 wasn't available.

A bird load "can" stop someone and if it's what you got, use it. But don't expect it to and make sure another round follows it.

A 5.56 load properly aimed will generally do the trick. 2 or 3 is even better. I keep a .45 by the bed, but for serious defense, get a rifle. A shotgun is nothing bad, and if you've got 20-30 years of bird hunting, stick with what you know....shotguns.

In my case, I don't, I spent 3 years kicking down doors and searching for bad guys with an M4 and a fireteam. So i stick with what "I" know.

Thats works for you but your kinda talking about 2 different things,apples and oranges . When the backyard comandos talk about the bullet from a ar-15 going through 6 walls its FMJ's that they are talking about. And what if the ar-15 is not properly aimed with the soft point ammo and you miss your target at 3am. It will travel through more walls than bird shot will since it does not hit a soft body mass the projctile will not expand and slow down much. With your military experience you have the perfect weapon for yourself but without that experience the bird shot gives a little more lee way. A FMJ fired from a ar-15 will travel through objects further than a FMJ fired from a pistol, 10 times out of 10. A Soft point fired from a ar-15 will travel a shorter distance through a soft body mass then a FMJ will fired from a pistol. Not trying to argue but dont want all the backyard comandos thinking their FMJs are good to use for home defense. A softpoint,hollowpoint will always be better to stop a person fired from a rifle compared to a pistol.More energy on impact,IF, you hit your target. If you miss, beware....
any shotgun load will overpenetrate even light ones, but I would only ever use 00 Buck or No.4 if 00 wasn't available.

A bird load "can" stop someone and if it's what you got, use it. But don't expect it to and make sure another round follows it.you say any load from a shot gun will over penetrate, meaning it will blow a hole in them the size of a mans fist, straight through. But it wont do a good job of stopping them and will need follow ups???

Hello all, new to the forum. I've been on the fishing forum for a long time, but new here.

Something else to consider that I have not see anyone bring up...
IMO, a gun that you can put your hands on quickly is the best. You can then begin improving your position and armament as the situation dictates. A loaded shotgun stowed by the bed is great if you are inclined to take on that liability- another subject. For me, I don't. Even if I didn't have kids I probably wouldn't. Again, another subject. There is no good way to "secure" a long gun where it is readily accessible to meet an immediate threat and it is safe from unintended users. And no, I'd prefer not to have to alert my presence and readiness level to an intruder by racking a round in a shotgun. Remember that YOU have the advantage in your own home, even in complete darkness. My preferred strategy at the moment is a gunvault by the bed that secures a pistol (locked and loaded, on safe). I can get to this weapon and fire it in less than 5 seconds, but nobody else (but my wife) can employ that weapon, especially against me.

On the subject of the shotgun vs pistol, I'm not the expert, but do have some training and experience. I like the idea of a shotgun as PART of my strategy, but would like all you shotgun guys to actually conduct a rehearsal of your own, in your house, at night, with a flashlight, in your underwear, etc. I did, and what I found is different than what I thought when I started trying to move around corners and through doorways. Remember you are by yourself, too, and almost wherever you shoot, there is a kid's bedroom only a wall away. Some may ask why you would go room to room looking for the bad guy and not set up in a choke point and wait for him to walk into your wall of lead? What about your kids on the other side of the house?, which is what makes the scenario so difficult to begin with.
Not everyone's situation is the same, so a do it all home defense gun does not exist. You really need to do rehearsals and closely examine your own variables to figure out what will work the best for you. Instead of arguing about pellet size, I prefer to spend my time on the strategy first, then worry about the type of weapon that best fits the strategy.

My pick- hi capacity handgun loaded w/ glaser or magsafe prefragmented bullets, secured in a gunvault below my side of the bed. An identical setup on my wife's side with "her" gun. Shotgun is unloaded in the closet with shells hidden in a separate secret place. In the event, I go to the threat, wife goes to a phone with her gun, then to the shotgun and begins loading.

I hope to God this scenario never plays out. And for those advocating the "double tap" philosophy previously, killing a man with a final shot to the head would not be as glorious as you may think. In fact I'd venture to say that would screw you up mentally for the rest of your life, not to mention other more worldly problems. Neutralizing the threat is enough for me. Hopefully, that does not mean someone loses their life, but I would not hesitate, ever.