Quote:
Originally Posted by D Brown
If you're worried about over-penetration, why on earth are you loading slugs in your shotgun? You DO realize slugs are intended to increase the effective range of a shotgun, don't you?
Why do you have a supposed defensive shotgun sitting around with an empty chamber?
Why do you have a shotgun set up for defensive use loaded half-way with bird shot?
Do yourself a favor, and load your shotgun to its full capacity with 00 Buck, preferably a low recoil version, and put the safety on. At that point, your shotgun will be ready for action.
Don't forget to take it to the range for practice!
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Personally, I keep my home defense shotgun with chamber empty for two reasons:
1. Much less chance of unintentional discharge. With 9 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren this is important to me. In order to make the shotgun go "bang" requires that the slide be pulled fully to the rear, then returned fully to the front, chambering a round. Before that can happen the slide release must be engaged. Then, after a round is chambered, the safety must be disengaged. Only then will the shotgun be able to fire a round. Not a complicated series of events, but a series that must be known and practiced, so much less likely to happen without intent or by unauthorized little hands.
2. As a cop I was trained to keep the shotgun with magazine loaded, chamber empty, action cocked, safety engaged. This has been referred to as "cruiser ready", meaning that the shotgun could be safely handled and transported without undue concern. Again, a person not trained or familiar with that particular shotgun would have a little learning curve to overcome before the shotgun becomes imminently dangerous to anyone.
My 870 Remington can be made ready to shoot by trained and experienced hands in only a couple of seconds. Hit the slide release, rack the slide, release the safety, ready to make a mess.
Training and practice count for a lot. We tend to fight the way we train, so we need to practice until everything becomes second nature, requiring no conscious thought or deliberation.
Again, your method may vary.