Shotgun or handgun for home defense? What are your comments?

Governor. Best of both worlds . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Shotgun. But use the handgun if it is easier to get to.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

Handgun, easier and faster to move around and more ammo.

Handgun. Easier to maneuver.

Tastes Great vs Less Filling. This discussion could go on for thousands of posts, with no increase of cumulative knowledge after the first 10 or 12 posts. But for my $.02 ;

Ideally you should have both, as they can fill different needs. But if truely only one, I would put the higher priority on handgun.

Colt 1911.

I'm not wandering around the house with a Parker looking for a BG.

There's got to be several threads on this already. There is a search feature.

Short form: for static defense, shotgun with attached light and buckshot. Anything else, handgun with attached light.

And before you ask, anything that'll stop bag persons goes through drywall like it wasn't there. Work out your fire lanes ahead of time.

I'm old school (when the .38 ruled) and don't like the idea of a light attached to a gun. Maybe if I was trained differently but to me the bad guy (BG) will shoot at the light and hit you b/c you're right behind it. Our revolvers could not be adapted to accept a light so it was held in the off hand and out to the side for tactical advantage. Even when we transitioned to the Glock there was no rail on the weapon. I'm not knocking current tech or methods, just not something I'm comfortable with.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

It depends entirely on your environment.

In my home, anything bigger than a Greasegun with the stock collapsed is as useless as a bamboo cavalry lance.

My home defense gun is whatever I carried that day, usually my 3 1/2" M1911.

Other people in bigger homes have more latitude.

shotgun!

I am not wondering through the house trying to jump a BG. Thats for the police. I am making a call and forting up with a 12 gauge in a spot with a field of fire, a solid backdrop to shoot into, and a little defensive structure that looks like a bed. The 9mm will be near by, but the 12 will be the first sound the BG hears.

Just because I shake to much for a handgun .Shotgun is ok, but remember if the first shot doen't count a shotgun will deafen you temporarily if fired indoors and possibly flash blind for a few seconds

I would probably use the handgun to give me time to get to a shotgun or rifle.
Peace,
gordon

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better have that checked

Handgun.

The shotgun(or rifle) can play a home defense role(primarily from static, fixed position/safe room/lots of lead time scenarios), but for me it has such limited practical application that I no longer even own a long gun of any kind.

With kids, all my guns are locked up or on me. There likely wouldn't be time to even access a long gun kept in a safe. Plus I'd be moving toward my kids room anyway in the event of a home invasion and a handgun is much more practical in that situation. Even if I didn't have kids, I still see the pistol making the most sense. Any long gun would merely by supplementary.

I wouldn't go looking for an intruder, but with kids and pets, "clearing" my house is a pretty frequent occurrence. It would be absolutely ridiculous to call the police in response to every bump in the night.

I agree with the majority of points made here...

AR15 carbine or SBR

In wide open spaces you may have a point. That said, in the limited space of a home, office, etc and especially with the predominant use of white walls that reflect a lot of light, you're kidding yourself if you think one method is more concealing than another. We used to do significant force on force work and I had a lot of experience as the bad (not bag) guy. Try it yourself.

The weapon mounted light is also a lot easier to work with. No, you don't have to point it at anyone, there's generally enough width of light to avoid that if not necessary.

I'm in the camp that says long guns are best used for hunkering down in the safe room, while handguns provide more versatility; they're handier (pun intended ).

Right now I don't have a long gun, and my only experiences with long guns have been learning to shoot with a .22 rifle as a boy and attending a brief familiarization course with a Remington 870 as a young adult. I've had much more training and experience with handguns. So I rely on handguns for HD, currently consisting of a couple of 642s (one of which I carry on me even when at home) and a Beretta 92FS (my "hunker-down" safe room gun).

I've thought about getting a long gun for HD, but I think a pistol-caliber carbine of some type would suit me better than a shotgun. While noise is a small consideration, my main reason is that I have much easier access to ranges that let me shoot pistol-caliber rifles.

A couple of each, located strategically as circumstances allow.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

Why, both of course, as they make a great team.

You knock politely at my door, I bring a handgun to look out the peephole, and maybe open the door.

You try to knock down my door, there will be long guns waiting on the other side.

Yes. As in both. To be honest, we don't really have a dedicated home defense gun. We do keep one handgun hidden in a secret location in the living room that was intended for home defense, but it's not the only "home defense" gun. We also keep some options in our headboard, along with my "nightstand gun".

It's good to have options.

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- The Federalist #46 -

There is more to comprehensive home defense preparedness to than raging high volume gunfights. There are occasions to both have a gun discretely ready to deploy, and to un-deploy when appropriate.

I can shoot the length of my hallway a lot better with a handgun, than I can stuff a 12 pump into a pocket or tuck into waistband.

Can you control fast, repeat shots with a pump shotgun? I'd have to practice a lot to be good with one. I like the idea in theory, but for practical reasons I haven't bought an appropriate HD shotgun yet. (I have a Browning A-5 with a full choke barrel)

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Which one are you going to practice with?

Despite common interweb myths, a shotgun requires as much (or more) marksmanship than a rifle or handgun. They can also jam--semiautos and pump-actions alike.

Take the one you practice with often and know how to run. And that means clearing jams in a hurry, not just sitting around on sunny days trying to print teensy groups at 7 yards.

Simple answer, both. I have a Mossy 500 with a white light and laser, and my wife has a M&P 45 with laser, plus a dog thrown in for good measure.

I'm sure I'll get some backlash from this, but in my opinion, a nice carbine is the only way to go for home defense IF you have others living in the home with you.

A shotgun, although great, will not allow you to make a precise shot into the bad guy if you wind up dealing with a hostage, ie. one of your kids is being held, or your wife. A handgun makes your small movements large down range. A rifle allows precision shots, less "adrenaline movement" and has a better chance of going through body armor if the person in your home is wearing it. (becoming more and more common.)

At 30-45' I have a tough time hitting dead zero on my target with a hand gun. My shotgun takes out too big of an area if one of my family members is being used as a shield. My rifle.... BANG.

Currently with an almost 3 year old with run of the house I don't have anything faster then a two step process. Currently the ready gun is my 1911. It's in a passcode safe, loaded, hammer back, safety on with 5 spare loaded mags. Things used to be a lot different before my son came along. But now my primary defense plan for us in 1600 sq ft townhouse, is a worst case scenario, when we are asleep, upstairs, alarm set, no entry delay, if it goes off, my primary objective is to access my 1911(next to bed) and cover my wife to get to my son and get them to closest upstairs egress point available and see them to safety. After that I'm covering myself passed the stairwell back for my extra mags, and rifle, then I'm off to my furthest cover point from the stairwell (assuming there is still a threat at this point) and I'm picking them off as they hit the landing. I'm in a center townhouse and I only have one stairwell and two exterior walls with windows to defend. So if they don't get me before I hunker down it probably won't end well for them. Given that plan, I'm looking for small quick safe access and mobility. After that assuming it goes to the next stages it's rifle.

Now obviously it's difficult to have a well thought out plan for any other moment while awake in the home, there are many variables. So for that it's think on my feet with still the primary and only real objective is to get my wife and son to safety. At that point my primary weapon is anything within reach that I can defend myself with until I can either get out or get to my firearms.

My best recommendation for you is to make a plan(s) then choose your weapons based on those plans.

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Semper Paratus

12 gauge S&W short barrel police type pump shotgun loaded with 00 buck, with a Model 19 close by.

Bat, no over penetration problems but shot placement is key.

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Back to back World War Champs.

A bat makes for a poor weapon. It works great when used as designed--with a long swing to build up speed. But against a competent opponent, it's easily defeated. Instead of keeping distance, you get in close. If you take the blow early, before the bat fully accelerates, it doesn't do much damage at all. Ditto for taking the impact halfway up the bat, or further.

Bats are also extremely poor weapons to use indoors, as they take a lot of space to swing. They're also extremely slow.

To the OP: I rely on both. A handgun has limitations. So does a shotgun. If you have both readily available, you have the best of both worlds.

They're both pretty handy, but if I had to pick one it would definitely be a 12ga. I'm just better with it than pistols.

A Shotgun would be my primary home defense gun with a handgun as a back-up.

A 1911 Shotgun, or a Shotgun .45 ACP....

Maybe I should shut up.

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A Country Boy Can Survive

Agreed. I'm not an old guy, but I see some tactical advantages to holding a light off hand instead of railed to the handgun. With an off hand light you're not as limited to size for one thing. It's more controllable, able to be turn off and on very quickly and could be used as a bludgeoning weapon if the BG got too close and/or tried to disarm you.

My bedside LED light is of a decent size with hard metal case work which would knock an intruder for a loop if I had to jam it into his skull. Since I primarily use a revolver for home defense, the firearm/light offhand method is what I would employ.

As to the OP's question, that all depends on one's abilities and the size of the area they need to defend. A shotgun is not a good choice in a smallish house or apartment where there is little room to maneuver. It also requires the use of two hands and is easier to disarm the user.

A shotgun would be a very good choice for a large house with plenty of space or one that has a sizeable amount of property. A shotgun would be an excellent choice to place in a designated room of retreat as a weapon of last resort if things ever got to that point.

shotgun for sure, but cumbersome. I keep a Model 64 and a speed loader bed-side

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John

No backlash here - Carbine regardless.

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K & N S&W revolvers

I disagree. Out of curiosity, what experience/training are you basing your opinion on?

In my opinion, a bat can actually make for an extremely effective weapon providing the intruder(s) does not have a firearm and you know how to weild it. Even if you have no training with impact weapons, it's still pretty good.

"But against a competent opponent, it's easily defeated". Very few people have trained to effectively use a bat, but that's true of defending against it as well. I highly doubt many home intruders are highly skilled and well trained in defending against makeshift weapons.

There are actually classes that teach how to use a bat for self-defense. My impact weapons classes were primarily for LEO's, but I also taught makeshift weapons classes to civilians and a fair amount dealt with using bats. The same principle used with purpose built impact weapons also pretty much all apply to the bat.

Traditional Philly rowhome?

Either way..... rifle

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I'm too old (and have a strength issue as well) to be fighting someone who is most likely younger and possibly on drugs as well with a baseball bat.

18" barrel 12 gauge 1897 Winchester shotgun for defense in the bedroom and a M625 .45 ACP Mountain Gun for those "bump in the night" house searches.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Yeah, I never understood why one would put a light on a firearm. I was never in law enforcement but I've done a lot of hunting and we always say you never use your rifle scope to look around. Similarly, I don't want to point my pistol at a strange noise to illuminate it before knowing if it's a burglar or one of my kids getting home late. In my mind a firearm is a weapon, not a tool for observation.

Handgun for me because it is close by. The wife is in charge of getting to the 12GA and calling 911.

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Glenn
FAS1 SAFE

Whats wrong with both? I keep a Mossie 12G 9 shot loaded with 5 00 buck and then 4 slugs for things that go bump in the night.

We live rural just the two of us over penetration is not a problem. Were over a 1/4 mile off the road up a mountain! We can have two legged problems along with 4 legged. Many bears up in this area. No cell service and if LL is dead (for whatever reason) your on your own. If you could call out for help a good bet is at least 20 minuets probably more.

With that said a 10 shot 9mm is handy for my wife to have/use when I have the shotgun. A couple spare Mags for the 9MM and a bandoleer of buck and slugs for the Mossie are with the guns.

Gave this a lot of thought and when we had that nationally known prison brake a while back I also had a .223 SA carbine close.

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

...war hammer...

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A Country Boy Can Survive

I agree completely. I'm never having a light on a non-military use handgun. Given that I'm 60, I don't expect that need to arise.

These are my 2 cents:

* Handgun or shotgun? --> Have both

* Bump in the night? --> I'm no SWAT team to be looking for miscreants in the dark. Stay put, barricade, call the police and --> Shotgun

* Bump in the night, but you have to go get kids/family members to safety? --> Handgun --> Get everybody to safe room, barricade --> Shotgun

* Entering your home and there's someone already there? --> Whatever the hell you've got on hand

...

There are many factors to consider and no right answer.

However, something to think about:

What would you prefer to be shot with? A handgun round or a 12ga buckshot load?

Muzzle energy:
45 ACP: around 400 ft-lb
12ga. buck: around 2.900 ft.lbs

Take care gentlemen.

Nothing, if your environment is congenial to such.

Mine isn't.

I HAVE an Ithaca seven shot DS/PS (no disconnector) and a carbine A2 upper for my AR. They're just not appropriate self-defense tools inside my home for typical self-defense situations. If on the other hand, I were to face a civil disorder situation, I'm well situated with a variety of long guns.

Yes but that one BB isn't doing 2.900ftlbs. Assuming ALL BBs hit its still about 1000ft-lbs less and it keeps dropping with every BB that didn't hit

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That may be practical if you live in your own house and have free rein to do what you want with it.

I live in a two bedroom apartment.

Anybody who enters my home would be on me in far less time than it would take to call the police. My bedroom door, even if locked wouldn't keep a five year old out.

About fifteen years ago, I heard a loud crash in my living room. I grabbed my Springfield M1911 and a flashlight. I discovered that a shelf full of books had collapsed, dumping the contents on the floor. I'm not calling the police for unidentified noises.

Any intruder is going to be between me and the front door. One of us will deal with the other long before the police show up.