Let me explain.
Since the early frontier days of America’s Wild West, shotguns have been used to kill birds and small game for food, and for protecting the home. Nicknamed “scatter guns,” these weapons have the advantage of spraying lead pellets. As a result, a shotgun shooter doesn’t need to be as accurate. The one-bullet-at a-time limitation of the handgun or rifle (left target, below)) is replaced with a fusillade of lead pellets launched with each pull of the shotgun’s trigger.
Even with this advantage, it’s still
difficult for an inexperienced person to shoot a flying bird with a shotgun;
but imagine trying to do it with a handgun or rifle. One is a difficult task,
the other is practically impossible; except in the movies, of course.
Similarly, using a shotgun for self-defense at home also requires some practice. Using a shotgun does not guarantee that you will hit your target. But with a little effort, this becomes a very manageable task. Importantly, though training and practice with a shotgun is necessary, this is a far less laborious undertaking than becoming proficient with a handgun or rifle.
Yet, most shotguns are not adequate for the at-home self-defense task. Sporting shotguns are made to be used outdoors, and are designed for tasks such as duck hunting or for shooting bird-size targets that are launched into the air. To accomplish this, they are equipped with a long barrel. And it’s this long barrel that is a problem if you intend to use the shotgun for self-defense.
The long-barrel of the sporting shotgun makes it unwieldy to use within the confined space of a house. When inside your home, you need to be able to move quickly, and to rapidly swing the gun around doorways and in hallways. This is essential, so having a shotgun with a short barrel is important.
Since the long barrel of a sporting shotgun is designed to constrict the spread of pellets so that they can be propelled a greater distance, this is opposite to our need in a self-defense shooting situation. This is important. If you are trying to shoot a bird that is 20-yards away, you need a long barrel. But if you are trying to stop an assailant who is 20-feet away and entering your bedroom, you need a shotgun with a short barrel.
With a short-barrel home defense shotgun, the spread of pellets widens quickly. This is vital if you are operating inside the confided space of your home.
With a sporting shotgun, at in-home shooting distances, the spread of pellets is usually only 1-2 inches (+/-). Conversely, a short-barrel home-defense shotgun can produce a pattern which is 8-10” in diameter.
Accuracy is still important, even when using a home-defense shotgun, but it is far less of an issue. Add fear and adrenalin to the mix of a crisis situation, and many people will fail to hit their target if they are armed with anything other than a home-defense shotgun.
Also, sporting shotguns only hold a few shells (shots). You may need more than that, especially if the invasion of your home is perpetrated by more than one criminal. So there is a clear benefit to having a shotgun that can hold more shotgun shells. This extra capacity may be a life saver. (To the uninitiated, many home defense shotguns appear to have two barrels, one on top of the other. However, this is generally not the case. Most home-defense shotguns have a tube under the barrel which holds 5-9 shotgun shells. An internal spring pushes the shells into the chamber of the gun, to make reloading a quick process. So what may look to be a second barrel is actually a magazine which holds ammunition.)
But being armed with a good home-defense shotgun isn’t enough. You also need to utilize the right ammunition (shells). Unfortunately, home defense shotguns are often loaded with the wrong ammunition. This can be a deadly mistake.
Your gun needs to be loaded with shotgun ammunition that is designed specifically for self-defense. Standard shotgun ammunition is birdshot, and as the name implies, it is designed to kill a bird and not destroy the meat. Except for engaging a target that is literally only a few feet from the end of your barrel, birdshot and target ammunition will generally not stop a rabid dog, vicious animal, or a human attacker. Important information regarding the selection of shotgun self-defense ammunition is included later in this e-book. (See the two chapters on ammunition).
Note on Nomenclature: Ammunition for shotguns is referred to as “shells,” whereas handguns and rifles are loaded with “cartridges.” When a standard shotgun shell is fired, a barrage of lead “pellets” are launched from the barrel. When a handgun or rifle fires a cartridge, a “bullet” is launched from the barrel. Both pellets and bullets come in many sizes, but a shotgun can shoot many different size pellets, whereas a handgun or rifle can only shoot one “caliber” (diameter) bullet. This makes the shotgun a far more versatile weapon.
FBI research indicates that in most shootings, the assailant was less than 21-feet away from the victim. With this in mind, and considering the size of rooms in a home, and the length of hallways and the angles of stairways, you can expect to be shooting at a relatively short distance. Therefore, you must be ready to react quickly and decisively. There is little room for error. You will need all the advantages you can get. This suggests a shotgun equipped with a short barrel (18-inches is the shortest barrel that is legal without a special license). Additionally, a home-defense shotgun, also referred to as a tactical shotgun, will ideally hold 6 or more shells (therefore capable of 6 or more shots), plus self-defense shotgun shells (ammunition) designed for the task of stopping an attacker.
Remember, when you add fear and the rush of adrenalin to the mix, the shotgun-advantage can be lost if you aren’t armed with the right shotgun and the right type of ammunition. We will talk more about shotgun selection and ammunition later in this e-book, but first we need to review the advantages and disadvantages of handguns and rifles for self defense at home. You need to understand all of your options before you can answer the question, “What is the best gun for self-defense at home?”