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So What Do You Use as a Home Defense Weapon?

12 Gauge. Accept no substitute.
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This is a Benelli Super Nova. Set up with a magazine extension, rail for future use, flashlight, and 6 round side saddle. Loaded with #4 buckshot and 1 oz./00 buck combination rounds. Pretty much all anyone may need for a bad situation.
 
In the famous words of Clint Eastwood in the film Pale Rider: "There is nothing like a nice piece of hickory".

The problem with buckshot is that any stray pellets can penetrate the gypsum board walls of most modern houses causing injury or death to those in adjacent rooms or even in a neighbor's house. Thus, you need to be sure every pellet hits the intended target. With 00 buckshot, the pellets can penetrate the torso of the intended target and keep going, penetrating walls behind the target to inflict unintended damage.

Thus, 00 buckshot is only appropriate if you live alone and your nearest neighbor is some distance away. Otherwise, you might injure or kill a family member or neighbor.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Is home invasion that prevalent now that you need to be armed to protect your property?

Sorry, I have never lived in such an environment anywhere in Asia or Australia.
 

EclipseRedRing

I smell like a Christmas pudding
I live in the UK and would grab a golf club or cricket bat if someone broke into my home. It is not a concern for me as it is unheard of in my community. Home invasions are rare and I do not need a gun because UK gun ownership is so low. If I lived in the US, depending on the location, I would own and learn to use a gun for home defence. Home invasions would be low but I would need a gun because US gun ownership is so high. I prefer the low gun ownership model in the UK but I respect both; neither can be changed now so arguing the rights and wrongs is pointless I think. 👍
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
I live in the UK and would grab a golf club or cricket bat if someone broke into my home. It is not a concern for me as it is unheard of in my community. Home invasions are rare and I do not need a gun because UK gun ownership is so low. If I lived in the US, depending on the location, I would own and learn to use a gun for home defence. Home invasions would be low but I would need a gun because US gun ownership is so high. I prefer the low gun ownership model in the UK but I respect both; neither can be changed now so arguing the rights and wrongs is pointless I think. 👍

Hopefully, they won’t attempt to prosecute you, if your use of the golf club or cricket bat is successful.
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
In the famous words of Clint Eastwood in the film Pale Rider: "There is nothing like a nice piece of hickory".

The problem with buckshot is that any stray pellets can penetrate the gypsum board walls of most modern houses causing injury or death to those in adjacent rooms or even in a neighbor's house. Thus, you need to be sure every pellet hits the intended target. With 00 buckshot, the pellets can penetrate the torso of the intended target and keep going, penetrating walls behind the target to inflict unintended damage.

Thus, 00 buckshot is only appropriate if you live alone and your nearest neighbor is some distance away. Otherwise, you might injure or kill a family member or neighbor.

The average pattern for a self defense load from a 12 gauge home defense shotgun that has a 16 inch improved cylinder barrel, is 12 inches or less at a maximum of 15 yards, which is 45 feet.

the average pattern for the typical SD load, also begins to expand and widen around the 8-10 yard mark.

What this means is, when that shotgun is fired inside a home, the shot coming from that wad and out the end of the barrel, is less bigger then the size of your fist.

That fist sized pattern, will stay somewhere close to that fist sized pattern, until it begins to open up around the 8 yard mark. The pattern then will begin to open up more quickly by then, probably somewhere around an 6-8 inch pattern at 10 or 12 yards. Then finally, getting to that 12” inch pattern between the 12 and 15 yard mark. (45 feet).

Any bullet, fired from any gun inside a dwelling with drywall, sheet rock, paneling or particle board, will have the ability to travel thru multiple walls, rooms or structures.

Who’s house has 15 yard hallways? Who’s house, have rooms that are more than 10 yards wide in any direction?

That is quite the house. Sounds more like a mansion. If it is a mansion, just hire security. A shotgun needs to be aimed just as any other gun inside a dwelling. And in the typical 5-7 yard hallway distances of most residential homes? And the typical 15-30 feet of the average sized room?

The shot pattern from a shotgun in those distances will not be bigger than 6-8 inches.

So aim with your shotgun just like any other gun. Pre plan and know the layouts, distances appropriate shooting lanes and back stops before a shotgun is needed. I would suggest this before any type of gun is needed.

Everything needs to be considered and done to make sure we don’t miss. With any gun or type of bullet. Missing with 1 single 33 caliber sized shot from a 9 shot 12 gauge shotgun isn’t going to be any more or any less penetrating, or more or less likely to injure or kill an innocent bystander than any other type of bullet or caliber someone missed their intended target without the previous knowledge of what’s behind them.
 
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Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
Glock 22 with defense hollow points and a Ar-15 will ball ammo. A shotgun is a want, but it will have to wait. Probably a Benelli or a Remington.
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
I live in the UK and would grab a golf club or cricket bat if someone broke into my home. It is not a concern for me as it is unheard of in my community. Home invasions are rare and I do not need a gun because UK gun ownership is so low. If I lived in the US, depending on the location, I would own and learn to use a gun for home defence. Home invasions would be low but I would need a gun because US gun ownership is so high. I prefer the low gun ownership model in the UK but I respect both; neither can be changed now so arguing the rights and wrongs is pointless I think. 👍

You make good points, but for myself I don’t care what the bad guy is armed with. Knife, crowbar, ice pick or gun. I want the most effective tool I can legally own to protect myself and my kids from whatever evil darkens my doorstep. Where I am a firearm is legal, so that’s what I have.
I was curious about UK home invasion statistics, though Google search is dubious at best, but it seems the average household has a 1-2% chance of being burgled or one every 40 seconds, so indeed the chances are low as you said. In the US the FBI statistics are one every 22 seconds.
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
Is home invasion that prevalent now that you need to be armed to protect your property?

Sorry, I have never lived in such an environment anywhere in Asia or Australia.

It depends less on how prevalent it is and more on what kind of person you are. Do you feel that bad things only happen to others? Do you have faith that if something bad did happen the police can come quickly enough to save you? Or are you the type who believes in being prepared for something regardless if it happens or not?

For myself I am the latter, and no matter how small the chance of someone coming into my house to do me and family harm is, I want to be able to protect them. Fortunately I live in a country where a gun is legal. Unfortunately I live in a state where I can only use a gun to do so in my home.

It’s like smoke alarms in your house. Do you really think your house will catch fire as you sleep? Or a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Are you that bad of a cook where you would set your kitchen on fire lol? Or seat belts. Are accidents that common where you drive? It goes on and on. I answer yes to every question.
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
12 Gauge. Accept no substitute.
View attachment 1334433
This is a Benelli Super Nova. Set up with a magazine extension, rail for future use, flashlight, and 6 round side saddle. Loaded with #4 buckshot and 1 oz./00 buck combination rounds. Pretty much all anyone may need for a bad situation.


Do you guys subscribe to the notion that a pump action is the best for home defense as it rarely malfunction vs a semi-auto? What I really want is either an M2 or M4. Maybe just an M4
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
It depends less on how prevalent it is and more on what kind of person you are. Do you feel that bad things only happen to others? Do you have faith that if something bad did happen the police can come quickly enough to save you? Or are you the type who believes in being prepared for something regardless if it happens or not?

For myself I am the latter, and no matter how small the chance of someone coming into my house to do me and family harm is, I want to be able to protect them. Fortunately I live in a country where a gun is legal. Unfortunately I live in a state where I can only use a gun to do so in my home.

It’s like smoke alarms in your house. Do you really think your house will catch fire as you sleep? Or a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. Are you that bad of a cook where you would set your kitchen on fire lol? Or seat belts. Are accidents that common where you drive? It goes on and on. I answer yes to every question.
Life is full of risks. I do not burden myself with trying to mitigate every risk that I can think of. I only try to mitigate those risks that are more common. Fortunately home invasions that is actually physically threatening is extremely rare wherever I have lived or visited during my life. I am also not such a materialistic person that I need to harm another to "protect" my possessions.

Of course others may be in a different environment and/or think more of their material possessions.
 
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Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
Life is full of risks. I do not burden myself with trying to mitigate every risk that I can think of. I only try to mitigate those risks that are more common. Fortunately home invasions that is actually physically threatening is extremely rare wherever I have lived or visited during my life.

It’s not a burden at all, it’s more a choice of deciding which risks are most dangerous and worth preparing for vs those which are not. I would be a wreck if I tried to counter every risk I can think of. For yourself someone breaking into your home as you sleep isn’t a perceived risk, so you act accordingly. I rode sport bikes for many years, but after having kids the small chance of leaving them fatherless due to an inattentive driver became a risk I couldn’t take. Same with smoking tobacco, which I do. Or eating a fatty ribeye steak with baked potato topped with sour cream and bacon bits. Or shaving with a straight in the shower lol. I guess I prefer to mitigate risks that I have no control over.

It’s funny because my sister was a staunch supporter of gun control and she was aghast that I had guns in my home. Fast forward to today. She recently moved into an area where there were a couple of gang related drive by shootings, and now she is almost contemplating a fire arm for home protection. Sadly the state where she lives has very strict gun control.
I guess circumstances largely dictate one’s views of such things.
 
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