Plus, it’s a lot of fun to go to the range!
Last edited:
What is a good round for home defense 20 gauge gun?
- Thread starter shave/brush
- Start date
Yeah, I don’t think I have ever met someone who went out and bought a brand new, shiny gun and wasn’t chomping at the bit to go shoot it.
- Thread starter
- #83
Yeah, I don’t think I have ever met someone who went out and bought a brand new, shiny gun and wasn’t chomping at the bit to go shoot it.
That's for sure.
The reason my father favored a 12 gauge over 20 is that a 20 gauge shell will lodge in a 12 gauge barrel, we already had 12 gauges, and he believed in standardization. Yes, the 20 gauge shells I've seen have a distinctive yellow color to prevent picking one up by mistake, but I think he was thinking about getting up in the middle of the nights when four-legged varmints came by. With standardization, it's grab and go. We did have a .410, but it's mighty hard to confuse one of those shells with a 12 gauge, even by touch.
That's why I'd chose a 12 gauge over a 20. It's from that upbringing and familiarity with them. I've used a few loaners with clay pigeons, and knew people who hunted with 20 gauges; they're certainly not an anemic weapon. Never found the recoil of a 12 gauge intolerable, but have shot a few rounds that were getting there. If someone's more comfortable with a 20 gauge, so be it.
That had me looking up the Chuck Hawks Shotgun Recoil table, and picking out roughly equivalent loads. A 2.75" shell with 1 1/8 oz. load has a recoil of 25 foot-pounds in the 20 gauge and 23 foot pounds in the 12. The reason is the weight of the shotguns: 6.5 pounds for the 20 gauge and 7.5 pounds for the 12 gauge. 3" 1 1/4 oz in 20 gauge comes in at 31 foot-pounds, and 2.75" 1 1/4 oz in 12 gauge comes in at 32. That's not a lot of difference, and yes, I'm surprised.
If the loads are smaller in a 20 gauge, that likely the big contributor to lighter recoil. But if a 20 gauge shotgun is lighter than a 12, that means it's not going to be soaking up as much of the recoil.
- Thread starter
- #86
The 12 gauge will be more bulky for my small wife to handle. My wife is only 4' 11" tall. She might find the 20 more comfortable to handle.
A little late to the party, and I haven't read all the responses. But, I'll give info on what I have for my home defense shotgun.
Shotgun: Remington 870 Express
Barrel: 18" smooth bore, iron sight, slug barrel
Round: #4 Federal Black Cloud
Nothing fancy. No pistol grip. Just a simple shotgun that's been in production for years, and is one of the top models in the world for all purposes. I have both setups in 12 and 20 gauges. I purchased the 12 first, and then the 20 was because I had some friends who had never shot before wanted to try it out with clay and targets. Figured the 20 would be easier for them to handle. I use my shotguns for everything from home defense, to deer hunting (sabot slug for the 12) and bird hunting.
I went with #4 shot because it's big enough to take someone down, yet small enough that it won't punch through the walls into my neighbors place (I live in a townhome, and lived in apartments as well). There's many arguments for, and against this. But, this round seems to make the most sense to me.
Personally, I would not go with a 3" round, and would stick with a 2 3/4" instead. The reason why, is that firearm control and low kickback, is best for any following shots. If your wife is smaller in stature, and you're afraid she'll have issues with a 12, then a 3" round will be problematic. Also, you will want to be careful on the shotgun you purchase since some can only handle 2 3/4" and not up to 3". This helps ease the confusion. My 12 gauge is the Remington Supermag Express, which is designed to handle up to 3 1/2" rounds. Again, was intended as a true multi-purpose use firearm.
Hope this helps give you some info to make a decision on.
Shotgun: Remington 870 Express
Barrel: 18" smooth bore, iron sight, slug barrel
Round: #4 Federal Black Cloud
Nothing fancy. No pistol grip. Just a simple shotgun that's been in production for years, and is one of the top models in the world for all purposes. I have both setups in 12 and 20 gauges. I purchased the 12 first, and then the 20 was because I had some friends who had never shot before wanted to try it out with clay and targets. Figured the 20 would be easier for them to handle. I use my shotguns for everything from home defense, to deer hunting (sabot slug for the 12) and bird hunting.
I went with #4 shot because it's big enough to take someone down, yet small enough that it won't punch through the walls into my neighbors place (I live in a townhome, and lived in apartments as well). There's many arguments for, and against this. But, this round seems to make the most sense to me.
Personally, I would not go with a 3" round, and would stick with a 2 3/4" instead. The reason why, is that firearm control and low kickback, is best for any following shots. If your wife is smaller in stature, and you're afraid she'll have issues with a 12, then a 3" round will be problematic. Also, you will want to be careful on the shotgun you purchase since some can only handle 2 3/4" and not up to 3". This helps ease the confusion. My 12 gauge is the Remington Supermag Express, which is designed to handle up to 3 1/2" rounds. Again, was intended as a true multi-purpose use firearm.
Hope this helps give you some info to make a decision on.
- Thread starter
- #88
I think I have settled on a #4 buckshot 2 3/4 inch. in 20 gauge, in a Mossberg 500 pump.
Better post some pics after you pick it up!
You said a lot of great things in this post, and this is probably the best statement right here:
Most people go with what's cheap, and within their budget. Add to it that your average new people, and I'm willing to best most people with HD weapons have no clue about reduced recoil loads. They're just going to go with whatever they can buy off the shelf at your typical box store.
For me, I opt to not use reduced recoil or HD/SD rounds for my shotgun for a couple of reasons. First, I'm comfortable with the rounds I shoot, I know the kick and motion of the shotgun when fired. Second, I have a lot of rounds, and I like to cycle through my ammo. Hunting, clay shooting, etc allows me to do this without having to purchase special rounds. The only SD/HD specific ammo I have is SD rounds for my pistols.
- Thread starter
- #91
I will for sure.
simon1
Self Ignored by Vista
That sounds like a solid choice. Try the #4 buck in both the regular shells and also the reduced recoil ones and let us know how the wife likes them. SWMBO hates full house .357s in the L frame, but she'll shoot Buffalo Bore .38 Special + P in it all day.
I don't think many aggressors would have a lot of fight left in them after taking 6 rounds of any .44 mag load, particularly if they're drowning in their own blood and/or their lungs are collapsing....but that's beside the point, which was that the more physical trauma(and increased blood loss) inflicted on an opponent, the faster they will be physically incapable of continuing the fight.
Since you mentioned your wife's height in a post after this one.... My wife is 4'6" tall and she doesn't like recoil at all. Any shotgun larger than a .410 is more than she can handle. She can handle a 16" barreled AR just fine though, and there are a multitude of .223 loads that penetrate less in typical home construction materials than even a shotgun. There's virtually no recoil, and 5 to 6 times the ammunition capacity of the average pump shotgun.
One final thought is that shotguns don't work like what the movies show. Typical pattern spread is roughly one inch per yard of distance. At average distances found inside a home, it's unlikely for the pattern to spread more than 7-10 inches even from a cylinder bore(no choke) and it's very probable that the spread won't be any larger than your wife's fist.
simon1
Self Ignored by Vista
That is a good point.
The operative word here is IF you get a good hit.
1986 FBI Miami shootout - Wikipedia
https://vault.fbi.gov/FBI Miami Shooting 4-11-86 /Miami Shooting 4-11-86 Part 1 of 11
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #95
simon1
Self Ignored by Vista
"All the experts advise using buckshot," Mroz says. "But I think it's kind of funny when people discuss what size. Whether you're shooting 00 buckshot or No. 2 or No. 3 buckshot, a shotgun produces overwhelming energy. It really doesn't matter what size shot exits the barrel. It'll do the job."
Worth a peruse...just for grins.
The Mighty 20 Gauge
Worth a peruse...just for grins.
The Mighty 20 Gauge
There are two kinds of hits. Timers and switchers. Either hitting an artery where they are timing out or a major organ and they are switching off.
Although it was spendy, I derived a great deal from my Gunsite Defensive Shotgun course back in the '90s. I don't think I could have gained that much insight training on my own (which I had done prior to attending the course). But it was a 5 day course, not 2 or 3 days.
Anything sponsored by Tom Givens of Rangemaster is top notch. Rangemaster is actually headquartered out of Memphis, TN., but Tom and his instructors offer classes all over. I attended a 5 day Tactical course featuring handgun, rifle and shotgun, as well as one of the early "Polite Society" conferences/tactical match. I hope to do more training with Rangemaster in the future.
Anything sponsored by Tom Givens of Rangemaster is top notch. Rangemaster is actually headquartered out of Memphis, TN., but Tom and his instructors offer classes all over. I attended a 5 day Tactical course featuring handgun, rifle and shotgun, as well as one of the early "Polite Society" conferences/tactical match. I hope to do more training with Rangemaster in the future.
I also, had a week for combat shotgun, rifle and pistol at Gunsite on the department dime back in 2005. It was eye opening for me also, how much insight and knowledge I gained from that week, especially, when I thought at the time, that I already knew it all and figured, they might just learn a few things from me.
Uhm yeah, I was wrong.
Good article!
