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Home Defense Shot Gun


Monte

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I hope this is the right place for this topic.

 

I'm in the market for a Home Defense shot gun and am not sure what to buy. The problem I'm running into is that I'm left handed and every thing on the market seems to be built for right handers. I have a left handed Super Black Eagle that I use for hunting and it's perfect. Does Benelli offer any thing for Home Defense for a lefty? I got to looking at the Benelli Super Nova Tactical with the pistol grip and got to wondering does it really matter if it right hand eject or not? I do not have much expereince shooting a right handed gun so is it really that big of a problem? Whats the solution should I look at another brand or is the right hand model OK for Home Defense purposes? Thanks for your feedback and if anybody from Benelli is following this thread PLEASE give us lefties something for Home Defense.

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This is going to sound odd coming from someone who is left-handed himself and just bought a SuperNova Tactical over the weekend, but I'd recommend you take a good look at the Mossberg 500/590 series. The primary advantage of the Mossbergs is that the safety is on the rear top of the receiver, readily accessible for both right- and left-handed shooters.

 

(I'm right-eye dominant, so I shoot long guns right-handed. Which is why buying a SuperNova isn't an issue for me.)

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Personally, I think the only issue you should have with the SuperNova or its kind, is with the action release lever. Being right handed myself, the location of this seems "natural". To a lefty such as yourself, it may not. As far as the safety goes, I really see no problem either way. It seems, to me at least, shotguns are more "ambidextrous" than pistols. I wouldnt worry about it too much.

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The deterrent effect of a pump-action being cocked is one of those perennially recurring topics among gun enthusiasts. One example came up on the Box of Truth:

4. I "racked" the shotgun several times during the tests, and no bystanders lost control of their bowels.

Conclusion: Racking a shotgun will not make the bad guy faint.

An unwarranted (and highly facile) conclusion, I would argue, given that the bystanders presumably did not expect the shotgun to be aimed at them in the immediate future. It's the not the sound itself that's supposed to provide the deterrent; that would be magical thinking. What is supposed to give the intruder pause is the realization that at least one occupant of the house is not only aware of the intruder's presence, but is additionally in possession of a piece of highly lethal firepower.

 

A more persuasive argument against working the slide is that the sound will give away your position to the intruder. I think that depends on the precise circumstances. If the intruder enters my house between 0100 and 0600, I'll almost certainly be in the master bedroom, and I'd wager that's exactly where the intruder expects me to be. And since the model of house I live in is very common in the wider area (greater Seattle-Tacoma), he's probably going to have a pretty accurate idea of where the master bedroom is. So, in those circumstances, how much am I giving away, really?

 

There's also the question of what exactly it is that you're trying to achieve. Do you want to (hopefully) intimidate the intruder into fleeing, or are you trying to ambush him? If you go for the latter, and you end up shooting the guy, that might not look too good in court afterwards. Personally, I'm not just going be racking the slide; I'm also going to be shouting--loudly enough that you can hear it on the 911 tape later--that I have a firearm and will use if necessary. Yeah, yeah, "better to be judged by twelve than carried by six" and all that, but I'll take the major advantage in court later over the slim-to-non-existent combat advantage now. Besides, to paraphrase Sun Tzu, the best battle is the one you can win without fighting.

 

In the meantime, the closest I have actual evidence either way comes from an ex-boyfriend of my wife's, who is a Coast Guard reservist. He's been on more than his share of boardings of floating meth labs, and he quickly swapped out his standard-issue M16A1 for a Remington 870P, because he found the latter had a significantly more intimidating effect, both because of the racking noise, and because of the sheer size of the bore compared to that (seemingly) tiny hole on the M16. Of course, this anecdote is not entirely applicable, because as a home defender, you're not part of a bunch of other guys carrying rifles and sidearms. Still, it is evidence that the sound and sight of a shotgun have some power to intimidate a bad guy.

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Interesting points, Euromutt. The "racking" of the fore-end on a pump shotty is equivalent to an intruder seeing 6 or 7 "live" hollow-points resting within the cylinder chambers of a .357 Magnum...pointed at him. Its all business, with potentially deadly intent. With the shotty, I believe most people think that even a blind old man could hit with it and blow away body parts as a result. Not entirely true, but the stigma remains. These things still take a deal of accurate aiming, although nowhere near what a handgun requires..obviously. Either way, the potentially brutal nature of the shotgun will always be legend and something to be feared. The proverbial "clack-clack" of the pump shotty can essentially be compared to the intimidation method of the rattlesnake. Of course, just because you hear it, doesnt mean you are dead. But, it certainly means that you are playing around with the reaper and that unless you are Bruce Lee or something, you had better re-adjust your strategy and proceed with extreme caution. However, if you encounter a home intruder who is not intimidated in the least by this sound, be VERY afraid. At this point, I hope you have resolved within yourself the issue of taking a life if necessary. If not....well..............

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As tucker said a browning bps is a good gun. All this talk about "racking the gun" makes me laugh. If someone was in your house, waiting to get close and making a racking noise is ridiculous. Your gun should be ready to go and if your racking, thats one less round that should be in your gun. You would want to keep as much distance from an attacker as possible and you need a gun with a defense light like a surefire. If your going with a long gun, make sure you get a short barell. You also need to make your attacker aware that you are armed, they wont be able to see anything with the light in their eyes.

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"racking the gun" ////// You also need to make your attacker aware that you are armed, they wont be able to see anything with the light in their eyes.

 

Isn't racking the gun a good sign that your armed? Its also a good sign to the attacker that the gun was just loaded?

 

Also, how many shells do you need? If you can't hit someone with the first two shells, what makes you think the rest will make a differance. And if you do hit someone with the first two shell, again what makes you think you will the rest.

 

I have a stock nova, 4 rounds in the tube. I think thats 2 extra, plus a handgun for back up. If you can't get rid of a thead with that, get yourself a draw bridge with a moat.

 

Novaking

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Isn't racking the gun a good sign that your armed? Its also a good sign to the attacker that the gun was just loaded?

 

Also, how many shells do you need? If you can't hit someone with the first two shells, what makes you think the rest will make a differance. And if you do hit someone with the first two shell, again what makes you think you will the rest.

 

I have a stock nova, 4 rounds in the tube. I think thats 2 extra, plus a handgun for back up. If you can't get rid of a thead with that, get yourself a draw bridge with a moat.

 

Novaking

 

Who knows if the person will even understand the sound, they could be on drugs. The point is your gun should be ready to go so you dont have to think about things like racking the action. And I would want to make sure the gun is full up. You prefer a shotgun with 4 rounds while I prefer 14 rounds of hollow point .45....you carry a handgun for backup, do you keep a holster on your underwear too? hahaha

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Your gun should be ready to go and if your racking, thats one less round that should be in your gun.

Myself, I subscribe to Massad Ayoob's advice that pump-actions should be stored in "Condition Three"--action locked on an empty chamber, with the magazine full. The overwhelming majority of pump-actions don't have internal firing pin locks, which means that they can discharge if subjected to a sharp impact (such as falling off a shelf) even with the safety on. It also has the added advantage that if a kid manages to get hold of the weapon, he or she will have a more difficult time getting the weapon to fire (hey, I didn't know about "action release levers" until I read the manual of my new SuperNova).

 

If you're confident you've headed off those contingencies, then by all means, store the weapon with a round chambered if that's what works for you. But there are good reasons not to, and people who keep the gun with the chamber empty aren't fools for doing so.

 

That's the key with a lot of firearms advice: there's rarely just one right way to do things. Usually, there will be several ways, each with its pros and cons, and you have to figure out which one works best for you.

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Getting back to my earlier post concerning the tang safety on the Mossberg 500/590, I discovered the Browning BPS also has a tang safety. In combination with the downward ejection, that does make it a very user-friendly weapon for a left-handed shooter. I see Browning even makes a high-capacity model, that looks to be intended to fill a home defense role. So that might well be a very good choice for you, Monte.

 

About the only problem you might have with the BPS is that there isn't as wide a selection of after-market accessories, like sights, stocks, slings, etc. that you're going to find for the Mossberg 500/590 (let alone the Remington 870).

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STOP! HOLD YOUR ARMS OUT TO THE SIDE PALMS OPEN FACING ME!

 

Non compliance/aggresssion?

 

-Bang(repeated as necessary).

 

I feel no need to be chambering and racking and making any noise other than the above. Instead, I want my appearance on the scene to be a total shock to them.

 

Think about it. If I am in my room and 2 people are in my livingroom and I begin racking my weapon (well, my M4 doesn't "rack" per se) then 1 of them might well tell the other to re-position himself. THen when I appear, certain that anyonei n the house has shat himself, the one in the middle of the room by the TV feignes compliance while his accompolice assaults me from behind furniture or something.

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I think people are over-thinking things here. Some realistic scenarios, maybe, some not. Lets face it, if someone breaks into your home unexpectedly, will there really be time for "tactics"? Essentially, at this point, you are left with A) Can you even get to a weapon in time, B) Quickly assessing your situation (ie. how many perps are there, are they armed, where are they?) and C) more than likely, under stress...reverting to habits developed at the gun range. Good or bad? Depends on how you practice. But, with a shotgun, well..who actually carries this around the house all evening. Not many, I assume. Thats why handguns are here. Personally, Id rather have a shotty by my side, but the convenience factor just isnt there. I agree with one of the other replies that a shotgun should ALWAYS be kept "cruiser ready"...ie. loaded mag, no round in the chamber and hammer down. Lets face it, if your situation is so dire that you do not have the time to take your weapon out of cruiser mode and ready it, then you probably wont have time to get a shot off anyway. Besides, better to take that chance with a "cruiser ready" shotty than to risk having a loved one blow a hole in something or worse...somebody.

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Racking the gun, shouting verbal commands, etc. alert the intruder to your position and status.

 

There's really no need for that since this person has already forced themselves into your home.

If he wanted conversation, he would have phoned or rung the bell.

Time for talk is later when there's just one story to tell to the cops.

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To anybody who thinks this "racking the gun" business is passe'... well, for me at least, this "racking" would certainly be out of necessity. I absolutely refuse to keep a shotty around with a round in the chamber. Instead, I firmly believe "cruiser ready" is the best way to go. H*ll, even cops are advised to keep their shottys this way. Besides, accidents happen...not worth the risk. Say what you will, but someone "racking" the fore-end of a shotty indicates that the weapon is more than likely now loaded and that the loaded weapon is....A SHOTGUN. If someone is brazen enough to break in to your home at night, chances are they already expect someone to be around. So what if they hear the "racking" or not? By then, its business only...At best, hearing this sound just may deter them. At worst, it will not and well..at least you now have a loaded shotgun. As far as "giving away your position", please...this isnt cops and robbers. Unless you throw down flares or start turning on lights, no intruder is going to know EXACTLY where you are. To keep a shotgun armed with a round in the chamber is careless and unnecessary. If you are that worried about having that extra round or two, think about tactical reloads or better yet, just use a handgun as your primary weapon. Besides, statistically, most gunfights are over in a matter of seconds. How many rounds can YOU fire within this time frame, particularly in a home invasion type scenario? Its funny to see some people here planning a "home invasion" scenario as if they expect to be attacked by a band of zombies.

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Safe policy: Loaded mag, not chambered, safety on.

 

Personally, should there be an uninvited guest in my home, the racking of my shotgun would quickly be followed by lead flying through the bedroom door and down the hall- no questions asked of the intruder - no warnings given. (I'd be too freaked to speak clearly and loudly anyway is my guess) :D.

 

Hopefully the "intruders" would simply have been my dogs getting out of their holding area, and I'd be left to clean up the dog pee, and going to Home Depot in the morning to fix whatever damage I caused the home. Oh, and honey would be really upset, but she'd understand.

 

Regards.

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Safety is relevant to those who are in the home.

When my kids were here I kept all guns unloaded and locked away.

Now that they are grown and on their own (well, sort of - college isn't really on your own), I keep just about everything loaded and there's a S&W 40 with 16 rounds (including one in the chamber) and an extra mag. within arms reach of my bedside all the time.

 

I have no desire in letting an intruder know I'm either home or awake and alert to their presence until it's too late for them to do anything but bleed.

 

You rack your shotty all you want.

 

I'll do my own thing.

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Safety is relevant to those who are in the home.

When my kids were here I kept all guns unloaded and locked away.

Now that they are grown and on their own (well, sort of - college isn't really on your own), I keep just about everything loaded and there's a S&W 40 with 16 rounds (including one in the chamber) and an extra mag. within arms reach of my bedside all the time.

 

I have no desire in letting an intruder know I'm either home or awake and alert to their presence until it's too late for them to do anything but bleed.

 

You rack your shotty all you want.

 

I'll do my own thing.

 

Understood. However, because of my interest in my wifes safety, no round will ever be in the shotguns chamber until necessary. I feel that I am certainly capable enough to take my shotgun from "cruiser" status to "dont F with me" status in the blink of an eye. "Alerting" an intruder is certainly a concern but lets face it, any criminal worth his salt will have already considered the possibility of resistance. If he hears you "preparing" your weapon, it will more than likely give him pause. If he or she or they decide to hold back and begin thinking in "tactical" terms..let them. It will just give you more time to dial 911. If not, they are stupid and will probably become ballistic test subjects. Best off to stay where you are and wait for them to come to you. It is NEVER a good idea to go "hunting" when you are positive someone has invaded your home.

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"Cruiser" status.

Is that a paintball term? :rolleyes:

 

My "shotties" are all semi-autos.

"Racking" is just too much extraneous motion, noise, and effort.

 

Perhaps if you hadn't branded yourself noob you'd be more compelling.

 

"Cruiser" status is based on an acknowledged term. Look it up. Being new to shotguns means nothing...Im still smart enough to thoroughly educate myself, regardless of the weapon I possess. As far as "racking" being too much effort, daymn..you must be lazy!!:D My theories are sound and have be gleaned from many established authorities on not just shotguns, but firearms in general. Say what you will....

 

PS. The technical term is "cruiser ready". This refers to how police officers "ready" their shotguns for storage within their patrol cars (cruisers).

 

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-194395.html

 

Check it out...Im not talking "paintball" here. Please dont take me for an idiot..I am far from it.

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