Shotgun home defense

Question
I recently bought my girlfriend a little Mossberg 20 gauge shotgun she had
been eyeing for a while as a birthday present. I know it is probably not the
most ideal choice for home defense, but I was wondering what kind of choke
and ammo would maximize its use as home defense (comes with their "accu
choke" already installed).
Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hello Ben.

Many firearms owners use a shotgun as their primary home defense tool. They can offer some real advantages if you get the right gun, ammunition, and you are properly trained and prepared when the need arises.

Most home defense scenarios involve shooting at close ranges typically less than 15 feet, where most shotguns will produce a pretty tight pattern regardless of what ammunition or choke is used. The pattern is often one single large hole or only a few smaller holes spanning an area just a few inches wide at the most. As a result your choice of ammunition is mainly influenced by other factors.

Larger pellets such as buckshot tend to stay together in a tighter pattern for a longer distance so these are best if you desire extra range or penetration, such as shooting down long hallways, across large rooms, through walls, glass windows, doors, furniture, heavy clothing, etc. This can be a good thing if the target is farther away or behind something but it can also be very bad if you have relatives, visitors, friends, or neighbors behind the target, in nearby rooms, above, below, or just outside your home.

Smaller pellets such as birdshot initially stay together but then they spread apart much sooner, and once they hit a solid object they tend to lose energy rapidly. This can be a safer option if you are concerned about over-penetration and you don't plan to shoot at longer ranges.

Some people opt to mix a few shells of each type in a defense shotgun however this could be just as dangerous because you are unlikely to remember which load is in the chamber at any given time so you would still have a risk of shooting the wrong load for the circumstances.

For my personal defense shotgun I normally use 000 buckshot but I don't have anyone else in other rooms or nearby to worry about. My rooms are normal size and my hallways are all fairly short so I am unlikely to be firing over long distances. I might have to shoot through a glass window, interior door, or drywall so the extra penetration is important to me. Of course everyones scenario is different so you have to do your research and make your own decisions.

Regardless of the ammunition that you select, the choice of chokes probably won't matter much at all. If longer distances are a possibility then use a tighter choke to keep the pellets together longer, but if only shooting at close distances then any choke (or even no choke at all) would be ok. This also depends on how long your barrel is because the longer shotgun barrels (26" or more) are designed for hunting and target practice so they generally keep the patterns tighter. Most home defense shotguns have shorter barrels (typically 18") and these typically do not have any choke systems at all.

My advice would be to look at a Remington 870 or Mossberg 500. Consider purchasing a defense model with a short smoothbore 18" barrel or buying a standard model and then getting an 18" barrel separately that can be used for defense. The latter option would allow you to put the longer barrel back on when you go hunting or skeet shooting so the gun would be more versatile. You might also want to get some typical defense accessories such as a shorter butt stock, pistol grip, modified forearm, magazine tube extension, sling, shell carrier, laser aiming device, flashlight, defensive sights, etc.

No matter what options you decide on, it is critical that you, your wife, and anyone else that might need to use the gun will first receive proper training including safety, basic target shooting, and home defense topics. Then you need to practice fairly often, at least a few times a year at a minimum, or you would be at risk of not responding properly when a life threatening event occurs and your adrenaline kicks in. The NRA offers excellent shotgun and defense classes. Check out their website to see if you can find some classes near you:

http://www.nrahq.org/education/training/find.asp

Also look for some videos on shotgun usage and home defense:

http://gunvideo.com/

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Bob