12 guage shortened barrel

Question
Hi Bob,
Just picked up my first shotgun.  It's an old 12 gauge Ted Williams Sears shotgun (the Winchester 1200 clone).  I really like it and it fires well for such an old gun that has seen use.  Mostly I target shoot, but I also wanted a shotgun for home defense.  If you know this particular gun, you know that it is the full 28' barrel.  My wife refuses to learn on it, because she says it is too big and too heavy.  I'm thinking of having the barrel legally shortened.. My question is how much more recoil will I experience, and how much accuracy will I lose?  I don't currently hunt, but I wouldn't mind using this gun if I decided to take up deer and turkey hunting.  Am I better off to just get her a pistol grip tactical shotgun and keep this one as it is ?(for target shooting and possible hunting). Thanks for any advice you can offer!

Answer
Hi Tom.

You can buy replacement barrels for most shotguns. They generally cost less than $100 and can be installed in 5 minutes or so depending on your firearm. Check your manual for the cleaning or takedown procedure and it should show you how to remove the barrel.

You could pickup an 18" barrel for home defense and then just swap back to the longer barrel for skeet or hunting. I do this with my Remington 870 and it works fine. When you shorten the barrel it will certainly make the gun lighter and easier to handle indoors however it will also increase the perceived recoil and noise by a significant amount, especially if you use a pistol grip instead of the traditional shoulder stock. I installed an adjustable-length shoulder stock with pistol grip on my 870 so I can bring it in closer to my body or even shoot from the retention position with the pistol grip when indoors, and then just extend the shoulder stock for normal shooting outdoors or at longer distances. The stock is easy to replace although not as quick and simple as the barrel so you won't want to switch the stock back and forth often, which is why I like the adjustable stock so much.

If your wife is recoil-sensitive and/or not comfortable with the 12 gauge then consider getting her a 20 gauge or even a 410 and take her to the range a few times. If she gets used to those then she may be able to step up to the 12 gauge but in many cases women are just not as comfortable with a long gun due to the extra weight, in which case you should make sure that she knows how to use the shotgun in an emergency but provide her with a handgun that she is comfortable with.

A few things to consider about using shotguns for personal defense: they are more difficult to handle indoors, they are much louder and have greater perceived recoil, and you need to pick your shells carefully based on your home and number of occupants. I generally use 000 buck 3" magnum shells for my situation but these are very large heavy lead balls with lots of energy so they will go right through most indoor walls, doors, windows, etc. and still be lethal on the other side. May not be the best choice if you have kids or relatives in other rooms. You have some of the same challenges with handguns but you have a wider range of calibers and cartridges to choose from and they generally have less total power so they might be a better choice for small or crowded homes, apartments, condos, etc.

Also, I find that most people are not able to train for defensive shooting with a shotgun, either because they can't find a good class in their area or because they are not excited about shooting 100+ shells during a single 4 or 8 hour class. Regardless of what you decide, I highly recommend that you take the proper safety and defensive training. I teach the NRA classes and they are excellent. Here is a link where you can find classes in your area:

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

Hope this helps. Shoot straight, stay safe, and good luck!

Bob