Good home defense gun?

[Pistolgrip Pump]

I was thinking of maybe getting a shotgun for home defense and was wondering what the fine people of calguns would recommend for me and why? Much appreciated!

[ShootinMedic]

Remington 870 or Mossberg are usually the top contenders around here. Either will serve you well. I have a Winchester SXP that came with bith 18" and 28" barrels and I love it. I personally like the control placements on the winchester shotguns best. I'd go feel all three and see which you like best!

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[Eldraque]

definately a shotgun. Mossberg 500 is my recommendation. handguns work okay too.

[Legasat]

Yep! Mossberg 500/590 or Remington 870. Both great pumps, not a lot of money.

A handgun is just to fight your way to a shotgun.

[Pistolgrip Pump]

Any variations of those models or significant mods you would recommend for a more tactical/compact feel?

[Ribkick]

12" stock (forget the pistol grip), mag extension, light. That's it if you want a solid, fast acting shotgun. Or you could go the video game route like a lot of the guys here do and hang everything from night sights to outboard motors on the thing.

[kylemurdoc]

For home defense Kel Tec's shotgun. It's more compact than the others and it has two ammo tubes, I think you can switch back and forth between the two.
Check it out http://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/shotguns/ksg/

[Ribkick]

For home defense Kel Tec's shotgun. It's more compact than the others and it has two ammo tubes, I think you can switch back and forth between the two.
Check it out http://www.keltecweapons.com/our-guns/shotguns/ksg/

Unfortunately, it's not a proven platform. I wouldn't want to go into a fight with it.

Nice toy, though.

[ldsnet]

Ok cool shotgun! I need to check out that KelTec.

[BajaJames83]

My vote goes with a 870.

[RobertSmith]

The best home defense fire arm is the one in your hand.

Period.......

[Lone_Gunman]

Either the 870 or the Mossberg 500/590 will do just fine. After attending an 8 hour shotgun class with a collapsable stock, pistol grip, receiver rail, and a railed forearm I promptly went home and took all that crap off. The collapsable stock made it really hard to get a decent cheek weld, the receiver rail caused me to have to raise my head even farther to see the front sight bead. This caused me to shoot consistently high. I had to aim low to compensate. Without a good check weld the buckshot and slugs beat the hell out of me. The birdshot was a little better, but by the end I was very sore.
My 870 now wears the OEM buttstock. The only upgrade I'm making is the MagPul 870 forearm because during the class while rapid firing under stress my I gripped the slide too far back and it bit the hell out of my hand between the slide and the receiver. The MagPul forearm looks like it will help prevent that.
For a HD shotgun I strongly suggest keeping it simple. Fixed buttstock, sidesaddle and/or buttstock ammo carrier, and the OEM or other non railed forearm. No sling. Slings catch on things like door knobs and corners of dressers.

When you get the gun at the bare minimum you need to pattern the gun with your chosen HD load at various distances from 5 feet to 20 yards. You do need to aim a shotgun. Someone who says you don't has likely never bothered to try their HD load on man sized targets at various distances.
Try some rifled slugs at longer distances too, you'll be suprised at how accurate a shotgun can be.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Either the 870 or the Mossberg 500/590 will do just fine. After attending an 8 hour shotgun class with a collapsable stock, pistol grip, receiver rail, and a railed forearm I promptly went home and took all that crap off. The collapsable stock made it really hard to get a decent cheek weld, the receiver rail caused me to have to raise my head even farther to see the front sight bead. This caused me to shoot consistently high. I had to aim low to compensate. Without a good check weld the buckshot and slugs beat the hell out of me. The birdshot was a little better, but by the end I was very sore.
My 870 now wears the OEM buttstock. The only upgrade I'm making is the MagPul 870 forearm because during the class while rapid firing under stress my I gripped the slide too far back and it bit the hell out of my hand between the slide and the receiver. The MagPul forearm looks like it will help prevent that.
For a HD shotgun I strongly suggest keeping it simple. Fixed buttstock, sidesaddle and/or buttstock ammo carrier, and the OEM or other non railed forearm. No sling. Slings catch on things like door knobs and corners of dressers.

When you get the gun at the bare minimum you need to pattern the gun with your chosen HD load at various distances from 5 feet to 20 yards. You do need to aim a shotgun. Someone who says you don't has likely never bothered to try their HD load on man sized targets at various distances.
Try some rifled slugs at longer distances too, you'll be suprised at how accurate a shotgun can be.

I'll agree with the above post based on my own experiences, including day long shotgun training and finding out what works and what doesn't. As Lone Gunman points out, what looks cool and badass in a photo does not mean it is useful in a fight.

A lot of what you see posted as 'home defense' shotguns and rifles are in reality heavy, unwieldy, clumsy boat anchors. I will make an exception to the collapsible stock argument in that the Knoxx recoil reducing stock is a fairly dramatic improvement in recoil management, while giving up a bit of ergonomics in providing a less than ideal cheek weld the way a standard stock would.

[FX-05 Xiuhcoatl]

Ruger 10/22

[billmaykafer]

i bought a savage/stevens 670 12 ga pump for $35 in 1971. it has a 18 1/4" barrel. i would trust it to function for intended purpose.