12 gauge, 20 gauge, or .410 for home defense?

[Bisleyfan44]

At the 5:40 mark if you want to jump to it.

 

[Alan3413]

This video might help you decide

 

[lazarus]

That 10ga recoil looked like it hurt...

 

[fabsroman]

That 10ga recoil looked like it hurt...

I am sure it did. She was shooting a turkey load, not a target load out of it. I can tell the difference between a 3.5" turkey load and a 3.5" waterfowl load out of my Benelli SBE. The turkey load requires a trip to the dentist afterward to see if my fillings are still in place.

Seems as though that woman had husband issues. lol

 

[microstar22]

I went with a cheap Maverick 88 for the same reason..practiced with it out at a friends outdoor range last weekend and even with light target shells it kicked a lot more than I expected

 

[fabsroman]

I went with a cheap Maverick 88 for the same reason..practiced with it out at a friends outdoor range last weekend and even with light target shells it kicked a lot more than I expected

Try a buckshot or slug load the next time. Same goes for a turkey load. I can shoot target/dove shells out of my 12 gauge all day long. The others tend to make me recoil drunk after about 10, maybe 20, shots out of the right gun. Fired a 3" sabot out of an 870 once and the thing jumped up and smacked me in the face. No thanks.

 

[clay_shooter]

My wife isn't a "gun person" and is more comfortable with a 38 revolver than a long gun. One of my daughters likes a 20 GA O/U. A pump shotgun seems like failure waiting to happen.

Are a bunch of men comfortable with firearms the right folks to be asking this question?

 

[Minuteman]

My wife isn't a "gun person" and is more comfortable with a 38 revolver than a long gun. One of my daughters likes a 20 GA O/U. A pump shotgun seems like failure waiting to happen.

Are a bunch of men comfortable with firearms the right folks to be asking this question?

I hear ya'. Maybe not, just looking for rationale for smaller than 12 gauge. I've heard a lot of good opinions, and now better see some advantages to .20 gauge and maybe even .410.

 

[Biggfoot44]

For a non-gun person , an autoloading shotgun is a failure looking to happen.

Break open shotguns are simple, and sure to go bang ( leaving aside hammer vs no hammer, automatic safety vs not). But maximum of two shots is an issue, unless you are wearing a pistol at the same time.

12Ga low recoil, aka Tactical, buckshot has recoil similar to trap loads. And excellent patterns, I like them for that reason alone.

20Ga buckshot ( or slugs for that matter) are still plenty formidable payload. 20Ga can have either less recoil than 12ga OR be in a lighter, easier handling platform. For many small statured or limited upper body strength shooters, the ease of handling is more important than recoil per se.

No, I won't volunteer to stand in front of .410 buckshot . But you are limited to distances of 100% patterns into a paper plate , when starting with 3 to 5 pellets of buckshot. If you truely mean accros the room defensive use only, it could work.

 

[fabsroman]

My wife isn't a "gun person" and is more comfortable with a 38 revolver than a long gun. One of my daughters likes a 20 GA O/U. A pump shotgun seems like failure waiting to happen.

Are a bunch of men comfortable with firearms the right folks to be asking this question?

A person comfortable with firearms is the one asking the question. If the question was, "what is the best gun for a young woman or a new to firearms person for home defense?", then the answers would be different.

My wife has a 9mm Sig by her side of the bed. I have a .45 1911 on my side of the bed. Then, there is a Benelli M4, AR-15, and a lot of other long guns in the safe. While my wife can shoot clays, I think a round of buckshot would catch her by surprise. So, no Benelli M4 for her.

The answer to the question depends on who is posing it, and what their abilities are.

 

[Minuteman]

A person comfortable with firearms is the one asking the question. If the question was, "what is the best gun for a young woman or a new to firearms person for home defense?", then the answers would be different.

My wife has a 9mm Sig by her side of the bed. I have a .45 1911 on my side of the bed. Then, there is a Benelli M4, AR-15, and a lot of other long guns in the safe. While my wife can shoot clays, I think a round of buckshot would catch her by surprise. So, no Benelli M4 for her.

The answer to the question depends on who is posing it, and what their abilities are.

Very true.

 

[AACo]

I would add 28 gauge to your list, seeing that 410 is also in the mix. I ditched my 20 for 28 and never looked back. Lighter recoil and does everything a 20ga can.

Ammo isn't as cheap as 20, but reloading costs are low. If you are only looking at home defense applications, it should be a non issue. 28 is excellent on the skeet field as well.

 

[Biggfoot44]

28Ga is an underrated gage, albeit with not widely distributed ammo.

In this case, the problem is the lack of a 28ga Buckshot loading. Ely-Kynoch had a load with 4buck back in the days of roll crimped paper shells, but nothing in recent generations.

By default , the best defensive load would probably be the 5/8 oz Brenneke slug . Once again, I wouldn't volunteer to stand in front of a 28ga slug, but lack of buckshot is serious downside