Best Gun for Home Defense: Shotgun, AR-15, or Pistol?

[vanderblack]

Please don't tell me you plan on racking your shotgun. Your go gun has to be ready to go.

There is a loaded and ready to go handgun at hands reach and if someone were nearly on me, yeah but, If I was aware of them before they came up the stairs, yes, I am going to rack the shotgun.

 

[vanderblack]

Anyone who teaches you that the sound of a pump gun getting its action racked will scare away the bad guys is a fool.

Really? So you are in an unfamiliar house to rob it and hear that sound, you are going to stick around? I wonder who the fool is? No offense, but the majority of break ins are kids looking for booze and money and if someone is there for more serious reasons, like I said, if the sound doesn't scare them away, I am still armed with a good home defense weapon. If you would rather increase your chances to have to shoot someone and deal with the aftermath of legal battles that will most likely ruin your life, than do what you can to scare them off (given time to do so), certainly your call.

 

[VietnamEraVet]

There is a loaded and ready to go handgun at hands reach and if someone were nearly on me, yeah but, If I was aware of them before they came up the stairs, yes, I am going to rack the shotgun.

While the idea that a homeowner racking a pump shotgun will scare off an intruder sounds interesting, I am a fan of the "keep them guessing where I am until I let off the first round" approach. My firearms are locked and loaded, and ready to fire, no racking required. Including the first shot, I can unload an Ithaca Model 37 with slamfire in about 2 seconds flat.

My first round will be immediately followed by others in rapid succession.

 

[Podmonkey]

I do not keep a round chamber either in my shotgun nor my AR when under the bed. This has nothing to do with intending to deter an intruder with the sound of the action cycling but is due to my policy of not keeping live rounds chambered in any firearm not having passive saftey such as firing pin blocks, hammer intercepts ect. In practice this means my long guns are kept in a decocked state on an empty chamber with a full magazine. I keep a handgun on the bedside table, round chambered, ready to go for instant response.

 

[Criticalt]

@VietnamEraVet dogs suck .. LOL sorry might just be me, my bud has a German shep ... showed up in full camo from hunting scared his ass .. now he is scared of me .. months prior he was a friend and would come to me for ear rubs .. he is a big ass chicken now .. his name is Thor .. LOL .. guess i was the hammer LOL .. dang dogs .. he wont even come to me for some beggin strips treats LOL ..

Believe me, its just you.
Ive got at least 4 dogs that you will not scare, theyre too dumb to be scared.
Im not saying they will kill a person but in our dark house, they will absolutely ruin soneones day.
While the bad guy is playing with my dogs ill be right behind with my M4 and my GF will be beside me with her 10mm. If they still get in, they are welcome to anything they want.

 

[dwa12479]

Really? So you are in an unfamiliar house to rob it and hear that sound, you are going to stick around? I wonder who the fool is? No offense, but the majority of break ins are kids looking for booze and money and if someone is there for more serious reasons, like I said, if the sound doesn't scare them away, I am still armed with a good home defense weapon. If you would rather increase your chances to have to shoot someone and deal with the aftermath of legal battles that will most likely ruin your life, than do what you can to scare them off (given time to do so), certainly your call.

My go to HD is a Mossberg 500 with Federal Flitecontrol #00 buck It stands cruiser ready in the safe by the bed, so it'll need to be racked to be ready, I'm on board with the 12 ga for sure. But I'm not going to intentionally give away my position or rely on the sound to scare someone off. That's a popular myth that could get people killed when instructors tell them that's all they gotta do to send the bad guys running is let them hear that sound. It's tactically foolish IMO.

 

[Patriot]

Please don't tell me you plan on racking your shotgun. Your go gun has to be ready to go.

Well said. Was going to say the exact same thing. I hate the "rack of a pump action" shotgun debate. Taking the time to rack a pump action shotgun is another second taken away from you being prepared to defend yourself and another chance for an intruder to get a jump on you.

There are better options.

 

[Marine Cpl]

To me the rack says, " I'm over here! I have a gun and I'm not afraid to use it!"

 

[MilesTeg]

I just want to throw this out there for the people that have safety concerns about keeping a loaded weapon handy. Hornday has a couple new products. I like the AR version but don't like the shotgun. The reason is the AR covers the trigger and the shotgun doesn't.
Hornady Manufacturing Company :: Security Products :: RAPiD® Safe & Accessories :: RAPiD® Safe AR Wall Lock
Hornady Manufacturing Company :: Security Products :: RAPiD® Safe & Accessories :: RAPiD® Safe Shotgun Wall Lock