side by side or pump, tactical for home defense?

[Cruiser]

I am planning on getting training for me and the wife on CC and home defense.. still looking for classes nearby that I can get to with my messed up work schedule.. The basics I know,, the basics she doesnt,, She didnt even know her Dad had guns in the house.

[Tinman762]

One thing to think about, however, is the fact that a side by side (with a double trigger) is essentially two guns in one stock. If something goes bad with one round, firing pin, whatever, you have a second shot right there. No need to rack, work a bolt, or perform any malfunction drills. A double can be fired and reloaded fairly quickly with practice. Watch some of the Cowboy shooter match things. You would be very surprised how quickly one can be reloaded, especially with a gun fitted with an ejector.

Just a thought.

[Emptymag]

Aim,, yes but not as critical of aim as say a 45 with a 3.5 barrel or a LCP 380. And its just me and the wife,, no kids etc..
I'm most likely going with the pump as talking with the wife,, it sounds like she would have more trouble loading that if she had to fire it twice.. I go away for weeks at times for work.
I had doubles growing up(never a pump),, kept behind the doors in the parents room.. but its long gone.. and it was an old long double that wasnt good for much.. but a wall hanger..
Its hopefully going to be something I never need to use but take out to the range to have fun with.

Good. Lots of people buy guns and never shoot them, yet expect that they will somehow be able to "protect their family" with it, under stress, when someone comes crashing through the back door.
You will also see how that whole "no aiming required" thing works out.

I am planning on getting training for me and the wife on CC and home defense.. still looking for classes nearby that I can get to with my messed up work schedule.. The basics I know,, the basics she doesnt,, She didnt even know her Dad had guns in the house.

Very good.

Good luck with your search and with getting your wife familiar with the use of the shotgun. Just use light target loads and she'll be fine.
As for the stock/pistol grip only decision, I like pistol grip stocks - not pistol grip only, but the ones that have a pistol grip AND a shoulder stock. The only drawback is that depending on the make of shotgun, the safety can be difficult to reach with one hand.

Oh, and yes... a pump shotgun would be my choice as well.

[Cruiser]

I almost had a nice stevens double the other day,, a customer of mine has one that "doesnt work no more" and I offered to "get rid of it for them" but didnt work.. I'm looking at the picking up a 500 cruiser in the next few days,, I like the location of the safety as it rather easy to see if its on at a glance while in the shooting position without moving off the trigger..

[Neko456]

Reality wise a side by side maybe just as good but tactical wise the Pump is the way to go. The pump is just more versatile and the pumping action sound is like a burgular beware alarms for crooks to run or get out of your house "He got a shotgun" Scram!!" !! Not to mention 5-8 shots instead of two.

Other studies and threads here have deemed the Pump Shotgun the go to for Home defense.

[7998]

I know that this thread is a month old but giving the fact the OP just posted 2 days ago I will add my opinion.
"Racking the slide" is precious time in a stressful and often disorientated moment. By the time you became aware of the invaders presence grab the shot gun throw the safety and chamber the shell you may very well be dead.

I wanted a Saiga-12 for HD but I have heard of rare instances of them FTF,FTE, etc. So I went with a Remington 870P for the reliability and.

Racking the slide sounds intimidating on TV but imo has no place when my family or my home is threatend. Get a pump I prefer the 870 but a Mossy is just as good, depends on which safety you prefer.

[Neko456]

I know that this thread is a month old but giving the fact the OP just posted 2 days ago I will add my opinion.
"Racking the slide" is precious time in a stressful and often disorientated moment. By the time you became aware of the invaders presence grab the shot gun throw the safety and chamber the shell you may very well be dead.

I wanted a Saiga-12 for HD but I have heard of rare instances of them FTF,FTE, etc. So I went with a Remington 870P for the reliability and.

Racking the slide sounds intimidating on TV but imo has no place when my family or my home is threatend. Get a pump I prefer the 870 but a Mossy is just as good, depends on which safety you prefer.

456 - Good thing these are just Opinions. by the time you rack the slide you could be dead if the guys that close and already got the drop on you. You will be dead regardless of what kind of hand gun you have.

Talking to real burglary suspects, they say the most intimidating sound in a dark house they are in is a back room racking of a Pump shotgun!!! Which means to them its time to get the hell out of there!!! This is the best results another example of the art of Fighting without fighting or Might over fright.

You give a mute warning yet you say the same thing. Buy a Pump shotgun weather you think the racking of the slide is valid or not, its the only way to get a round in chamber rather then having the shotgun a danger to the family having it loaded with the safety on.

There is nothing wrong with option 2 a hand gun near the bed for those guy coming through the bedroom window situations, but a Shotgun when you can get to it is better imho.

[Asmodeus6]

I know that this thread is a month old but giving the fact the OP just posted 2 days ago I will add my opinion.
"Racking the slide" is precious time in a stressful and often disorientated moment. By the time you became aware of the invaders presence grab the shot gun throw the safety and chamber the shell you may very well be dead.

I wanted a Saiga-12 for HD but I have heard of rare instances of them FTF,FTE, etc. So I went with a Remington 870P for the reliability and.

Racking the slide sounds intimidating on TV but imo has no place when my family or my home is threatend. Get a pump I prefer the 870 but a Mossy is just as good, depends on which safety you prefer.

Agree.^^ I have a 870 Tactical Express, it's the mean looking one with the ported choke. But the only 870 they had in the configuration I wanted when I was shopping for a shotgun for such purposes. I also was going to get a Saiga as I'm a comm block fan, but took the pump shotgun for the same reasons. Those things *can* be cranky and I'm not interested in cranky anything.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the same token this often debated HD topic has most of the guys who actually kick doors or train saying a light handling carbine is the better choice. I'm not going to start that shit here but it's worth a look to those still stuck in the "the sound of the racking shotgun will make a crazy person leave your house".

This is stupid. Here are a few reasons why.

1. They came in your house. They most likely know it is not their house.
2. They probably know your home if you are home. They came in anyway.
* Seriously consider that one please. They most likely know you are there because of cars in the drive way, etc. But they are not deterred and are still coming in your house.
3. Which means... Unless it is a insane person they are probably armed.
4. There are probably a few of them.
* Your shotgun gets a whole lot less intimidating when I have 4 friends with guns too. If everyone starts shooting, you better be good, and guardian angel lucky.
5. People are stupid, especially those who do lots of drugs, rob, rape, steal, and break into people's houses that are home. That could mean the crack head in your house thinks his .45 hipoint trumps your shotgun. If he gets a lucky shot off it just might. Want to take a chance? WHY?
6. They have a gun, you have a shotgun, but it's dark and now they have an idea of where YOU are, and you aren't so sure of where they are. Who has the advantage? You? Or them? What if they just start shooting at the noise? Not good for you. Interior walls don't stop bullets AT ALL. Neither do most household doors. Consider who else besides yourself is going to be in your general direction if this happens. If they start firing thinking your closer than you were in your direction. Who else's life are you toying with if they call your bluff and start shooting?

There are more reasons but that should be plenty enough to hopefully quell the gun store bravado bull shit talk for a few posts.

There was an interesting point made about the SXS being two guns in one. And the ability to simply pull another trigger if something goes wrong. I still err in favor of capacity, but points have also been made about people short stroking pump shotguns in times of panic... inducing a malfunction in an otherwise extremely reliable firearm. This is where high quality semi-auto's probably end up being the best balance between simplifying what IT needs to do, and minimizing what you need to do. The trade off of course being cost. Not just the weapon but of high quality ammo to ensure it's reliable function.

If cost is an issue then pump. I prefer the 870 to the 500 because if you put a pistol grip stock on it the safety on the Mossberg is totally in an inconvenient place for easy manipulation. It is easy to get to on the 870 with a pistol grip without hand gymnastics.

Finally if you don't have little ones running around please educate yourself and house mates on the safe handling and use of a firearm and put one in the chamber safety ON. If you feel the need to rack to show you mean business and think they'll flee, you can always trade out the chambered shell for a fresh one in hopes they do back down. But if they don't, you don't have to waste what could be a pivotal moment bringing your gun online.

[reels18]

Double barrel to kill legless snakes, use a pump for the two legged variety.

[Neko456]

This is stupid. Here are a few reasons why.

1. They came in your house. They most likely know it is not their house.
2. They probably know your home if you are home. They came in anyway.
* Seriously consider that one please. They most likely know you are there because of cars in the drive way, etc. But they are not deterred and are still coming in your house.
3. Which means... Unless it is a insane person they are probably armed.
4. There are probably a few of them.
* Your shotgun gets a whole lot less intimidating when I have 4 friends with guns too. If everyone starts shooting, you better be good, and guardian angel lucky.
5. People are stupid, especially those who do lots of drugs, rob, rape, steal, and break into people's houses that are home. That could mean the crack head in your house thinks his .45 hipoint trumps your shotgun. If he gets a lucky shot off it just might. Want to take a chance? WHY?
6. They have a gun, you have a shotgun, but it's dark and now they have an idea of where YOU are, and you aren't so sure of where they are. Who has the advantage? You? Or them? What if they just start shooting at the noise? Not good for you. Interior walls don't stop bullets AT ALL. Neither do most household doors. Consider who else besides yourself is going to be in your general direction if this happens. If they start firing thinking your closer than you were in your direction. Who else's life are you toying with if they call your bluff and start shooting?


456 - I think what is stupid is to assume that you/we know how criminals think or try to disprove something that you know little about. Situations setup the fight burgulars don't want you at home or they think they can sneak in a steal stuff and get out undetected. Usually not always but just lights coming on can make them run let along the sound of a 870 racking. As for Home invaders they attempt forceful break in taking over your home and terrorizing you so that you tell them where your valuables are or worst. In any event the shotgun can stop these guys coming through a door way or coming down a hallway. These guys would definitely have to be on drugs to face a shotgun down a hallway. Not to say they wouldn't try but it would be a death-wish. The shotgun has proven over and over again to be a deadly deterrent when facing hard to stop or multiple foes. You assume that racking the slide is a bluff, really its the only way to load the Pump gun before you blow someones head off. Most crooks maybe stupid but they are not dumb a group or one person with a Hi point would have to be really mad at you to try to face you down in your house not knowing where you are and they know you are armed with a shotgun. As for them knowing where I am in my house in the dark that is another wrong assumption. Home owners usually know there home better then a intruder, where do you get this stuff from. I guaranteed that I know my home better then You do. How can you argue that?

All these what ifs "What if they just start shooting at the noise? Not good for you. Interior walls don't stop bullets AT ALL. Neither do most household doors. Consider who else besides yourself is going to be in your general direction if this happens. If they start firing thinking your closer than you were in your direction. Who else's life are you toying with if they call your bluff and start shooting?"

You can't control what they do; you can only control what you do, but you can now blow them away because they have wasted there ammo shooting at nothing in the dark. If you feel they have all the advantages why not just bend over and kiss it good bye, you and your what ifs. I guess it makes good discussions.


When working the streets long ago one of my night mares was asking a guy with his back to me to drop the shotgun and instead he starts to turn and face me!!! People who know what the shotgun is capable of are afraid to face one with a handgun I know I was he always died before he completed his turn, which was questionable but defendble because he was armed. With a shotgun makes it worst.

So stupid as it might sound a Pump shotgun is a intimidating weapon/sound unless its in my hands then I'm not afraid of it but my target should be.