That's a great suggestion!
Thanks for all the thoughts, guys.
I understand the shorter the better for home defense, but I don't want a shotgun for that.
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Concur completely. But that may be tough to find right now.
IMO a Shockwave is not a first shotgun purchase, it's an additional supplement later on. Maybe if you have a good brace setup that isn't as hard of a suggestion. Personally, I'd rather have an 18-20" Mossberg and then a Shockwave as-is without a brace. They would then serve different roles.
If you're going Shockwave, then go for Mossberg shotgun to keep the ergonomics / safety location consistent between the two.
I got the 12 when it first came out. its a lot of fun and would probably be pretty good for getting someone off your porch.
It is a bit brutal to shoot with buck loads
I think the 20 would be a lot more fun to shoot and it still would be a good defensive option.
If the 20 was available when I got the 12 I would have gone in that direction.
I can see the utility of the shockwave in a close quarters situation. One of these days I'll take it to the one range and pattern it with #8, #4, and 00. It'll be interesting to see what it does.
I have a Mossie that came with the pistol grip, stock and 18.5 inch barrel (used, probably originally came with a longer barrel as well as a hunt/defense combo) - in 12 gauge - beyond unpleasant to shoot the the pistol grip. I have since put a birdshead stock on it and shooting from the hip (with the new angle for your wrist that the birdshead stock allows) very easy to shoot- put a focused flash light on it, and the circle where the light shines is where the pellets hit. If you are concerned about recoil, you can use subdued shells or like me get an adapter that allows mini-shells to reliably feed (increases mag capacity as well) - if you can't find minishells, the adapter takes 1 second to remove and stuff in your pocket to save for later. Get the 12 gauge.
For whatever it's worth, here's my assessment as an owner of a Mockwave (Charles Daley Honch, Shockwave copy).
I friggen L-O-V-E this "firearm" (It isn't a shotgun by definition, since it wasn't manufactured with a buttstock. An important distinction.)
From my experience, both the 20 guage and the .410 bore are a blast to shoot. IMO, the 12 guage would be too much to handle controllably, at least for me. The 20 guage has me just on the good side of control.
The problem that most people have is that they try to shoot them like shotguns, then get pissed when they don't behave like shotguns. They aren't shotguns! They are a different beast and need to be treated on their own terms. If you can do this, you'll enjoy the hell out of them. Instead of seating the buttstock into your shoulder and cheek like a regular shotgun, you have to learn to partially extend the Shockwave just prior to shooting to counter the recoil.
You can shoot from the hip or shoot extended from chest high, which is more accurate. If you can shoot a bow instinctively, you can shoot a Shockwave accurately. It's the same basic relationship between eye, gun and target. I took mine squirrel hunting this fall and had reasonable success. You just have to learn to shoot the gun as it wants to be shot.
Here's my black aces tactical 12-semi. Outside with earmuffs on was brutal, I cant imagine indoor use.
Set up for high brass only.
https://i.postimg.cc/HkjZQCQq/20210325-214427.jpg
Frankly, if you're not looking strictly for tactical, I'd go with the 12 ga Mossberg 500 family of pumps. Barrels available at shows, eBay, Gunbroker (usually overpriced): 18.5" slug no rib no choke, 18.5" rib, 28" vent rib and screw in chokes, 28" accujoke (adjustable choke at end of barrel, don't believe the numbers) chokes, 24" rifled, turkey barrels, camo barrels, on and on. Stocks? Wood, plastic, black, red, camo, classic, skeleton, tactical, tactile, tacky wacky, you name it. All of these are interchangeable. One receiver and you can have a different shotgun for every day of the month almost. Remington 870 pretty much the same except that the quality of the current new crop has been reported to be spotty. Used market for both families of shotties is huge (although currently maybe harder than before). They're also fairly easy to maintain right down to swapping out triggers and such. Above all, with a longer barrel and the dexterity to keep the expended shell from hitting the guy in the next spot on the trap range, I can vaporize flying clay disks. I'm good with other firearms too, but I find my shotties give me the most fun.
Waste of money. Right up there with the Taurus Judge and S&W Governor. They are fad guns that look and sound cool but have no practical advantage. Talk to anyone who is well versed in firearms and self defense. Trainers, cops, ect. Nobody in these circles would touch one. Got to be a hint.
They basically give you the worst traits of both a handgun and a shotgun, with none of the benefits. Get a solid well made12 ga and you won't regret it. Cheap - Moss 500, Better 590A1 or 870, Best Benelli M4.
So, obviously, you're speaking from a position of having shot one more than once. I can tell this by your statements of authority that is clearly more superior to those of us here who have used one and like it.
Thank you for correcting our ignorance. All the time that we spent shooting them, we have been wrong.