20 Gauge For Home Defense

[bad_dad_brad]

I have a Win defender in .20 gauge for home defense.

It's loaded with Win .20 magnums with #3 shot. Anyone care to comment on .20 gauge home defense rounds.

And don't tell me to use a .12 gauge. Stick to .20.

Thanks.

[Dave McC]

It's been a while since I had direct access to the Fed database,but last time I looked,all gauges and loads had about a 98% overall stopping rate.

I doubt any perp will be able to tell if he was shot with a 12 ga or a 20, nor will he care.

Some LEs I know have gone to varied 20s for raid guns, doubles, pumps and autos.

My HD shotguns are 12 gauge, but if all I had was the 20 ga Youth Express I got for the kids with either the 21" Remchoked bbl or the 20" slug bbl, I'd still be effective and downright dangerous.

As for HD ammo for the 20, 7/8 oz of lead anything at typical HD ranges will be effective. I'd mix load,if t'were me, with a couple birdshot loads up first, then a pair of #3 buck.

One caveat:

Many 20 gauges are vicious kickers with most loads. The lighter weight of the 20 ga offsets the lighter load,and oft the butt of the 20 ga is smaller.

[George Stringer]

The 20ga is becoming more popular as a HD weapon. I've built up several just over the past year into tactial firearms with mag extensions, porting, lengthened forcing cones, sights, the list goes on. I even put a mercury recoil reducer in one for a young lady on top of everything else and the recoil was practically non-existent. I think they're very effective. As Dave said, no intruder will ever know the difference. George

[JL Hunnicutt]

I've been thinking about this very thing myself. I have a chance to buy an "as-new" Mossberg 20 ga. Cruiser (pistol-grip model), 6-shot, for $125.00. I've never shot a pistol-grip shotgun and don't know how bad the recoil would be with the 20 vs. a 12 ga. Also, I've never owned a Mossberg shotgun. How is the quality/durability? Thank you...

[Rail Gun]

20 guage is just fine for home defence. If you ever do have to shoot anyone aim high, for the upper chest, not lower belly.

JL, a pistol grip shotgun really doesn't have much muzzle flip at all, it is so barrel heavy. After I shoot my mossberg 500 a riot shotgun my hand feels like it is vibrating. Shoot it using two hands and don't shoot it like a pistol, it's too heavy for that and you'll probably shoot your burglar in the leg not meaning to. It's a little harder to aim with than a full length shotgun.

Mossberg's are one of the cheapest shotguns made. They're ok. They're not the best or the worst, they're ok. They'll work when you need em to. A pain to dissasemble at first though. For $125 it's definatly worth the money. A good deal on it in my opinion. I bought my used 12 guage mossberg 500a for $185, for comparison. Only pistol grip shotgun I own.

[Rail Gun]

Bad dad brad, I forgot to comment on defensive rounds for your shotgun in my abov post. LOL.

#3 shot is fine for killing a man with a chest shot at close range. I now keep my shotguns for defence loaded with 000 buck, it will penetrate better and hopefully make a nice huge exit wound. Last december I had the misfortune of having to shoot a burglar. I had my mossberg 500a pistol grip shotgun loaded with #7½ birdshot. I swung the gun up and fired into the kids leg. He didn't die but almost bled to death. I had meant to shoot him in the belly but shot to low (it happened really fast) he was wearing a t-shirt 5 sizes too big and it looked like a belly shot. He was actually shot in the left hip where you put your hand in your pocket. I have no doubt that if he would have been hit in the upper chest he would be dead. I also have no doubt that if he had taken 000 buck or a slug in his hip where he did he would have died from blood loss. Aim for the upper chest and your #3 shot will do the job ok.

I use #3 Buck in my 20 ga for home defense. In 20 ga, the only thing larger than #3 Buck that I can find are slugs.

[tyro]

"I even put a mercury recoil reducer in one for a young lady on top of everything else and the recoil was practically non-existent." - George Stringer

George also "put a mercury recoil reducer . . . on top of everything else" in my 20 gauge 870, and recoil is now "practicallly non-existent".

George's smithing turned a tough kicker into a fun-to-shoot non-kicker, complete with 6-shot magazine, sidesaddle, MMC ghost ring sights, and lengthened forcing cone. This is one sweet all-purpose gun.

Thanks to Dave McC for recommending added weight for recoil reduction, and the referral to Stringer Gunsmithing.

[Dave McC]

You're very welcome, Tyro, it was a pleasure....

One small note,tho it's been covered to death....

PG only shotguns work best on TV and in the movies. In the real world, they're hard to control and hard to get good hits with. The anecdote above illustrates that well.

After much training and more practice than most LEOs get, in a crisis I'm using my shotguns from the shoulder, and using the sights at anything further than contact distances.

Rail Gun, thanks for sharing that, and it's glad I am you came out OK...

[Quartus]

Solid info like this is why I came here. Thanks to all. Railgun, sorry you had to put this stuff into practice - glad you were able to.

I'm going to post asking for more info on mercury recoil reducers. Watch for it.

[bad_dad_brad]

Thanks as usual for the valuable comments.

[Al Thompson]

Belonged to a dog drive club for several years. This club hunted deer in the swamp and thickets with shotguns being the firearm of choice.

I have cleaned several deer that were taken with 20 ga. shotguns. The # 3 and # 2 buck worked well. FYI, there are # 2 buckshot loads available in 3 inch shells. I suspect the difference is academic in real life.

Giz

[Dave McC]

The difference may not be so academic, Giz. You know how different loads may have some that pattern well and some that do not. I'd also like the little bit of extra penetration those slightly bigger #2s deliver.

ANY buck shooter needs to do some patterning before taking the field. If I put the Skeet tube in my slug shooter, Winchester standard 00 patterns a little low at 25 yards but nicely into less than 20", perfect for short range swamp hunting.

I may have a chance to hunt Sika deer, an exotic, on Md's Eastern Shore this coming gun season in the only county where buck is legal. If I do, I may use a slug first up, and back it with 00 for insurance. I've done very little hunting with buck, and I may choose to go with buck for this completely just to see for myself how effective it is,or isn't.

[Chop Farwood]

For what it's worth, check out...

http://firearmstactical.com/briefs10.htm

As with most things, YMMV, but it's food for thought.

I wouldn't feel undergunned with a 20 ga. As a matter of fact, I think shot for shot a 20 is far preferable to any rifle or handgun.

[tyro]

Sheldomon,

Thanks for the link, in response to which I have ordered Remington's Premier Buckshot 2 ¾-inch number 3B for my 20 gauge.

This load contains 20 pieces of nickel-plated, hardened lead shot that is buffered to reduce pellet deformation from post ignition acceleration and terminal impact. The Remington buckshot load will probably produce the tightest shot patterns in 20 gauge shotguns.

And Federal's F127 for my 12 gauge.

Number 1 buck is the smallest diameter shot that reliably and consistently penetrates more than 12 inches of standard ordnance gelatin when fired at typical shotgun engagement distances.

For home defense applications a standard velocity 2 ¾-inch #1 buck shotshell (16 pellet payload) from Federal, Remington or Winchester is your best choice. We feel the Federal Classic 2 ¾-inch #1 buck load (F127) is slightly better than the same loads offered by Remington and Winchester. The Federal shotshell uses both a plastic shot cup and granulated plastic shot buffer to minimize post-ignition pellet deformation, whereas the Remington and Winchester loads do not.

[Rail Gun]

About that above article I have a couple comments on it.

Shotgun Pellet Wound Ballistics
A shotgun pellet produces wound trauma by crushing the tissue it comes into direct contact with as it penetrates. In order to produce wound trauma that will be effective in quickly stopping an attacker, the pellets must penetrate his body deeply enough to be able to pass through a vital cardiovascular structure and cause rapid fatal hemorrhage to quickly deprive the brain of oxygenated blood needed to maintain consciousness.

Ok, we need to make the burglar lose blood fast to bring about quick unconciousness. I agree.

Number 1 buck is the smallest diameter shot that reliably and consistently penetrates more than 12 inches of standard ordnance gelatin when fired at typical shotgun engagement distances. A standard 2 ¾-inch 12 gauge shotshell contains 16 pellets of #1 buck. The total combined cross sectional area of the 16 pellets is 1.13 square inches. Compared to the total combined cross sectional area of the nine pellets in a standard #00 (double-aught) buck shotshell (0.77 square inches), the # 1 buck shotshell has the capacity to produce over 30 percent more potentially effective wound trauma.

In all shotshell loads, number 1 buckshot produces more potentially effective wound trauma than either #00 or #000 buck. In addition, number 1 buck is less likely to over-penetrate and exit an attacker's body.

Ok, now #1 buckshot destroy more tissue, good. But then it goes on to say that is is not likely to overpenetrate and exit the attacker's body, not good. I know that exit wounds are a good thing to make because they bleed a whole lot more than entry wounds. With an exit wound the attacker will lose blood more than twice as fast as if there was only an entrance wound. Losing blood faster makes the intruder lose conciousness faster and also more likely to bleed to death.

I think that any birdshot or buckshot round from a 12 or 20 guage shotgun is plenty to stop an attacker. But to do it more effectively stop them they need to lose blood as fast as possible, and an exit wound will do that. I've been told that a shotgun is about the same pressure as a hand grenade. People don't realize how powerful a shotgun is sometimes. Any birdshot, buckshot, or slug load can stop an attacker. But using the largest load possible is more likely to make an exit wound and stop them faster.