Shopping for home defense - Page 3

DHart · September 26, 2005, 09:36 PM

At present, I'm pretty comfortable concluding that the pumps and semis are equally suited to the home defense job. They each have advantages and disadvantages. Overall, it all pretty much equals out. I believe that with proper ammo and excellent maintenance, a semi-auto can be utterly reliable, easy to use and very effective. And the same thing can certainly be said about pumps... in fact they seem to be ok with less attention to maintenance than the semi-autos.

It is possible that a little more training and practice might be needed with the pump, as the user is called upon to quickly and properly cycle the gun for each shot, whereas with the semi auto, the shooter can focus more on the target and less on the gun itself. The novice might be better served with a semi-auto, provided he is conscientious about cleaning and maintenance. Of course with good training and practice, either gun type is quite well up to the job. As others have said, what's most important is the preparedness and skill of the user, not the tool itself. This is true for so many different disciplines.

Others have given what I think is the most sound advice: consider the pump and semi-auto offerings from Remington, Mossberg, Winchester, Benelli and buy the shotgun at your price point which "speaks" to you and feels good in your hands... then learn to use it right and shoot the snot out of it. And if you can afford it, buy two or three different ones and shoot them enough to really decide which one suits you best... then keep or sell the others.

LiveWire · September 26, 2005, 10:37 PM

Quote:

You all recommend 00 buckshot?

Mountain lions are not a protected species in Texas... yet. If I come across one the next time I'm hunting whitetail deer, I want to make sure that it gets the rough equivalent of twelve 9mm Corbons plugged in its hide all at once. Remington Express, 2-3/4, 0 buck for me, thank you.

As for home defense, BGs deserve no more, no less.

September 26, 2005, 09:36 PM	#51
DHart Senior Member Join Date: February 23, 2005 Posts: 591	At present, I'm pretty comfortable concluding that the pumps and semis are equally suited to the home defense job. They each have advantages and disadvantages. Overall, it all pretty much equals out. I believe that with proper ammo and excellent maintenance, a semi-auto can be utterly reliable, easy to use and very effective. And the same thing can certainly be said about pumps... in fact they seem to be ok with less attention to maintenance than the semi-autos. It is possible that a little more training and practice might be needed with the pump, as the user is called upon to quickly and properly cycle the gun for each shot, whereas with the semi auto, the shooter can focus more on the target and less on the gun itself. The novice might be better served with a semi-auto, provided he is conscientious about cleaning and maintenance. Of course with good training and practice, either gun type is quite well up to the job. As others have said, what's most important is the preparedness and skill of the user, not the tool itself. This is true for so many different disciplines. Others have given what I think is the most sound advice: consider the pump and semi-auto offerings from Remington, Mossberg, Winchester, Benelli and buy the shotgun at your price point which "speaks" to you and feels good in your hands... then learn to use it right and shoot the snot out of it. And if you can afford it, buy two or three different ones and shoot them enough to really decide which one suits you best... then keep or sell the others.