Home defense shotguns?

[JustinS]

Any one know much about home defense and shotguns?


Good idea or bad idea? its just myself in my apartment, but I do have neighbors and all that so I do have to worry about going through walls.

 

[Dirtbike]

#7 1/2 shot would serve the purpose well in that scenario, hopefully you will never have the need to utilize it but always a great thing to be prepared for the "what ifs"

 

[JD]

Anything that adequately penetrates bad guys will also penetrate several interior walls. Shotgun is not a great choice for apartments imho... Penetrates drywall as excessively a handgun but sacrifices maneuverability.


The Box O' Truth #14 - Rifles, Shotguns, and Walls - The Box O' Truth

 

[RangerTim]

I would agree with JD. Shotgun penetrates much more than people expect. The best option in my opinion is a quality defensive pistol round. I have shotguns, AR's, etc. and my home defense gun is a pistol. It is more maneuverable than a long gun and using a good, fragmenting defensive round will reduce the negative effects of penetration (to a point). The key factor is shot placement. You are legally responsible for every round you fire. Good center mass hits with a good defensive round is the best answer to avoiding over penetration of drywall in my opinion. Something that dumps enough of its kinetic energy efficiently into the target will do a lot less to drywall and beyond....if it even exits the threat.

 

[~ZENAS~]

What are your thoughts on the tests that show a .223 round will inevitably tumble upon hitting drywall and have very low energy on the other side of the wall? While I agree that fragmentation is most important when considering a round that won't penetrate walls, I have seen some pretty compelling tests that show the AR might actually be safer on the other side of the wall than most pistol rounds.

 

[RangerTim]

[QUOTE="T.L.Jones]What are your thoughts on the tests that show a .223 round will inevitably tumble upon hitting drywall and have very low energy on the other side of the wall? While I agree that fragmentation is most important when considering a round that won't penetrate walls, I have seen some pretty compelling tests that show the AR might actually be safer on the other side of the wall than most pistol rounds.

[/QUOTE]
I've seen several of those test as well. I would generally agree if you're using a purpose designed round like Hornady TAP or Speer Gold Dot. Not something I'd want to do with FMJ or 62gr Green Tip. I'll opt for the pistol due to increased maneuverability and its advantage at extreme close quarters (retention shooting). That light 5.56 bullet doesn't handle deflection well which does help indoors.

 

[JD]

Note the link I posted above which also covered 5.56 penetrating walls. There's no such thing as a free lunch - if you want a round to penetrate 14" of bad guy, a miss is surely going to pass through several interior walls. (Even if it is sideways as it exits the 4th interior wall...)


My vote is still to use a pistol for home defense in an apartment type environment. If a long gun is strongly preferred, my vote would be to select a pistol caliber carbine. (I'm currently interested in Thureon Defense - their carbine accepts my XDm magazines) I have zero desire to fire a 5.56 in an apartment hallway in the middle of the night with no hearing protection on...

 

[~ZENAS~]

Every test I've seen the 5.56 had lost so much energy, it may penetrate a layer of drywall, but not seriously hurt a human. I'm not doubting your link, just that I've seen enough others that contradict it. The fact is, interior walls and drywall offer basically no resistance to both pistol and rifle cartridges. So what you want is a bullet that is lightweight so it loses velocity and energy fast; is long so it tumbles in air after hitting barriers; and high velocities so it is more likely to fragment. You get this from a small caliber rifle round, but not from pistol rounds. Both will be dangerous on the other side of the wall, but 5.56 rounds have a better chance of not being deadly than pistol rounds. Obviously there is no blanket answer here, but let's not deceive ourselves into thinking pistol ammo is somehow less likely to penetrate walls than lightweight rifle ammo.


Is .223 the Best Home Defense Caliber? - Guns & Ammo


Real World .223 Testing


9mm vs. .223: GOT ENOUGH GUN?


Why “High Powered” 5.56 NATO/.223 AR-15 Ammo is Safer For Home Defense (FBI overpenetration testing) | Prepared Gun Owners


And your point on hearing protection is the reason I have considered 5.56 for indoor use. I have a suppressed AR, but I don't own any suppressed pistols. The thought of shooting a handgun indoors is also something I have no desire to do. So a suppressed 5.56 is tempting.

 

[JD]

Is .223 the Best Home Defense Caliber? - Guns & Ammo[/URL]


Real World .223 Testing


9mm vs. .223: GOT ENOUGH GUN?


Why “High Powered” 5.56 NATO/.223 AR-15 Ammo is Safer For Home Defense (FBI overpenetration testing) | Prepared Gun Owners


And your point on hearing protection is the reason I have considered 5.56 for indoor use. I have a suppressed AR, but I don't own any suppressed pistols. The thought of shooting a handgun indoors is also something I have no desire to do. So a suppressed 5.56 is tempting.

That's a great test - thanks for the link! I noted that the .223 passed through 2 interior walls + a fifth sheet of drywall and in 2/3 cases was stopped by a layer of wood and insulation. To me this jives with the test I saw from Box of Truth in which the .223 passed through 4 interior walls.


What you choose to use for home defense is all personal preference, but I do think we should all keep in mind that there is no magic bullet that has enough mass and velocity to stop a bad guy but will prevent a miss that passes through your wall (or two, or three...) and into your neighbors apartment from being deadly, regardless of platform or caliber.

 

[~ZENAS~]

Amen! That's the key. Bullets penetrate. That's what they do. If they didn't, we wouldn't use them to defend ourselves. We just need to remember we are responsible for every piece of lead that comes out of our guns. There's no perfect solution.

 

[RangerTim]

I'm with T.L. that my go to rifle is a suppressed 5.56, but I would much rather have a suppressed 9mm carbine if I had to run a long gun inside for home defense. In the end, it's all about shot placement.