Once you have made the decision of purchasing a shotgun for home defense, your first consideration, as it is with any firearm for home defense, is where it will be placed in the home, especially when children are present. Securing the weapon from young hands and maintaining accessibility can be a real challenge, but is of utmost necessity.
Next you will want to consider the kind of shotgun you will purchase, as there are distinct differences between shotguns for hunting and home defense. You can certainly use a hunting shotgun for defense, it simply lacks the advantages of a tactical shotgun.
Experts recommend using shot designed for use within the home, such as tungsten shot containing a mixture of #2 and #4 pellets designed for close quarters. One example of this shot is Remington HD™ Ultimate Home Defense. Keep in mind, shots fired at close range will have minimal spread, so acquire the target before firing.
With this in mind, you must now decide as to whether you will buy a manufactured tactical shotgun, or build one yourself.
Home defense shotguns are shorter than hunting shotguns, an 18” barrel is ideal for home defense when a longer barrel could be a detriment to the defense of your loved ones. The longer barrel makes hunting shotguns difficult to maneuver in halls, around corners, in doorways and other areas with limited space.
Some of today’s shotgun models have stocks that are adjustable. Another tactical accessory is slings. These are useful for carrying a weapon outdoors, such as if you are using a tactical shotgun for defense when camping. In the home, a sling can hang up on cabinet and door knobs or even be grabbed by a perpetrator. Slings are useful if you plan to switch to a secondary weapon, otherwise you must take the time to lay the shotgun down before switching to your secondary weapon. It’s a personal choice, but generally in very small cramped homes most experts agree it is best to simply forego a sling.
If you have opted to convert a tactical shotgun yourself, part of the upgrades will be to change the stock and forend. Choose a stock that fits comfortably in your hands. Don’t assume all stocks are the same. In today’s market of versatility you can certainly use an adjustable stock for the best fit for your hands. This will increase comfort, help to prevent fatigue and overall result in greater accuracy. Stocks are available in sizes including youth and short. These are great for smaller hands. An adjustable stock can be modified to accommodate multiple shooters, allowing the length of pull to be easily adjusted.
In the old days shotguns kicked like a mule. A hunter adjusted and continued to bring in the small game. Many of today’s shotguns provide options to reduce recoil. The simplest method is a stock designed to reduce recoil. Others designs include a system that provide absorption of recoil in one or two stages. These systems can eliminate up to 70% of recoil, reducing barrel rise and improving accuracy.
Before you discount polymer stocks and forends, consider that today’s materials are enduring and much lighter in weight. Lights are great as well, and are available integrated within forends allowing operation of the light without having to remove your hand from the forends. Lights can pinpoint an intruder, and even temporarily blind them. If you plan to use your tactical shotgun in camp, a light is especially useful when a predator enters your campsite and is threatening campers.
Another popular and useful tactical shotgun accessory is pistol grips, folding stocks or a short LOP stock. Choose one that fits your hand well. The wrong size can make handling of the weapon more awkward, and can cost you accuracy.
Magazine extensions provide more firepower, just keep in mind that extensions longer than the barrel are going to reduce maneuverability, and make pointless having an 18” barrel.
Tactical shotguns are an effective method of increasing the probability of a hit. Many people don’t realize that the spread of shot increases with distance but is minimal in close quarters. The barrel choke plays a large role in the amount of shot spread and an effective hit can be at a range of as much as 75 yards. You will still need to aim your weapon in close quarters, don’t count on the spread unless you are shooting at a distant perpetrator drawing his bead on you within your effective firing range.
Tactical shotgun accessories are increasingly being used on shotguns for civilian use as a home defense weapon. GrabAGun has numerous tactical shotgun accessories such as rails, lights, slings, pistol grips, conversion kits, lasers and much more.
If you prefer to purchase a factory tactical shotgun GrabAGun carries several models. If you don’t see the one you prefer, give us a call, we will be happy to order any available shotguns for sale on the market and provide the GrabAGun value pricing.
