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best shot# for home defense?

hs thompsonhs thompson Member Posts: 25 ✭✭
edited March 2002 in Ask the Experts
I have a Mossberg Maverick 88 and want to know which shot# is best. I live in a townhouse so slugs would be out of the question. Do slugs harm the shotguns barrel? Not to open a can of worms here but if i were to get another shotgun under $400 which should i get? Walmart seems to have good prices but slim selection.
If it bleeds we can kill it.
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Comments

  • raskilraskil Member Posts: 250 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Most people go with 00 buck or 0 buck, it would depend on the situation...if you have neighbors (wall to wall) on both sides, you may want to go with #1 or #2 buck or as low as BB. Try some of each at the range with a target at simular distances as the interior of you home. Check the density of an 18 to 20 inch circle (average width of a body). As for a second shotgun, look around for a used 870 Rem. Wingmaster and cut the barrel down to 19". Wingmasters are extremely reliable and smooth. If a small framed person needs to use it, consider a 20ga.
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  • vol fanvol fan Member Posts: 301 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    You might also think about #6 or #7.5 shot for the interior of a townhouse. The theory is that at extremely close range the mass of shot functions like a slug, but individual pellets won't retain enough energy to penetrate much sheetrock.Also, I've got a 18" 870 Express that's in the sale mode.
    Guitars, Cadillacs, and Hillbilly Music...The only things that keep me hangin on...
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  • will270winwill270win Member Posts: 4,845
    edited November -1
    The BB sounds like a winner in that townhouse situation with neighbors and all.
    If you can't fix it with a hammer, take it to a mechanic. will270win@aol.com ~Secret Select Society Of Suave Stylish Smoking Jackets~
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  • v35v35 Member Posts: 12,710 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Streetstoppers says #1 buck
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  • BoltactionManBoltactionMan Member Posts: 2,048 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I would tell you no more than #4 birdshot. At room ranges it will turn all it hits into hamburger. At those ranges the shot pattern is very small and concentrated. The shot will not exit a body and go through to the next room and in fact a double dose of drywall should slow it down.Remember, there are neighbors across the wall in a townhouse, but your own family is across walls within your home; no matter what type home that is.Also, check at the Wally World sporting goods counter and ask them to drag the catalog out. They can and will order you about anything there is.KC
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  • Tailgunner1954Tailgunner1954 Member Posts: 7,734 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Even a standard skeet load (1 1/8oz #9 @1200fps) will do a lot in a home defence situation. At 21 feet your looking at about a 6" pattern even with a skeet choke.Even if the guy is wearing Kevlar he is going down. IMHO
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  • hs thompsonhs thompson Member Posts: 25 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks for all the prompt replies. Think i might hit a few pawn shops to find a good deal. What also concerns me is should the shotgun be kept loaded? I have no kids and no gun safe. The shotgun is cleverly hidden but the saying goes if you can find it so can they. The gun is hidden behind a flag on the wall and the shells are kept in a cheezits box.
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  • imadorkimadork Member Posts: 147 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I use a quick release trigger lock and I keep the chamber empty; at most you're looking at 3-4 seconds to take off the lock and pump the action. WIth the lock on, the action can be cycled but it can't be fired. The trigger lock isn't foolproof but most people don't know how to open it in quick release mode, and they most likely won't be able to find it where I hide it anyway. In terms of shot #, I use rubber buckshot, which is supposed to be non-lethal past about 10 meters.
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  • jdb123jdb123 Member Posts: 471 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    shoot em with rock salt then beat him to death with the butt-end of the shotgun{no really} before you finish em'off call 911 and tell them you just killed an intruder while hes alive and can hear you say it just so he will know he picked the wrong MF to mess with.
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  • jdb123jdb123 Member Posts: 471 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    shoot em with rock salt then beat him to death with the butt-end of the shotgun{no really} before you finish em'off call 911 and tell them you just killed an intruder while hes alive and can hear you say it just so he will know he picked the wrong MF to mess with.
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  • hs thompsonhs thompson Member Posts: 25 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I like the way you think jbd123!
    If it bleeds we can kill it.
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  • ADfreeADfree Member Posts: 188 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I keep mine loaded and within 15 feet of me whenever I am in my house. It lays next to me in bed. I use #4 for my first shell, then 00 buck for the other 5. I reccomend you keep it loaded, but w/o a shell chambered. If you need your gun you won't have time to mess loading it; you need to engage the threat RIGHT NOW!
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  • changdaochangdao Member Posts: 43 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    ADfree said it all. Fours are 22 cal., it`ll put `em in the hurt locker! Keep it loaded and keep it close. At two in the morning, being woke out of a sound sleep by somebody who`s already awake and alert, two or three seconds will be how long it takes you to leak out while the bad guy does what he came there for! If it isn`t loaded, you might as well use it for a bat.
    No good deed goes unpunished
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  • blujns30blujns30 Member Posts: 20 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Sir... these are all Great Ideas.... (espscially...jbd's) anyway you commented on Pawn shops. I know some of these folks that advertise in gunbroker are Pawn shop owners. However, Be exteemly careful shopping at Pawn shops..(1)Do your home work first. (2)realize that the prices in a pawn shop are generally very close to what a BRAND NEW item (of anything)would cost.
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