How do you stage your HD shotgun?

[fastbs]

b

if the perp here's the slid rack BG is lucky the first shot didn't kill em. hmm now that i think about it maybe they aren't that lucky. Someone breaks into my families place i switch to kill or be killed.

signs it's not someone i know door kick in, breaking window. If i don't hear signs like that i am causious. I have a good friend that had some bad family troubles who also has a key to my house and is welcome to use it any time. he does send me text before coming over now.

[Moped]

Truth. I've decided to start singing Streets of Laredo every time I start up your driveway......Sue scares me.

Sue was nice! The cats scared me!

[Guest c.a.s.]

If they hear the safety clicking off then they got their warning.

This.

[kwe45919]

Shotty loaded.....check

Glock(s) loaded.....check

Home defense plan.....check

Awaiting unwanted tresspassing intruders/robbers................or zombies.

[Smith]

Depends on your situation. My house is small 1000 sq. feet. and not very open so a long gun of any sorts is not the best. If someone was coming in unannounced I wouldn't even have the time or clearance to use the shotty. I keep mine un-chambered safety on, simply for the fact of the size of my house and that I have 4 kids all under 7 yrs old. Handgun is the way to go inside. Now if I have any time, prior indication, or outside disturbance I'm getting the shotty ready, but if I am responding inside it's the handgun.

[dats82]

B. I struggle with this a little bit, but I lean to the idea that world could use at least one less criminal. Therefore, running them off with the click clack would be a little counter productive.

[dariks]

I keep mine by the bed with the chamber empty and the safety off. If there's any disturbance inside the house and I need to get armed quickly the first thing I'm reaching for is my .357 revolver and my Surefire flashlight.

The shotgun is used as a backup to the revolver, to check something outside or to clear the house.

[seez52]

Ok, here's a different twist. Chamber empty, safety off, 8 rnd mag loaded with 5 rnds #8, 5 more 00 buck on stock ammo carrier.

We're in the country, so sometimes I need a shotgun for varmints, 00 buck not real good for wood peckers on house at 5am. On other hand, if a pecker is in house at 5am I'll slip in some 00 buck in front of the #8s and teach him a lesson.

Maybe I should reverse it, 00 buck in mag, and #8s in ammo carrier. Pecker on house not as critical as pecker in house?

[Guest jackdm3]

Please, David. Don't vacate me. This is on-topic concerning the last post.

Edited January 17, 2010 by jackdm3

[Will Carry]

Chamber load with #1 buck shot. .357 mag loaded by the bed. Home Defense Plan: Make my bedroom a fortress. Let the bad guy come to me. Let the LEOs clear my house when they get here.

The minimum number of TRAINED people required to "clear" a house is two (according to US ARMY doctrine). One guy cannot clear a house safely. He will just get killed by the intruders. Two guys clearing a house is still very dangerous. In a situation like having an intruder in your house, the man who is moving is going to get shoot by the man who is in a defensive "ambush" position. Unless you have loved ones to protect, don't leave the fortress.

[Guest bkelm18]

Chamber load with #1 buck shot. .357 mag loaded by the bed. Home Defense Plan: Make my bedroom a fortress. Let the bad guy come to me. Let the LEOs clear my house when they get here.

The minimum number of TRAINED people required to "clear" a house is two (according to US ARMY doctrine). One guy cannot clear a house safely. He will just get killed by the intruders. Two guys clearing a house is still very dangerous. In a situation like having an intruder in your house, the man who is moving is going to get shoot by the man who is in a defensive "ambush" position. Unless you have loved ones to protect, don't leave the fortress.

You KNOW your house, the intruders and police do not. Clearing your house will not "get you killed by intruders" if you know what you're doing and have practiced it.

[MCSCOTT]

You KNOW your house, the intruders and police do not. Clearing your house will not "get you killed by intruders" if you know what you're doing and have practiced it.

I agree, and I still stick to my previous statement. If you let the LEO's clear the house, they may or may not catch the BG. If they do catch the BG he will be taken to jail and most likely be out the next night. Now, he knows the layout of your house better as well as what you have and where it's at because he's had plenty of time to look around without being interrupted (unless he comes to where you're hiding). He can now come back at a later time and steal everything you have, sell it to pay the lawyers from where he was caught last time, and get off pretty much free and clear. You on the other hand have lost all your stuff, and even though you have insurance to cover it there are still things that just can't be replaced. Then you have to try to sleep at night wondering if and when he's coming back.

Nope, that kinda thing isn't for me. I'm not one that wants to ever have to take another person's life, in fact I really hope it never comes to that. However, after having the house where I use to live broken into, I believe it would be easier for me to sleep with it on my conscience, than it would be to try to lay there wondering if someone was going to break in my house again. Especially knowing I did it because the BG forced me into having to defend myself, my family, and my property.

[I_Like_Pie]

B

[raydog1]

A. I don't trust safeties and sometimes, guests are in the house.

I don't care about the click-clack though. The blaring entry alarm should drown that out anyway and hopefully convince BG to make a hasty retreat. If alarm is off, then handgun is on the hip or within reach.

[Guest moreland281]

I go with"a"

[Guest seawolfxix]

I don't see the point in keeping one in the chamber while it isn't being used. It just seems safer to keep the breach clear until it needs to be used. If I have time to run for my shotgun, I'm going to have time to pump it.

But I'm not going to wait for the intruder to be within an earshot and try to pump it as a deterrent.

[Guest Paulie771]

I go with C. I have a Daniel Defense M4 w/ Aimpoint T-1 always on, mag in well, 75 gr. Hornady TAP in chamber, safety on, another mag in the Redi-mod, TLR-1 ready to go for light. It works very well and I'm much more trained with a rifle than a shotgun.

[JAB]

I keep a handgun - generally one of my .38 revolvers - and a four D cell maglight within easy reach by the bedside. If the intruder is already close by the time I am aware if his presence, this will be my HD protection setup. Also, at home whenever I am not in bed I have a handgun - and usually a small flashlight - on my person.

My HD shotgun is somewhat hidden (wouldn't want an intruder getting ahold of it and using it against me or my wife) but I can quickly access it from the bedroom. It would only come out if there is a problem outside (as in someone still in the process of trying to break in or an unwelcomed critter in the yard) or if I have advanced warning. Therefore, there should be no need to 'grab and fire' the shotgun. I don't want to have to fool with a manual safety (I believe that operating the pump would be a simpler motor function under stress than operating a small, crossbolt trigger safety such as my Maverick Security 88 has.) Also, and I could be wrong, my understanding is that the safety on a shotgun only 'locks' the trigger - meaning it may not be all that drop/fall safe. For these reasons, I keep mine chamber empty, trigger pulled and safety off. If I need to operate the pump, I won't be waiting until I the intruder is close enough to pinpoint my position. If the intruder is already that close, I'll reach for the .38. In that case, if/when I go for the shotgun there will already be no doubt as to where I am - the muzzle flash from the wheelgun will see to that.

I don't believe the 'clack-clack' to be that big a deterrent, at least in my situation. I live just outside a smaller town in East Tennessee. I think it would be unusual for a household not to have at least one shotgun, or some other firearm, and any intruder that breaks in while we are at home would have to A) already know that is a risk or be so addled of brain from meth, etc. that he (or she - no need to be sexist) might not recognize the sound for what it is, anyway.

That said, I also think too much is put into the idea that operating the pump will 'give away your position'. I mean, these are two-bit, low-life home invaders we are talking about here - they aren't exactly geniuses nor are they Green Berets. I don't have anything in my home valuable enough to be worth it to any kind of 'professional' burglary team, don't have enough money to make it worth a professional kidnapping job and, as far as I know, haven't p'ed off any covert ops teams to the point that a CIA assassination squad or a team of Navy SEALS would be coming after me. Therefore, I doubt that quick noise would be enough to allow Bubba Joe Lowlife to pinpoint my location in another room. In fact, if I operate the slide slowly and carefully enough (remember that only going for the shotgun if I had advanced warning thing?) Bubba Joe probably won't even hear it.

[Guest jackdm3]

I don't have anything in my home valuable enough to be worth it to any kind of 'professional' burglary team, don't have enough money to make it worth a professional kidnapping job and, as far as I know, haven't p'ed off any covert ops teams to the point that a CIA assassination squad or a team of Navy SEALS would be coming after me. Therefore, I doubt that quick noise would be enough to allow Bubba Joe Lowlife to pinpoint my location in another room. In fact, if I operate the slide slowly and carefully enough (remember that only going for the shotgun if I had advanced warning thing?) Bubba Joe probably won't even hear it.

But you post on this site, and that's probable cause for all departments.

Edited January 27, 2010 by jackdm3

[Chief07]

I'm always amused at the way people want to "rack" their shotgun in a defensive situation but they wouldn't do the same with their pistol. My way of thinking is that when adrenoline is high, you want to eliminate as many variables as possible (the ones that can ultimately get you killed).

So my unequivocal answer is B. Just point and shoot.

Back in 81 someone broke into our house via the kitchen window. The dogs woke us up. (They were not attack dogs by any means but they did thier job of waking us up). I chambered a round as I came down the stairs. The intruder went out the back door after hearing the sound of the round being chambered.

He saved himself by 1-2 seconds. I always keep the tube full with the safety off.

It worked for me.

[Guest manofsteel]

I go with B zombies don't knock!!!!!

[Guest clownsdd]

Locked and loaded....When I am on the road, my better half (very good shot) knows to point and shoot the 870 by her side and ask questions later.

[enfield]

It's not only locked and loaded, it also slam fires 8 rounds of buck -- Ithaca DSPS.

[Guest peacexxl]

Man! Wish I knew hot to create an actual poll when I started the thread. Lot of interesting opinions here.

[Guest PatriotCSA]

This is a great post. I had never thought of a lot of this before. Especially the room clearing issue. It was always in my mind that I would sweep the house and make sure the BG(s) were gone/eliminated. But the fortress idea of the bedroom makes very good sense, especially if there are multiple intruders. As far as the click-clack theory goes, I don't care to run a guy off. May sound sadistic of me, but if he got away, it not only would allow a criminal another shot at me or someone else in the future, but it also lets him know "this guy's got guns and I'll just wait till he's at work one day to steal them." In fact that just happened to some family members a few months ago.

The guy loses his right to live when he steps into my home. If he happens to hear me moving around over my three dogs barking and decides to leave before I can get to him, then ok. But if I get to him, he will be dealing with a very angry sumbitch. You don't put my wife in danger and get away with it if I can help it.

Again, very good post and very good questions and opinions being put forth here.