Home Defense Question.....

[mikegideon]

What about the fact that shotguns aren't "drop-safe?".

Can you elaborate? They don't have firing pin blocks like a handgun, but the safety locks the sear to the hammer, correct? They are designed to be carried with one in the chamber, and safety on. Shotguns get dropped in that condition. They just don't get dropped as much as handguns.

[G27]

Well, here's my thinking...

BG breaks in, I grab the shotgun and

1- if it's empty, I *have* to rack the slide, which is potentially time wasted and also unwanted noise

2- I *might* drop the weapon, but the chances of my doing so are rather slim.

I dunno, worrying about the possibility of dropping a firearm which then *might* go off rather than having it ready to defend you and yours seems, well, a bit overly cautious to me. But do what you will.

[mikegideon]

Well, here's my thinking...

BG breaks in, I grab the shotgun and

1- if it's empty, I *have* to rack the slide, which is potentially time wasted and also unwanted noise

2- I *might* drop the weapon, but the chances of my doing so are rather slim.

I dunno, worrying about the possibility of dropping a firearm which then *might* go off rather than having it ready to defend you and yours seems, well, a bit overly cautious to me. But do what you will.

If your gun doesn't have a warning label stamped in the barrel, you need to get rid of it. It fails to properly warn you of the danger of firearms, so it's very dangerous.

[G27]

If your gun doesn't have a warning label stamped in the barrel, you need to get rid of it. It fails to properly warn you of the danger of firearms, so it's very dangerous.

[Links2k]

I keep my shotgun with a round chambered. That way all I have to do is release the safety and fire.

Same here. This works best for the wife also. I less step to perform.

[Oh Shoot]

Can you elaborate? They don't have firing pin blocks like a handgun, but the safety locks the sear to the hammer, correct? They are designed to be carried with one in the chamber, and safety on. Shotguns get dropped in that condition. They just don't get dropped as much as handguns.

Yeah, but actual firing pin is not blocked.

I think it's basically the same way any floating firing pin without a block can discharge with enough drop force. But consensus seems to be that it would take way more than dropping from human height, and there are few, if any, actual verifiable cases of it happening.

Obviously, if this were much of a real world worry, the design would have been modified long ago due to such widespread use by police and military.

- OS

[CQB Elite]

Agency policy required us to carry the shotgun with no round in the chamber. I don't know the logic behind it, never asked. When we went to the range to qualify the command was to rack the slide, take off safety and fire. Well, after all these years that is the way I keep my shotgun in my house. In times of stress we revert back to our training and I don't want to find myself dumping a round out on the floor.

IMO, racking the slide is the least thing to worry about giving your position away. People do weird things in these situations (turning on all lights in the house, yelling at the wife to get back upstairs, slamming bedroom doors, calling out "who's there?", etc.) Besides, in the dark is the bad guy gonna know your exact position just by hearing a sound? Nope- its gonna take him a second to process the sound....

[Caster]

There's a lot of might's and maybe's here. My grandma always said might's live on a chickens aßß.

The only fair fight is the one you win. The element of surprise is dominating in SOOOO many ways. The BG is in YOUR FIGGIN' HOUSE, he doesn't deserve a warning. Dead men pose no threat, don't file law suits and tell no tales. I'm not a big fan of killing another human, but there is a line in the sand. As far as racking the slide for intimidation, IMO, the only thing intimidating needed in this scenario is already there. It'll be God on judgment day as he tells the crook "Come on over here, I wanna talk to you.":eek:

[mikegideon]

Yeah, but actual firing pin is not blocked.

I think it's basically the same way any floating firing pin without a block can discharge with enough drop force. But consensus seems to be that it would take way more than dropping from human height, and there are few, if any, actual verifiable cases of it happening.

Obviously, if this were much of a real world worry, the design would have been modified long ago due to such widespread use by police and military.

- OS

Last time I checked, my AR has a floating firing pin too. It would be difficult to drop that thing with as much force as the bolt returning to battery. The first thing I every heard of firing pin blocks involved the Model 59 Smith (my avatar). They had some discharges from drops in the LEO community, but they were dropping it on the hammer.

[Oh Shoot]

Last time I checked, my AR has a floating firing pin too. It would be difficult to drop that thing with as much force ...

Right. And I think the odds of being able to do it with a pump shottie are about the same.

- OS

[Guest rebeldrummer]

I am PRO the idea of keeping my shotty on GO...and here is why.

A) If the BG comes in my front door, the master br is close enough that they would DEF hear the sound of me racking one and know for sure where it came from. If that scares them right back out the door then great...it worked. But if they decide to turn and run down the hall AWAY from the sound, well then they are near my daughters room and the nursery. PROBLEM....BIG BIG PROBLEM!!!!

B)If by some chance the BG gets by the dog out back without spooking him, by the motion lights without tripping them (again dog alerted right away) in the one basement window or door I have and up the stairs to the "living quarters" quick enough....every second counts and the element of surprise is INVALUABLE. Especially when now your faced with the situation that what stands between you and your 4 yr old and new born is one? two? three BG or crack heads or all of the above!!!

No warning....No chances....No pity.....No escape!! sorry, that might be harsh, but me and mine are what matters here.

[Just2Honor]

Agree with the commentrs on loaded and ready to fire. I'll check to see where the wife is and then bam! NRA is right on--no warning sounds from me if you're in my house.

[CQB Elite]

I think we can all agree on the following:

1) chambered/ not chambered- pick one and stick with it

2) train, train, train- be prepared for the fight

3) as the great Charlie Sheen says, "winning". Win the fight, whatever it takes

[mikegideon]

Right. And I think the odds of being able to do it with a pump shottie are about the same.

- OS

Or less. Besides, I have Hogue furniture on mine. It's impossible to drop it

[Guest RevScottie]

You can't prepare for every scenario. I mean what if Chuck Norris breaks in your house? How do you defend against that? What if professional hit men set loose a pack of pit bulls in your house?

People would be a heck of a lot safer if they worried more about keeping people out of their home instead of trying to decide what weapon to kill them with once they are inside. Good locks, alarm/dog, and lighting play a far greater role in self defense than the weapon does. Your weapon is your last resort after all else fails.

[JAB]

I will continue to keep my HD shotgun in 'cruiser mode' because that is what I prefer. I won't plan on using the sound of the pump to scare anyone off. If I am in the bedroom and know that someone is in the house who shouldn't be and they haven't made it to the bedroom then nothing says I can't quietly operate the pump and be ready to go. If they are already in/just outside the bedroom by the time I realize they are there then by the time I bring the shotgun into the situation the six rounds I will have already fired from the Taurus 66 I keep next to the bed at night will already have 'given away my position'.

[JReedEsq]

I will continue to keep my HD shotgun in 'cruiser mode' because that is what I prefer. I won't plan on using the sound of the pump to scare anyone off. If I am in the bedroom and know that someone is in the house who shouldn't be and they haven't made it to the bedroom then nothing says I can't quietly operate the pump and be ready to go. If they are already in/just outside the bedroom by the time I realize they are there then by the time I bring the shotgun into the situation the six rounds I will have already fired from the Taurus 66 I keep next to the bed at night will already have 'given away my position'.

Sub a Glock for that Taurus and this is my feeling exactly. I might change my feeling if the shotty were my first line of defense but it's not. I also agree with the other poster who emphasized consistancy. It just so happens I've shot handguns with no safety a lot more often than my shotgun. I'm also in the habit of checking the chamber of any firearm any time I pick it up. Hence, safety off-empty chamber is more natural to me. This thread reminds me I really want to take a defensive shotgun class. So much stuff to do, so little time.