New from Tucson

[Guest Fusion2]

Well hello everyone, I am Dan from Tucson and I come here to read and learn. I recently had my neck fused in the front and back. The back one did not go well and I am disabled. I have moved to what you could call a "bad area". I think it would be wise if I had more in the home for defense than my Mag Light. I live alone and the budget is real tight. I am thinking of a shotgun as there are just too many residents that could be hit unintentionally (if I picked up something penetrating). I want to drop down from the 12ga to a 20ga,I ask is this a bad idea and any makes and models that could be recommended? I was a very active shooter in the 80's and 90's (surprisingly .357 was my favorite (Ruger GP100). Just not a lot of money to get back into sport shooting but I would feel much better with a weapon inside my residence. Thanks to all and I will pretty much be a reader than a poster. I was an auto mechanic for 35 years (BMW and GM) but I have recently trained in computer networking (not that my employment chances are good). I can help quite a bit with either of these two subjects. Thanks to all.

[TrickyNicky]

Welcome aboard Fusion2! This is a great group with some very knowledgable folks.
To jump right in on your question, I would personally look at a 20gauge if your surgery left you unable to handle the recoil of a larger shell. In fact if it has left you pretty seriously disabled and you run the risk of further damaging yourself while practicing with your new weapon then you may want to look into the 410 as well. Plenty of people here are recoil junkies or are otherwise keen on bigger loads and while I won't argue that they are more effective, the smaller ones can also be very effective as well. Remember you do need to practice every once in awhile and a personal defense weapon doesn't make any sense if it comes with a risk of doing yourself harm just to keep your skills up.

Heck my moms weapon of choice is a .22 . She's not the most accurate person out there (though she does ok in her own right) and it's not a big ole man stopper of a round but she's able to get practice in and IMO very few criminals are likely to stick around to find out if she's Annie Oakley with a hand cannon or a sweet old gal with a plinker.

[Guest Fusion2]

Hello Tricky, I will head off this weekend to my favorite "Mom and Pop" gun store here in Tucson. Just like places to shoot we have lost many of these small shops. I did call and he had various used 12ga weapons starting at 150.00. It is the recoil that steers me away from the 12ga(pulling the front grip out of my hand, and the stress on my neck). I had read in an article sometime back that the 20ga was gaining a bit of favor with disabled people. I was even considering a 2 3/4 12ga but even that is a bit big. Our local force does make the rounds a couple of times per night but I do subscribe to the idea that they are minutes away when seconds count. What we see here in Tucson is the home invasion type encounter and right now it is just a deadbolt lock working in my favor.
Best Regards

[DWARREN123]

Howdy Dan and Welcome to TGO   :wave:

 

A 20ga should work well. A good used pump or semi would be a great HD firearm.