By Mike Lazarus

CTA Instructor

The shotgun has a lot to offer in the way of versatility and home defense. While it does not have the capacity of a rifle, or the portability of a handgun, the shotgun can be a very reliable weapon with devastating down range effects.

When selecting a shotgun, the first consideration is the type. Shotguns are generally available in single shot, double barreled, semi-automatic, and pump configuration. Each has it’s strong and weak points. For our purposes, I am a strong proponent of the pump action shotgun. They do not require the maintenance of the semi-automatic shotgun and enjoy a larger capacity then the single or double-barreled variety. With just a minimal amount of up keep, they will run using any ammunition without prejudice.

So which pump shotgun would I recommend. There are a great many choices but for ease of selection, I would suggest the Remington 870. This shotgun has it’s draw backs, for example I don’t like the location of the safety device. However, these are outweighed by the reliability, and more importantly, the overwhelmingly large amount of support available for this shotgun.

The Remington 870 will likely need no alterations from the factory depending on the model you select. However, should you decide you want a longer barrel, say for bird or water foul hunting, that is easily accomplished with this model. Rifle styled sights? No problem. Forearm with a light attached? Great idea and easily done with the Remington 870. Shorter stocks, longer stocks, stocks that hold spare ammunition? Easy to find for this model.

While there are several other fine shotguns, such as the Mossberg, which will provide excellent service in the capacity of home defense, if you ask most police officers what kind of shotgun their patrol cars are equipped with, chances are they will tell you Remington 870. And this is just for the reasons I mentioned above.

Next comes the issue of ammunition. First off, I would suggest getting a 12-gauge shotgun as opposed to a smaller size. The 12 gauge is the most popular, with the largest choice of ammunition readily available.

Because of the shotgun’s versatility, it will likely work nicely with anything from birdshot to slugs. Shotgun ammunition is usually made up of multiple pellets (with the exception of slugs, which is just a heavy, flying piece of lead, much like a very large rifle bullet). The larger pellets will penetrate better. For a general-purpose shotgun round, I would suggest 00 buckshot. This will contain between 8 or 9 .33 caliber pellets. You will still need to aim the shotgun, but the pattern will be larger than just a rifle or pistol round. The 00 buckshot will generally give good penetration at household ranges. If you are afraid of overpenetration for interior walls, look to birdshot in #4 size or there about. As for the brand, there are many decent rounds, I would suggest finding a manufacture whose ammunition is available and try it out. If the recoil proves to be too much, you can find low recoil rounds.

So, grab your shotgun, some ammunition, and join us at CTA. We will see you at the range!