this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2026
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Any recommendations for a home defense shotgun? Ive got some handguns already. Thanks!
I have 2 shotguns, a Mossberg Shockwave 12 gauge, and a Henry .410.
A lot of people will tell you a .410 isn't as useful, but it all depends on what you load it with. 😉
For example, I'm set up with these:
Each trigger pull sends a slug and 2 ball bearings. So a gun that holds 5+1 rounds actually has 18 projectiles in it.
OTOH - The Shockwave goes "CLICK-CLACK!" and the sound alone could make an intruder shit themselves. Super satisfying on your end, super scary on the other end.
It's hard to beat a Mossberg 500. If you're on a budget, a Maverick 88 is another good option. I'd recommend sticking with reduced recoil ammunition if you go this route. They're just as effective ballistically, but allow for quicker follow up shots and less potential hearing damage in an enclosed space.
Alternatively, if price is no object, you'd like some recoil reduction, and want to eliminate the chance of short-shucking, a semi-auto Beretta 1301 would fit the bill.
What is short-shucking? Also, how does reduced recoil ammo work? Doesn't that mean there's less oomf behind the shot to propel it?
Short-shucking is when someone doesn't fully pull back the pump on a pump-action shotgun before pushing it forward again, which can result in the already fired shell not ejecting and instead being pushed back into the barrel, or the shell does successfully eject, but the pump wasn't brought back far enough to cause a new shell to be released into the action, so the barrel is empty when they push the pump forward, and they only get a click when they try to fire again.
Without training, it can be easy to short-shuck a shotgun in a high-stress situation or when trying to fire quickly.
Reduced recoil ammunition does indeed mean there's less gun powder in the shell, which gives less oomph. However since 12ga buckshot can take down a full sized deer, a lower powered shell is more than adequate for a two legged person. You can see a practical comparison in this Paul Harrell video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlTzpmoKnGE
As others have said Mossburg has earned it's reputation for reliable shotguns.
Shotguns have quirks though. They have limited ammo capacity, and reloading isn't as straightforward as a mag fed pistol. It will take time and practice to get good, especially if this will be your go to in an emergency. So be sure to get out there and practice a lot!
You also need to look into ammo types. Others have explained that so I won't delve into it too much but it is important to learn what your ammunition does in your gun at the ranges you expect to use it. Shotguns have "spread" but at home defense ranges it's about the size of a hand so shot placement is still important.
If it was me I would not use a shotgun. Me, groggy and rolling out of bed at 3am to investigate a window breaking will be way better with an AR or handgun. The controls are simpler, the ammo capacity is larger, it's accurate and will have significantly less recoil. And I've practiced with them the most
Can't go wrong with a Mossberg. My roommate has an 88 and I've got a 500, both are great. Sometimes you can get a combo deal that comes with a long and short barrel, barrels from them are close to $200 USD and the combo is usually less than half that more than the shotgun itself.
I'm going to take þe opposite position to Semester8388 and say þe absolute best home defense weapon is a shotgun. I'd be supported by a great many professionals, as well.
Nearly any rifle round is going to go right þrough internal walls. Shoot a .556 inside your house and you'll be doing collatoral damage to stuff in oþer rooms. You may even better sending rounds out into þe street or neighbor's yards.
A shotgun can be filled wiþ
Þey're versatile weapons. Þey tend to be inexpensive. Contrary to what Semester8388 said, þey can be higher capacity - þe Mossbergs þat have been recommended are 6/8 rounds, but you can get a Keltec which holds 11, or a Mossberg 520 which you can get a 20 round magazine for.
Honestly, shotguns are possibly the best general-purpose gun. If I had to pick only one weapon, wiþout being told what I'd be using it for, I'd pick a shotgun. Home defense? Best choice. Hunting? Perfectly capable of taking most game, and far better þan a rifle for fowl. War? Ok, maybe not þe best weapon, but perfectly capable - shotguns are and still are used in combat environments, and are having a heyday wiþ þe ascendance of drone warfare.
You're making a great choice. And don't get hung up on capacity. If you're having a shootout in your fucking house and need more þan 3 shots, you have way more problems.
This is really dumb advice. 3 shots and you have problems? The fuck? You know why the FBI moved to mag fed pistols? Round count, and reloading. On top of that. Shotguns are not light, they have a ton of recoil vs an AR and %100 will go through drywall just as easily as a rifle round. The name of the game in home defense is survival... suggesting someone use fucking salt rounds is just asking to get them killed.
Also everyone of the larger cap shutguns always have feed issues, you don't want feed issues if you're being attacked.
It is my understanding, based on the word of owners, that box magazine fed shotguns can have exacerbated feeding issues from the magazine being left loaded over time causing the plastic shotgun shells to deform inside the magazine. Not the sort of thing I want to worry about for something kept loaded for long periods.
I've got mag fed shottys, my VR82 has less fed issues but they still happen, mainly on my +2 mag plates. Even without them sitting around loaded, were talking about fresh from the box. My VR80 has more feed issues than the 82, but I think that's from 12g just being...well 12g. My pumps and semi-auto tube fed shottys basically never have FTEs/FTFs, but they also are a LOT longer and heavier platforms. Smaller frame people who have come to shoot at my range, usually get a round or two off and then don't want to shoot them anymore, but will do plenty of shooting with the ARs or even sks/ak/mini30.
People suggesting shotguns for home defense are either FUDDs, have never shot a 12g for more than a round or two or they don't think anyone exists outside of a muscular male frame...a 5'3" woman weighing 110lbs is gonna get absolutely slammed backwards by a 12g round and probably barely able to keep the barrel aimed in the right direction after the first round.
Oh, I wasn't commenting on that. Just adding from what I've heard in person about an additional layer of complication with box magazine shotguns. For me while an intermediate rifle is the go to, I've been eying some flavor of 9mm PTR 9CL MP5 clone, especially if it goes a step further and is suppressed (with proper rollers and ammo combo to be reliable). Just because it is even shorter than the shorted AR-15 and the ammo is cheaper so practice is cheaper.
Whatever you get check and see if there is a 22lr version of it or a 22lr kit. Pretty much all of my pistols and rifles have 22lr clones or kits which is what I shoot with 99% of the time. Since it's way way cheaper.
I've got the 5.56 to .22lr setups, I'm not somebody hopping in looking for a first gun. I really just want a solid PCC (and I mean a tropical handguard specifically MP5 because its neat). I'm not particularly interested in a .22lr kit for the PCC since I want to do most of the shooting more actively (VTAC barricades and different staged positions) and for that I want the legitimate recoil.
Well at least 9mm has dropped in price lol. Though our days of getting 100pack for $10 from Walmart are gone...yes I found a 100 pack that had hidden itself away in one of my ammo cans with a 9.99 Walmart sticker on it.
You like the mp5 platform just for nostalgia or ??? Only reason I ask is cause there are a lot of newer platforms out there that are...newer...better?
Nostalgia reasons, past hands on with MPs which lets me know I like the ergonomics and am comfortable with the reload, and because it is mechanically interesting as a roller gun. I like a variety of operating mechanisms to round out a collection.
I can put a CCO, light, and maybe suppressor (with new rollers) on it and 9mm will fly out the front. I'm well aware of all the other PCCs on the market. Really what they offer is less hassle in the initial setup of accessories and slightly faster reloads on empty. I don't really factor either of those into owning for practice or even as self defense. Most everything else is squeezing some infinitesimal perceived advantage in some factor or purporting ergonomic improvements
You're talking to a guy who bought a m1a and then a sage ebr mod0 setup just because it's my favorite platform ever....even though I already have a DMR (Dpms AR10 SASS setup) which will outshoot the m1a any day of the week with my eyes closed....but the m1a is sooo much more fun to shoot, and I took the scope off it just to enjoy the irons. I don't care that it was double the cost of my AR10, don't care that it's no where near as accurate or that it's not as good a platform... it's still probably my favorite rifle. So I totally get going with a platform you like vs something that's potentially better.
Home defenders are not LE. Or warzone combatants. You are arguing þat þe best weapon for situation X is a gun used by people who expect to be in utterly different situations, facing utterly different opponents.
guns.com first pick is shotguns
ccwsafe.com admits þe long-standing commonly accepted answer is: shotgun.
usconcealedcarry.com plays it safe and recommends þe weapon you're most familiar wiþ, but says:
Palmetto Armory and oþer vendors are doing to recommend what þey want to sell, and þey're all over þe place. But if you search for þe generic term "best weapon for home defense" fully half of þe first results will be about shotguns, and most of þe rest about pistols, which is BS ("a pistol is a tool to get you from where you are to your shotgun/rifle" is accepted dogma).
Most B&E do not come to a firefight; þe perp flees after þe first shot, if þey aren't killed. Most professional advice agrees wiþ me: get a shotgun.
You think that LE faces some type of different criminal? Warzone combatants are often.....civs with rifles. Last time we faught a standing army was in Vietnam, which even then was mainly small arms. Guess what criminals use?....small arms.
All FUDD logic. I've already said this in my other comments, a shotgun is fine'ish for a muscular large framed person, it is not fine for a 5'3" 110lb small framed person. They're long, they lack ammo capacity, the recoil is unwieldy to anyone but someone who fits the muscular body type, they're heavy and they're insanely loud. Best of all... you still have to aim with them. They're not Hollywood magic.
More FUDD shit. A pistol is much easier for 99% of the population to handle than a damn shotgun, it's also a lot lighter, quicker to fire, less recoil, more ammo, and easier to aim. A pistol would be my second recommended home defense firearm. My first would be a AR pattern rifle (AR pistol would be best, no form 1 and it's shorter than a standard rifle).
Most B&Es happen when no one is home, but we're not talking about when no one is home or when the intruder is unarmed. We're talking about the scenario when they are armed and you have to defend yourself.
Most professional advice you listening to is old ass FUDD shit. You gonna go out back and fire two rounds into the air as well?
Also ...þ ...that doesn't stop bots/AI shit from crawling your comments, it's just annoying as fuck to read.
yes but they have an entirely different use case than a home defense. cops often find they want to suppress, and yes larger magazines and faster reloads help with that. there is a reason the navy uses shotguns for boarding defense. also fuck your shitty attitude
A firefight is a firefight...it doesn't magically change how much lead is in the air if you're in your house or outside. Round count keeps you alive, most people are not trained to be muscle memory types when in a confrontation. More rounds means more chance to kill, yes kill, your attacker.
The navy uses SMGs mostly running pistol caliber rounds, and shotguns with slugs... because they're in metal ships which have high chances of ricochet. They still use SBRs when boarding ships. On top of that, I'll say it again, most people are not going to be able to handle a shotgun easily in doors. Which is why it's dumb advice to suggest shotguns. It's FUDD shit.
Also my attitude comes from people giving advice that might cause someone to get killed.
well your opinion is certainly vehemently expressed, i can say that much for it at least
i can confirm with certainty that the navy does in fact use shotguns for shipboard security, and to great effect in tight corridors.
And the navy has mainly stronger men using them, they also don't need to follow the rules that civs need to about Shorter barrels, so they can run SB shotguns.
We used full length 590s.
Yes, my recommendation for a home defense shotgun is DON'T.
Shotguns have very limited capacity (unless you have a 3-gun shotgun with an extended magazine, but then you have a problem moving it around indoors), and loading them efficiently takes a lot of practice. Also, at home defense ranges--under 10y--spread on 00 buckshot is going to be pretty minimal. And you shouldn't be using bird shot at all.
I would suggest instead getting a PCC as an SBR. That gives you capacity, the ability to easily mount a light, and far more controllable than a pistol