Shotgun Revolver, the Best Option for Self Defense?
So, you are in the market for a defensive firearm, but where do you start and what are your options?
There are a plethora of reasons to purchase a firearm. You may be thinking, “I would not like to think that a person would tell someone he has a plethora, and then find out that that person has no idea what it means to have a plethora” Yes, I am fully aware of what a plethora is. You may want a gun to hunt field birds, ducks, deer, rabbit, squirrel, bear, elk, etc., or you may want to shoot as a hobby for precision rifle, clays, or revolvers, you may be in the military or law enforcement, you may be considering getting into one of the many competitive shooting sports, you may be a collector, or you may want to acquire a firearm for defensive reasons.
With so many different usages of firearms it would be easy to get lost in what best suits your needs. We will evaluate the pros and cons to the most popular firearms and their usage in a self defense situation.
There are three primary categories we will look at: Shotguns, rifles, and handguns. As a bonus we will also evaluate three popular hybrids. There are two primary reasons people will purchase a gun for self defense. To keep at home as a weapon against intruders and to carry with them in public to use against attackers. Yes, there is a third category of “truck guns”, and a fourth category of “brush guns” but for this article we will not be considering those two items. Over the years handguns and shotguns have been the most traditional options for home defense, but over the last few years there has been an increase in the popularity of AR style rifles.
Before you go through the list you should first evaluate when you plan on primarily using the weapon. Will you carry it in public or is it striclty a home gun. Also, if you are thinking of getting into hunting, hobby shooting, or competition shooting, you may be able to purchase one gun for multiple usages. (Or, you can do like so many of us in the gun community and buy one gun for one job, so that you can justify to yourself and/or significant other the reason for needing multiple guns.)
The quick answer to which firearm is best for…
ease of concealment and ability to carry in a wide variety of situations: Handguns
Easily store in quick access safes or travel safes: Handguns
Greatest stopping power: Shotguns
Most bang in Smallest Package: AR-Pistols
Most versatile for home defense and hunting firearm: Shotguns
easy to pull the trigger once with a wide spread: Shotgun Revolver
Let’s get more in-depth. Here are the pros and cons for each of the the categories plus three bonus guns.
Handguns
Pros:
Easy to conceal.
Easy to carry in public.
Easy to store in quick access safes.
Less over penetration.
Lighter weight.
Easy to maneuver.
Easy to keep in a large variety of quick access safes
Cons:
Least amount of stopping power.
Out of the three traditional options, handguns tend to be more practical for most users in a wider range of scenarios. Handguns have a shorter sight radius than the long guns. Therefore, they are harder to get hits on targets over 20 yards than longer guns but the majority of defensive usage of firearms by civilians take place within 10 yards. This is the reason handguns are the most widely used weapon for defensive situations.
Within the handgun category there are two main designs. The revolver and the semi automatic pistol. Revolvers are typically limited to 5 -7 rounds and are slower to reload, but those who carry revolvers say they are super reliable. They don’t hang up as often and are less likely to have jams compared to pistols. Revolvers also can be chambered for more powerful rounds than your typical pistol. Pistols can have over 20 rounds in one magazine and magazines are easy to carry and reload. With either handgun, you can easily store it in your bedside table in case of an intruder, there are a lot of options on how to secure handguns safely if you have kids in the home, and the biggest benefit to handguns is they can easily be carried and concealed in public compared to the other options.
Shotguns
Pros:
Best stopping power of all three types.
Lower chance of over penetration through walls in a self defense setting.
Ammo variety for different uses
Cons:
Greater recoil makes it harder to stay on target on follow up shots
Not easy to conceal.
Low ammo capacity.
Slow reloading time
Pump shotguns easily hangup with a short pump stroke.
Many experts say that a shotgun is the best option for home defense because of its stopping power compared to pistols, but unless you want to walk like a pirate with a peg leg, it doesn’t conceal too well for public use. There are two primary types of shotguns used for home defense: pump action and semi-automatic. The issue with pump action shotguns is in chambering another round to fire. When your blood gets to pumping quick and the adrenaline kicks in, people have a tendency to short stroke the pump. This could cause a hangup and the gun would be inoperable until the hangup is cleared. The semi-auto shotguns work very well and when you have quick follow up shots of 00 buck shot and there isn’t any greater stopping power at close ranges. The downside to most semi-automatic shotguns is that they don’t have magazines for quick reloading and only hold 5 rounds in a standard shotgun. There are shotgun designs that have magazines for quick ammo changes but these guns tend to be on the higher end of the cost scale and are strictly defensive weapons vs the standard shotguns which can have a double usage as a hunting gun.
Semi Automatic Rifles
Pros:
Larger capacity magazines.
Easier target acquisition at distances . (Targets over 15 yards start to move out of the defensive range.)
Greater stopping power than pistols.
Cons:
Not easy to conceal.
Greater recoil makes it harder to stay on target on follow up shots.
Greater chance of over penetration through walls in a self defense situation.
Let's be clear when we talk about rifles for home defense we are not talking about bolt action, manual feeding rifles. We are referring to semi-automatic rifles that allow for quick follow up shots. If you only have a bolt action rifle and you want to use that as your home defense weapon, well it will get the job done, but this article is for those who are considering purchasing a weapon for defensive reasons. We do not suggest buying a bolt action rifle for the purpose of self defense, as they tend to be longer in length, harder to wield, and slower on follow up shots . Previously there was the thought that rifles offer too much penetration to use in a home defense scenario. The worry was that your weapon would be fired within the house and the bullet would go through the walls in your home and unintentionally hit someone outside of your home. There has been a lot of development in bullets and guns that lower the chances of over penetration. Rifles have the benefit of a longer sight radius and ease of attaching flashlights, lasers, and optics. Yes, you can attach all of those accesories to most shotguns and pistols too, but most semi-auto rifles are designed to easily add a lot of accesories on one rifle. The biggest advantage of a rifle or for home defense purposes is its magazine capacity.
Shotgun Caliber Revolvers (Handguns)
Pros:
Greater stopping power.
Options of using shotgun or revolver ammo.
Easy to conceal.
Easy to carry.
Easy to keep in a large variety of quick access safes
Cons:
Low ammo capacity and slower reload times (unless you put in the practice with moon clips or extra cylinders).
More recoil than most pistols.
(picture is from https://www.taurususa.com)
this Hybrid gun has been referred to as a “gimmik gun” because of its options. the critiques say it does alot of things but nothing very well. The best known are the Taurus Judge and the Smith and Wesson Governor. The shotgun caliber revolvers have the benefit of mixing the stopping power of a small shotgun into the ease of carry of a handgun. Having the short barrel of a revolver with a shotgun round means that the shot will spread out pretty quick once leaving the barrel. There has been some developments in ammo to maintain a tighter group of shot, but don’t expect to get a tight group beyond 7 yards. The argument for the .410 round is the option of shells developed specificly for these revolvers. with one trigger pull this firearm can shoot 5 projectiles, each of which are almost the width of a 9mm round. if you are looking for a smaller grouping you can load up large revolver rounds instead of the .410 shotgun rounds.
Pistol Caliber Carbines
Pros:
Fun to shoot for practice.
Little recoil, quick follow up shots.
Over penetration less likely than rifle caliber rounds.
Cons:
Big package with less knock down power.
Not easily concealed.
PCCs look just like a typical AR Rifle but are chambered in a pistol caliber bullet. For home protection this would help prevent over penetration and having the smaller caliber bullet in a rifle means less recoil Less recoil allows for extremely quick and accurate follow up shots at distances up to 100 yards.
AR-Pistols (Rifle Caliber)
Pros:
Lots of power in a small package.
Large ammo capacity for a small package.
Easier to manuever around corners and walls than a full size AR with greater stopping power than a pistol.
Able to transition between close and far targets.
Easier to carry than a full size rifle.
Cons:
Greater chance of over penetration through walls in a self defense situation.
Short barrel leads to greater recoil than full length rifles.
Not as easily concealed as a Handgun
AR-Pistols have made their presence known in recent years. These guns are designed on an AR-style platform but are much shorter than the typical rifle. The size is larger than a handgun offering longer sight radius and larger magazine capacities. AR-Pistols can be chambered in pistol or rifle calibers. The shorter gun allows for easier concealment in vehicles or hidden areas in a home. Also, the shortness allows for easier manuevering through an indoor structure than with the full size semi-Auto Rifles. The down side to the shorter gun chambered in a rifle round is the recoil. The heavier recoil makes follow up shots slower than full size semi-Auto Rifles.
After all of that, the ideal weapon to use in a self defense situation should be a gun that you are familiar with, have trained with, and can easily operate. The best weapon to use is one that is readily available.
Whichever gun you decide to purchase, make sure you train, make sure it is easily accessible, and make sure you store it safely.
