Shotguns have been around for a really long time. The early muskets, lacking rifling in the barrel, were capable of loading birdshot, buckshot or ball and that made them shotguns. Col. Jeff Cooper called the shotgun the thinking man’s defense gun because with just a little thought and experimentation they become very effective defensive tools. Here, in no particular order, are some things that I have learned about defensive shotguns over the years.
Take the time to pattern your shotgun with the defensive loads that you plan to use. You really need to know what that pattern will look like at 10, 15 and 25 yards. This helps with the aiming process—Yes, you have to aim a shotgun—and it also helps us to select the most effective defensive load for a particular gun. A particular shotgun will often noticeably prefer one brand and size of buckshot over another.
Be careful what accessories you attach to your shotgun. Repeating shotguns are heavy to begin with, often in the 8-pound range. Adding stuff to your gun will just make it heavier and more difficult to manage in a defensive situation. A good rule of thumb is to make every effort to keep the weight down.
Having said that, I really like the idea of adding rifle sights—I prefer the ghost-ring variety—to your gun. This allows you to effectively use shotgun slugs. While a buckshot pattern can be expected to stay on a man-size target out to about 25 to 30 yards, shotgun slugs, properly applied, can do impressive things at 100 yards.
Another must-have accessory in my opinion is a carrying strap. You don’t need any sort of fancy gun sling, especially not those that feature cartridge loops for extra ammo. You simply need something that will allow you to sling the gun on your shoulder when you need to have your hands free. I use the simplest, lightest nylon strap and it serves the purpose just fine.
Get out and practice with that shotgun just like you do with your pistol and rifle. A 12-gauge shotgun will have more felt recoil than your AR and possibly even your chosen deer rifle. It is, however, not difficult to manage if you practice with it. You will quickly learn to snug it tightly into your shoulder to reduce felt recoil. You may also learn, most of us have, that you will shoot better with a shorter buttstock than with a long one.
The thinking man’s defense gun … give some thought to keeping the weight as light as possible and practice, practice, practice.
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