I retired three years ago and the wife who is younger than I is still working in our distribution business and thinks she would like to go another four or five years. We purchased a lake home last year. So all this leads up to she is home alone for three sometimes four nights a week while I'm up at the lake house. I leave a handgun in the house for her to use and she is familiar with it and how to use it.

I have been thinking a shotgun might be a better application for her while in the house alone at night. This would be by the bedside. She keeps the handgun downstairs with her and then brings it upstairs when she goes to bed at night. I do have several shotguns but all are 24 plus inch barrels and used for the occasional bird hunt or clay bird shooting.

I have been doing some research reading and You Tube video's of course. Three HD shotguns that seem to stand out to me right now are the FN SLP and the Mossberg 930 Tactical. The Wilson Combat Border Patrol is also nice but it is a pump action and I feel for her a semi automatic is the better choice. I am partial to the FN as I own several of their handguns and all they do is shoot every time. The less mechanical interaction she has to have with the gun in a situation the better which is why I want semi auto. So some advice and input from the real experts on this forum is always trusted and appreciated.

And of course all three are impossible to find right now.

I agree that a pump is not the best choice for a novice or someone who won't practice with it. I'd go with a good semi of your choice. The Beretta 1301 is supposed to have low recoil (relatively) but it's pricey.

Personally I'd keep her practicing with a handgun, and make sure you have a light attached. Shotguns IMO are more difficult to load/unload/run properly than a simple revolver or Glock. YMMV

Has she shot a 12-gauge? Some people just can't get a handle on the recoil. If she has, then maybe it can work.

Yep she has shot clays with me several times. So she is familiar with how much recoil can be involved with a 12ga and she doesn't mind it. She like myself are familiar with good safety practice and familiarity with all the guns we own but no formal training in defensive tactics. That may change however and we may seek some out.

I had an SLP and while it was a great shotgun, it was significantly heavier than similar offerings from Beretta or Benelli.

I think the 1301 would be a good choice. As would the Benelli M2.

Nordic components sells easily installed magazine extensions for both.

My M2 run great with Fiocchi reduced recoil slugs and buckshot.


The Mossberg 930s are very hit or miss. Some 3 gunners swear by them, others swear at them. I wouldn't go that route.

Semiauto in 20 gauge if you can find one.
Consider the 410 Revolver by Smith--Judge.

Given your choices listed, I'd take a close look at the Mossberg 930 series.

I have both the 930 Home Defense (sku85320, 5+1, 18.5" synthetic, 7.5#) and the 930 Home Security (sku85322, 7+1, 18.5" synthetic, 7.75#).

Back in the fall of 2014, that scumbag Eric Frein shot a PA Trooper and there was a manhunt searching the surrounding countryside for quite some time.
My inlaws have their home smack in the middle of that mess. My father in-law shoots trap but wanted a lightweight riot type shotgun that he and his wife (in their mid 70's back then) were comfortable to have loaded.

I brought up an 870 Police (wood stocks) and the 930 5+1 Home Defense. They both agreed that the 930 was something they could handle comfortably. We went to the range and shot both and the 930"s lighter gas operation was the winner. They still have that shotgun loaded up with 6rds of 00 Flitecontrol, just thumb off the safety and pull the trigger, couldn't be simpler.

I personally like the lighter Defense over the Security, the weight difference is out at the muzzle and the Defense seems eaisier for smaller statured people to manipulate comfortably.

Biggest issue you will have is finding one of the above mentioned to purchase. I have friends looking for Benelli M2/M4, Beretta 1301, and Mossberg 590/930, etc and the are all very hard to find (they are FFLs as well, nothing to be had these days).

For you use, I agree that a 1301 or 930 are likely the best bet. Or as a stop-gap, you might consider obtaining a 20" barrel for one of your hunting shotguns.

Depending on your shotguns, I think that, if you want to do this in the near term, the option of buying a shorter barrel (or getting a barrel cut down) on one of your current guns seems like the best option since she is already familiar with it and you already have it, or can get it (a new barrel) relatively easily.

That said, I love my 1301 and can't recommend it highly enough.

I'd go with a semi-auto vs a pump. Once you load the first round, "muscle memory" isn't an issue and the recoil is somewhat less with a good gas operated gun like the Beretta 1301 Comp. I'd stay away from those five shot .410 revolvers. If you want to use a revolver for SD purposes instead of a semi-automatic pistol, fine, just get one that gives you six rounds of a good caliber.

quote:

Originally posted by pulicords:
If you want to use a revolver for SD purposes instead of a semi-automatic pistol, fine, just get one that gives you six rounds of a good caliber.

I agree absolutely. Those sort-of “shotgun” revolvers make no sense whatsoever to me.

I know shotguns are the old stand by for home defense but I'd go AR or similar 223 carbine. I had a buddy who insisted his wife run a shotgun for HD. It was loud, it was hard to properly work, it kicked her hard. She hated it the one and only time she went out and shot with it.

One day while hes on OT he calls me in the middle of the night and asks me to go check out his house as the sensor on his slider is going off and the agency thats supposed to respond isnt coming. She had access to that shotgun but didnt want to mess with it. I cleared his house with a rifle while she and his kids were upstairs hiding in his bedroom. I got a "sorry you didnt get to shoot anyone" cake for my trouble a few days later.

I've found alot of people who get a gun they arent comfortable with pressed on to them wont actually use them. I also run afoul of the "get your wife/girlfriend the airweight 357 crowd. I recommend the AR because of the above and for a few different reasons.

It has a ton of ammo on board, she just has to flip a switch and pull the trigger and its easy to load.

Auto shotguns can be picky depending on the ammo.

It has none of the recoil of a shotgun.

You can put a light and a sight on it and she can have easy success with it at the range, success usually leads people to practice more and be more likely to take it with them.

Its very potent and true one or two shot stops are the norm.

This all changes of course if you are worried about Grizzly bears breaking in.

Thanks for all the input so far gents. I'm on notifications lists for all the ones I mentioned but I'm sure it's going to be awhile before anything becomes available. I have a Tri Star that she has shot before and has proven reliable to this point so I'll see what barrel choices and other options are available for that.

quote:

I know shotguns are the old stand by for home defense but I'd go AR or similar 223 carbine.

I had a nice Lancaster Arms AK some years ago she didn't like shooting it. Two rounds and she was done. Also I think it intimidated her by looking evil. Yes I know. The way I described shooting that AK was it was fun to shoot but not pleasant to shoot. I want her to have a gun where the likely hood of her missing a target in a tense situation inside the house is minimum and and lethal impact is maximum. We have no kids in the house any longer so if she is confronted in the house alone there will be no other innocents in the house to get in the way. The only ones in the house besides her will be targets. Situation just says shotgun to me.

I have both the Mossberg 590 and the 500.

I would like my next shotgun to be a semi-auto whether it is a Mossberg or a Benelli.

I have been studying The Mossberg SA-20 which is a lightweight, soft shooting 20 gauge sporting shotgun.

If you team it up with reduced recoil 00/000 or some type of #2 or #4 shot I think it would be perfect.

I have carried the Beretta 1301, Remington 870 and Mossbergs on duty and overseas and I feel I feel the recoil is a little more prevalent in the Mossbergs.

My mother-in-law has a semiauto shotgun that Father in law uses for three gun when she’s home alone.

She is tiny and can’t really shoulder the gun, but she has worked out that placing the butt into the corner of the master bedroom tucked under her arm, she can dominate that room for a long time.

She only has to flip off the safety and it’s go time.

He’s schooled her on his pistol caliber carbine too. So it’s up to her which one he leaves out for her when he has to go overnight.

She routinely carries a ruger sp101. Loads 38 special in them. She’s a great shot.

Just a thought, but what’s the capacity of your average shotgun? I’m thinking a 1911 in 45ACP wouldn’t be any more difficult, recoil wise, and has roughly the same or better round capacity. Certainly a semi-auto pistol would be faster to reload, have better capacity and less likely to get in the way of walls and such inside a house as opposed to an 18” barrel on a shotgun.

For women shooters who have an interest in the shotgun, I tell them to look for a 20GA with the youth model stock.
The 20GA is pretty much as effective as 12 with the right load, but with less recoil.
One of the problems with women and full stocked pumps is a woman's arms lack the "span" to grasp, shoulder and rack a pump gun. As a result, they have more problems with short stroking and recoil tolerance. And even a youth model stock may be too long for a more petite woman, so a length trim to the stock may still be needed. There is a reason pro trap and skeet shooters get "fit" to their guns. Women can be great shotgun shooters but it can take a little more attention to the gun than with a male.

absent other unique considerations not a chance I would pick a shotgun. and if its tactical shape is an issue get a mini or any number of non tactical looking rifles. get one in .223 and not 7.62. Recoil numbers are so much better versus a shotgun. But based on my wife (5'7" 130lb) if you want a shotgun you want a 20g youth model. My wife actually has lots of experience using it since we live on a farm and use it for predators, but she still is not the best at the manual of arms. But she can get good hits.

I love my 1301 and it's my first choice. I also have a Rem 1100 20 gauge that runs like a sewing machine. My wife and daughter can shoot it very well. Loaded with buckshot or slugs, that 1100 is a formidable option.

quote:

Originally posted by lastmanstanding:
I want her to have a gun where the likely hood of her missing a target in a tense situation inside the house is minimum

... You can still easily miss with a shotgun. Shotguns still have to be properly aimed.

The shot's spread at bedroom/living room distances is minimal.


I'm in the camp that says she'd almost certainly be better off with a rifle, such as an AR with a red dot. Less recoil. Easier to get hits. Higher capacity. Potentially simpler manual of arms. And potentially lighter weight.