My HD shotgun is a FNH mil&police pump 12ga. It has an 18" ported barrel and prints a circle of 00buck about 9" across at 25 feet. It has a RMR and a light, point and shoot, you don't really even have to aim. The porting makes it unpleasant to shoot with ear protection and rings the left ear for a week without(outside). My thought process is; if someone is in my home uninvited, past the dogs, and didn't make an exit when they heard the shotgun being racked, then we are way past worrying about hearing damage and closing in on not caring about penetration of exterior walls. I can handle a shotty in a half awake stupor much better than I can manipulate and aim a pistol.
But, anything is better than nothing.

I don't know of a good inexpensive one. The Franchi Affinity is great as is a Benelli but both are pricey. Stoeger might have a cheap one.

I mostly agree. I said earlier that inside a house a shotgun is basically a rifle. What I meant is that it won't spread all across the room.You still have to aim. The advantage is lessened secondary penetration into areas of the house occupied by family members or through the wall into the neighbors house.

Why would you use buckshot? It would penetrate walls too good. I would shoot birdshot as close as you could be to target, it would be just coming out of the wadding. This would be unlikely to go thru other things. I have killed most everything there is with birdshot. The other part is doctors are less likely to find all of it before bleeding out time.

I would probably opt for a turkey load of #4 shot or #1 Buck in the house. I would tend to agree that 00,or 000 might penetrate more than I would want.

Very light bird shot can loose it's power pretty fast. I've seen it not penetrate tin at hall length if there is any angle on it. You have to think that in case of a near miss even if a few pellets hit the target you want them to do some damage. An intruder may be wearing a heavy coat or you might get him as he is moving or turning. I want at least #4 high brass.

You can get a Mossberg 500 pretty cheap.

Yep,and might be better than a cheap autoloader,but everyone who might use it needs to shoot it some to know to pump it.

Load it with what you want... I prefer #4 Buck myself. I want mine to shoot through the walls. If bullets start flying I hope he is stupid enough to hide behind a corner. Should be over quick. I'll shoot the house to pieces if that's what it takes. I don't intend on losing.

Not everyone wants a shotgun and that's fine but the advantage is in knock down power. Not much spread = Holes big enough you can stick your fist through. You shoot someone with a shotgun and chances are the fight is over. You shoot someone with a Pistol you had better be prepared to continue to return fire or find cover and wait for them to leave or bleed out. That's the difference.

Corbon urban response for the Ar folks.Turkey loads for the shotgun folks.Spare magazines training and friends with pistols for the pistol folks.

Shooting a deer is no comparison to shooting a human unless they're all jacked up on pcp. I'll keep my pistols for home defense

the comparison is, I missed the deer with the pistol. I'm pretty good with a pistol too. I go to the range at least 4 times a year and shoot hundreds rounds through multiple pistols. Even practice a 40-50 yard shots as well. But some how missed the deer at 5 yard laying on the ground. Adrenaline is a mofo.

Never seen a deer jacked up on PCP get shot so I can't speak to that.

You're right there is no comparison.... either way deer don't shoot back.

If it were legal throwing a couple three hand grenades down the hallway would be my go-to for home defense. I'd rather blow up the living room than get in a shootout with anything. Much less a pistol.

I've shot a few rutting bucks that acted like they were on PCP.

What's your reasoning in using the pistol over a shotgun or rifle? I understand it it's all you got but otherwise I don't.

I used to think that an ar was not a good home defense weapon due to over penetration as well. That's actually not the case at all. Less penetration than buckshot or a 9mm and much more effective as a defense weapon.

Winchester 64 grain jacketed soft point. To answer the OP's question.

How do you figure that? You must be using varmint ammo if that's the case. Most of my AR ammo will penetrate steel plate. Every 556 round I own will penetrate a heck of a lot more than any 9mm or buckshot.I haven't experimented with 223 varmint ammo though which may be a good option.

Research - it's time consuming and tedious but really pays dividends when done correctly.

These are both articles but they have links to the actual research if you would like to read it (of course I read every word of it because I'm a nerd like that). The first is a compilation of research that is truly eye opening, the second is the opinion of one of the best combat personnel in the world - special ops Sgt./Maj. Kyle E. Lamb (retired).

http://preparedgunowners.com/2016/07/14/...ration-testing/

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/5/26/the-ar-for-home-defense-one-experts-opinion

Research all you want Jeno. They are skewing the data to get the results they want. I've got real world experience to back it up. I've got steel plates with hundreds of pistol rounds bounced off them pierced with holes from 556.

Anytime you want you can come over and we will stack up some 2X6 and sheet rock and I will guarantee a 556 will penetrate more every time than a 9mm 45 auto, or load of buckshot from 20 feet.

I didn't read every bit of the second article, but a key to the first was that they said hollow point or lead 556. You go nearly anywhere and the most common 556 you see are FMJ. You won't see any lead or hollow point 556 unless it's a big store or you special order it. So what it amounts to is that if you are talking about the most commonly used ammo than their article is bunk. If however you want to come to the conclusion they reached ,you can find some ammo that will support what they wanted to find.They simply did it to gain support for the AR as a viable home defense weapon.

Just to be clear buddy,I want everyone to own an AR,or a dozen. I want you to defend your home with overwhelming devastating,firepower,that will give an intruder a heart attack even if you miss. I just don't want you to kill your kids or your neighbors while defending yourself.

fmj actually penetrates less than buckshot and pistols too.

It's not skewed research - it's the FBI doing it to see if they are going to have higher liability inside buildings.

That's why you don't see mp5s all over the place any more with agencies that have nearly unlimited budgets. They've all gone to .223 powered carbines or short rifles.

You can do the testing yourself - I would have if I hadn't found overwhelming evidence to support my claims.

The theory behind the actual performance is that the bullet weight is so much less that it loses it's power much faster than a pistol or a round of buckshot when it encounters resistance.

Projectiles from all firearms, regardless of what style or type, can over penetrated in a house and can potentially travel outside. I have seen the aftermath of a 9mm negligent discharge in someone's house. It went through two walls, a heavily wooded entertainment center, two pillows, a leather couch, a double paned window and a trash can outside. The bullet was never recovered. There is always a risk of over penetration (unless you're shooting bean bags). Everyone has a theory and reasons that justify their decision. This has been a healthy debate and one which all will never agree.