I sold firearms at Bass Pro for a few years after I retired. I was constantly amazed by the stupid stuff guys purchased for their wife’s for HD that after she tried it they’d need to replace. Twelve gauge shot guns, tiny pistols, gigantic revolvers ”cuz thar re-liable!” I’d always ask the guys to bring in the spouse. They’d say, “I know what she needs.” I’d ask the guys what their wife shoots now and they’d be evasive. “Well, uh, she‘s been shootin’ shotguns her whole life!” When I probed I’d find out they were 28G, 20G and 16G bird guns the family inherited from great grand dad. Which is good shot-gun wise but does not say she’s gunna reliably sling up a 12G tactical pump/auto like a special operator, switching from buck to slugs and back as needed. (When you watch a female 12G operator deftly handle a tactical scatter gun it is a thing of beauty.)My mother in law just went on her first range trip with a friend (my father in law died). She wants to buy a firearm for home defense. The guy told her a shotgun would be best due to not having to accurately aim as much to hit your target. I totally disagree with the advice the guy gave her. She's a very small woman (about 5' tall).
What do you guys think?
That is the opposite of reality. Shotguns require a lot of training and practice before any proficiency is achieved. More than other weapons systems.The problem is I don't think she knows yet. But I think the reason she found her friends shotgun recommendation so appealing is she thinks going with a shotgun will = no need for training because you can just point a shotgun in a general direction and just fire and you have a good chance of hitting your target!
This!I didn't read through all the responses so forgive me if I give a similar response to someone else. For a small woman I would probably lean more towards an AR-15. While I keep a shotgun next to my bed, and do feel a shotgun is one of the best home defenses, I don't think it's best for everyone. An AR-15 has far less recoil and less weight than most shotguns. It's also often shorter and easier to aim. I believe an AR-15 is easier to learn to shoot well with over a handgun. Most women that are new to firearms, that I observed, are often surprised how easy an AR-15 is to shoot.
Great question to be asked to help a first time gun owner. We do have millions of them since the virus panic started back in 2020. Most of this discussion has been around getting a suitable shotgun but a few chimed in going for pistol and/or rifle. A spokesperson for the US Concealed Carry Association says that an AR-15 pattern rifle is best for home defense. Take a listen.My mother in law just went on her first range trip with a friend (my father in law died). She wants to buy a firearm for home defense. The guy told her a shotgun would be best due to not having to accurately aim as much to hit your target. I totally disagree with the advice the guy gave her. She's a very small woman (about 5' tall).
What do you guys think?
A shotgun allows for some margin of error. - true but not really very much as most self defense distances and also has the problem of not being on your person most of the time. Same problem with any long gun, have a handgun in a holster and practice POGO (Pants On Gun On) both at home and other places.What he said.
Ability to aim accurately I'm a situation with your adrenaline pumping is not an easy task for the untrained.
A shotgun allows for some margin of error.
Just get her used to shouldering it properly and managing the recoil.
I've seen the smallest of women handle a 12 gauge like it's nobodies business.
MK
Sent from somewhere over the Soviet Union
But the ones that miss are still your responsibility!Very true, but there are nine pellets instead of one if your aim is off by a little. Even if not a direct center mass hit, some of those nine pellets might hit the target.
That can be said for any ammo. The difference may be in power over distance.But the ones that miss are still your responsibility!
Reinforces some of my own informal testing I did many years ago when the controversy of bird-shot vs buck-shot came up on another gun forum.Here is 3-gun test of sheet wall barriers from the US Concealed Carry Association by the same party I referenced on this topic in earlier reply. Does the test change your mind from one firearm to another?
I was amazed at the penetration and damage I could inflict with 7 1/2 dove loads on an old trailer home. This included the gaping holes I made in the outside wall and exterior aluminum skin. So much I kept a loaded 12 gage and a box of dove loads in my trailer home bedroom encase I needed to make an “ emergency “ exit during a potential fire.Reinforces some of my own informal testing I did many years ago when the controversy of bird-shot vs buck-shot came up on another gun forum.
Funny thing is, all the nay-sayers that proclaimed buck-shot was the only acceptable round for home defense, would never "volunteer" to be shot with bird-shot when they claimed it would only piss off a bad guy if used for home defense!
I suspect those people who claim that only buck-shot is lethal and that bird-shot isn't, have never actually tested it out on various types of building materials. #6 bird-shot will easily penetrate 1/2" plywood and even sheetmetal of a car door at about 15 feet!I was amazed at the penetration and damage I could inflict with 7 1/2 dove loads on an old trailer home. This included the gaping holes I made in the outside wall and exterior aluminum skin. So much I kept a loaded 12 gage and a box of dove loads in my trailer home bedroom encase I needed to make an “ emergency “ exit during a potential fire.