The 5 Best Shotguns for Home Security Overview
- Your competence with your home-defense shotgun matters more than anything.
- Pump-action shotguns are very reliable with good training.
- A Semi-automatic shotgun can be even more reliable than a pump shotgun.
- Shooting data has shown that a 12 gauge shotgun has the most stopping power.
- I highly recommend a tactical light for home security shotguns.
- Shotguns are a great option as they’re legal in most if not all areas.
While I think that shotguns are a great home security choice, there certainly are more options than that. My bump in the night gun is a POF Renegade+ chambered in 300 Blackout. Moreover, there’s nothing wrong with using a pistol for home security, either.
As you’ll see, the most important thing is knowing how to use your shotgun correctly, and legally. This confidence is built upon training and practice with your chosen equipment. Next let’s take a look at some data on shotgun engagements, so we can see just how effective shotgun rounds are, at close range.
The Best Shotguns for Home Security: Self Defense Data
It’s no secret that I’m a data guy. When choosing a home security gun, I prefer to find self defense engagement data to see what effect different platforms have on bad guys. This isn’t the movies. In the vast majority of self defense shootings, the bad guy doesn’t go down after just one hit. However, that isn’t quite accurate when we consider the 12 gauge shotgun round.
I wrote an article a little while back, which highlighted some amazing research from Greg at Active Response Training. He painstakingly gathered details on over 1800 shootings, so we could see just what effect different rifle, pistol, and shotgun calibers had in armed encounters.
During my analysis of his data, I came to some fairly clear conclusions. First, there really isn’t a big difference between most pistol calibers, when it comes to incapacitating an attacker. You’re looking at maybe a 10% spread in effectiveness, amongst common self defense pistol calibers. The story changes when we consider long guns.
Both rifles and shotguns reliably stopped an attacker with less than two rounds fired. The chart below highlights the average number of rounds that were shot until the bad guy stopped their aggressive action. The trend is pretty clear.
I want to point out that this is a statistical average. This is why you have something like 1.25 rounds fired until the bad guy quit. The important thing is the trend. Long guns work better for self defense, and the shotgun is probably the most effective.
Notice I saw probably. Weapons that can be fired quickly are likely to have more rounds fired before the bad guy stops, compared to weapons that fire more slowly. In general, a shotgun will be fired more slowly than something like a semi auto rifle or pistol. This can artificially increase the amount of rounds fired before the bad guy stops. Check out the video below for the full details on all 1800 shootings.
This chart gives us a good idea of how many rounds we should carry in our home security shotgun. We know from a previous article I did analyzing video from self defense shootings, that many criminals work in pairs, or in small groups. In 57% of these scenarios the bad guys operated in pairs. This means we need to factor in some surplus ammunition for this situation.
When choosing between all the shotguns available for home security, it’s clear that the best home defense shotguns should be able to carry at least 4 rounds. This allows us to budget for two rounds per bad guy. Ideally we should be able to carry 5-6 rounds to factor in for misses, or other real world variables. If you need more capacity than this, then you can purchase an extended magazine tube, for most shotguns.
Now that we have some idea of our capacity requirements, let’s get right into the 5 best shotguns for home security. This by no means an exhaustive list, they’re simply my recommendations given what’s currently available on the market.
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The 5 Best Shotguns for Home Security
Broadly speaking there are two types of shotguns that we’ll be covering in this section. There are pump action shotguns, and semi-automatic shotguns. Pump shotguns require you to manually pump the forend, to chamber a new round. Semi-autos only require you to pull the trigger, and a new round is fed from the magazine automatically.
Traditionally, most folks believe that a pump action shotgun is more reliable than a semi-auto. This is true in a mechanical sense, but not necessarily true in the real world. Let me explain.
It’s very common to see a newer shooter pick up the pump action shotgun, shoot their first round, and then either forget to pump the action, or short stroke the forend. Either of these situations will cause a failure to load a new round into the chamber.
With a semi auto you don’t have to remember any of that. You fire a round for each trigger pull. You also have the added benefit of having the mechanical action absorb some of the recoil. In a pump gun, it’s your shoulder absorbing the recoil. Try shooting a few slugs from a pump gun, and let me know how you’re feeling!
I’m not advocating for one action above another, but it’s important that you understand that there are benefits and draw backs for both styles of shotgun. My personal preference is a semi auto. I feel like the less I need to do on the gun, the better I can focus on the tactical situation at hand.
Keep in mind that there’s nothing wrong with a pump gun, as law enforcement has used them for decades. Let’s get into the best pump action shotguns for home security.
Pump Action Shotguns
In this section we will be talking about two great choices from Remington. The first is the Remington 870 Express, which has been around for many decades, and has a proven track record of reliability. The second shotgun, is the Remington Tac 14, which an ideal choice for home security due to it’s compact size. Both of these shotguns will get the job done, and feed 2.75in and 3-inch shells.
Remington 870 Express
The Remington 870 Express is, and will always be, a great choice for a home security shotgun. It’s a great all around shotgun, that is reasonably compact. It features an 18.5-inch barrel, and a 6 round capacity. It uses a black synthetic stock that’s very durable.
This shotgun has a very affordable price. As of this writing it’s priced around $450. Given the great stopping power of a 12 gauge shotgun, this is probably the best bang for your buck. However, it doesn’t come with much extra, and I think it needs a few items to make it a truly great home security choice.
Remington 870 Express Modifications and Setup
The first thing you need to install on any home security shotgun, is a weapons mounted light. There are any number of ways to do this, but I think the Magpul MOE forend is the easiest method to mount the light. It’s about $30, and allows you to mount any MLOK compatible hardware.
The benefit of using this forend, is that it allows you to mount a weapon light like the TLR RM1 directly to the forend. This is key because you have to move the forend to work the action, and you want the light to be in the same location, near your hand at all times. Mounting it directly to the hand guard just makes sense.
This flashlight also has the added benefit of having a built in pressure switch on the body itself. You do not have to use the included remote pressure pad, unless you really want to. Personally, I try to reduce the amount of wires running on my gun. You will need to mount a small section of picatinny rail for the light as the TLR 1RM needs the adapter. Let’s figure the cost for this setup.
The shotgun is around $450. The light is about $145, the picatinny rail is $16, and the forend is about $28. This puts us at $640 for one of the best home security guns you can get. Not a bad deal!
Remington TAC 14 with Brace
The Remington TAC 14 is the best choice for those that want a compact and maneuverable firearm. Due to inane ATF regulations, this shotgun is able to have a 14 inch barrel and not require special authorization from them. This makes it a great defensive shotgun. The variant pictured below also features an arm brace, which can be used exactly like a stock. This makes for a very compact package.
You can see that this shotgun is about 5 inches shorter than the 870 Express. It also features a pistol grip, which can be more comfortable for some shooters. Even though it’s very compact, you can still load 5 rounds into the shotgun, which meets our requirements. You can see that it already has the Magpul MOE forend, so we don’t have to add that in.
The only down side to this shotgun, is that it can be hard to find in stock, especially in this configuration. It’s possible to find the non-brace Remington Tac 14 much easier. If you’re at all handy with a screw driver, you can then add in your own brace kit. This is the fastest way to get this shotgun, if the pre-built version happens to be out of stock.
Remington TAC 14 Modifications and Setup
If you decide to DIY your own brace kit, then you’ll need to grab a castle nut, buffer tube, pistol grip, and brace. I recommend Googling around to try and find a decent prebuilt kit as well. However, I’m a bit of a nerd, and prefer the items I’ve linked to above, compared to the prebuilt kits.
Because this shotgun has the same forend as I recommended for the Remington 870 Express. This means you can use that exact same light setup. If you really want a great high quality light, you can opt for a Surefire Scoutlight Pro, that will mount directly to the MLOK fore end. It’ll be an easier installation, but it does cost more.
For this set up, we’re looking at $650 with the Streamlight, or about $800 with the Surefire. It costs money to use the cool guy gear! Next, let’s talk about some great semi-auto shotguns.
Semi-Automatic Shotguns
These are going to be the simplest options in terms of operation, and a good choice for home defense. They’ll also have the lowest recoil, as the springs in the action will absorb a large chunk of the recoil. This does mean that these options will be a little more expensive, as they have more complicated actions, and more moving parts.
Rock Island Tactical VR-80
Prior to doing the research for this article, I was not very familiar with the Rock Island Tactical VR-80. At first, it looked like a gimmick, but as I read more about it, it appeared as if this was a great semi auto shotgun that costs almost the same as a pump-action shotgun. As of this writing, you can grab one for about $600. It also includes a front and rear flip up style sight.
This shotgun has some great features. First, and foremost, it’s patterned after an AR15 style rifle. This is a boon for those that feel comfortable shooting that platform. It can be a pain in the ass to learn how to operate a firearm that’s completely different than your previous experience.
It also appears to work reliably with a wide variety of ammunition. As it ships, it will come with a 5 round magazine, for a total capacity of 6 in the gun. Moreover, you can easily buy higher magazine capacity. They come in 10 or 20 round varieties. You probably won’t need that for a home security gun, but it’s nice option to have.
I like that you can customize it however you like. You can add any AR15 style stock you want, and easily swap out the pistol grip. Although, most reviewers found the regular stock to be perfectly adequate. The only downside is the length of the gun. It comes in at an overall length of 40 inches, with a 20-inch barrel. This can be difficult to maneuver in a house.
Rock Island VR-80 Modifications and Setup
This shotgun ships with an MLOK and picatinny forend. This allows for maximum flexibility for weapon light usage, or other tactical accessories. You could easily attach this Inforce Weapons Mounted light with out much trouble. Just like the Streamlight, it includes a built in pressure switch.
Other than mounting a good light, this shotgun doesn’t really need much more. It ships with iron sights, but if you wanted something extra, you could go for a red dot sight like this Trijicon MRO. Now let’s look at the price tag.
If you added in an Inforce light, you’re looking at right around $750. If you add the Trijicon MRO on top of it, that brings the total to $1200. As you’ll see that’s a screaming deal, compared to most semi-auto shotguns. This is probably the best tactical shotgun at this price point.
Remington V3 Tac 13 With Brace
The Remington V3 Tac 13 is the big brother to the TAC14. In this variant, the shotgun is semi-auto, and slightly more compact than the TAC14, with a shorter barrel. You can also add a brace and pistol grip, which we’ll talk about later. The worst part about this gun is finding it in stock!
As pictured, this shotgun doesn’t have a stock or pistol grip. You can certainly use it this way, but it’s going to be a little odd at first. It would require a fair amount of practice to utilize effectively. That’s why I recommend going with the brace kit. If you can find it in stock, it generally goes for $900-$1000.
Remington V3 TAC 13 Modifications and Setup
Because this is one of the best shotguns for home security, it has a higher price tag. This also means that you need to spend a little less setting it up. It already includes a picatinny mount, which means you could directly mount the Streamlight on to that section of rail.
If you want to add in a brace and pistol grip, you’re looking at about $150 extra dollars, depending on the gear you select. That brings the fully setup total to around. $1350 dollars. That’s getting up there, but this is a great option, due to its rate of fire, and compact size.
Benelli M4 Tactical Shotgun
If you hate your credit score, then the Benelli M4 Tactical Shotgun is the weapon for you. It’s used by militaries around the world, including the U.S. Marine Crops, and it’s even featured in the John Wick movies. It’s probably the most popular shotgun for tactical use. It has a lot of great features, allowing for maximum flexibility in setup. All this goodness does come with a price. It currently costs around $1900.
This baby has everything. It includes ghost ring sights, and a picatinny rail section mounted directly to the receiver. This makes it a breeze to mount your optic of choice. It already comes with a pistol grip and excellent stock. There are only a few choices you need to make when setting this thing up.
Benelli M4 Modifications and Setup
If you’re going to have an expensive shotgun, then you can’t cheap out on the light. I would recommend using the Surefire Scoutlight (Amazon Affiliate Link). You can then use this mount from Impact Weapons (Amazon Affiliate Link), to mount it directly to the shotgun.
While we’re at it, we might as well mount a great red dot sight to the picatinny rail. I mean the rail is already on the receiver, and should be used right? This EOTECH XPS 3 would make a great addition to the shotgun. It features a larger outer ring, and small center dot. This is useful for shotguns, as you can use the large ring to estimate the pattern size at different distances. Now it’s time to tally this build up.
The shotgun is $1900. The light retails for right around $300, and the Eotech is $660. This brings the total to. $2860, which is definitely more expensive than my first car! The good news is that you absolutely don’t need this for home security, but you sure might want it!
Finding the Best Ammo for Your Shotgun
The internet tries to do their best to make this a complicated topic, and it really isn’t. There are only a few great options for home defense ammunition. The first is a slug, which can certainly do some damage, but will have the most recoil. Slugs have the additional draw back of covering a much smaller area than buckshot.
For the vast majority of home defense minded folks, buckshot is the clear winner. There are various sizes of buckshot, from number 4, to triple aught. We don’t need to go into the specifics of the naming conventions. The important thing is that 00 buck shot (pronounced double aught), passes FBI testing protocols and delivers 9, 32 caliber pellets on target. This is what makes buckshot loads so effective.
Some folks mistakenly believe that shotguns won’t penetrate interior walls as much as rifles or pistols. This isn’t true. Birdshot won’t go through more than a wall or two, but you should never use that for home defense. It isn’t likely to stop an attacker.
Most buckshot shells, like the Winchester SXP Defender, will go through 6-9 sheets of drywall at a minimum. You absolutely need to be sure of your target, and what is beyond it. Dry wall and interior structures won’t stop self defense rounds!
Final Thoughts
We’ve covered a lot of info, so I’ll leave you with a few pieces of advice. Buying a shotgun by itself won’t keep you or your family safe. You need to practice with it, and understand how it operates. Seek out quality instruction, like Mike and Rich, at American Warrior Society, if you’re a true beginner.
Otherwise, you should put a couple of hundred shells through your shotgun, including your self defense shells, so you know your home security shotgun works with the rounds you use. This is especially important for semi-auto shotguns, as some do not like light recoil loads.
Once you’ve set your shotgun up, and have thoroughly tested it, you’ll be ready to keep your family safe. Just make sure you lock the weapon up, and keep it out of the reach of kids. No get out there and get training!
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