Your Home Defense Weapon

Some people like a handgun, a rifle or a shotgun. Each has it's advantages, but most people prefer a shotgun.

The myth "you don't have to aim a shotgun" is not true. The spread of the pellets is quite small at close range, so aiming is necessary. The advantage that a shotgun has over the others is that multiple projectiles are fired at the same time, and that has the effect of stopping a home invader pretty quickly. A single bullet handgun / rifle mostly slows down a bad guy, and it may take many shots to stop him. The shotgun creates a nasty wound and the pellets spread internally, getting the job done.

Any home defense weapon has to be secured, and you must consider the location of others in your home. Firing a few rounds into a child's bedroom could be quite bad. So, pre-planning on where to engage an intruder is very necessary. Taking up a position at the end of a hallway where any errant bullets or pellets will pose no danger to your family members, neighbors and pets / livestock is a good plan. The layout of your home will dictate the best location.

You can practice train by using a laser pointer and seeing where the impact of missed shots would land. You also don't want to destroy your house while defending it!