Defending the Castle — Home Defense Shotguns, ARs, and PCCs By: Bob Campbell

Your home is your castle, and you should have a good defense. We probably won’t figure in a moat, but a security system and good lights are an advantage. The single most important consideration is a plan. Have training, be proficient with your chosen firearm, and practice maneuvers in the home (with an unloaded firearm).

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I hope you take this to heart. Human beings have a lot of faith in the human race, until actually exposed to humans. The exigencies of survival demand we be prepared, and this means becoming comfortable with your weapons of violence.

Collectors venerate their machines and sportsmen never think twice that their sporting guns could be used to combat violence. When it comes to home defense, you must cross that bridge and deal with your thoughts on the matter. We must have more than a causal relationship with the home defense firearm.

In this installment, we are looking at long guns for defense. While there are many long guns in service that are tasked with defending the home, the three most recommended are the AR-15 rifle, pistol-caliber carbine, or shotgun. Each may be effective, and the defender must decide which is the best choice for their abilities and skills. Beyond that, the defender must consider the training time they are willing to give.

To some, training is a sacrifice of time and money that is taken from their family. For others, it is essential to defend the family. Sadly, there are those who undertake training as a lark and don’t take the chore seriously. The duty to defend should never be taken lightly.

Shotguns

The baseline is that the shotgun fires a payload of multiple pellets or balls. They travel in a pattern that is a string of shot strung out over a millisecond of time. When they strike, the targets show they tend to travel in pairs.

Depending on the shotgun and the choke, most shotgun patterns foretell that the shotgun isn’t useful past 20 yards, as far as centering a load of shot. Some loads such as the Federal Flite Wad buckshot may place 100% of the payload on a target at 30 yards, and 50% out to about 50 yards. This isn’t as important in home defense.

If the shotgun is a go-anywhere do-anything long gun, the pattern and shotgun buckshot choice become more important. A rifle chambers a powerful cartridge that may engage a human adversary to 500 yards. This isn’t important in home defense, but it may be a consideration for other uses.

A rifle has good wound potential and offers a high probability of stopping a threat with a minimum of well-placed hits. A pistol-caliber carbine fires a pistol cartridge. A popular example would be the 9mm Luger, in contrast to the .223 rifle cartridge.

The PCC increases accuracy potential over a handgun and increases wound potential incrementally. This is because the greater powder burn in a longer barrel increases the velocity of a handgun cartridge. By comparison, the wound ballistics of the PCC are far less impressive than the shotgun or full-power rifle but acceptable for most uses.

There isn’t a jack-of-all-trades long gun. The shotgun comes closest, perhaps, in the scheme of things. The pros and cons of each must be considered. Are you the sole user, or does another family member have access to the long gun in an emergency?

How much recoil can you tolerate? What is your budget? Some rely heavily on the home defense long gun and have invested a great deal into this long gun and training. Others simply put just about any long gun in the role or assign their daily carry gun in the role.

At least they have a firearm at the ready, but a dedicated home defense firearm is a very good idea. The long gun should be secured when you are away and accessible when you are at home. Some go overboard — a gun in every room. Often, that simply ensures a well-armed burglar.

The shotgun is still the most common home-defense firearm in my part of the world. I grew up hunting with pump-action shotguns, so it was natural to keep a pump shotgun at home ready. However, the home-defense shotgun has little in common with a bird and rabbit gun, save the action.

A shorter barrel — I prefer a 20-inch barrel when possible — makes for good maneuvering in tight places. 18.5-inch barrel shotguns are just fine. A synthetic stock and simple front bead are all that are needed. The shotgun is handled primarily by feel.

The shotgun may strike a heavy blow unlike any other shoulder-fired firearm. A load of buckshot retains a cohesive pattern only a few inches across at typical home engagement range and must be aimed as carefully as a rifle. The shotgun handles quickly, and that tight pattern creates a severe wound.

Buckshot loads range from 21–27 individual pellets in #4 buckshot to 8–9 #00 buck. Always use buckshot — you are not being attacked by birds! Small shot doesn’t have the penetration necessary for personal defense.

A pump-action shotgun usually has a magazine capacity of four or five shells. Purpose-designed defensive shotguns may have a magazine holding seven or eight rounds. This is a lot of shells considering each pull of the trigger spits a heavy load.

If you desire a backup load, purchase a Blackhawk! Shell Carrier that slips over the stock for a few dollars. Five extra shells including slug loads may be kept at ready. Practice firing a couple of shells and reloading from the shell loader. You may quickly replenish the ammunition supply.

The shotgun has a high probability of stopping an attack with a single shot. Fears concerning overpenetration are best addressed by hitting the target. If you miss, you may strike an innocent person due to overpenetration.

Shotgun loads don’t carry far, as buckshot isn’t very aerodynamic. Not only is Buckshot not perfectly spherical, but it is also deformed when the load is fired. Just the same, a buckshot ball is dangerous past 100 yards. Most buckshot loads have lost half their velocity at 100 yards. A reduced recoil load generating 1,200 fps will send widely spaced balls to 600 fps at 100 yards.

Any firearm capable of stopping an attack is dangerous if you miss the threat. If you have a greater-than-average concern of overpenetration, #4 buckshot is a good choice.

The shotgun is held tight into the shoulder, swung on target, and aimed using the bead front sight. The shotgun has a high hit probability — the highest of the three firearms we are considering. Capacity is limited, if that is an issue, and recoil is daunting.

You must practice with full power loads, for at least as part of your training, in order to learn to control buckshot recoil. Personal defense shotguns are lighter than sporting guns and have shorter barrels. They handle well but kick more. I should address the comment everyone from Grandma to the guy at the gun store makes.

The sound of a shotgun racking is scary. It would be to me. But then, mother always said I had good sense. A burglar isn’t the average man or woman. They are probably not doped up, a common misconception. They may be part of a professional gang and look like real business coming in. They may be strung out and consuming six or seven cups of sugar-filled coffee and taking several Benadryl to come down enough to function.

Once they hit a mark and obtain their drugs, they will be on the mattress with their eyes rolled back in their head. Racking that slide doesn’t mean a thing if you are not ready to fire. Never shout “Don’t make me shoot you!” “I will shoot you!” is the proper warning, if you give a warning at all.

There are self-loading shotguns suitable for home defense. Few though are truly reliable. A Benelli M4, Remington 11-87, or Remington Versa Max are certainly useful. The pump is the failsafe everyone’s gun. The Mossberg 500, Mossberg 590, and Remington 870 are also solid choices.

AR-15 Rifles

The AR-15 is America’s rifle. Since you must own one or more, you may as well put it to use in home defense. The AR is among the most ergonomic firearms ever built. The rifle has a high hit probability in combat drills and offers an impressive ammunition reserve.

In this day of takeover gangs and armed burglary teams, the AR makes a lot of sense. We should be on a level playing field with the adversary. I recommend the .223 Remington/5.56mm caliber AR for home defense. The .308 is just too much, but the .300 Blackout has interesting possibilities.

I have taught people to use the AR-15 well, including a youngster with no firearms experience who went on to win the best marksman award in Marine Corps training. My son was a good shot in Army training but was bested by a young man from Montana who grew up shooting varmints on his summer break. The AR-15 is a friendly rifle and super accurate. The Ruger Mini-14 is accurate as well, but if you fire them side by side, most prefer the AR.

The AR is the Mr. Potato Head of improvement. Lights are important and so are red dot sights. Don’t put cheap crap that may fail on your rifle. Carefully thought-out accessories are beneficial. I often think of what would be most beneficial, should I have to quickly exit the home carrying only my rifle. A good AR-15 with a 20 or 30-round magazine is ideal. You can do a lot of defending with that rifle. Recoil simply isn’t a consideration with this light-kicking long gun.

Load selection in the AR is easy. Of all the firearms discussed, this is the most likely to stay in the adversary’s body and not exit. A 3,000 fps 55-grain JSP will fragment after penetration of 10 inches or so. Hornady Black is a good choice. If striking heavy building material, the bullet will break up. This reduces the chances of overpenetration issues. I don’t recommend 38 to 40-grain varmint grenade-type loads. They do not have sufficient penetration and may not always cycle reliably.

The advantage of the rifle is accurate shot placement. Chances are, you will not need that reserve of ammunition when the first shot is delivered with accuracy. I would cultivate a habit of firing slightly downward to send the bullet to earth quickly.

The primary drawback of the rifle is muzzle blast which may be deafening inside a home. The sights may be difficult to regulate. The rifle may strike low in relation to the sights, and this must be worked out in range work. The AR-15 isn’t inexpensive but offers a fine choice for personal defense.

Another choice — that isn’t often utilized — is a suppressed rifle. If you can go through the hoops, the advantages are many. We have seen SWAT teams with suppressed MP5 SMGs and carbines. This isn’t to be stealthy but rather to protect the agent’s hearing.

A suppressed 9mm offers a low muzzle signature, and you can hear your radio and teammates. The 9mm, however, has registered some spectacular failures in this role. A .300 Blackout rifle in this tactical role would be an outstanding home defense firearm. The .300 BLK was designed for suppressed use and many loads are superbly accurate.

While seen as a high-end operator’s gun, this simply isn’t completely the case. A .300 BLK AR may be better suited to home defense than you think. If you choose to exercise your rights and fit a suppressor, you have a first-class and effective home defender.

Pistol-Caliber Carbines

Pistol-caliber carbines fire pistol cartridges including the .40, .45, and 10mm but most commonly the 9mm. The great advantage is that these firearms are affordable and offer much greater practical accuracy than a handgun. They are sometimes built on the AR platform but there are other choices as well.

The Kel-Tec Sub 2000-type carbines are famously reliable and offer compatibility with pistol magazines. The Beretta Storm is a very smooth-handling PCC with excellent reliability and accuracy. The Ruger 9mm carbine is another good choice. Accuracy is good to 75 yards or more but not in the class with a good AR — if that matters.

The pistol-caliber carbine offers good handling. They are usually lighter than an AR-type and offer modest recoil. The 9mm version gains some velocity from a 16-inch carbine barrel. A loading clocking 1,200 fps from a pistol may break 1,400 fps in the carbine. This gets the 9mm into a superior category in wound ballistics.

While wound potential is the least of the three types, a 1,400 fps 9mm bullet is nothing to sneeze at. Hit probability is excellent. Ammunition reserve is more than adequate with standard magazines holding 15 to 17 rounds. In most cases, extended magazines are available with 20 to 33-round capacity. For many shooters, the 9mm PCC is the ideal home defense firearm. Of the three firearms discussed, the PCC has the least recoil and muzzle blast, an important consideration.

There are other firearms that are well suited to home defense. For example, if you grew up with lever-action rifles, a lever-action in .357 Magnum is formidable indeed. I would choose a self-loading PCC for beginning shooters.

A good quality .30 carbine such as the Auto Ordnance is a good choice as its carbine is light, easy to handle, and offers good ballistics. The problem is ammunition and especially finding good soft point loads. The three long guns covered in this report the shotgun, pistol-caliber carbine, and AR-type rifles are all excellent choices. Consider your training opportunity and personal scenario, and then choose the long gun that best suits your needs.

Do you prefer a long gun for home defense? If so, which do you believe to best a shotgun, AR, or PCC? Share your answers in the comment section.