How would this work for a home defense situation?

http://www.mossberg.com/products/default鈥?/a>





Is the pistol grip OK?


What ammunition does it hold?


Can I use this for hunting too?





Thanks in advanceHow would this work for a home defense situation?
That gun is not any good for hunting, not seriously anyway.





If you want this for self defense than purchase it. Know that it is harder to control a shotgun with a pistol grip. An adjustable stock would be a much better choice. You can find a lot of after market accessories for the Mossberg 500 and the Remington 870.





If I were you and I wanted a gun for all around use. I'd purchase a Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 and also a 18 1/2 police barrel. With an aftermarket adjustable stock with pistol grip. You can interchange the barrels for hunting or home defense.


http://shop.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/6鈥?/a>How would this work for a home defense situation?
The pistol grip means nothing and does not provide enough control of the weapon, get a standard stock. It holds shotgun shells of various gauge (diameter, with 12 gauge being the most prevalent) with shot size of your choosing (#1 buck is the best for household protection).





With a proper stock, you can indeed use this for hunting, using the correct size shot for the animal, and slugs for deer.





I have a Mossberg 12 gauge 8 shot, and in 20+ years I have not had a failure of any kind.
Get a model with a full length buttstock; and a 26'; barrel with interechangeable chokes so you can use it for both purposes. Also, a longer shotgun makes a darned nice club should you need it to play ';batter up'; with a culprit. The 26'; with interchangeable chokes lets you use cylinder bore and six shot for home defence and other chokes and shot for hunting.
Both have their roles in home defense.





The shotgun's role is holding down the fort such as a safe room where only one door has to be guarded.





The handgun's role is searching the home, gathering family, etc.





A handgun requires one hand to operate making it usable while on the phone with police, finding family, holding a flashlight, opening doors, etc. A shotgun would have to be lowered to make one hand usable.





Also the handgun does not need to be lowered or raised to look around corners (you would not want to have the barrel of a shotgun peak around the corner giving away or position and then stick your head out). A handgun also gives less to the intruder to grab onto if they get close enough to grapple with you and the weapon. A shotgun will give him or her more to hold onto.





If you are going to buy one or the other I would start with the pistol and then buy the shotgun.





I hope this helps. The Shotgun v. Handgun came from Guns and Ammo: Book of Personal Defense; The Role of the Handgun. I forgot the authors name and the page number. I lent the article out to a friend.
For home defense, I would stick to the pistol. A shotgun is a little to hard to use. Imagine trying to walk around the house with a long barrelled gun. You would bump into door frames and furniture. If you are focused on a shotgun, then the mossberg 500 you selected would be great. The pistol grip makes it lighter and more manuverable without the big bulky stock.


If you have to ask what ammunition it takes, you probably shouldn't have a gun in the first place. It takes twelve guage shotgun shells, which are a pretty cheap ammunition. It is about $6 for a box of 25 or about $20 for a box of 100. You could use birdshot or buckshot. birdshot is about 100 small BBs. buckshot is about 9 larger BBs which are better for self defense.


You can use this for hunting, but you shouldn't. For hunting, you should get a shotgun with a stock.
It's a 12 gauge shotgun. The pistol grip works fine for home defense as it allows for turning corners quickly and faster aiming than something like a long rifle. It would not be much use for hunting due to its short barrel and (lack of) choke. It would be quite uncomfortable to shoot in the field and you'll find that most of those type of shotguns are fired from the hip or the side. It would give your wrist a real pounding if you tried to shoot it in a traditional shotgun hunting stance.





If you get a gun like that, leave it at home. It was purpose-built for that occasion.
My buddy has one he bought for home defense. We've been thrown out of the DCFS several times for shooting skeet with the pistol grip and a laser sight.





The gun comes apart easily and Mossy sells a ';hunting barrel kit'; for their guns which has a rifled slug/sabot barrel and a long (23 inch) hunting barrel with a choke set. Buy that kit and a set of stocks and you've got a system which will serve you well. Unlike other guns, the mossy shotgun system pays you back for tuning the trigger by letting you use that action with all their products. While the fit and finish occasionally leaves something to be desired (not nearly as bad as remingtons ';home defense'; ';solution';), they're solid guns and the aftermarket for them is quite well stocked.





Just a tip - if you're going to hunt with it you'll still need the magazine plug in most states. Go to your local home supply shop, buy a wooden dowel and cut it to the correct length. The added weight makes the perceived recoil less and steadies your aim.





Or just show up to the gun club on skeet night and shoot it with a laser, red dot, forward assist and pistol grip and see how long it takes until you're politely asked to leave. ;)
Mossberg makes excellent home defense shotguns..... I would avoid the pistol grip model... The recoils a little rough on the hand and its difficult to accurately hit anything more than a few short feet away...... The model in your link would be worthless for hunting......





But your in luck..... If your on a tight budget Mossberg does make a 12 gauge shotgun that ships with 2 barrels... One long barrel for hunting and a short barrel you switch on to the shotgun for home defense.....





Take a look!





http://www.mossberg.com/images/Mossberg_鈥?/a>





Its a Mossberg 500 12 guage catalog # 54169 and any Mossberg dealer can order these....





If your budget is bigger or you expect to have a few more $$$ later this year then buy a defense shotgun now.... These 2 are excellent choices....





http://www.mossberg.com/images/Mossberg_鈥?/a>





http://www.mossberg.com/images/Mossberg_鈥?/a>





Then later purchase a nice Mossberg field shotgun for hunting.......





http://www.mossberg.com/images/Mossberg_鈥?/a>





For defense keep your shotgun loaded with 2 3/4 inch 8 or 9 pellet buckshot.... This stuff is fine.....





http://www.remington.com/products/ammuni鈥?/a>
DJ, you can get them in 12/20 gauge. Hunting... I'm going to say a rather emphatic ';NO';. Why you ask? A barrel that short won't pattern worth a damn, and coupled with the lack of a stock, you won't be able to hit anything outside of 15-20 yards. Home defense... yes, but there are consequences. What happens when you kill the bad guy in your home with it? You go to trial. What happens when the Prosecutor (guy against you) reveals the gun to the jury? The gun scares the jury, because it is synthetic and pistol gripped with a relatively short barrel. Prosecutor pulls out the old ';you couldn't wait to shoot my client';, and the scared jury agrees. End result, you go to jail or face a massive lawsuit, all over a useless shotgun, and an equally useless criminal. If you want something to hunt/defend your home with, then get a proper, full length, no frills Mossberg 500. Plain Jane is always king (queen perhaps) in the world of defense/hunting.
Home defense yes, with any bird shot to limit wall penetration.





Hunting? Well, any red dot sight mounted on the barrel forward enough the rig would still fit the tube, used with slugs, would work held out at arms length to keep from getting bashed by recoil, and would definitely take deer. But I personally would add a folding shoulder stock, all of which would still fit the tube.
good home defense weapon. it shoots a 12 gauge shot gun round. But as far as hunting goes it all depends on what you are hunting. ex: deer definatly not, small rabbits, rodents, it would work. Bird would be a little difficult because of the short barrel and would be illegal in most state if hunting upland game. (fesant, quail, dove) because it holds too many rounds. The pistol grip is useful for defense but not so much in the hunting aspect.
It would be ok but a handgun would be much better. In your home your going to shoot max,about 12 feet. It isn`t going to be good to hunt with. Try one out at a range and you`ll find you won`t like the pistol grip either. If it were me I`d get a standard mossberg 500 or a remington 870 to hunt with. Either of these will defend your home as well. A shotgun will be more cumbersome and cause more material damage though.
Hunting, sorry, but heck no.





For home defense- no matter if its that kind of shotgun or a 'normal' shotgun, go with a gun that you are confident in shooting. That is ALL that matters. If your not comfortable using the gun, you won't feel safe with it. I'll take my 20 ga semi auto over that in a heart beat because I've been shooting it for over 4 years.





The ammo it holds depends on the ga.
They are good for close quarter but suck for hunting.





Migratory birds require a shotgun that is fired from the shoulder.





You could go with it then get a regular butt stock for it for hunting but the barrel would be short.





I would recommend 2, one dedicated hunting and one for HD
no for hunting. Self defense is marginal. The pistol grip makes it easier to move in tight hallways but control of your aim is lessened without a buttstock.