A 25 Round Shotgun Practice Routine
BY PGF
1 year, 6 months ago
There isn’t a lot of shotgun training available these days. Everybody has gone tacticool, but this is a good primary starting point for an average home defense family. There’s been a recent self-defense situation that’s come up with somebody I know, and the primary weapon selection for their home has been a 12ga pump shotgun. One reason is small children, therefore, a desire for limited penetration. I’m not a shotgunner. Any help in the comments would be appreciated.
This three-part shotgun drill at what some consider a reputable resource looks helpful for starters.
I tried to really give this some thought with regard to what is required to actually work in live fire with a shotgun, since a lot of it can be worked dry fire. Also, to set the context, this is meant to be a basic “I have a shotgun for home defense” type thing. Obviously there are skills above and beyond what is covered in this short range session, but those skills are less likely to be used in this context. So what we have here is a narrow focus on the key aspects of shooting a shotgun for home defense.
- The ability to quickly mount the gun properly, acquire an acceptable sight picture, and fire an accurate shot.
- The ability to manage recoil and fire multiple, quick shots as required.
- Building good habits with proper follow through and maintaining a fully loaded shotgun as much as possible.
- The ability to recognize an empty gun and quickly get the gun back to a fighting condition with an emergency reload.
If someone had the ability to set up multiple targets, or wanted to add movement to these drills, that could easily be done while still shooting the same basic drill. The assumption in this case is that range limitations prevent those sorts of things. For the minimal investment of about $10 in 12 gauge ammunition and maybe 15 minutes of time, that is a lot to check off the list with regard to the shotgun.
Full drill at the link.
Edit: Also see, Understanding Different 12-Guage Ammo at Widener’s. Includes pics of patterns for buckshot and slug results.
On May 1, 2023 at 8:19 pm, Nate said:
Be careful of the limited penetration angle. Usually that comes with wider patterns that are harder to be accountable for, and potential reduced effectiveness. If we have come to using guns to protect ourselves, all the chips are on the table and we need the best hand we can get. Choosing a load for its reduced penetration is usually not the best hand.
For any new shotgunner (or any shotgunner really), seek out quality training if it is available. If that is outside the budget, find reputable sources. Probably the best online source for high quality shotgun content is Lucky Gunner Ammo’s YouTube channel. Chris Baker knows what he is talking about, and is an excellent communicator.
On May 1, 2023 at 9:03 pm, Herschel Smith said:
@Nate,
I don’t entirely disagree with that advice, but I don’t entirely agree with it either.
For those who live in homes with siding, caring about backstop is ALWAYS a concern and it’s wise to mention it and consider it in your selection of both weapons and (if you’re using a shotgun) shot selection.
Selecting 00 will lead to as much penetration is a 9mm round (because that’s essentially what it is). Then again, no criminal wants to get tagged with seven rounds of #4 that penetrates to five inches or more into flesh.
I’m not saying that this is determinative, but it’s at least a consideration.
On May 1, 2023 at 10:15 pm, 41mag said:
I wonder about the effectiveness of those mini-shells. Home defense is literally point-blank defense. Those mini’s kick out some lead at a reduced speed. I need to get some and try them out.
On May 2, 2023 at 7:12 am, Latigo Morgan said:
Garand Thumb just put out a sheetrock test of several different firearms and calibers.
The conclusion was that you need to be aware of where you are shooting, because those bullets are going through multiple layers of sheetrock no matter what.