ACADEMY 0/500: The Home Defense Package

If you are considering using a shotgun for home defense, you should think holistically and be prepared with more than just the shotgun next to your bed. This article by Arne Mühlenkamp presents a possible approach.

Every defense situation will present itself fundamentally different from what you have imagined beforehand. This applies to every defense situation; not just those within your own four walls. Remaining generalistic and practice-oriented in thinking and actions is the key to success. However, realism is often clouded by omnipresent action movies or incompetent "tactical" training. Basically, it is to be assumed that in the hour of nightly trial, one wears nothing else but underwear, a t-shirt, and maybe slippers.

Weapon
American shooting instructor Andy Stanford described the optimal weapon for self-defense based on three characteristics:
(1) It must be present
(2) It must be reliable
(3) It must be reasonably suitable for its purpose, with an emphasis on reasonably.

Any user who attempts to optimize their weapon for a specific defense scenario by adding accessories has not understood the nature of a defense situation.
For the presumed case of home defense, this means any available shotgun is better than a non-existent shotgun.
Whether one wants to admit it or not; the criterion of "reliability" is always limited by the number of functions, controls, or additional attachments a machine has. Semi-automatic shotguns are more likely to fail due to ammunition incompatibility than pump-action or double-barrel shotguns. Simplicity in the operating concept, on the other hand, increases reliability. Which generally speaks for the use of pump-action or double-barrel shotguns.
The third criterion of suitability is fulfilled when the shotgun fires a shot when the user wants it to, or if no shot is fired when the user doesn't want it to. Eighty percent of defense situations with shotguns end after two shots. Having a few extra shots on board can't hurt. Which in turn puts a pump-action shotgun with a tubular magazine in focus for procurement.

Mossberg & Remington
When purchasing a pump-action shotgun, focus on the Remington 870 and Mossberg 590 models. These models are available on the used gun market for just a few hundred euros. Shotguns from both manufacturers are robust enough to be purchased used with peace of mind.
Mossberg shotguns offer some small advantages in terms of operation over Remington. This concerns the positioning of the safety and access to the tubular magazine. Furthermore, some Mossberg shotguns have the so-called Shell-Storage Stock; a plastic stock that can hold two spare cartridges on each side.

Ammunition
Coarse buckshot is the order of the day when it comes to the defense-oriented use of a shotgun. Two factors are essential for the user: There is recoil and the shot scatters. Knowing the scatter of your own loads is basic knowledge for every shotgun shooter. The Wirkungszonenmethode is a reliable tool to determine the scatter and effective range of the respective combination of ammunition and shotgun.
The method divides the scatter / pattern of the shot into three areas:
Zone A (fist size)
Zone B (A4 sheet size)
and Zone C (larger than A4 sheet)
The aim of the Wirkungszonenmethode is to gain knowledge about the distance at which Zone B ends; so that the pattern of a buckshot load could no longer be reliably placed on an A4 sheet. Beyond this distance, there is a risk of endangerment in the surrounding area by individual shots.

Recoil
The recoil of 12 gauge shotgun ammunition can be significant. However, more is not always better. Almost all manufacturers offer reduced-recoil loads. Nevertheless, reduced-recoil loads have no disadvantages in effectiveness at the expected distances (room distance up to perhaps 18 meters). From experience in several shotgun and shotgun home defense training modules, two reduced-recoil brands are recommended: the Hornady TAP and the GECO Coated Competition Buck Shot.
In any case, the chosen type of ammunition should be used on at least one full training day and subjected to the Wirkungszonenmethode more than just once.
Using a 12/76 load is generally not advisable. The immense and painful recoil creates more of a latent fear of shooting, rather than bringing significant effectiveness advantages to the cartridge.

Ammunition Carrier
How much reserve ammunition is necessary? Due to the variety of defense situations, this question is hardly answerable. In the end, it's always at least one more shot than you thought before. Having an autarkic ammunition carrier ready is a good idea. A multipurpose bag to hang over is completely sufficient for this purpose. Buckshot and shotgun slugs must be stored separately in the ammunition carrier since a possible switch from post to slug ammunition may be required. Civilian multipurpose bags are available for a little money.
During a participation in the Shotgun Homedefense course, the EDC Compact Shoulder Bag from Helikon-Tex has proven itself. The main compartment is large enough to hold up to 30 buckshot cartridges. The smaller front compartment holds at least ten shotgun slugs.
In principle, there is nothing wrong with using so-called Side Saddles. These ammunition carriers are mounted on the shotgun's housing and hold five to six shotgun shells. This increases the weight of the weapon and changes the balance. Whether benefits or disadvantages outweigh each other should be determined by each user during a training day.

Hearing Protection
An active hearing protection should also be a readily available part of the Home Defense package. It protects your own hearing while allowing you to perceive ambient noises. Further explanation is unnecessary.

Light
Naturally, a compact flashlight with high luminosity should also be part of the package. The market offers some models with very good price-performance ratios and sometimes over a thousand lumens of light output. When making a purchase, pay attention to simplicity in the operating concept and focus on the suppliers Fenix and Nextorch.

Disclaimer
Observe national regulations for the storage of firearms!

Service
Next Shotgun Course at Akademie 0/500 on October 9, 2022 in Bad Soden (Taunus) including explanation and implementation of the effect zone method. Next Shotgun Homedefense on September 23/24 (only in the Czech Republic)

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