The other day I was watching a great action movie when something happened that just ruined it for me…
The hero whipped out his Mighty Boom Stick™, a 12-gauge shotgun…
…And sent a guy flying through the air with a single blast!
Now, I don’t have to tell you that a shotgun just can’t do that, right?
Sure, they’re pretty powerful… but unless you woke up today in a world where gravity isn’t real, people don’t go tumbling through the air when you blast ’em – even with the giant whallop of a 12-gauge.
But this isn’t the ONLY “tactical shotgun myth” that’s floating around out there…
There are a lot of OTHER myths out there, bad ones, that I see gun people repeating… when they really should know better!
These are things that could get you hurt or even killed if you trust them.
That’s why I want to talk to you about…
The 3 Dumbest “Home Defense Shotgun” Myths Even Gun People Repeat!
Now, look, I’m not trying to call anybody out here or start an “Internet sh*t fight”…
…but people who repeat these myths really need to stop (especially when it comes to #3).
But I don’t want to get ahead of myself, so I’ll go in order:
Myth #1: Racking The Pump Is Terrifying
This is definitely one of those myths that started out in the movies.
The hero, a Chuck Norris type with a steely gaze and “tough guy” attitude, steps into the room and racks his pump-action shotgun:
Ka-CHUNK!
The bad guy wets himself, drops to his knees, and pleads for mercy… and you’re supposed to expect a home invader to do the same.
(That’s why a lot of “gun guys” recommend the 12-gauge pump for home defense – because of that “pucker factor” from the pump action.)
Unfortunately, in the real world – especially when the bad guy and you both are experiencing the adrenaline “fight or flight” rush – he might not even hear the noise your shotgun makes.
(After all, sometimes people get shot or stabbed in a fight and don’t even realize it until after the fact – so you can ka-chunk ka-chunk all day long and he may never notice.)
If you rely on scaring him with your pump-action, he may just be on top of you before you realize it.
Myth #2: Birdshot Works
I gotta admit, this one grinds my gears every time I hear it.
You’ll see people recommending birdshot as an effective stopper that prevents “over-penetration.”
As the guy says in that movie, “Every word of what you just said was wrong.”
If you’re close enough (like, practically on top of somebody) for birdshot to “work,” it penetrates just as much as any OTHER size shot.
But get even a little bit farther away and this fine, dust-like shot doesn’t do much at ALL.
Heck, remember when Vice President Dick Cheney shot one of his hunting buddies in the FACE while they were hunting birds?
The poor old guy had a heart attack… and STILL survived, because bird shot simply ISN’T effective from, say, across your living room (you know, the distance where you might have to shoot a home invader).
If you rely on birdshot to stop an attacker, you might as well be throwing table salt and bad language at him.
Ok, I’m exaggerating… but think of it more like the difference between throwing a softball sized rock at someone vs. a handful of pebbles… both could “hurt”… but only one is likely to knock you out.
Myth #3: You (Sort Of) Don’t Need To Aim
Now, I’m not trying to build a “straw man” here.
I don’t know of any shotgun shooters who think they don’t have to aim at ALL.
But a lot of “gun people” think they only have to point the weapon in the general direction of the target.
That’s not true, and if you believe that myth, you’re going to miss.
Even at “living room home defense range,” the spread of buckshot is literally only a few inches apart – NOT the wide spray pattern you see in the movies.
Besides, you’re responsible for every single one of those pellets and the more that miss their target, the more chance you have of hitting an “innocent” – including a loved one in another room.
No, you’ve STILL got to get your gun on target properly if you’re going to hit the bad guy.
But that means you’ve got ANOTHER problem, because it’s almost like the people who make shotguns believe the no-aiming myth too.
You see, most shotguns have a bead sight – just a little dot of metal at the tip of the barrel – and not much else.
Now, I use a 20 gauge semi-auto shotgun for home-defense, and on that gun I’ve got a tritium front sight that kind of serves as my “backup sight.”
For my primary sight, though, I need something that will let me get my shotgun on target FAST, but ACCURATELY.
That’s where my red dot comes in.
The red dot sight lets me get the gun on the bad guy, quickly, with enough accuracy to get the job done.
That’s why I highly recommend this set-up for your own home-defense shotgun.
Home defense goes way beyond just having your shotgun set up right, though.
It involves training.
Unfortunately, most home defense training has just as much myth and misinformation in it as these shotgun myths.
In other words, it falls far short of helping gun-owners truly prepare for the violent nature of a home invasion.
A home invasion is the most extreme attack you’ll ever experience… and requires EXTREME TACTICS in response.
For example, you may have to deal with situations like…
How to escape from being tied up or handcuffed
- How to use other family members to deceive your attackers
- Staging weapons in “secret hiding spots” within your home
- How to trick home invaders into letting you go
- Ways to use “improvised weapons” to your advantage
- And more. . .
These types of scenarios are EXACTLY why we created our “Extreme Home Defense Tactics” course – because we found that other home invasion survival techniques were either outdated… or frankly just fell far short of dealing with reality.
If you’d like to see more of what’s covered in the course, you can check out some of the lessons here.
All I ask is that you keep an open mind because a LOT of the training we’ve developed is WAAAAAY different than what you’ll find most instructors telling you to do.
But I can back up every last one of our techniques with real-world home-invasion stories (that ended well… or badly!) and I think you’ll see exactly why these tactics are superior for surviving a home invasion.
Again, here’s a special link to go over and check out each of the lessons we cover when you get a chance…
I look forward to hearing your feedback.
Don’t forget to watch for them… and if you see them, know that you’d had better TAKE ACTION.
