I am currently looking for a good home defense shotgun. I don't hunt so I don't really need anything fancy. I am really drawn to the Stoeger coach gun supreme with the interchangeable/removable chokes because I do occasionally shoot trap. What are ya'll's opinion on the coach gun for home defense?
I have a normal Stoeger Coachgun, as opposed to the Supreme, but I will offer some basic input on the style of shotgun.
For home defense I do still think a coachgun is a viable option with one major caveat. The main advantage it has over a 18.5" barreled pump is that it has a shorter overall length, as well as being lighter weight. A coachgun is about the shortest shotgun you can get without a tax stamp. Two barrels of buckshot can certainly stop a threat as well (remember proper technique with a shotgun with two triggers is to use one trigger finger, and transition triggers between shots). However, the major drawbacks are limited capacity, and a slow reload. So this is where the caveat comes into play, you have to have a solid sidearm back-up. I personally wouldn't want to try to reload a side by side under stress. It would be a dump both barrels and drop it so I could transition to my pistol type weapon.
It isn't really meant for trap or skeet, and I don't know how much the interchangeable chokes will help you there. I do use mine on a regular basis for informal clays, and it does just fine in that setting. But it isn't a serious trap/skeet gun, the way it swings isn't quite right, and the shot spreads out rather fast from mine (granted, with fixed chokes).
My Mossberg 500 Persuader fills that nich for me. You can pay more for one of the fancier ones, but why. When it gets down and dirty and the guns come out, I'll look to performance over bling every time. I paid $235 and change if I remember correctly; for that price you could get two.:wink:
I have the Stoeger Coach Gun Supreme...love the gun, but...
It's not an expensive shot gun, not like some of them. I bought mine, and new in the box, I sent it out to Coyote Cap and had it re-worked for cowboy shooting.
Now I don't participate in cowboy shooting, but the gun is 'butter smooth' after about $200 worth of work.
I made it a quality HD tool. Looking at the business end of a double barrel 12 gauge gets one's attention. Granted, you only have two shots, but it will get a crowd looking for the nearest exit, and I can 'smoothly' reload it pretty quickly.
Maybe not quite what your looking for but take a look at the mossburg 590a1 series shotguns, these things are built for combat and rough use. I have the 20" 9 shot version. If you can't get it done in 9 shots then you need to go home. It also has a baynet lug making hand to hand combat the best and the heavy barrel can take em out with a hit.
The line inclues a cruieser version and one with a second barrel for hunting or trap. I have used mine for trap and sporting clays for fun and it dd the job.
My opinion? Get one of the nice auto loaders like a 930SPX or Rem1100 or Ithaca SKB 300 (or the Winchester 1300 as mentioned above) then buy an extra barrel for your trap shooting. I would say less than $500 on brand new items and maybe a hundred less on used items all together. I just can't seem to wrap my mind around a double duty home defense/trap shotgun without at least swapping barrels.
Taking a hd shotgun to a sporting clay field is prolly the best thing to do, not only does a 20" no choke do great at it, there is no other best way to pratcice target aquizition at fast paces and every 'hole' is different. I just learned my shot pattern quick and shot my shots, not how others would shoot. Allways fight your fight.
Pump reliably is great, one thing about shotgun autoloaders is they have to be buffered right since of different power loads, so if you get one make sure you shoot the heck out of your hd load to make sure it goes smooth.
Hey guys,
Thanks for the input. I was looking at the coach gun primarily for the KISS factor of it and never considered a semi-auto until now. The coach gun would probably not be the best choice for trap and skeet(I usually used a friends 870 for that) but as buckeye .45 said it would work for informal clay shooting. I will definitely look into something like the Remington 1100 or the Mossberg equivalent.
I would say that this is the best choice for home defense gun... You don't need to put a lot of money into it to get something totally effective. If you think about a home invasion, you're not looking at a long sustained gunfight. You want to put out a good volume of fire with good terminal effects, right now. No need to over spend on doo-dads and gadgets. Use the money you save on the price of the gun to get 1) some plug in night lights for your hallways and rooms and 2) lots of practice ammo and range time.
I think you're better off with a used well-cleaned and well-oiled remmington with which you are very familiar than you are with a $1000 combat grade weapon loaded with scopes, lights, side saddle ammo, forend grip extension, etc.
Load it up with whatever you feel most comfortable with, maybe reduced recoil bukcshot, 00 buck, #4 birdshot, #6 birdshot.... doesn't really matter: people who get hit with a shotgun blast at inside-the-house range... they go down...
If you want to buy a great gun and it costs some $$, go ahead and buy it. But if you just want a can't go wrong HD tool, don't overspend, or overthink on your shotgun and ammo....
Must keep the gas ports clean and the seals pliable. The semi autos will take a bit more maintenance than the pumps for sure. Put a scope or Red Dot on an auto via side or top mount and over-tighten the screws or screws too long can easily bind the bolt.
My .02. I have a mossberg 590A1 and love it. It hold 9 rounds and has a 20 inch barrrel. Some of the other 500 varietals have a shorter barrel nad give up a round or 2. If I need 9 rounds I got bigger problems (Zombies duh!!!) The Remington 870 is the other highly touted HD scattergun. Again I feel like for the price the Mossberg is def the way to go. Mine has held up to some rough treatment and still handles flawlessly.
Good luck and when you decide post pics! I want a coach gun just for the heck of it, so if you can get both. Dont try to justify one to serve double duty.
For absolute simplicity you would be hard pressed to beat the coach gun, just because it's a old idea dosen't mean that it still isn't practical. Next would be a 500/590 or 870 with a 18-20" barrel and a youth stock.
Realistically speaking a HD shotgun is going to be shot very little and stored alot.
Re: autoloader shotguns for HD... the autoloaders I own are exceptionally reliable when fired from the shoulder, however they tend to not cycle reliably if fired say... from the hip. It may be just that the ones I own are all similar to the Browning A5 recoil system. Anyway, I can see potential HD scenarios where firing from the shoulder may not be likely. I'm a big fan of the Mossberg 500 series pump shotguns, but personally I prefer a carbine length AR or an AR pistol for HD.
OP - I have considered a coach gun myself, but IMHO a home defense shotgun needs to be kept loaded in order to be of use. Problem is, most long guns are NOT drop safe. Therefore, it is not safe to keep a coach gun loaded.
When the Mossberg Maverick home defense O/U came out, I was really interested. Handled one in my local gun store, and it is really nice. But...called Mossberg up, and sure enough, they say it is not drop safe.
Therefore, I would stick with a pump or semi auto. Keep it with a full mag tube, chamber empty, safety set to "fire." Completely safe, until you chamber a shell, which is much faster than trying to load a double while under stress.
I'm not very concerned about "drop safe". It sits ready to go in a long box or on the wall in a shotlock. it can be dropped at any time anyway and I'm certainly not going to wait to chamber a round until I'm ready to fire so I don't see the difference when I load it.
I do understand that others are concerned about it though and if you're concerned then by all means take action. whatever makes you comfortable.
i recently went through this thought process myself. went with the remington 879 express. added a side saddle shell holder and a limb saver pad. works great. as with anything. practice practice practice. I am thinking of swapping the stock for a youth stock.
First, you can use any shotgun to shoot trap with - if you enjoy the game enough, eventually you'll get a more appropriate gun for the game. I would not factor that into the purchase decision at all.
As far as shotguns in the home and only having 2 shots - please remember that at across the room distances there's no difference, in terms of spread of projectiles, btwn a shotgun, rifle, or pistol.
It sounds like you've have very limited exposure to shotguns so here are some thoughts:
As far as simplicity of a coach gun, that only extends to picking it up and pulling the trigger, but the same can be said for any other action type when the gun is already loaded. You have to look at the entirety of use, to include how long you get to shoot and what it takes to reload. I've seen some awkward moments with break open guns. What if, in the heat of the moment you don't open the action enough or forcefully enough to eject the empty hulls; or there's limited room to open the action; or you fumble those shells when you're trying to load? Can you reload on the fly like with a semi or pump?
What happens if you short stroke a pump when the SHTF?
30 yrs ago Massad Ayoob wrote "In the Gravest Extreme" and in it, or "The Truth About Self Defense", he discussed different types of shotguns. He came to the conclusion that when people are breaking into your home he would lay odds on the engineers and machinists at Remington/Mossberg/Winchester and them producing a semi-auto shotgun that will work when you need it over a homeowner not short stroking or otherwise causing a pump to malfunction. Let's face it - the person behind the trigger is most often the weakest link, so do what you can to isolate that link. The less input you have into the mechanics, the better. I don't mean that as directed to the OP directly, but to people in general. Surely, the mechanics of semi-auto shotguns are even better now.
You shouldn't be firing from the hip anyway.
Also, a 20 ga will be lighter, smaller, and easier to maneuver as well.
Benelli M4. If it's good enough for the USMC it's good enough for me.
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