IS A RENEWED INTEREST IN DEFENSIVE SHOTGUNS FORTHCOMING?

I make a concerted effort to avoid politics when I write articles. I also firmly believe that the impact that modern-day politics have on our lives is growing by leaps and bounds. Two areas that are of concern to me are violent crime and pressure on restricting the ownership of certain firearms such as the modern semi-automatic sporting rifles with much of the focus on the AR-15 series. Shotguns are not demonized to the same extent by the media as are handguns and modern semi-automatic sporting rifles.

The firearm that most of our students think of when it comes to self-defense is a handgun, and most typically that is a semi-automatic pistol. Some students want to have a firearm that they can carry concealed on their person in the event that through no real fault of their own they are attacked by a violent criminal offender. Others arrived at the conclusion that the handgun was the only firearm they would ever need based upon what they saw on television and the movies, or because a salesman at a gun store recommended it to them in order to make a sale. I suspect that in some instances a shotgun might be the better choice, and I would further advocate that there are some good reasons that practicing concealed carriers might want to acquire a shotgun as well. Both reasons have much to do with home defense (which for most people is where we spend the majority of our time). There are multiple reasons I believe this to be so, which includes the following:

• The shotgun might be the most effective defensive tool  that a student can deploy in the event of a home invasion, especially if  he or she is able to stay in one room and take up a position behind a bookcase full of books in a corner on the same side of the room as the doorway. It is hard to imagine a more suitable defensive firearm for use in a low-light environment that might involve one or more possibly armed attackers.
• The very presence of a shotgun has a long history of stopping attacks before they start. Natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, Helene, and Milton are often followed by roaming groups of looters as well as others taking advantage of the opportunity to commit criminal acts unimpeded. The same is also true of civil unrest (highly recommended is the recently released book MINNEHAHA BURNING by Firearms Trainers Association member Mike Treat). I would be the first to say that while a Modern Sporting Rifle (also known as the AR-15, AR-10, etc.) holds more ammunition and has  greater range than a shotgun, there are simply going to be people who either are unable to afford a good-quality rifle or do not want one. Long ago I quit trying to pound square pegs into round holes, most especially if the round peg is a good-quality and properly set up defensive shotgun.
• My “home” for the night may be in another state or city in which I am unable to legally possess a handgun. My 50-year-old Remington 870 Wingmaster with an 18.5-inch barrel, conventional stock, and standard four-shot magazine tube is likely legal in all fifty states. Highly recommended is the Vang Comp VCS Discreet Carry Bag which looks like a folding chair bag.
• I taught my first defensive shotgun class at the Texas Pistol Academy in 1994. I have now been teaching defensive shotgun classes for thirty years. I enjoy teaching defensive shotgun classes for the simple reason that new students with no shooting experience typically leave the range far more prepared to deal with a deadly threat in their home than they would have been after their first defensive pistol class. Whether they retain that competence through frequent dry practice is up to them, and I make sure that they understand that.

In summary, I think trainers who consider advising their students of the virtues of owning a shotgun might want to think about getting one themselves. After all, every scenario addressed above is applicable to us as well. There is no shortage of defensive shotgun trainers in the Firearms Trainers Association with members like Tim Chandler, Ashton Ray, Erick Gelhaus, Darryl Bolke, and Tom Givens. I am quite certain that I left some members off the list. Other trainers that I have high regard for are Rob Haught, Matt Haught, and Steve Fisher. The absolute Gold Standard for trainers interested in teaching defensive shotgun classes is, in my opinion, the Rangemaster Defensive Shotgun Instructor class.

This article is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. This information represents the experience of leading firearms and self-defense instructors and is designed to help armed defenders and concealed carriers make smarter, more well-informed use of force decisions. Every self-defense scenario is unique, and each defender is responsible for their own decisions.