Sometime ago, while chatting with an old gunwriter pal, we began discussing home-defense options. We simultaneously agreed one isn’t under-gunned or even disadvantaged to opt for a shotgun or perhaps a lever-action rifle over a modern semi-auto when it comes to home defense.
My pal has at least one pump shotgun and a levergun, and I’m similarly equipped. In my case, the smoothbore is a Mossberg 500 purchased decades ago and put together by a friend of mine who worked for Mossberg at the time. It was a package gun of sorts; an 18 ½-inch tapered cylinder bore barrel with a simple bead front sight and a 20-inch vent rib tube with interchangeable chokes, and I’ll confess right away to having taken it on a couple of muzzle loader hunts for bumping off a grouse or rabbit for the stewpot when I wasn’t sneaking through the timber with a .50-caliber Thompson/Center Hawken, looking for the world’s dumbest elk. At some point, I installed a fiber optic front sight, which works wonders in the heavy brush one finds in the Pacific Northwest.
In addition to the two barrel choices, I specified the gun to be fitted with what is called a “Speed-Feed” buttstock, featuring two spring-loaded slots into which two spare shells may be inserted on either side, one upper and one lower, providing four extra shells quickly at hand. I load both slugs and buckshot shells into these slots.
I swapped out the factory hard plastic “corncob” forearm for a rubber Hogue replacement with its famous textured surface which, I’ve found, prevents slipping during recoil and cycling.
With the magazine plug removed, the tubular magazine can hold four or five rounds. Some years ago, I added a TacStar “Side Saddle” which holds another six shells on the left side of the receiver. So, a little math shows in an emergency I can grab that shotgun and have five in the gun and another ten shells — again a mix of rifled slugs and buckshot — at the ready. Sure, fully loaded my little “riot gun” weighs maybe ten pounds, but in a complete social collapse, it would be a comfortable carry.
I like the Mossberg platform for a couple of reasons. It is wholly reliable; I’ve never had a malfunction with this gun at any time over the past four decades. It is rugged, and proof of that is some of the places I’ve taken this shotgun and it came through with flying colors. The stock and forearm are as close to indestructible as it gets, and that Mossberg action with the dual extractors and twin action bars can’t be beaten. At the time I bought it, price was also critical. I had a young family, was making house and car payments, keeping the wife and kids fed and clothed, and the Model 500 did double duty on occasion, putting a bird in the oven.
Why Mixed Loads?
Somewhere, I know there’s a tac-tard who will jump at my “past-century” armament as out-of-date and completely inadequate.
I’m willing to debate the stopping power of a 12-gauge slug any day of the week, and perhaps twice on Sunday. Even if one substitutes No. 3 or even 4 buckshot or maybe BB shot for home defense, where the distance across a typical bedroom room may be 30-40 feet, you’re still going to ruin someone’s day because the shot payload at that distance will not have opened up too wide.
As for the lever-action rifle, chambered in .30-30 or the ballistically similar .32 Special, you’ve still got an effective rifle which can reach out beyond a hundred yards. An old Texas Ranger pal of mine, who carried a Model 94 Winchester, once explained to me about his choice: “You shoot somebody with a .30-30, they stay shot.” I hadn’t quite thought about it that way, but he certainly had a point.
The idea of mixing loads has been discussed ad nauseum, so I’ll just offer this: In an emergency, if a round of #00 buckshot doesn’t stop a threat, a slug will probably do the trick. I’ve known of rather large black bears being stopped cold by a 12-gauge slug, and in the far north, a rampaging moose can be put down decisively, so the same projectile in a home self-defense situation should bring life-threatening attack to an abrupt halt.
As I’ve said many times, I don’t own a modern semi-auto rifle. Never have, actually, but if the neighbor has a house full of them, I’m okay with that. I’ve fired a lot of AR-15-type rifles and found some to be remarkably accurate, comfortable and fun to shoot, but I guess they just never got my juices flowing enough to buy one.
So, as anachronistic as they are, my pumpgun and lever-action rifle for home defense will suffice, and hopefully never need to be used in any kind of emergency.
Just Plain Bad
Father Edward Flanagan, founder of Boys Town, once proclaimed there is “no such thing as a bad boy, only bad environment, bad modeling, and bad teaching.”
He might have found that philosophy challenged by the story out of Lynnwood, Washington involving the arrest of a 15-year-old after the teen suffered a self-inflicted bullet wound to his groin, thanks to a carelessly-carried handgun which discharged while he was strolling with a 13-year-old accomplice one day last month.
Right, Insider can hear readers declaring, “Waitaminute! Kids that age are not supposed to be packing hardware.” Figured that out quickly, did ya? The best is yet to come.
Turns out this kid was wanted on an outstanding felony warrant relating to an armed robbery in the nearby Seattle area. When he plugged himself in the privates, he reportedly “tossed the gun to his friend,” and it promptly went off a second time. The younger kid stuck the gun in his backpack and fled, only to be picked up later by police at a nearby store.
Meanwhile, the 15-year-old was taken to the hospital, where he fought with officers in the emergency room and tried to escape, according to KOMO News, the local ABC affiliate.
Wonder where the next generation of criminals is coming from? Now you know.
Just Darn Good
Kudos to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his “State of the State” address last month in Tallahassee, where he unabashedly told the State Legislature, “We need to be a strong Second Amendment state.”
In a 32-minute speech, which may be watched here, DeSantis — who probably still has his eye on a White House run in 2028 — told lawmakers, “The free state of Florida has not exactly led the way on protecting Second Amendment rights. We have some of the more weak laws on the country compared to our other states who consider themselves conservative.
“I would ask you to protect people’s Second Amendment rights. Look back in instances where legislation may have been passed in recent years, such as shifting the burden on red flag laws, such as taking away the right of young adults to purchase firearms, such as limiting somebody’s ability to both keep and to bear arms as our Constitution does.”
He was referring to a statute, signed into law by his predecessor, Gov. Rick Scott, which raised the minimum age for buying firearms in the Sunshine State to 21 years. It’s because the mass killer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland back in February 2018 was 19 years old at the time and he personally bought the murder weapon, a semi-auto rifle.
Florida is a very well-armed state, with at least 2.46 million active concealed carry licenses in circulation — many issued to non-residents who visit during the winter months — and a “Constitutional Carry” law, which allows for carry without a license.
The governor’s remarks reminded Insider of a press briefing conducted by Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells following the fatal shooting of a would-be home invader by the homeowner. The press event, which can be viewed here, produced one of the more quotable quotes from a lawman I’ve ever heard: “This is the state of Florida. You want to break into someone’s home, you should expect to be shot.”
A reporter asked the sheriff if he had any advice for people who wanted to keep their homes and themselves safe. Wells matter-of-factly replied, “Well, if it’s me, I’m going to have a firearm. Everyone is different, but I’m going to exercise my Second Amendment right to have a firearm, and I praise this husband for doing what he needed to be doing, to protect his home and protect his family.”
There’s a sheriff who probably wouldn’t have a second thought about my 12-gauge in the corner loaded with slugs and double-ought buck.