I have to say I was highly impressed by Mordechai's post. His thought's closely parallel my own.
A couple improvements would be: not to ever admit to shooting to kill. Even if you did so, you tell any and everyone that you shot to stop the attack. If they ask why you emptied the gun, just say that was all you had loaded, at the time.
The second is the use of 9 mm or other High velocity round in an urban environment.
For home defense, you must be responsible for every round that comes out the barrel, whether it hits the intended target or not. Over-penetration is quite something to consider, as the standard interior walls don't stop much in the way of firearm projectiles. Generally, the higher the muzzle velocity the more penetration, or over penetration, you can expect.
9mm is great for going through car doors. It can also go though interior and exterior walls to be finally stopped by your neighbor's child. Further, 9mm ball type ammunition can go through your target and hit something/someone behind it. I view this round as possibly one of the worst for a home defense choice, for reason of control. Hollow points only do a bit better, provided, clothing/drywall doesn't seal up the hollow point before expansion of the projectile occurs. Then it simply behaves like ball ammunition. (Ball was developed to inflict injury on the battlefield to as many opponents as possible, btw.)
After studying ballistics, and trauma effects, it is clear that proper shot placement is your best hope for a satisfactory outcome. However, casual range time does not give the same physical effects as the fight or flight response, with corespondent heart rate, breathing, and adrenaline effects on the human body. I find that anyone who thinks they can maintain a tight grouping of shots with anything under those conditions, is extremely rare, or they are VERY well trained. Perhaps if you really have ice in your veins (rather than just thinking you do) you can actually perform a knee or shoulder shot, without having a flier destroy something you didn't intend. This is why it is commonly taught to aim for center of mass.
Muzzle control should be one of the first things you learn about a firearm. Inside a dwelling a long muzzle can work against you if you intend on clearing your own house, as the end of the barrel precedes your sight when entering a room. If the intruder grabs the muzzle and points it toward your child's room, is your response, to pull the trigger? Using a shotgun and aiming from the hip looks good in movies. But, I have to doubt the accuracy of such practice, and a 12 ga recoil, makes it questionable if the gun will even be retained for a second shot. 20 ga would likely be a better choice if a shotgun is still the choice.
I can't believe I read a recommendation for using slugs in shotguns for home defense. These will go though several car doors.
Even with shot shells, the shot spread of shotgun at 25 ft, averages 8 inches, being very capable of missing a target.
You don't have a gun to intimidate (though there are times when it can be used for that). In my opinion, racking the shotgun slide for audible effect is a dumb ass, showboat move. If you are going into action with a weapon, it should be ready to use before entering combat. Further, giving away information about your position, and armament to the enemy, is just plain stupid. Also, pump shotguns need two hands for effective use. I'll probably have a flashlight in one of my hands for target identification. Then again, if you're wounded in one arm, the pump shotgun becomes a single shot firearm.
For residential home defense a frangible round is preferred. This allows all the energy from the projectile to be expended with or within the first object(s) it hits. Don't care if I destroy a wall, I don't want the person behind it injured with a flier. If it hits the intended target and turns flesh to hamburger, well, the point was to stop the perpetrator. The Glaser safety slug was developed just for this purpose. The Glasers are the first rounds in my .45s for home defense, then comes the Hydra-Shoks, Golden Saber, or Winchester Silver Tip rounds.
The .45 Glasers will penetrate one layer of 5/8 sheetrock, a few will dribble out the 2nd layer of sheetrock. (9mm Glasers penetrate 6+ layers of sheetrock.)
Yes I know, the Hydra-Shoks, Golden Saber, or Winchester Silver Tip rounds will penetrate 10 or 12 layers of sheetrock. But, If the attack keeps closing distance, these rounds are less likely to spread, and they will penetrate excess clothing to reach vital organs and bone structures to stop the attack.
If the .45s are too big for your hands, then consider the .40 size pistols. The Sig p229 has been reliable with every ammo type I put through it. And, I don't instinctively shoot high with it like i tend to do with the Glocks, probably due to the grip angle. The Glocks are fine guns, mind you, they just don't have the right ergonomics for me, as I am used to the 1911 (and Sig) grip angles).
If you still wish to choose a shotgun, please use tiny bird shot #8 or #9 in a home defense situation. At close range, the shot still behaves similar to a slug. But, the tiny pellets are much more easily stopped (or rendered ineffective) by interior walls.
That's my view on the subject, anyway. FWIW.
Cheers,
