I always worry about the spring too, thats why I keep 5 shells of 00 buck in the stock sleeve as well. I figure my dog will wake me in time to slide a few and be ready to go.

 

Also wondering - is there a big difference in 2.75'' and 3'' recoil?
My wife will be using it too.

Shell suggestions/knowledge appreciated.

 

Ive never really noticed myself.

 

I never really though about the spring. Mine are loaded and have sleeves.

 

Years ago I had a .380 and I kept it loaded. Whenever I would take it to the range it would jam on the 10th round, no doubt due to the spring losing its elasticity. Then again it was a Lorcin, major POS.

 

Im not a shotgun kind of guy.

I Keep a loaded xd40 on the nightstand, not worried about one chambered, the dog ( basset hound ) always let's me know if somethings going on. leaving plenty of time to jack the slide.

 

If your concern is spring wear (a valid concern) but still want a weapon kept loaded for home defense, use a revolver...........they tend not to wear out.

I use a .38 Taurus revolver for home and a 12 gauge (unloaded) but the shells attached to a sleeve on the buttstock

 

I would not worry about the tubular magazine spring in your shotgun. Loaded, it would probably last years before you had a problem. And if it did, just replace it. They are pretty cheap to buy replacements. .

I have one shotgun for home defense that I have had for 15+ years now and have kept it loaded for most of that time. Never had an issue with the spring.

 

I have one shotgun for home defense that I have had for 15+ years now and have kept it loaded for most of that time.

Fully loaded? :

 

I'm wondering if the magazine spring will take a set and not feed properly if I keep it fully loaded?

If so, would it be possible to keep two or three 3'' shells loaded without weakening the spring?

Springs don't wear out if they aren't being moved. It's OK to keep your magazine fully loaded.

Also - I'm left-handed and the cross-bolt safety is going to be a problem to toggle without reaching around the trigger guard.

I thought about taking it off safety and keeping my finger away from the trigger unless needed but that's not the greatest idea.

My 500 is loaded and the safety is off but my slide isn't fully racked forward. All I need to do is move the slide forward a couple of inches and the shotgun is ready to fire without having to think about taking the safety off.

 

My 500 is loaded and the safety is off but my slide isn't fully racked forward. All I need to do is move the slide forward a couple of inches and the shotgun is ready to fire without having to think about taking the safety off.

Hey- that's a great idea.

So far no one has mentioned keeping a shell chambered.
What say you??

 

ALSO - got another question....

With light mounted - would it be possible to fire while holding from your waist?

Wife thinks it would be easier for her - but of course shooting it will tell....

 

No i would think with the reqoil it would be to hard to control. Take and get some lite loads 7.5 or 8 s at walmart and get her shooting it. Then keep the 000 in it at nite. You'll have more control with it on the shoulder. I also keep mine loaded but none in the chamber. Ive had it loaded for yrs but i shoot it every so often. If she shoots it with them 3in bucks she may wind up with a face full of shotgun. And lets not forget a second shot even out of a short barreled gun ull still need to aim and whos to say when you need that lazer the battieries wont be dead. Just some thought.

 

The tube spring will probably outlive you and me. No worries. And like a previous poster said, they aren't expensive to replace.
You can purchase low recoil 'law enforcement' 12 ga. rounds. Still very powerful.

http://www.winchester.com/Products/...om/Products/shotshell-ammunition/winlite-low-recoil/buckshot/Pages/default.aspx

Just Google search 12ga low recoil.

Mossberg makes great shotguns.

 

Hi - I don't know a lot about guns, got a question....
Bought a Mossberg Maverick 88 12 gauge pump w/ 18.5'' barrel for my house gun yesterday.
Always wanted one...

I'm not going to dump on your choice of weapon. But I would like to propose that prior to deciding this is a 'done deal' for home defense you take this test. It is really easy . . .

Go to any 90 degree outside corner. You know the kind you might encounter leaving a bedroom hall and entering the living room.

Take that shotgun with you.

Now, get around that corner with the gun READY TO ENGAGE - by that I mean "high ready" - a threat without the barrel 'telegraphing' that you are coming, and at what height they can expect you to break the plane of that corner.

. . .discovered it yet? It is virtually impossible to do.

If you are OK with the bad guy or bad guys (because you never know) knowing you are coming, potentially having a great lever to grab hold of to disarm you, AND knowing at what height they can start shooting to hit you through the wall . . . . well, you are far far braver than I am.

It's not the greatest but it seems nice enough for my needs.
I've got a laser / flashlight combo and rail on order that got good reviews.

My suggestion would be at a minimum supplementing that with a handheld light used as your "search/locate" light. For a couple of reasons:

1) Spouses get very upset when they get up to go pee in the middle of the night and find a muzzle pointed at them so their loved one could see if they were a burglar. Same can be said for teenage daughters. They get like crazy over that kind of thing.

2) That light is a point of aim for the bad guy. Bet on it. Do you really want that in line with your head?

I also put a 5 shell sleeve on the stock and I'm currently using 3'' 000 buck shot.

2-3/4". There is not a human on the planet that can stand up to 2-3/4" fired at "in home" distances and that 1/4 difference in 3" shells WILL make a noticeable - and negative - impact on your recovery time between shots.

I'm wondering if the magazine spring will take a set and not feed properly if I keep it fully loaded?

Cycling these springs wears them out. Not sitting static, either compressed or not. I suspect that you realize that some police agencies have carried shotguns in their cruisers with the magazine tubes stuffed full for many years and when needed, they fed without issue.


These are my opinions. I won't profess to being all knowing. But I have been both a student and teacher in firearms and tactics for decades . . . and decades (I'm really old). :thumb:

 

I keep 4 shells in the magazine...no rounds in the chamber with the hammer down so there is no need to use the slide release or actuate the safety to chamber a round.

I do not keep rifles with a round in the chamber, nor do I trust safeties....I only use them when I'm on a public range and it's required...I'd much rather use a barrel plug.

I do keep magazines locked and loaded, safety off...but I always assume they are loaded...every time I pick one up.

I do keep two of my pistols loaded with a round in the chamber, but they are also kept in holsters...again, safety off...the 1911 is an exception to this rule (safety on with a round in the chamber for this one), but it's not kept loaded at the home.

I have no children, and I'm not bound by law to prevent access by children.

I prefer to use foster type slugs for things that go bump in the night...YMMV...

 

I keep a Judge 45 by the bed loaded. And my AR15 is loaded as well. An unloaded gun is nothing more than a Stick!

 

I thought about getting a Governor for .410 and it also takes .45 acp which I have in a Colt MK IV Officer ACP.

But in the end I thought if I'm gonna get a shotgun why not get a REAL shotgun?

Besides, I have a double barrel 12 gauge long gun and I like having redundancy.

 

I might add - before this, my house gun was a 9mm, a .45, or an AK47.

 

Excuse me my home invader while I fumble around trying to jack a shell into the action. My house gun is my 1911 loaded with a round in the tube and the thumb safety on. I shoot this gun every month and in this practice I automatically thumb down the safety as the gun comes up. Practice, practice makes this work for me.

Yes there is a 870 in the closet fully loaded but no shell in the chamber but this is back up in case I run out of 230 grain JHP.

 

In my night stand is the 9mm, locked and loaded. Next to it is my Zap flashlight, nice and bright and 1,000,000 volts of deterrent. In my wifes nightstand is a .38 body guard revolver loaded with laser. Over the bed is my Katana and wakizashi (both razor sharp). I have a kendo stick by the closet door.

In the locked gun safe is the .40 cal Smith and Wesson , .22 cal Rgar Mark II, 12 gage Home defense weapon and 9mm carbine all locked and loaded.

Fast response, the 9mm or .38, a little more time, the 12 gage.

 

I do believe Capt Fuzzy nailed it.

 

I keep a rem 870 loaded with 6 rounds in it..not chambered though.

I have a beretta 9mm chamvered ready to go all I have to do is thumb the safty up and it is ready to go.

 

LOADED and CHAMBERED YAYYYY

Shotty still rules over any handgun, with all the choices of loads, you can lessen the chance of overpenetration through drywall, etc. You can mitigate the whole turning a corner problem by simply using your head, making wide arcs, and if all else fails, you have the shotgun, let the home invader walk into his doom...shotty always rules.

 

I'll be honest, I haven't read the majority of the responses.... Too late for my eyes to handle.

Check this out as far as safe storage for a loaded weapon (specifically shotgun)

And about the magazine tube spring... It's a myth that the spring will weaken over time. At first, yes it will settle, but after it settles (which it will regardless of being loaded full time or not) it won't weaken. This is more of an issue on quick cycling pistols and rifles anyhow.

It's the action of frequently loading and unloading a spring that will cause it to weaken and eventually fail.

People will argue with me about this, but I can tell you with 100% certainty that you will do zero harm to your mag spring leaving it fully loaded.

 

It seems there is a dispute as to whether "shotty" should be the home go-to gun.

I'm thinking: 12 gauge in the house - .45 in the car / on the hip - AK outside / out the window.

Isn't a pistol what you choose when a long gun isn't possible?

 

My father kept a Winchester Model 12 pump in the hall closet . It was loaded but no,round in the chamber. He thought that the sound of racking a round was somewhat of a deterrent.

'zactly!

I don't want to shoot anyone. If I have to I will. I'd much rather terrorize them into a more honest state of mind while we're awaiting the law to get there. That includes yards after dark in Texas.

There just isn't anything like the sound of a round being chambered in a shotgun.

 

This too was my thinking.

I told my wife the sound of the rack would send most bad guys out the door.
It's a universally recognized signal of imminent death.
She said it wouldn't matter to a crack head.
I told her that's what the buck shot is for.

 

What happens when you see the intrueder and go to rack a round and it jams? If someone is in your house its time to do work, you have the surprise use it.

 

How often does that happen?

 

Congrats on the new shotgun. :thumb:

I bought a Mossberg 500 back in the late '80s and had to replace the magazine spring after 23 years. That's not bad. Mine has shown me that it wont matter how you store it as far spring life goes. They're inexpensive and easy to replace. Check Midway or Brownells if you ever need one.

2-3/4" shells are fine for most anything that you need to do IMO. Why deal with the extra recoil in a stressful situation?

I've watched the "Racking the Slide" argument on here before. IMO it it's a bad decision to rely on the sound to scare anyone off. The bad guy doesn't get a warning if he's breaking into my house, he gets a lead salad.

Good Luck

 

I've watched the "Racking the Slide" argument on here before. IMO it it's a bad decision to rely on the sound to scare anyone off. The bad guy doesn't get a warning if he's breaking into my house, he gets a lead salad.

Good Luck

It would be a stressful situation. Adrenaline would be flowing.

To each his own, but I'd like to propose a bit of thought on the subject.

My best friend in high school was nearly shot dead with a shotgun by his father not long after high school. He'd been moved out for three years, or so. He got **** faced drunk and for whatever reason decided to go to his folks home. He evidently made lots of noise getting in, which panicked his folks. His dad setup against the wall covering the foyer at a 90 degree angle. Tim was quiet after getting in. His dad was full of fight, rather than flight.

For some reason his dad said something right before he was ready to shoot. He rolled on the ground crying afterwards at just how close he came to shooting his own son in "self defense".

That situation might not apply to everyone.

There are other cases of people so drunk or high that they cannot find their home and think they are breaking into their own place when they actually broke into someone else's place.

There are goofy kids seeking thrills.

Play it wise. Ease up a bit. Judge Dredd was just a (bad) movie that happened to come on a couple of nights ago.

Be safe and be vigilant. Keep your doors locked. Be aware of the possibility of home invasion, but also be aware that other unforeseen events can and do happen. Vigilance means looking out for danger, while retaining the ability to avoid making a big mistake.

Just my take. I'm racking a shell in if it ever happens to me.

 

keeping the gun loaded isnt a problem as parts are easy to change out. springs can be made fairly easy as well after a SHTF issue.

i have a remington 870 with colapsable stock and pistol grip and light carrier on the slide. keep it loaded but nothing in the chamber and saftey on.

the thing to remember is to take the gun out and use it every so often. and clean it regularly. i do mine monthly when i get back from the range this one goes with me and my others all get cleaned at the same time.

you can have a gun loaded and ready to go but if you dont keep an eye on it you may be reaching for a pile of rust when you need it most.