There is a Stevens 311 SxS loaded with #3 buckshot (20 pellets) on the wife's side of the bed. I don't know if #4 Buck is available in 20 ga. My 12 ga. S&W autoloader is also handy with 3" steel BB's.

I would go with the 870 tactical version. It is fairly inexpensive holds 7 rounds has a shorter barrel and you know they are reliable. You could teach them how to shoot a pump gun in one day.

I have this Home defense buckshot that is one .60 caliber ball and six 0 buck pellets. Great performance on the range. Made by Centurion, its about a dollar a shot.

I favor a pump for the simple reason that even the dumbest criminal knows the sound of a round being racked into the chamber and that is a fine deterrent right there no matter what the choice of load.

shot^

You could pick up a Rem.1100 cheap. don't get much simpler than safety off, fire. As far as a double, anything is better then nothing, but why limit yourself to two shots. I would shy away from pistol grip shotguns they look cool but when the shot counts do you want your loved ones shooting from the hip or holding it out in front of them? I know I know everyone says its a shotgun how can you miss, but in the real world the contact distance in a house, your shot will not be much bigger then the barrel it just came out of.
As far as the sound of racking a shell into a pump, I've always heard that from other officers and friends, and have been in plenty of situations wear shotguns were being racked all over the place and I can't say that i've ever seen any reaction from the people the shotguns were being loaded for till they were aimed at them.
Your choice of load is perfect for a home, you don't need to be blasting through the walls. And as hjohn429 said Train, Train, Train!
Also make sure they have the right mindset,you have a right to protect yourself, don't let them think that maybe if they just wound them everything will be ok, that only works on TV.

I consider the shotgun a better option for home defense because it's better learning curve and greater confidence-builder than a handgun for less experienced shooters and no less effective for experienced individuals. Of the available shotguns, the Remington 870 with 18.5 or 20-inch barrel. For practice, make a game of it for training purposes using stationary balloons, clay targets, plastic beverage bottles. If the training progresses well, add a measure of difficulty by suspending and swinging the targets, by gently tossing the clays. In time, use combat silhouettes because the concept of self-defense is easier to absorb than the reality, and training should approximate the worse-case scenario. If the safest room in your home or a hallway approach is 20-28 feet, build to that distance with aimed and instinctive shooting. A shotgun can be an intimidating weapon on both sides of the trigger assembly, so start with short distances and low brass, but build to the longer distances and 00 buckshot. Focus on building confidence and skill through familiarity, not "shock and awe". Keep it low stress. For an investment of 7-12 boxes of 12 or 20 gauge, your return on investment will be a better trained and prepared spouse.

Well I'd buy a mossberg 500 cruiser in 20 gauge with a load of 2s you don't have to worry about over penetration but the 2s will let him know your there.

by the way, my 311 is a 12gauge

I went with a used 12ga.rem.870 mag.roit gun $267 my cost. but mossburg makes 20ga.With 18.5 in.or a 410 with an 18.5 in barrel.

Some shotguns have parts made of alum. that i do not trust in a shotgun.

You can't go wrong with a Mossberg 500, a Remington 870 or a Winchester 1300. They're ultra-reliable, ultra-tough, ultra-cheap and easy to use.

I saw a guy at the gun range years ago that had a "snake charmer"...

A .410 double-barreled pistol! I'd never seen one before, although I don't typically look at such weapons since they are outside of the traditional hunting stock. I've always thought that it would be an interesting addition to a home defense arsenal, as well as a great thing to have at hand if wading through some snake-infested swamp.

Certainly wouldn't be my weapon of choice for protecting the home, but it sure looked cool.

Well having a side by side may look bad a$$ in the movies I don't think its practical for home defense. Two shots and you have to reload. I would definitely go with a tactical pump gun either a Remington 870 or Mossberg 500. Then I would take the extra time to teach my family how to use the gun so that if something does happen there not fiddling with a gun they don't know how to shoot.

Keep my Mossberg 500 by my bed. I have to go with what "country road" said, the sound of racking a round may make them run. I'd rather not have to shoot anyone if I don't have to.

Right now I've just got #6 in it. I'm still grappling with my religious beliefs about self defense. My hope right now is that it would be enough to make him leave, but not enough to kill. In the dark, all he's gonna know is that he's been shot. A compromise I've considered is having 2 rounds of lowbrass bird/game shot first, and then maybe a self defense load third - just in case.

i would use #2 buckshot with a pump 12 ga.

Good call, Big O and Luke..... Get a pump and you probably will never even have to fire it in self-defense.

Take it from a guy who carried an 870 professionally for too many years That pump sound changed the mind suddenly of many a bad guy, Now that said, Its not your job to play hide and seek with a crook in your house. It is your job to defend you and yours by making your stand if the stupid bastard is dumb enough to come after you especially after you've made it known that you are well armed. Removing that one from the gene pool would be a public service. Now ammo. Slugs and buckshot will not be contained by a wood frame house and blow through drywall like it wasn't there. SO, how close are the neighbors and is all of your family accounted for and not in harms way from your "friendly fire"? A good goose or turkey load will make a fatal mess of a torso at social distances without over penetration. Plus a hunting load is easier to defend in court than an anti-personnel round.

PS not alot of tactically trained and minded people do B&E They make think they are but watching CSI Miami to learn dynamic entry will not cut the mustard. So in that regard rack the slide and generaly one of two things will happen they will run or go "ITS ME" loudly personally as a person who is tactially trained to enter and clear a room I dont like playing in somone else's back yard keep that in mind that those who break in probably are not in a sober sane mind as you and I are.. I doubt your going to pop smoke and draw fire racking the slide on your weapon.

Alex's mossberg 500 youth 20 ga with any shot at close range would work. Have you seen what #6's does to a car door at 12 feet! Of course #4 Buckshot comes to mind, but it's the pass thru walls and carry over to the neighbors house I'd worry about!

a coach gun is what i would use it is a short barrell 12 ga with 2 triggers and you can also use 3 inch shells as well as 2 3/4 i would use a #4 round in one barrell and 00 in the other caus eif it comes to pulling a gun on someone i want to know they arent going to walk away from it

that's suppose to be "a jug of water"

Home defense calls for close encounters...something that will put the perp's belt buckle through the wall behind him/her. You want to smoke the bad guy/girl, not the extended member of your family sleeping in the next bedroom. Taurus 410/.45 ACP hand gun...no worries about swinging a 20" barrel in the dark, bumping into a trophy case in the front room...been there...the Taurus is the answer.

countitandone -- I thought the judge was chambered for the .45 long colt, not the acp?

Jay, right you are and thanks.

Freek
Don't figure you will ever see this, but here goes.

As my two children grew, I started them on .22 handguns and long guns. I was fortunate enough to have .22's in semi-auto, bolt, and lever.
As they grew and developed, as size dictated, they were allowed to shoot larger and larger calibers.
When both were in Jr. High, the four of us were home one weekend when I decided to "test" them. I laid a .22 Ruger Single Six (unloaded!) on the dining room table and told the wife what was going on.
As the four of us worked around the house, inside and out, the two of them "NEVER" touched the revolver!
Why? They had handled the gun so many times in the past, they were no longer curious. They also knew, if they wanted to look, touch, feel, shoot a firearm, dad would allow it or explain why, and I NEVER used, "Because I said so!".
They both now carry firearms as part of their daily routine.
One is a Federal LEO, the other is State!

Bubba

First let me say having worked as a Commissioned Security Officer in some of the most dangerous areas of Fort Worth and Dallas Texas I carried as my service piece a Colt 45 1911 combat elite, AND a Mossburg 500. For what ever reason bad guys just don't fear side arms like they do shot guns, and while I worked partol I never kept a round in the pipe of the mossburg just so I could rack one during a possible incounter. 99% persent of the time when you rack a round in front of someone the problem ends right there. So I have to agree with the rest on racking a round, and in a quiet house the sound is 10 fold. Here is the main point I wanted to make to my reply....It's the mind set portion of this subject that has to be established in each person's mind. It doesn't matter if you have a XD-40, a 500 Mossburg or a 7.62 mini gun beside your bed. If you hear someone in your house at night you need to understand you might have to take a life that night. If you hesatate it might be your life that will be taken. I know this is a hard thing for some people to get their arms around. The best way to be prepaired is play out possible incounter's in your mind and be prepaired mentailly to react, so it become's second nature.
Good Training and a positive mindset shall go a long way to saving you and your family's life if you have to take action in the middle of the night.

I keep my mossburgh 535 between my bed and night stand. A pump is definitely better than a double for home defense. I prefer low brass number sevens for home defense. At the kind of ranges you are going to be shooting at in a home defense situation it will kill someone just as fast as a magnum buckshot load would and it will stop after one wall instead of going through three or four( this is especially important for me since I live in townhouse so even if I know where my family is I don't want to accidentally kill my neighbor.