"Self-defense" is a rather broad concept. Taking all common situations, shotguns are effective for self-defense in many cases. Recalling a few from personal experience and instances in various written accounts:
* Chambering a shell in a pump shotgun creates a distinctive and relatively loud sound. I have personal experience where doing so clearly communicated the intent of the homeowner to fire and was an effective deterrent. * Like "assault weapons", shotguns have menacing visual effectiveness and are particularly good for riot and public disorder situations (King riots in L.A., black-out districts in post-Katrina New Orleans, etc.). * The 7-11 in the town I grew up in always had a double barrel hanging behind the counter (this was in the south and long before 7-11 corporate headquarters became squeamish about such things). Though it was a display piece, it was there to let robbers know there would be consequences. * Non-home clearing, such as an emergency patrol of a neighborhood or apartment complex - the ability to hit a moving target with a wider spray helps. Critical is that "in home" limits many common forms of self-defense and thus the broader set of circumstance must be the criteria. Getting back to Eugene's question: are shotguns preferable to some people than handguns? Yes, but the number of people who find have that preference is small. However, the two are not mutually exclusive. A childhood friend of mine (these days he is a class III designer specializing in silencers) carries concealed but also keeps a shotgun behind the curtains next to his front door. Yours in Liberty Guy Smith www.GunFacts.info <http://www.gunfacts.info/>
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