The second, almost as laughable, is that “the sound of racking a shotgun action is often enough to scare off an intruder without ever needing to fire it.” Not only is this untrue, but it violates one of the cardinal rules of self defense — it gives up the element of surprise.

A loud sound not only allows the bad guy to know where you are, but in this case, it will also let him know that you are armed. For an unarmed intruder, this usually isn’t a problem (for the homeowner). For a determined invader/attacker who is also carrying a weapon, this might be a threat that they respond to by shooting rather than running. 

Having first come into use in 16th century Europe, shotguns are versatile defensive weapons. Rubber bullets are available as a non-lethal means of forwarding and attack. Birdshot is available almost everywhere. Load your shotgun with 00 Bucks and you have six to nine .33-caliber lead projectiles traveling at 1,300 fps. Throw a slug into a smooth-bore shotgun and you have a single chunk of lead weighing 500 grains or more — a projectile larger than all but the biggest big-game rifles. 

There isn’t a person alive who is comfortable staring at the dangerous side of a shotgun held the hands of someone who knows how to use it. Yes, handguns are more concealable, and many can hold a significantly larger number of rounds than your typical shotgun. For this and a few other reasons, there are even some “experts” in the field who claim a shotgun is a poor choice for a defensive situation. 

Those “experts” are wrong. 

Handguns are more difficult for the average person to deploy well compared to a shotgun. They are more difficult to shoot accurately compared to a shotgun, but, perhaps most importantly, due to their popularity among millions of bird hunters all over the world, shotguns are often the weapon an average person is most comfortable using. 

What Is the “Best” Defensive Shotgun? 

The best defensive shotgun is the one that a person has and is familiar with, of course. That could be something as classic as grandpa’s old Fox side-by-side 12-gauge hanging over the mantle, as basic as the Remington 870 12-gauge that a customer uses to hunt ducks on the weekend, or as self-defense-specific as a dressed-up Mossberg 590 tactical with a ghost ring sight, adjustable stock, eight-round magazine and stock-mounted spare cartridge holder. 

In my home, our general defensive weapon for a very long time was a Mossberg 500 Bantam youth 20-gauge pump shotgun loaded with No. 4 Buck. The reason I say “general” is because all of my children had grown up shooting this gun. It was small enough so that my wife, who is just 5’3”, could hold and operate it easily, and we always had plenty of ammunition around to use for practice and/or defending the home from everything from a coyote coming into our rural Wisconsin yard to, one time, a highly impaired individual who was pounding on and kicking the door at our Arizona home at 3 a.m. while I was away and my wife and son were put in a very uncomfortable and intense situation.

For a purely defensive weapon, though, additional capacity, a shorter barrel allowing for greater maneuverability, and the ability to add additional advantageous accessories can make all the difference between just an everyday shotgun and a purpose-built defensive weapon.

Let’s imagine, for a moment, you have a customer searching for something a little more specialized. Perhaps your customers are looking to have a home-defense weapon that they were already familiar with, but they want more than the two shots Grandpops’s old side-by-side will offer them. Perhaps they live in one of the few places in the country where something like an AR-15 or even a high-capacity handgun is not allowed or difficult to obtain. Maybe they work in law enforcement and are looking for something with a little more punch than their daily-carry duty weapon.

While any high-capacity shotgun that your customers can afford and are comfortable shooting is an effective defensive shotgun, the following recommendations will give you an excellent place to start the defensive shotgun conversation. 

Mossberg 940 Pro Tactical

I am a big fan of semiautomatic shotguns because of their reduced recoil. Mossberg designed the 940 Pro Tactical specifically as a defensive weapon. With a 7+1 capacity holding standard rounds and an even greater capacity with today’s mini shotgun shells, a drilled and tapped receiver for the mounting of optics or red dots, and Mossberg’s modern, clean-running gas vent system, this gun is hard to beat for an all-around defensive weapon. 

It doesn’t hurt that it is priced on the lower end of “middle-of-the-road” when it comes to specialized defensive shotguns. MSRP: $1,275.00

Mossberg 500/590 

While the old standby Mossberg 500 first brought to market in 1961 is still alive and well and is available in many different defensive/tactical configurations, the newer Mossberg 590 pump raises the bar when it comes to defensive shotgun use. 

For strictly defensive/tactical use, the 590 Flex Tactical gives you an eight-plus-one capacity, a pistol grip, and Mossberg’s Flex system. This system allows for numerous accessories and changes for the firearm — everything from different stocks and forends to things like additional weapon-mounted ammunition holders, optics rails and mounts for other accessories like lights. MSRP: $500-900+. 

Remington 870 

The Remington 870 shotgun is the most popular shotgun in the world, with more than 11 million of them sold since its debut in 1950. There are dozens of different 870 models and configurations these days. For a purely defensive shotgun, the 870 tactical with six-position stock is hard to beat, especially if people of varying sizes will be deploying it. Capacity is six plus one. 

MSRP: $500

Benelli M3 

One of the downsides of a semiautomatic action, especially if it’s gas-operated, can be its propensity to malfunction or jam if not well cared for and regularly cleaned. Additionally, some lighter loads might fail to cycle the action, leaving you with an empty chamber. Benelli is well known for their inertia-action firearms, which are proven more reliable for more rounds than your typical gas-operated action.

The engineers at Benelli have taken reliability another step further with the M3. If it becomes necessary to clear a misfired round or malfunction, or if you are using lower-energy rounds such as a non-lethal option, the Benelli M3 changes from a semiautomatic to a pump with a simple push of a button. This technology is pricey, though, and the M3 carries an MSRP of $2,100. 

Budget Options

Let’s face it: Not everyone has the money to spend $1,000+ on a shotgun that is going to sit around a lot more than it is shot. For customers on a very limited budget, consider offering any of the following solid choices, all with a real-world price well within the reach of most firearms purchasers. 

Winchester SXP Defender

Utilizing Winchester’s proven and proprietary “Speed Pump” technology, this is one of the fastest-cycling pump actions on the market. Retail price starting at $350.

Mossberg Maverick 88

Mossberg technology in a value package. There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles on this gun, but at the prices they sell for, your customers can afford one for everybody in the family! Retail price starting at $199.

Stoeger M3000 Freedom Defense Shotgun

Stoeger is Benelli’s “value” brand. Purchasing a Stoeger shotgun gets you Benelli’s proven recoil-operated action in a synthetic semiauto for under $600. 

Tristar Raptor ATAC

A great value/import brand with a proven history, Tristart makes these defensive shotguns based on an improved version of the classic Remington 1100 action. They are a great buy for your customers, with an average retail price just above $450. That’s a STEAL for a semiauto.