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I would like to know if a Remington 870 Express Shursot Turkey Gun would be an adequate home defense weapon.

Yup. Adequate and ideal are different things though.

Thanks liljake82

what would you recommend?

A light for target ID and maybe an extended mag tube. I'm assuming your gun has the 21in bbl.

Your gun would be a great HD gun, but you don't want to be using a turkey choke for HD applications. I'd make sure that you go and get a cylinder choke for your gun if you don't have one already. You will also want to get some 00buckshot loads for your gun, again if you don't have any already.

A lot of guys are going to say that you need to put a bunch of extra Rambo type gear on your gun, but you won't need it. If you can't defend your home with this gun, you had might as we go move back in with mom and dad (again presuming that you have already moved out of mom and dads.)

Who are these rambo types you speak of?

It's not whom but what. I was talking about gear.

In opinion it would be fine. Not an tactual "weapon" just a hunting gun. I'd go for it.

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Yeah. And Skat, here is what impresses me.

Too many people are motivated by Self Defense issues, and end up buying some stubby specialty shotgun with all the assurances that they are adequately armed.

Unfortunately, though this profits the manufacturers, and will work fine for its purpose, the odds are slender and slim that it will ever be used for HD.


What the buy gets, is a some kind of permanent Closet Furniture, that is inadequate for other uses like hunting etc.

I would propose that you get a Sporting Model shotgun, with a Ventilated Rib and a 28" barrel, and take it hunting and get very familiar with it.

It seems so much better to me, to actually get the use of your firearm, and grow in and enjoy shotgunning as an educational and recreational pasttime, than to prepare for some one in 60 gazillion scenario where the promises of the ALLEY==SWEEPER come into full factor.

I wanted the HD firearm too, when I started. I am so glad I just got lucky, and opted for a Sporting model shotgun.


Whether this means you should get specifically a Turkey Gun, I cannot say. Maybe you want to hunt Turkeys.

Any shotgun will shoot if you want one for HD. They all go "Bang!"

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And take a walk around your house with that 28" barreled shotgun and see just how clumsy it would be. The hallway outside my bedroom is narrow enough that I wish my 1300's barrel was shorter than the current 18".

$300 is more than affordable for the shotgun you're going to want if push ever comes to shove. And hopefully like automobile and home owner's insurance, it never gets used.

~Michael

The great thing about the 870 is that it's easy to swap barrels and they are cheap. You can buy a model with a 28in vent rib barrel and drop $100 for an 18in bead barrel. Open the action, unscrew the mag cap, one comes of the other goes on, put the cap on, close the action snd you're ready to go hunting. IMO the 870 is the most versatile gun ever. Mine is fairly mod heavy and I can have it back to bone stock in less than 5 minutes useing 2 allen wrenches and a screw driver.

I always get flamed for posting this but here goes: I have a Nova 20 gauge with a 24" barrel that I keep loaded with whatever I last hunted with. The view in my house is at most 30 feet. That is ten yards. At ten yards, any load will stop even the most determined perp. I don't want to kill anyone, just stop them from their evil intentions. Then the gendarmes or the coroner can pick up the remains.

I realize that there are lots of folks that will disagree with me. That is your right. I have investigated too many shootings to believe that I need anything else. As the economy worsens, there are going to be many more burglaries and property crimes. People must have food and shelter. With no jobs and unemployment running out, it would be folly not to expect uninvited visitors. That is not an excuse to steal, but some folks don't know what to do, some don't care, so their survival instincts kick in.

If you feel that buckshot makes you more comfortable, I have no quarrel with you. IIRC, I have some #7.5 dove loads in my gun at the moment. It will keep me safe. Not even the most pumped-up druggy can stand a shotgun blast at ten yards. He might survive, but he will change his intent but quick.

I also have a Taurus 85 loaded with 158 grain wadcutters. I'd prefer the shotgun, though.

Since I wanted a shotgun I could enjoy as well as have in a SHTF moment, I bought a field/HD combo. 28" barrel with screw in chokes and a 18" cylinder barrel. Because I hunt with the gun whenever possible, I am very familar with it's operation. Most people buy one and it becomes "closet furniture" as Calisto put it. Then, if they ever need it, they may not remember if it's even loaded. Shotguns are tools. They will do a lot of things well, but they aren't suited for everything. A good mechanic has more than a screwdriver and a hammer in his tool chest. Use a good gun built for a specific purpose. A good combo gun can be much more versitile than a specific for use model.

I hope this has helped Skat. Your gun will work for HD, although there are better choices. The main thing is to get it out and shoot it. A LOT. You need to know it is 100% reliable and that you can hit what you are aiming at with it. A break-in is no time to be trying to remember where the saftey is or if it's loaded or not. Become proficient with it ot find another HD choice.

Personally, I go with a 38 Special S&W Centennial loaded with non-jacketed +P hollow points and a .380 Bersa loaded with Cor-bons. I'm plenty familiar with both guns, and just can't see myself wielding a shotgun in some of my short hallways. But that's just me.

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[size=200] Halleleujah![/size]

Yep. Figgers. Just think; with that 18" barrel, you will be able to save yourself and all the loved ones from the infinite numbers of zombies who break in to devastate.

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This is the argument that supposes that the barrel must swing in an arc, both right and left, to annihiliate enemies, right?

In point of fact, I have never felt unable to point the 28" barrel in any particular direction.

Of course, if one wishes to market shotguns with RAMBO hype, it is entirely possible to do that. I'm sure thousands upon thousands of people will cheerfully buy into it.

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That is a narrow and selective logic, that HD means only defense from inside a home.


It excludes any thought of "defensive" use outside the paramaters of an indoor space.


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My personal opinion...if I'm outside the house I have my carry gun, a 1911. The shotgun is for inside. I don't have a permit to carry the shotgun around outside. A 28" barrel would be harder to maneuver inside the house. So I use the 18" barrel. It's the same concept the Army used to develop the M4 carbine for CQB instead of the full length M16. Military shotguns use a 20" barrel for the same reasons.

Rambo Haa haaa

Mossberg 590 , 20" barrel with Accu Choke .Stock barrel was cylinder choke only. Does it all with the right combination of shot size & choke. Beware clay birds your goin down in dust. Watch out squirrels, your dinner on my plate. Ground hog is good too. So is..x...y...& ..z.


Than there's Rambo mode if needed. All out of 1 shotgun.

p.s. I think ,I have the only combat shotgun that is fitted for me.

Jim, do you need a permit to carry a shotgun outside? To carry a concealed weapon, I understand.

In Tennessee, there is no such thing as a concealed carry permit EV. It's a HCP, or handgun carry permit. Open carry is legal here, with the permit of course. Local LEO's frown on carrying a long gun around outside, unless you are hunting. If I hear a bump in the night outside, I investigate with my handgun since I can carry it outside legally. If a LEO answered a call and found me outside with my shotgun or my AR, he might become a little antsy. No sense in having him concentrating on me while the bad guy is getting away.

I had this exact scene play out 5 years ago. I had a guy trying to break into my garage at 5am. Called 911 and went to stop the guy before he walked off with everything I own. Problem is he took off when he saw, or heard, me and hid in my neighbors back yard. When the officer showed up, I was in my yard with a 12 gauge pump. I was suddenly much more interesting than a burglar he couldn't see. By the time all that was cleared up, the thief was long gone. So, for me anyway, it's handgun outside and shotgun inside.

Nope, but I do need to be able to come out of my bedroom, with the gun at my shoulder and my head close to the stock, and not worry about putting the muzzle through the dry wall of the opposing wall.

Guess I'll get rid of my riot gun, and count on my 32" barreled trap gun to protect my home.

You want to be able to move in your home, and be able to keep distance between yourself and a threat. Longer the barrel, the easier it is for the threat to grab it and push it away from them, or pull the gun away from you. And if I'm indoors, and a threat is outdoors, they are avoided (until they enter my home), and the police would be called.

I understand that it's highly unlikely that a HD gun is ever going to be used in self defense. But, if it is called upon, it's best to have a tool suited to the job (if you're in a fair fight, you've planned it wrong). I've got shotguns for hunting, shotguns for target shooting, and a shotgun for home defense, and I'm smart enough to know that not one of them can't do all of those jobs well. If that makes me a Rambo type, then it makes you clueless.

~Michael