Hey guys, I'm considering picking up a shotgun for home defense, but I'd also like to go skeet shooting occasionally. I was looking at a Benelli Supernova (Benelli Shotguns | Benelli SuperNova), since it seems like it can be reconfigured, but I'm not sure how quickly the barrel and sights can be swapped.

Is it possible to have one gun work well for both? I'd rather not have a long barrel for home defense, and would prefer not to buy two guns.

Edit: I'm looking for a pump, rather than an auto-cycling, since I'd like to be able to rack it to scare people off if necessary . Not to mention I'd rather not drop $1800 on a shotgun.

 

As an avid shotgunner for bird hunting, I will have to say that using a shotgun for both would be tricky. When it comes to skeet shooting you want something with a barrel long enough to be accurate at a long enough range. In terms of home defense, which I'll agree I don't know as much about I'm guessing you would need a short barrel to operate in tight quarters. The only thing I can say is to get two barrels for the guns and apply as needed. A turkey hunting barrel would probably ben fine for home defense, while a waterfowl barrel (28"s or so) would be good for skeet shooting.

By the way, Benellis are some of the best shotguns around, I've been using one of the old Super Black Eagles for duck/goose hunting for the past nine or ten years. In that time its been fully submerged in salt water and after being striped and oiled down works great to this day.

Hope this helps, shotguns are a favorite subject of mine. If you inquire about over and unders then you'll really get me on a rant.--JC

 

An effective barrel length for a HD shotgun is 18"-20". Something used for skeet shooting is going to be difficult to manever. Remember, this is a close quarters confrontation you are defending against.

Second, if you find an intruder in your home, you can:

• Be tacticool by racking it to try to scare them, in the process getting shot by the bad guy who already has a chambered round
• SHOOT HIM and live!

 

The Winchester 1300 would be a good bet for this-- lots and lots of barrels in different chokes available, and swapping a full stock for a pistol or stock/pistol configuration is very quick and easy.

 

Correct, I'd be swapping out the barrel only when going skeet shooting, otherwise I'd have a shorter barrel on at all times.

Regarding racking, I'd be doing that at the top of the stairs if the alarm went off, then proceeding with a round chambered. I wouldn't wait until I saw someone to rack it .

I'd prefer to have an auto-cycling gun, but frankly I'd rather avoid shooting someone if I can help it.

JC, is swapping the barrel on a Benelli an easy task?

Simba, I'll check out the Winchester, thanks.

A friend recommended just getting a cheap pump for home protection and a over-under for skeet, but I'd prefer not to own two guns, and I don't want something unreliable for HP.

 

I am all for the idea of owning a gun for self/home protection, but isn't the idea of owning a gun for such purposes to scare someone more than actually use it? If that is the case, then wouldn't a shotgun configured purely for shooting skeet work just fine for both purposes?

Just my $0.02

 

The home defense configuration isn't to increase lethality, it's to make the gun maneuverable inside the house. With a long barrel, moving off the stairs and through a hall could be difficult. If I go the point of walking around with a gun, I'd better be ready to aim it quickly and use it. I'd be better off just not owning a gun if I wasn't actually willing to use it effectively if I had to.

I'd personally never want to use the gun, but I'd certainly want something that worked well if I had to. I go back and forth on owning one (currently I just go with friends or rent at the range), but I think with the increase of theft in general in the last few months, it's riskier not to own one.

 

^^^^^
I am 100% with you on that. Might be in the market for a home defense weapon myself sometime soon.

 

Cool. My girlfriend resists having a gun in the house, because she associates owning a gun with a willingness to shoot someone. Logically, however, if I am ever actually forced to use one, it meant we were in a situation that required it. If we're in the same situation and are defenseless, what might happen?

She's also under the impression that guns are inherently unsafe and can go off randomly. Time to educate, I guess .

 

I use my home defense pistol-grip (no stock) Mossberg for skeet shooting all the time! I'm actually quite good with it.