A pair of criminals picked the wrong home to break into in Memphis, TN, where they encountered a woman who was locked, loaded and ready.
Whitney L. was getting ready for bed one night when she heard her doorbell ring. Since she wasn’t expecting anyone she ignored the door.
However, according to Whitney, “This person starts ringing the doorbell more, banging on the door … She was just banging on the door. You could tell the difference between a fist and a palm hitting it, ringing the doorbell.”
As Whitney peaked through the window curtains, she realized the female pounding on her front door wasn’t alone. Then, she heard a boom as the female criminal was trying to break down the front door.
Fearing the bad guys had made it inside the home, Whitney grabbed a shotgun that her husband had taught her to use for self-defense.
Whitney charged toward the door where the burglar had broken glass and stopped the crook dead in her tracks when she realized there was a shotgun pointed right at her.
According to Whitney, “She just nonchalantly just stopped and slowly put her hand up, just walked to her car, the guy looked at her, put his hands in the air, backed up and just sped off and they were gone.”
Thankfully for Whitney, she wasn’t hurt and the crooks didn’t get away with anything.
Now, it’s no secret that shotguns are a great option for a home defense weapon and the fact that they are simple to use means you can teach your family members to defend your home even when you aren’t there.
When it comes to shotguns, there are all types of configurations, but lately there has been resurging popularity of the over/under shotgun.
With this in mind, I want to share with you some of the pros and cons of the over/under shotgun so you can decide if buying one may be a good choice for you.
The over-under shotgun is a double barrel rifle that is commonly used for clay target, hunting waterfowl and skeet shooting.
Double barrel shotguns are made with a choke design that allows their shot groups to converge at a certain range.
Settings can be changed so one-barrel can either be closer or further away than the other one at the point of convergence.
This allows for one barrel to be set-up so it can shoot at a closer range while the other can shoot further away.
The biggest reason why a lot of people use over/under shotguns is because of the reduced recoil they provide compared to other types of shotguns.
In addition, weight also plays a role when it comes to over/under shotguns. The more a shotgun weighs, the less kick it gives a person when they shoot.
Most over/under shotguns are designed to weigh more than other types, which in-turn helps to reduce recoil from each shot as well.
Simply put, the design and typically better accuracy of the over/under shotgun make it popular with competitive shooters and hunters.
The singles biggest drawback to an over/under shotgun is the fact that you will only have two shots. When shooting skeet this may not matter, but in a home defense situation you clearly never know how many intruders you may be facing.
Another thing is, over/under shotguns are limited in versatility. They are much more difficult to accessorize than pumps and automatics.
While these shotguns aren’t the best option for home defense or for a survival situation, there is no doubt they are a huge part of Americana and there is something about a break open shotgun that appeals to many folks.
Over/under shotguns are usually much more expensive then other shotguns, but they tend to be more reliable over time. If you are considering an over/under shotgun for hunting or skeet shooting here are two I would consider.
First, the Mossberg International Silver Reserve. This shotgun is available in 12, 20 and 28 gauge and .410 bore.
These guns look great and perform well and with prices starting at $773 they are on the less expensive end of double barrel shotguns.
The second shotgun I would check out is the CZ Redhead Premier over/under, which is perfectly suited for hunting birds and competition.
These guns feature CNC-machined silver receivers, excellent Turkish walnut stocks, laser-cut checkering, and barrel selectors.
The 12 and 20-gauge versions feature independent auto ejectors while the 28 gauge and .410 models come with a single extractor. These models sell for around $1,000.
The fact is, an over/under shotgun is not the best survival weapon, but there is no question it can be a quality firearm that you use to teach younger generations skeet shooting or basic marksmanship.
