Shorter home-defense shotguns, such as this Mossberg Shockwave, have become more popular in the last few years thanks to their power and smaller stature for concealment capabilities. (Photo: Mossberg)
When self or home defense is the question, shotguns are the answer. Experienced shooters know this. First-time buyers need to understand it.
Shotguns are the basic firearm. Certainly, there have been advances in some areas like rifled barrels for slugs, but the smoothbore shotgun is the simplest of modern firearms. Many models are intuitive enough to operate that it doesn’t take a lot of study and training to be effective.
Overall, shotguns are relatively close-range...
