IMHO a shotgun with self defense loads or even a pistol like the Judge or Governor that can fire .410 shells should be part of your self defense package..but it shouldn't be the only weapon you have as home/self defense.
Interesting. Some years ago my now ex-husband and I were considering getting a gun for home protection. (Long story why we didn’t – mostly having to do with my ex-husband.) Although our neighborhood wasn’t particularly “bad”, we lived in Baltimore City at the time and the surrounding area was going downhill fast.
We went to a local gun shop that was owned and operated by a couple of former Baltimore City/County cops.
My ex was of the opinion that we (I) needed a shot gun because of the “you don’t need to be a good aim” and the “sound of it (rack the pump) will scare someone off”.
The owner, while he said much like the author of the article, that a shot gun is not at all a bad option for home defense, he dispelled the two above myths and actually recommended a pistol for me (with of course an NRA training course and lots of range time – the same no matter what type of gun we decided on) and even went as far as recommending a revolver over a semi-automatic because of reliability, not subject to jamming.
The other reasons he recommended a pistol was that a pistol with the proper grip size would be easier for me to handle and “portability” - can be kept in a nightstand and easily carried from room to room, and after learning the house next door to us on the one side was very close – two narrow driveways separation, thought that a shot gun blast, poorly aimed could hit and penetrate the house next door.
Some people later told me he was full of it while others told me that he was right.
I live in PA now and I’ll have to check with my nephew, who has a CCP and owns several types of guns including an AR-15, what gun shop he goes to. He also offered to take me to the range with him to let me try some out but we haven’t been able to get together yet.