Loaded Shotgun...

[sr71blackbird]

I bought a 12 ga. side by side double barrel shotgun yesterday, and I want it for home defence. I would like to keep two shells in it, ready to go, just in case. The question I have is, can keeping it like that dammage the gun? I know if it was a pump gun, and shells were in the magazine, that the sping would compress over time, but this is different. Do you think it can harm it the way I say? Dont worry, there are no kids in the house.. It is just for piece of mind..

[Fat_Sunny]

Note To Self < Take SR71 Off The List Off Homes To Toilet Paper On Halloween!!

[Don Stugots]

i would never leave a gun loaded. safety reasons and over all care. i have a revolver and it is never loaded unless it means business.

[TheMojoPin]

Leaving a gun loaded in your home is an awful, awful, awful, awful, awful idea.

[Jujubees2]

I'm with the MoJo on this one. I hate guns but a loaded shotgun is a recipe for disaster!

[JesterOfSadness]

Just watch out for limo drivers that come into your house.

[DarkHippie]

Don't leave it loaded, it doesn't take long to load anyway, but if the gun falls or anything act of bad luck happens while the gun is loaded, it can go off. Why take the chance?

[CofyCrakCocaine]

Keep the bullets right next to the gun if you want. But yeah, leaving a loaded gun in the house is insanity. Guns can blow up for a variety of reasons when you don't want it to. You might want to ask some gun aficionados about whether leaving shells loaded over long periods of time actually hurts the gun itself or not.

[Snacks]

I hate guns but I would think if something happend it would take too long to unlock a weapon and then load it. So why even have one. If you leave it loaded then an acident could happen if you lock and it and its unloaded you may never get to it in time.

[CofyCrakCocaine]

I hate guns but I would think if something happend it would take too long to unlock a weapon and then load it. So why even have one. If you leave it loaded then an acident could happen if you lock and it and its unloaded you may never get to it in time.

That is the conundrum, isn't it?

[Mike Teacher]

1. Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.

2. Always keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot.

3. Always keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.

=

You have to not only learn these, but internalize them.

[Bulldogcakes]

Just watch out for limo drivers that come into your house.

Especially if both you and the gun are loaded at the time.

[BoondockSaint]

Especially if both you and the gun are loaded at the time.

And the Harlem Globetrotters are present.

[Bulldogcakes]

I hate guns but I would think if something happend it would take too long to unlock a weapon and then load it. So why even have one. If you leave it loaded then an acident could happen if you lock and it and its unloaded you may never get to it in time.

Silly, you hide behind your wife as you're loading the gun. Duh!

[furie]

yeah, never just leave a gun loaded. i don't think you need to jump into action so quickly that you don't have time to load two shells.

[BoondockSaint]

I just keep an axe under my pillow.

[Bossanova]

I just keep an axe under my pillow.

Two damage, two damage

[patsopinion]

Especially if both you and the gun are loaded at the time.

some times i think that i am the only one that listens to ronnie b and you go and do something like this...







and totally redeem yourself!

[JPMNICK]

horrid idea to keep it loaded, it takes about 2 seconds to load the gun. put a chime on the front door and windows and when you hear it, load the gun. practice loading. but keeping it loaded is the best way to make sure an accident happens.

[Doctor Z]

It is just for piece of mind..
That's what this guy said!
http://www.nndb.com/people/204/000102895/bud-dwyer-1-sized.jpg

[jonnyAK]

That's what this guy said!
http://www.nndb.com/people/204/000102895/bud-dwyer-1-sized.jpg

Keeping the shells in the chamber won't cause the weapon any damage, but it isn't a safe thing to do. Like JPMNICK said, put jingles around the perimeter and practice loading in the dark and such. (You can get some dummy rounds for any practicing needs.)

[Fez4PrezN2008]

Trade it in for a short barrel pump and don't chamber a round. Side by side is good for quail hunting, not a good choice for home protection. Be careful. If someone breaks in you've just given him a nice loaded present to point at your head when you walk in 10 mins later. How about a nice dog instead?

[Sarge]

Trade it in for a short barrel pump and don't chamber a round. Side by side is good for quail hunting, not a good choice for home protection. Be careful. If someone breaks in you've just given him a nice loaded present to point at your head when you walk in 10 mins later. How about a nice dog instead?

I was going to suggest the same thing, a side by side is a bad choice for a home defense gun. Leaving the weapon loaded is even a worse choice. A 12 gauge pump with buck shot is the way to go, its easy enough to chamber a round should you need to.

[sr71blackbird]

I was going to suggest the same thing, a side by side is a bad choice for a home defense gun. Leaving the weapon loaded is even a worse choice. A 12 gauge pump with buck shot is the way to go, its easy enough to chamber a round should you need to.

I have a pump shotgun, but know that if you keep shells in it, that the shells in the magazine press on the spring within the magazine. The spring compresses over time because of the shell and becomes ineffective when you need it.
The dog theory would be good, but no dogs allowed. I will just keep two shells on my nightstand and the gun resting next to the bedside table.

The one time someone broke in while I was here, I was asleep though, and had to chase the guy out with a bat. Home invasion break ins are getting more violent nowadays though

[torker]

My advice to anyone else would be to keep it unloaded.

[FUNKMAN]

my friend's mom was like a loaded shotgun

one cock and she blew

[torker]

If you stick the barrel of a shotgun in your mouth can you pull the trigger with your toe?

[FUNKMAN]

If you stick the barrel of a shotgun in your mouth can you pull the trigger with your toe?

only if you're wearing sandals

[Sarge]

If you stick the barrel of a shotgun in your mouth can you pull the trigger with your toe?

Yes, I had a job where a guy did exactly that. Only one barrel fired, and it blew his head almost perfectly in half from the jaw up.

[torker]

only if you're wearing sandals

triggers don't wear sandals

[sr71blackbird]

Sure I can!

http://www.topendsports.com/fun/bodysurvey/images/toes/big-toe.jpg

[torker]

Yes, I had a job where a guy did exactly that. Only one barrel fired, and it blew his head almost perfectly in half from the jaw up.

A good craftsman doesn't blame his tools.
http://www.kapowwe.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/1-1-553_4_small.jpg

[FUNKMAN]

A good craftsman doesn't blame his tools.
http://www.kapowwe.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/1-1-553_4_small.jpg

it's not the size of the boat but the motion in the ocean

[Jujubees2]

If you stick the barrel of a shotgun in your mouth can you pull the trigger with your toe?

Isn't that the way Hemingway went out?

[FUNKMAN]

Isn't that the way Hemingway went out?

i thought he took it in the browneye

[ChimneyFish]

Personally, I'd just go with tripwires and frag mines in front of every window and door.
Nothin' to worry about.:smoke:

[SatCam]

Shotgun fire: anybody home
I got two dimes in the telephone
Alright: It's not easy tonight

[Chigworthy]

Handgun and rifle magazine springs are made to be compressed. Everything I've read about them points to a very slow degradation under compression. In other words, it would take a ridiculous ammount of time for a loaded magazine to ruin its springs. If you think about duty handguns and shotguns, they are pretty much loaded to capacity 24/7, minus regular cleaning, training, and hopefully irregular use, after which they are loaded again.

If you are using a shotgun for home defense, it would be wise to load the magazine with alternating pairs of slugs and buckshot. The cheap bird and target shot is really unreliable for a defensive load. Unfortunately, the more reliable a defensive round, the more likely it can penetrate walls and hurt innocent people. That's why anyone who owns any type of firearm should seek professional instruction in using their weapon safely. In CA, the silly handgun "class" that civilians take to purchase a handgun, from what I've seen, is fairly inadequate and doesn't even involve live fire. Any legal firearm owner has a responsibilty to take their weapon seriously, and that means shelling out a few bucks for a class every once in a while.

I did some "simunitions" training where a modified handgun shoots primer-fired paint bullets. It really opened my eyes to how quick and violent shooting situations are. We've watched movies our whole life where heroes and bad guys exchange fire from distance and cover, and take time lining up a good shot. This is not how it will happen in real life. I think the rule about the majority of shootings is that they take place within 3-5 yards and are over in 3-5 seconds. And they don't end when both sides run out of ammo, they end when one or both sides are unable to function further.

I agree with the posters that said that a side-by-side is not a good home defense weapon, but even worse would be someone who had the best weapon and didn't know how to use it effectively and safely.

[Skellington]

I just keep an axe under my pillow.

in all honesty, i keep a 2 ft machete next to my bed and a dog with gas so bad it's almost like keeping a fully loaded weapon within close range at all times.....