Is racking a shotgun a good strategy for home defense?

Here's the scenario... You've got an intruder in your home at 2am. They kicked in the door, you hear people speaking in a hushed tone, and you don't recognize the voices. You have two shotguns next to your bed. You must pick one...

One is a 5+1, and it has one in the chamber and the safety is off... Condition One... All you have to do is pull the trigger.

The other is 6+1, but doesn't have one in the chamber. You would have the rack the slide to be able to fire it.

You have no extra ammunition, you can't move cartridges from one to the other, and you can only grab one.... Which one is it?

The root of this is would you prefer to use the noise of the shotgun being pumped to intimidate or frighten off the intruders... Or would you prefer a stealthier approach?

My position:

I would pick the one that is 5+1, with one in the chamber.
I am in a defensive scenario... My objective is not to escalate the situation if it isn't necessary. I want to lurk the shadows in silence, observe the situation... Find out who they are, how many of them there are, and what they are after. If I decide it is necessary to use lethal force... I want that to happen swiftly, and without any chance for a reaction from the target. I don't want them to know my location, and I don't want them to know I am armed...
I want to go from total silence, a fly on the wall... Then having the situation fully escalated, with lead in the air. None of this messing around with scary noises.

You might scare them away.... Or you cause them to be ready to fire at a target, and know roughly where you are and that you are armed.

What are your thoughts?

Don Kedick2010-06-19T21:04:34Z

Favorite Answer

The sound of the shotgun going off will scare them a lot more than hearing the shotgun being racked. If you have identified them as armed intruders there's no reason to have to rack the shotgun.

Anonymous2016-03-20T03:39:43Z

Depends on the threat. If it is a determined individual that won't stop until killed (less than 5% of home invaders most likely if even that high), it probably won't stop someone until after they have done harm to her unless she gets lucky and hits CNS. If she ends up with a .410, Buckshot is a must, birdshot will not do. If a 20 gauge pump is tearing her up, a .410 in single shot or lighter is not going to be much better. She might be better off with a 22 revolver or maybe a 38 special with a 4 or 5 inch barrel and some light loads with a laser grips. A 22 semi-auto might work too, but it doens't sound like a semi-auto would be a good match. I am not sure that clearing weapons malfunctions in the middle of a home invasion sounds like this lady's talent. Whatever she has, it is more the threat of death or injury that is being used here. Not that she won't be able to inflict a fatal wound, but I am not confident it would be fatal prior to damage being done. Most crooks will flee when being shot at or wounded though, so anything she can effectively fire will put her ahead of the game.

?2016-11-04T07:02:46Z

Rack A Shotgun

ERIC2010-06-19T22:21:49Z

This can be a divisive issue, that I can see both sides of. Yes the noise is distinctive and will let an intruder know that the home is occupied by an armed resident. My understanding here is if the intruder is just there to rob you they will most likely go find an easier target, but if the intruder is a bloodthirsty maniac they know which way to start firing. While the first scenario is the more likely one, it's hard to beat being ready! Not only does being loaded in the chamber mean you can grab and have it ready, you won't panic and accidentally short stroke it potentially leading to disastrous results having a nothing in the chamber still.

Overall I would say loaded and ready is preferable, although some people will see the value of potentially avoiding having more of a situation from the "warning noise". I won't argue too hard over someone who's familiar with their shotgun that subscribes by this theory, but loaded and ready seems to make more sense to me

Anonymous2015-08-15T19:52:02Z

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RE:
Is racking a shotgun a good strategy for home defense?
Here's the scenario... You've got an intruder in your home at 2am. They kicked in the door, you hear people speaking in a hushed tone, and you don't recognize the voices. You have two shotguns next to your bed. You must pick one...

One is a 5+1, and it has one in the chamber and the...

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