The Best Tactical Shotguns for Home Defense

Tactical shotguns are great for home defense and a clear winner because they’re the right size for getting around corners in your home, can have low penetration (with the right shot) and they’re easy to fire for any member of your family.

tactical shotgun

In this post, we take a look at the best tactical shotguns on the market for defending your home in the event of a burglary or home invasion.

Mossberg – 590A1 US SERVICE MODEL 20IN 12 GAUGE  9+1RD

Ok, so let’s not waste any time and get into some great shotgun options for home protection. Starting off our list is the Mossberg 590A1 US Service Model. Mossberg is known for their incredible shotguns at a very reasonable price. This shotgun can boast the fact that it is the only pump action shotgun to pass MilSpec 3443E (This means a lot, trust us on this).

With a high round count for a shotgun, you can sleep well knowing that you have plenty of fire power for a possible (Hopefully never occurring) bump in the night situation. You want a shotgun that will always go boom! With the price, you get the best of everything.

BENELLI U.S.A. – M4 18.5IN 12 GAUGE  4+1RD

Fancy cars, great food and Shotguns! Wait…. What? Shotguns? Yeah that’s right; Italy makes some of the finest shotguns in existence. Benelli (You have to admit, the name sounds pretty darn cool) is a manufacturer of just shotguns. The M4 has an 18.5 barrel which is good for close quarters. The Benelli M4 and many other models are used by law enforcement and the Military because when your life is on the line, you don’t want just any shotgun, you’ll want a Benelli!

The M4 is a semi-auto shotgun (necessary for combat situations). The round count is not the highest but when you just need to maybe blow a door down or take down an intruder, it shouldn’t take much to get the job done. There is nothing cheap about this shotgun, sitting at around the $2k mark and that is why most just looking for range time or hunting would opt for a cheaper option.

However, when it comes to defending your home and loved ones, you simply can’t skimp on quality.

Remington 870 TAC 14 12-GA 4+1 Shockwave Grip

We wanted to include Remington because not doing so would be unjustified. Although this “firearm” is not considered a shotgun legally, it still launches a 12 Gauge shell. The Remington 870 TAC14 is a pump action compact little fellow with a barrel length of 14 inches and an overall length of 26.37 inches. This makes it the ultimate 12 GA firearm for tight spaces regarding home defense.

The “Birds Head” Shockwave grip will provide recoil control, which is even more important since the gun is so compact. You can mount accessories to it with the mounting points. 4+1 is nothing to brag about but it should effectively hold off a few assailants if the sound of the pumping of the shotgun doesn’t.

Mossberg – 500 12-GAUGE 18.5IN 6+1

Finishing off the list is an extremely popular firearm because of its long track record of excellence. Its reliability, capacity, and overall value is the reason why it flies off shelves. Being the only MILSPEC pump action rifle, it is a must have addition to any arsenal.

You can watch countless YouTube videos about shotguns and see the Mossberg 500 featured in many of them. 6+1 is a pretty nice capacity for a shotgun and combined with the $300 range price tag, you’d get excited if you’re in the market for a new tactical shotgun.

The brand has been around for quite some time and many people swear by its design and models of high quality, wallet friendly shotguns.

Just remember to take it easy though when you feel the power in your hands. We cannot technically act like the terminator because we have a freaking awesome shotgun! We will however leave the imagination up to you.

Which Home Defense Shotgun is Right For You?

It’s all a matter of preference. All of the tactical shotguns we’ve listed above are reliable and can pack some serious stopping power. Consider features like size, safety position, tactical rail and the ability for your family members to be able to fire it.

Grandpa’s old Remington will shoot just fine but nowadays you’ve got lots of tactical options to make your home defense shotgun much better. For example, slap on a reliable shotgun laser and a tactical light and you’ve got all you need to defend your home and family from harm.