# Handgun, shotgun, or rifle **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 26, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037 "2011-03-26T04:54:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/41 "2011-03-28T16:43:55Z")
If you have targets of the proper thickness and hardness for what you are shooting and discard them when they begin getting dimpled or cratered, 25 yards is okay. Eye protection is still a must though. Gun club targets routinely get chewed up by guys shooting pistol targets with 5.56 mm and 7.62x39 mm carbines on the handgun range. These are the same yahoos who will chew up all the rifle target frames by blasting them buckshot. Since I do all my shooting at a gun club these days, I just prefer to keep a very wide margin of safety between myself and steel targets. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/42 "2011-03-28T19:37:27Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > If your shotgun isn’t already chambered and on safe then it’s not ready to be used for home defense. Waking up from a dead sleep in a panic isn’t the time to try and chamber a shell, there’s just too much risk of a short stroke jam that renders your shotgun into a very expensive baseball bat. That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of this. I can say that I’ve chambered it at least a couple of thousand times, with no problems of any sort. Can you provide any more information? I’m not challenging your statement- I’m genuinely interested, for obvious reasons. By the way, that “very expensive baseball bat” would also be a jammed shotgun pointed at the batter’s upper torso. Shades of Wiley Coyote. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/43 "2011-03-28T21:16:03Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of this. I can say that I’ve chambered it at least a couple of thousand times, with no problems of any sort. Can you provide any more information? I’m not challenging your statement- I’m genuinely interested, for obvious reasons. > > By the way, that “very expensive baseball bat” would also be a jammed shotgun pointed at the batter’s upper torso. Shades of Wiley Coyote. Please keep in mind that this is my opinion and therefore worth a wet sack of dog hair if you don’t agree, but while I can load and unload my 870 with my eyes closed at the bottom of a mine shaft at midnight it’s not a skill that I want to test at 3:00am with enough adrenaline to jump start a nursing home’s worth of heart attacks running through my body. At the range? My fine motor control is top notch. I’m practiced and comfortable with what’s going on with me and around me. Screaming with panic that me or my wife is about to be actually attacked in the dark? I’m only relying on gross motor control at that point, enough to hit the safe button to fire and point in the general direction of the bedroom door. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/44 "2011-03-28T21:32:09Z")
Rifle. I’m deadly good with it and I have other things to do than get better than ‘competent’ with a handgun. Shotguns are fine but I don’t like feeling sore after a few dozen trigger pulls. Way I see it, if something’s too close or moving too quickly for an effective rifle shot I’m on my way out of the shooting situation. For I am a coward. ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/45 "2011-03-28T21:49:13Z")
Although I don’t currently own any firearms, I’ve shot all three (a variety of rifles and handguns, and a 12 gauge Remington). Let me say FTR that shooting a shotgun for the first time sucks - if there’s a technique to dealing with the recoil, I never figured it out the few times I tried trap shooting. While I enjoy shooting with both rifles and handguns, I get more satisfaction out of shooting with handguns, for much the same reason as **Airman Doors** - while long gun and handgun shooting each have their own skillsets, it seems to me that handguns require more skill to shool **well** than do rifles, and I prefer to be challenged. And FTR, my favorite handgun to shoot was my dad’s .380 Beretta Cheetah - a lot of fun to run a few clips through, without the sore wrists that a heavier caliber can bring. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/46 "2011-03-29T01:25:08Z")
By far my favorite is a replica flintlock .45 cal pistol. After shooting that, everything else is just too plain vanilla. Bloody accurate, too. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/47 "2011-03-29T02:16:10Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > Please keep in mind that this is my opinion and therefore worth a wet sack of dog hair if you don’t agree, but while I can load and unload my 870 with my eyes closed at the bottom of a mine shaft at midnight it’s not a skill that I want to test at 3:00am with enough adrenaline to jump start a nursing home’s worth of heart attacks running through my body. At the range? My fine motor control is top notch. I’m practiced and comfortable with what’s going on with me and around me. > > Screaming with panic that me or my wife is about to be actually attacked in the dark? I’m only relying on gross motor control at that point, enough to hit the safe button to fire and point in the general direction of the bedroom door. Got it. Having imagined the same scenario many times, I prefer my approach. For reasons that make sense to me, the loudly-chambering-a-shell-first gambit has a higher benefit/risk ratio. But now you have me wondering about the likelihood of a “short stroke jam”, which I’d never even thought about because it’s never happened to me. Yet. I wouldn’t presume to say either of us is right or wrong, because frankly I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about. Fortunately, of course, neither of us is likely to ever have to find out the hard way. . ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/48 "2011-03-29T05:09:40Z")
I answered rifle since that was the best fit given the restrictions of the poll, but what I really like shooting are old replica muskets. I own a modern rifle, and have shot a friend’s handguns on many occasions, and I’ve gone skeet shooting with a shotgun a few times which was fun, even though I wasn’t particularly good at it. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/49 "2011-03-29T05:13:19Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Is there a rule-of-thumb that people use? My personal rule of thumb is that I never ever shoot at metal targets. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/50 "2011-03-29T14:12:22Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > I have all three. > > I find my shotgun to be painful, probably due to my technique (or lack thereof), but I know that I can hit whatever I need to. The rifle, as with any rifle, is very easy to shoot well and isn’t nearly as uncomfortable as the shotgun. Therefore, I find find myself shooting them very little. > > Handguns, however, require a completely different skillset and much more focus. I invariably focus more on handguns than I do longarms for that very reason. I own one of every service caliber from .380ACP to 10MM Auto in addition to a .22LR Ruger 22/45, so I have quite a variety to choose from, all with different challenges, so it never gets old for me. > > Anyone can be an expert shot with a rifle, but it takes an expert to shoot expert with a handgun. I aspire to be that guy. I’ll never be Rob Leatham, but who has the time or the money for that? I’ll settle for 90% of his skill, and that only comes with practice. I go just the opposite way. I’ve always been good to very good with a handgun, but have recently begun taking up the rifle, which I’ve always been kinda weak on due to near-sightedness. Saying “anyone can be expert with a rifle” is perplexing to me (but I know that there are “those people:” naturally good rifle shooters) as I struggle with it. But I’ve become a much better rifle shot over the last two years with practice (price of ammo is the real limiting factor, since I’m not shooting .22LR). I still shoot handgun (recently picked up a Walther P99 and am enjoying the heck out of it; very sweet shooter), but once the weather improves, I’ll go back to improving my rifle shooting skills. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/51 "2011-03-29T14:22:25Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Anyone can be an expert shot with a rifle, but it takes an expert to shoot expert with a handgun. Really? Then why isn’t a fellow like you competing in rifle matches? Once you get above the local club level (which should be easy for you) they start having some pretty nice prize tables. Why weren’t you at Palma last year? That, **Doors** , was the most completely bullshit thing you’ve ever posted. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/52 "2011-03-29T14:35:55Z")
Perhaps he was exaggerating. A better way of putting it: it takes a lot less time – and a lot less ammo – to teach a person to become a “good shot” with a rifle vs. a “good shot” with a handgun. Of course, we can debate all day on the definition of “good shot”. Suffice to say, it is a lot easier to become proficient with a rifle vs. a handgun. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/53 "2011-03-29T15:00:00Z")
Depends on what you mean by proficient. Over the years, I’ve seen lots of people at lots of different gun clubs and shooting ranges happily blasting away at big paper silhouettes no more than 25 yards away, and usually a lot less. Since they manage to keep (most of) their shots somewhere on the chest portion of the target, they think of themselves as proficient. When someone wants to start talking about expert pistol shooting, we need to start examining things like times and scores. What are talking about with rifles, too? Keeping things on a paper-plate size target shooting a low-recoil rifle from a bench out to one or two hundred yards isn’t difficult, especially with an optical sight. Start into 3-position shooting and, suddenly, it isn’t so easy. ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/54 "2011-03-29T15:00:06Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > Please keep in mind that this is my opinion and therefore worth a wet sack of dog hair if you don’t agree, but while I can load and unload my 870 with my eyes closed at the bottom of a mine shaft at midnight it’s not a skill that I want to test at 3:00am with enough adrenaline to jump start a nursing home’s worth of heart attacks running through my body. At the range? My fine motor control is top notch. I’m practiced and comfortable with what’s going on with me and around me. > > Screaming with panic that me or my wife is about to be actually attacked in the dark? I’m only relying on gross motor control at that point, enough to hit the safe button to fire and point in the general direction of the bedroom door. Got it in one, **Cluricaun**. I’m actually a good shot with a handgun when facing a target, but I live in a condo where a handgun tends to throw out things that could easily penetrate the walls between residences. Don’t really wanna shoot the nice schoolteacher who lives to my right. Bad for her and not really a good thing for me, either. Using a shotgun severely limits the distance the projectiles will travel (those not stopped by the bad guy in my bedroom doorway, anyway) and in an emergency as described above, I’m likely going to fare lots better with point-and-shoot rather than aim-and-shoot, myself. Boils down to my shotgun is for ‘business.’ My handgun is for ‘fun.’ ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/55 "2011-03-29T18:48:45Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Really? Then why isn’t a fellow like you competing in rifle matches? Once you get above the local club level (which should be easy for you) they start having some pretty nice prize tables. Why weren’t you at Palma last year? > > That, **Doors** , was the most completely bullshit thing you’ve ever posted. Perhaps he means “Expert” in military terms, which can be a much easier designation for someone to obtain (Only 55 points higher than failing, 250 makes you a “marksman” 305 gets you “expert” at least on the USMC scale) than “Expert” in civilian terms, where I expect you to be strapped into a shooting jacket nailing 1000 yard 10 rings at Camp Perry all day long. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/56 "2011-03-29T22:44:29Z")
> [@Scubaqueen](#): > > Got it in one, **Cluricaun**. I’m actually a good shot with a handgun when facing a target, but I live in a condo where a handgun tends to throw out things that could easily penetrate the walls between residences. Don’t really wanna shoot the nice schoolteacher who lives to my right. Bad for her and not really a good thing for me, either. > > Using a shotgun severely limits the distance the projectiles will travel (those not stopped by the bad guy in my bedroom doorway, anyway) and in an emergency as described above, I’m likely going to fare lots better with point-and-shoot rather than aim-and-shoot, myself. > > Boils down to my shotgun is for ‘business.’ My handgun is for ‘fun.’ Any comments on the “short stroke jam” Cluricaun mentioned? How common is it? Is it more likely, or even common, when a normally proficient shotgunner is in a near-panic situation? . ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/57 "2011-03-30T00:39:18Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Any comments on the “short stroke jam” Cluricaun mentioned? How common is it? Is it more likely, or even common, when a normally proficient shotgunner is in a near-panic situation? > > . They happen often enough under stress that SWAT teams and such have moved to self-loaders. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/58 "2011-03-30T01:57:31Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > They happen often enough under stress that SWAT teams and such have moved to self-loaders. Wow. I’m going to reconsider my strategy. I never expected this thread to be so informative. . ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/59 "2011-03-30T14:26:09Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Wow. I’m going to reconsider my strategy. I never expected this thread to be so informative. > > . Please bear in mind that your situation is exactly that, yours. I can leave loaded shotguns in my house because there’s nobody else in my bedroom besides me and my wife, ever. If we’re having a “Show off the new bedspread” kind of party all the guns are locked away well before guests arrive. There could be plenty of reasons that an unchambered pump gun is actually the best solution for your situation. If the only reason that I owned shotguns was for home defense I’d forget both the pump and the auto loader and just go with a double barrel model, since in my likelyhood I’m not going to be attacked by a team of hitmen and two shells should do it. Just please tell us that you’re not loaded with birdshot. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scubaqueen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c0e974/32.png) [@Scubaqueen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scubaqueen)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037/60 "2011-03-30T18:04:54Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Any comments on the “short stroke jam” Cluricaun mentioned? How common is it? Is it more likely, or even common, when a normally proficient shotgunner is in a near-panic situation? > > . The Divemaster, who is also a licensed firearms dealer, knows his stuff. He made sure I had a high-quality version with an easy-to-work slide. It’s well cared-for and I’ve never had an occasion for it to jam - not that I’ve had to fire off at bad guys in my doorway recently. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handgun-shotgun-or-rifle/576037.md?page=4)