Hitting the gym to become a swoletariat, looking to arm myself as well.
I've gone shooting before, and my Dad just bought a couple guns himself because of all the pogroms he's been seeing against Muslims in ingerland.
I'm based in the United States of Amerikkka, mods please let me know if this isn't allowed!
The shortened barrel is intended for point blank usage, such as a home invasion scenario. It's easier to get the gun up and harder for the assailant to push the gun to the side using the barrel, or worse, to pull it out of your hands. The gun I had in mind particularly is the Mossberg 590M. With that "doohickey" you also have the option of having up to 20 rounds in a magazine, but I've heard those have a higher jam rate than the 10-shot mags.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say box mags on pump shotguns are range toys, not real self defense weapons. If you're going to use a shotgun for home defense, an 18" pump is plenty short without having to break out the hacksaw and look over your shoulder for ATF agents every day. Even a 20" is plenty maneuverable for home defense, to be honest. If you're not going to train with it enough to get past the possibility of short stroking the action, get a semi-auto shotgun if you absolutely need a shotgun.
I feel like I've misled you somehow. I wasn't meaning literally saw it off yourself. I meant buy one that has a short barrel.
Generally if you're referring to a shotgun with a short barrel, it's a short barreled shotgun. A "sawed off" means a gun you've sawed the barrel off of to shorten it.
Would it not be better to use a gun with actual sights that you can aim and use at an actual distance if needed? Handguns are more maneuverable and much better to aim. Also no dealing with the laws around short-barrel shotguns.
Even at point blank, a shotgun is a worse choice than a rifle or handgun.
I think a semi-auto shotgun is probably as good as a rifle within the scope of defending yourself inside your home. At home defense ranges, a regular shotgun bead is plenty to hit a man sized target reliably every time - you can hit clays moving way faster than a human with them just fine.
Higher risk of overpenetration (00 shoots 9mm pellets, which retain a lot more energy through walls than lightweight 556 does), higher risk of failing to cycle (recoil powered shotguns need to be tuned right, gas powered ones are spendy), and you definitely should not shoot without properly aiming in any situation, that'd be massively irresponsible.
It can work, but it has disadvantages that a rifle does not, and no real benefits over one.
Fast shooting with a bead certainly is properly aiming, it's just doing it fast. Penetration is question of ammunition choice - there's more options than 00, but that's just to say you have options and need to make a judicious choice - I don't care to get into an ammunition discussion. I think the price of a decent semi-auto is really the strongest argument against one as compared to a rifle.