mossberg or 870 and forget the 2-3/4 or 3 in magnums, they kick like a mule, and are worthless for home defense. the moss, and rem both can interchange barrels put a 20in on for in the house, and if you decide to go hunting you can just change barrels, you don't need more than 1 shot but both of these shotguns will hold 4 round (pull the plug out of the mag) which is more than enough for any home defense situations. for rounds use the federal home defense round it will start to scatter faster it is a light round so recoil is managable even by a small women ( so won't scare the girlfriend to death) plus double 00 buck will penetrate walls (they are 30cal ***** same as shooting a 9mm) and could possibly kill or injure a inocent person, plus prosucutors use that as a point saying you where trying to kill someone, where as with the home defense round you are only protecting yourself not just from the burglar but from prosecution, and law suits.
The mossburg is the cheaper, and is plenty good enough I bought one for $180 in perfect cond. bought the short barrel for $90, and have a great defense, and hunting gun for under $300

 

Okay, to end any further point on the to kill or only to injure.

If you choose to use a less than lethal round, you will be put in front of a jury. You need to be absolutely sure that what you are aiming with die. otherwise you have no business carrying a firearm. I wouldn't compromise, if I have to put that bead on someone, I don't want to have to even think about shooting more than once.

 

I'm watching all the posts to get some ideas

 

It's a preseption thing, have you ever seen the damage from over 80 .177cal BB moving at 1800fps coming out of the barrel with no external wadding but a solid group in the middle, I garuantee this round is not intended to wound anything, plus a 3in mag loaded with buckshot at less than 15ft (most comin home defense range, that you can look up) has a pattern of about 3in so inless you are dead on target you are much more likely to wound the person, and you would be better off with a 45 auto, plus putting others in danger, a home defense round at the same distance will fill a doorway as it has a 3ft pattern, believe me I have seen the test on this, and seen the prosicution on it also, if all you care about is killing someone, then take a 2-3/4 round dump out the shot, and fill it up with dimes, it will be the best $2.40 you will spend, and alot more affective than buckshot, or you can make a junkyard dog load using brazing rod, and a side cutter, it will definatly kill them and you will have the rest of your life in jail to contiplate your decision on what type of round to use

 

Exactly. That's why I use the Mag 10 roadblocker for home defense. Max firing range is usually no more than 17 feet in a home, that is maximum. The Mag 10 only holds 3 and one in the chamber. If I can't "stop" the threat at 15 feet with 4 rounds of 10ga magnum, 00 buck, then I have a problem. However, I am quite certain whatever is hit with two rounds, is going down hard. It's a semi auto and I have been trained to always deliver two rounds to any target.

 

There is a Russian made shotgun that is quite good. It's called the Saiga and is made by Ihzmash, the same folks who bring us the AK series. The shotguns are based off the AK 100 platform, removeable magazine, semi auto, gas operated. 20ga with about a 20in barrel should run $200 and a 12ga $250 or so. There are many choke/ sighting options for the 12ga too. I have reaserched these things to death, and 95% of the people who have them love them to death. Very reliable, semi auto, and inexpensive, and what's cooler than an AK shotgun? I plan to purchase one myself when I get the cash. Best sites to look at are www.eaacorp.com, www.saiga-12.com, and the best place to buy them is www.CDNNinvestments.com
Just my opinion/ $.02

 

12 ga. 500® Pump Action Persuader®, 6-shot capacity w/ 2 3/4" shells, 3" chamber, blued finish, black synthetic stock,18 1/2" cylinder bore, bead sight barrel, includes Pistol Grip Kit.

You could also get a maverick 88 security, same thing as a mossberg 500 but almost half the price.

http://www.maverickarms.com/pages/88security.htm

 

my whole point on my recommendations for a gun, and ammo is on the fact that preception is everything in the aftermath of a home defense shooting, ie you have a sig P228 9mm you shoot the guy 5 times, and he dies if you had a 13 rd preban clip in the gun instead of the 9rd post ban you are something like 6 times more likely to be prosecuted, why because "having 13 rds avail meant you where looking to kill someone" the end result is still the same to the burgular but the end result to you is much more severe, and having the 9rd mag made NO difference in the result.
So buying these guns such as persuader with pistol grip (prosicuted 8 times more often than the same gun without the pistol grip) or high cap mags or magnum rds WILL land you in jail if you ever have to use it, infact alot of law enforcement is not allowed to carry win silver tip hollow points as they are precieved to be excesive force.
next issue is the origanal poster wanted a gun that his girlfriend would not be scared of the recommendation of a 10 ga is nuts they recoil like crazy, and if she hesitates even 1 sec to pull the trugger because she is scared of the recoil the gun is useless, same thing when using any magnum rd.
I know some of you don't believe me on this but think about the gun bans in this country lets use an example AK-47 banned, SKS not banned why because the AK "looks like" an assualt rifle but they use the same ammo are both gas operated autos, and both clip fed yet in truth the SKS is the one that is actually an assualt rifle as it is the only one as sold in the US that was ever actually used in combat (the civillian version of the AK is different than the military version). next spas shotgun banned any other auto loader 12 ga not banned same ammo same capacity, same action.
AR15 banned, Mini 14 not banned same ammo same type of action same clip fed do you see my point preception of your intend is everything

 

wow appreciate all the responses guys, as far as the g/f goes its not her size im concerned with but just the fact shes never fired a gun of any kind in her life. So I wanna make sure its not something thats gonna scare the crap outa her but it also needs to be strong enough to kill the bad guy dead. By all the recomendations I think ill take a look at the Remington 870 tommorrow. Again thanks alot guys.

 

take her to the range, get some light trap loads, throw up some skeets, and let her shoot. Yeah its gonna hurt, its gonna hurt more if you don't hold it tight to your shoulder.

Good luck, and remember to be comfortable with the gun, or it won't do you any good.

 

Almost any firearm is adequite, with proper training. I would go and shoulder as many different ones as you can, til you find one that just seems right. Sounds funny but even among the same makes of guns, some feel better. It all comes down to that gun becoming second nature in a time of need.

P.S. good point Monster

 

How about an aluminum baseball bat?

Very light, very manuverable, and less likely to get you in a lawsuit after the fact.

I know it sounds a bit unorthodox, and doesn't directly answer the original question but here's what I'm thinking:

Someone comes into your house with a gun -- they already have the drop on you. Unless you keep a weapon unlocked & loaded (not a very smart idea if you have kids in the house, which I do), you simply don't have time to face the intruder in many situations. A very quick assessment is needed in any case. Is it worth the risk that by going toe-to-toe that the intruder might get a shot off at you or a family member? I don't really think so.

In the more likely scenario that someone enters without a gun -- Again, unless you keep your weapon ready, you lose valuable time. Plus, you run a very serious risk of after-action legal problems due to the excessive force.

I have 2 shotguns in my home, grew up with guns, and have 8 years of military experience. But I keep them locked up with the ammo locked up in another room as a safety precaution. I have the baseball bat in the same closet in my bedroom. It's always ready if necessary...

 

i would also reccomend the mosberg 590

 

Well I got great news from my uncle he has a remington 870 hes looking to sell. Its a 20 Gauge like I wanted but its got a 26" barrell. So question is where is a good place to buy a shorter barrel and also how much should I offer him? The gun is in excellent condition barely used been in his closet for years, so no rust or anything, wood stock also. Thanks again for all the help guys.

 

cabelas sells a number of replacement barrels