I have a question about a 12 gauge shotgun

[Redchrome]

I have never fired sabot but from what I have heard be careful about shooting them through some barrels (steel sabot's anyways) if I remember correctly they can damage some barrels. But this is just something I remember off the top of my head.

Only problem with sabot slugs is that they aren't stabilized except out of a rifled barrel; and my firsthand experience seems to indicate that it needs to be a fully rifled barrel, not just a rifled choke tube.

When using slugs; the best thing you can do is buy a couple of boxes of every type of slugs you find at the store; and shoot them all at perhaps 50 yards. I found one brand of slugs that would make a group I could cover with my hand at 50 yd; everything else made a group a foot or more wide.

The main thing to remember is that any self defense weapon is:

1. it is only good if you have it available when you need it

2. it is only good if you can use it in the situation your in (like if you have a Barrett 50 cal it's not going to do you any good when the guy is 10 feet from you, and the Barrett isn't pointed at him/her)

So I think anytime someone picks something for self defense it should be something that they are comfortable keeping around them most of the time and thats not to big to be wielded in a smaller area if possible.

But I have never had to use a weapon in self defense other than my own 2 hands, and hopefully that will never change but thats my opinion, informed or not.

This is a very solid piece of advice.

A weapon is no good if it's not in your hand.
A weapon in your hand is no good if you're not willing to use it.

[leetninja]

Best thing I did was practice with simulated real life scenarios.  I also educated myself on tactical and defensive response etc.  Drills, drills and more drills.  Education and responsible gun ownership are also key. 

Personally I like my 12ga but I have a backup just in case which is a toss up depending on my mood between my sig 9mm and my s&w 40.

In case of armageddon I also have several other choices of equipment.

[ColdSoul]

I must say I recently purchased a Rem 870 super mag 12 ga, and it is a VERY sweet gun. It feels like it's maybe 3-4 lbs lighter than my Rem 1100 and it will fire any 12 ga you can find (I.E. 2-3/4, 3, and 3-1/2 12 GA up to Magnum). Also the pump is a lot more natural than I thought it would be, and doesn't really slow down my rate of fire at all and it's a semi-cheap gun.

Now I haven't fired a 3-1/2 mag through it, but the 2-3/4 seems to have less kick than my Rem 1100 did with the 2-3/4 I think this is due to the fact that it's not cycling to the next chamber and I do it after that recoil has subsided (which might slow the reload a little bit, but allows to get the gun back on target quicker).

[Redchrome]

I don't know about the Remington 3 1/2" 12ga guns; but I heard that the Mossberg ones were overbored to .775" (i.e. 10 ga; nominal 12ga is .729"), and probably had more shallow forcing cones (the transition from chamber to bore), both of which will reduce the recoil by easing the accelleration of the shot down the bore.

This is just some wild-ass guessing on my part tho.