Best Home Defense Shotguns in 2025: Tactical vs. Traditional Picks

Picture this: you’re watching your favorite action flick, and the hero kicks down a door wielding what looks like a sawed-off shotgun with a pistol grip instead of a traditional stock. That, my friend, is a tactical, pistol grip shotgun – and while Hollywood loves to dramatize them, there’s actually some solid reasoning behind their design.

At its core, a tactical pistol grip shotgun is exactly what it sounds like: a shotgun that features a pistol-style grip in place of, or in addition to, a traditional buttstock. But here’s where things get interesting – there are actually several different configurations that fall under this umbrella, each with its own purpose and legal classification.

Types of Pistol Grip Shotguns

Pistol Grip Only (PGO): These are the Hollywood stars of the shotgun world. With no buttstock whatsoever, just a vertical pistol grip, these firearms fall into the ATF’s “other” category rather than being classified as shotguns. Think Mossberg Shockwave or Remington TAC-14. They’re compact, maneuverable, and pack serious punch in a small package.

Pistol Grip with Stock: This configuration gives you the best of both worlds – a traditional buttstock for shouldering, plus a pistol grip for better control and handling. The Benelli M4 and many tactical shotguns follow this design philosophy. You get improved ergonomics without sacrificing the ability to properly shoulder the weapon.

Collapsible/Folding Stock with Pistol Grip: Popular in tactical and military applications, these feature adjustable or folding stocks combined with pistol grips. Perfect for adapting to different shooters or storage requirements while maintaining that tactical aesthetic.

The “Other” Category Explained

Here’s where things get legally interesting. True PGO shotguns aren’t actually classified as shotguns by the ATF – they’re “firearms” or fall into the “other” category. This classification requires them to maintain an overall length of at least 26 inches and prohibits the addition of a buttstock without proper paperwork. It’s this legal quirk that allows manufacturers to offer 14-inch barreled options without requiring NFA tax stamps.

The Pros: Why Pistol Grips Have Their Place

Superior Maneuverability: It’s not easy to swing a full-sized shotgun through a house or any building for that matter. The barrel length on pistol grip shotguns make them ideal shotguns for home defense and close-quarters combat for law enforcement or armed forces. They are also more easily concealable in a motorized vehicle in case of emergency.

Improved Storage and Transport: Whether it’s under a truck seat, in a boat locker, or a compact gun safe, pistol grip shotguns take up significantly less space. This makes them popular choices for vehicle storage and situations where discretion or space constraints matter.

Customization Options: Pistol grip shotguns featuring a Picatinny Rail or mounting system can be a huge advantage for gun owners who don’t visit the range or shoot often. A mounted red dot sight is extremely easy for anyone to aim with. A mounted laser is easy to see in the dark to place upon an intruder. A mounted flashlight is also a helpful tool for navigating in the darkness.

Faster Target Transitions: For a lot of shooters, the weight of a pistol grip shotgun is easy to manage than that of a full-size shotgun. Similar to maneuverability, these shotguns can be shot from the hip or stretch out in front of you rather than having to worry about shouldering the gun properly, allowing for quicker point-and-shoot capabilities at close range.

Your strong hand maintains positive control while your support hand can guide the muzzle, making rapid transitions between multiple targets more fluid than traditional stock configurations.

The Cons: Reality Check Time

Significantly Increased Recoil: Here’s the big one that manufacturers don’t put in their marketing materials. A shotgun’s recoil with buckshot is so heavy that shooting it with one hand is actually quite painful, and it is also terribly inaccurate. Without a buttstock to distribute recoil across your shoulder, all that energy gets transmitted directly to your hands and wrists. It’s not just uncomfortable – it’s genuinely punishing.

Accuracy Limitations: Shooting from the hip as pistol grips are presumably intended to be shot is inherently inaccurate due to this position’s distance from the shooter’s line of sight. At home defense ranges, you might think this doesn’t matter, but a shotgun’s spread at home-defense ranges isn’t nearly as sweeping as people tend to think (it’s only about 3 inches at 5 yards). You still need to aim.

Steep Learning Curve: Mastering a pistol grip shotgun requires significantly more training than a traditional configuration. The shooting stance is different, the recoil management is different, and the manual of arms can be awkward for shooters accustomed to conventional shotguns.

Limited Effective Range: While traditional shotguns can be effective out to 50+ yards with proper loads, pistol grip shotguns are really limited to close-quarters use. The inability to properly shoulder the weapon makes longer shots extremely difficult.

Ammunition Sensitivity: Many pistol grip shotguns, particularly semi-automatic models, can be finicky with ammunition. Reduced recoil loads that might be more comfortable to shoot often won’t cycle reliably forcing you to use full-power loads that compound the recoil problem.

Not Ideal for Everyone: For most citizens in the home, they would always be better served by a shotgun sporting a full-sized stock. The specialized nature of pistol grip shotguns means they’re not universal solutions – they’re tools for specific applications.

Alright, so you’ve decided to join the pistol grip shotgun club – welcome to the dark side, we have cookies (and significantly more recoil). But before you start throwing money at the first tactical-looking scattergun that catches your eye, let’s talk about what actually matters when you’re shopping for one of these beasts.

Action Type: The Foundation of Everything

When looking at all the tactical shotguns on the market, start by choosing the right action for you. Is the pump action shotgun something you’re used to and feel comfortable using? Or are you looking for a gas-operated system offered by a semi-automatic shotgun where all you have to do is point and shoot? Here’s our breakdown:

Pump-Action: The workhorse of the shotgun world. Pumps are like that reliable friend who shows up every time you call – they just work. Rain, shine, cheap ammo, premium loads, doesn’t matter. The Mossberg 500 and Remington 870 have been proving this for decades. The trade-off? You’re doing all the work manually, which means slower follow-up shots and the potential for short-stroking under stress.

Semi-Automatic: These are the speed demons. When you absolutely, positively need to put multiple rounds downrange quickly, nothing beats a good semi-auto. The Benelli M4 can cycle faster than most people can pull the trigger. But here’s the catch – they’re pickier about ammunition, more expensive, and require more maintenance. Plus, if something does go wrong, you’re looking at a more complex fix.

Bullpup: The Kel-Tec KSG represents this category, cramming maximum firepower into minimum space. It’s like fitting a full-size truck engine into a compact car – impressive engineering, but you better know what you’re doing under the hood.

Capacity: How Many Rounds Do You Really Need?

This is where things get spicy. Traditional tube-fed shotguns typically give you 5-8 rounds, which honestly should handle most situations you’ll ever encounter. But if you’re the type who believes in “more is better,” the magazine-fed JTS M12AK or the dual-tube KSG might be calling your name.

Here’s the reality check: if you can’t solve your problem with the first few rounds, you might need to reassess your strategy. That said, having extra capacity never hurt anyone (except maybe your wallet and your back from carrying extra weight).

Barrel Length: The Goldilocks Principle

Most pistol grip shotguns come with 18.5″ barrels – the legal minimum for non-NFA firearms. This length gives you decent ballistics while keeping things maneuverable. Some models offer 20″ options for a bit more velocity and sight radius, but you’re trading compactness for performance.

Pro tip: Don’t get hung up on barrel length differences of an inch or two. At typical pistol grip shotgun ranges (think room distances), the performance difference is negligible.

Build Quality: Steel vs. Aluminum Receivers

The great receiver material debate rages on. Steel receivers (Remington 870, Benelli M4) are stronger and more durable, while aluminum receivers (Mossberg 500, Savage 320) are lighter and resist corrosion better. In practical terms, both will outlast you if properly maintained, so don’t lose sleep over this unless you’re planning to use your shotgun as a boat anchor.

Gauge: Bigger Isn’t Always Better

Finally, do you have a specific gauge in mind? Make sure to choose a gauge that you can control and offers readily available ammunition for your intended purpose.

A 20-gauge may not be the first thing people think of when it comes to shotguns, but they are plenty capable and decidedly easy to control, especially when compared to a 12-gauge.

Optics Support: From Basic to Badass

Bead Sights: Simple, effective, and nearly indestructible. For close-quarters work, a basic bead sight is often all you need.

Ghost Ring Sights: The Benelli M4’s ghost rings are fast and accurate. They give you a more precise sight picture than beads while remaining quick to acquire.

Picatinny Rails: Most modern tactical shotguns come with rail systems for mounting red dots, lights, or whatever tactical doodads your heart desires. Just remember – every accessory adds weight and complexity.

Ergonomics: The Devil’s in the Details

Safety Location: This matters more than you think. Mossberg’s tang-mounted safety is superior to trigger guard safeties – you can operate it without changing your grip. Your muscle memory will thank you under stress.

Controls Size: Oversized controls are your friend on a tactical shotgun. When you’re wearing gloves or operating under stress, big, chunky controls are easier to manipulate than dainty sporting gun features.

Stock Configuration: Collapsible stocks let you adjust length of pull for different users or gear setups. Fixed stocks are simpler and more reliable but less adaptable.

How Our Picks Stack Up

Use this table to match our product recommendations against the features that matter most for your specific needs:

1. All-around Use: Remington 870 Tactical Shotgun

Remington has been around for over 200 years, and the 870 achieved the status of “best selling shotgun in history” through their focus on the traditional sporting shotguns, their Express Tactical Model 870 shot up in popularity quickly.

The synthetic stock is designed with finger grooves, making it easy for anyone to get a good grip on this gun. This pump-action shotgun holds up to 6 rounds of 12 gauge shells in the tube, making it an excellent choice for home defense.

We covered the Remington 870 in our hands-on review if you want more detail.

2. PGO Pick: Mossberg 500

Mossberg is also no slouch in the firearms industry – as they’ve been making quality shotguns since 1919. The Mossberg 500 pistol grip is available in a 6-shot 18.5-inch barrel or 8 shot with a 20-inch barrel.

You can also pick up a version with a top-mounted barrel heat shield to both protect your arms and hands from a scorching barrel and give it a real trench gun feel. Always a nice touch.

If the 500 Tactical is a little too short for your purposes, the Maverick 88 is another solid choice from Mossberg. It packs the same internals as the vaulted Mossberg 590a1, but with a more economical package.

3. Professional Use Pick: Benelli M4 Tactical Shotgun

The Benelli M4 is one of the top tactical pistol grip shotguns on the market. But when we say pistol grip here, it’s a little bit different on this particular gun.

The Benelli M4 semi-auto shotgun is set up with a regular shotgun stock with a recoil pad that goes on your shoulder and is built with a pistol grip for comfort and home defense mobility

The ghost ring sights feature a rear circle sight and fiber optic front sight for a more natural sight picture. This shotgun also comes with a Picatinny rail so you can mount a red dot or laser for easier target acquisition.

4. Entry Level Pick: Savage 320 Tactical Shotgun

Similar to the M4, the Savage 320 Security model is a pistol grip shotgun with a traditional buttstock with a recoil pad as well. This pump-action shotgun comes with a bead sight and a Picatinny rail for your choice of sights. This gun has a capacity of 5 plus 1 in the chamber.

For home defense or possibly a varmint hunting shotgun, the 320 has the mobility and capacity I’m looking for.

5. Mag-Fed Pick: JTS M12AK Tactical Shotgun

The JTS M12AK 12 gauge shotgun is a saiga-style shotgun that packages the Russian AK design a semi-auto gas operating system.

The shotgun is built with a buttstock and a pistol grip for maximum comfort & control, but the real show stopper is the detachable magazine. Think of this a bit like the AK47 of shotguns. Some folks may not be ready for box magazine-fed shotguns, but the JTS is a proven performer that pairs semi-auto capability with scope mounts and room for things like forend grips. I think these AK12-style shotguns are some of the best tactical shotguns on the market today.

There are many aftermarket magazines for the JTS M12AK including a drum magazine making this the ultimate choice for higher magazine capacity. It also can cycle both 2 ¾ or 3-inch magnum shells.

Semi-automatic shotguns use inertia from the fired round to drive the bolt and chamber the next round, and when paired with the M12AK’s gas system you get a reduction in felt recoil and a more comfortable shooting experience.

6. Best Bullpup: Kel-Tec Tactical Shotgun

The Kel-Tec KSG is a unique shotty that couples a bullpup shotgun orientation with pistol grips and pump action, for an unbeatable home defense shotgun.

The the 18.5 inch barrel keeps it legal, but the overall length of the gun is a petite 26.1 inches, coming in just over the AFT requirement of 26”.

The Kel-Tec KSG is a maneuverable shotgun in any configuration and has different models which feature different forend grips to choose the best for you.

This shotgun also has two magazine tubes allowing it to hold 6+6+1 (or 7+7+1 depending on shell length) and a metal trigger guard to keep your hands safe from obstacles.

You’ll have to choose your aftermarket sights with this gun and easily attach it to the Picatinny rail.

Here’s the dirty little secret about pistol grip shotguns that most manufacturers won’t tell you upfront: they can be finicky eaters. While your grandpa’s old hunting shotgun will happily cycle everything from light target loads to magnum slugs, pistol grip shotguns – especially the semi-automatic and specialized models – have some very specific dietary requirements.

The Recoil Reality Check

Let’s start with the elephant in the room. A shotgun’s recoil with buckshot is so heavy that shooting it with one hand is actually quite painful, and pistol grip configurations amplify this problem significantly. Without a traditional buttstock to distribute that energy across your shoulder, every bit of recoil gets transmitted directly to your hands, wrists, and forearms.

This creates a frustrating paradox: you want reduced recoil loads to make shooting more comfortable, but most semi-automatic shotguns will not cycle reduced recoil loads reliably. You’re essentially forced to choose between comfort and function – and in a defensive situation, function always wins.

Standard vs. Reduced Recoil Loads

Standard Velocity Loads (1,200+ fps): These are the workhorses that most pistol grip shotguns are designed around. They pack enough punch to cycle semi-autos reliably and deliver effective terminal performance. The downside? They hit like a freight train in a pistol grip configuration.

Reduced Recoil Loads (1,000-1,100 fps): More comfortable to shoot but may not generate enough gas pressure to cycle semi-automatic actions consistently. They work fine in pump-actions, but even then, the reduced power might affect your confidence in their stopping ability.

High Velocity/Magnum Loads (1,300+ fps): These will definitely cycle your semi-auto, but the recoil becomes genuinely punishing in a pistol grip setup. Save these for when you absolutely need maximum performance and can deal with the consequences.

The Mini Shell Revolution

Here’s where things get interesting. Aguila ammunition company designed a 1¾-inch shotgun shell called Minishell with much less recoil than normal shells, containing seven #4 buckshot pellets. These little powerhouses offer several advantages for pistol grip shotguns:

• Reduced Recoil: Much more manageable in pistol grip configurations
• Increased Capacity: Eight can be fit in the magazine due to their shorter length Adequate Power: In home defense situations where ranges are measured in feet, their power is ample

The catch? The shells are too small to reliably cycle in many shotguns without modifications. Fortunately, companies like OPSol have designed solutions like the Mini-Clip, a $20 rubber magazine insert that allows shotguns to handle Minishells perfectly.

While pistol grip shotguns may not be the most accurate, and won’t have you bagging record numbers of waterfowl any time soon, they have an important purpose clearly defined in their design — defensive mobility. Stick to that intended purpose and you’ll feel like John Wick with one in hand, even if you won’t shoot like him.

1. Mossberg, Defining a Shotgun
2. ATF, What are Firearms under the NFA?
3. Lucky Gunner, Playing the Stock Market