Shotguns must be fitted to the shooter in order to be used well. Shotguns with wooden stocks are the easiest to fit; some synthetic stocks can offer more difficulties in this area. Shotgun gauge is determined by taking a pound of lead and creating a set of lead balls exactly the diameter of the inside of the shotgun barrel. Shotguns are also very quick on target in trained hands. Shotguns hurt mostly because of a too long stock; a too short stock is no problem. CaliberUnder identical conditions of shot placement, a larger caliber bullet with a penetration of 10 to 12 inches will inflict more damage to an attacker’s vital organs and structures than will a smaller caliber bullet capable of the same penetration. One gains little from enduring the blast, recoil, and potential loss of control necessary for accurate follow up shots that are associated with excessively large “hunting” calibers. Any shotgun caliber is ok, rifle calibers must be less than 30 caliber, strangely a 3006is legal but a 3030 is not. Basically anything that is handheld, short barreled and rifled below 50 caliber is a title 1 handgun, even if that chambering can accept a shotgun shell. If you make pistols in the larger shotgun calibers (all of which are over 50 caliber) you get into the tricky problem of them being either: a) a large bore destructive device, especially if it is rifled and you can’t claim it is a sort of shotgun).Keep in mind, however, that disabling hits from a small caliber firearm, inflicted with deliberate accuracy by the intended victim, will devastate an unskilled, erratic attacker possessing a more powerful weapon. The largest handgun that can be legally registered in Mexico by a person for hunting or target shooting is 38caliber, can be automatic or revolver, 357 is not allowed. ShotgunWhen compared to rifles and shotguns, handguns are not the most potent form of self-protection. Likewise, a pump-action shotgun can be kept with the magazine loaded, but the chamber unloaded for safety. Or, if you keep a 12 gauge shotgun, the recoil may be too much for her to handle. To get real power, the kind reliably sufficient to halt an aggressor, you need to use a shotgun or rifle. The shotgun also possesses the aforementioned advantage that with birdshot loads; the projectiles won’t whiz through a criminal, the wall behind him, and go on to strike one of my family members. Another advantage, which is not to be discounted, is that the sound of the slide being worked on a pump-action shotgun is very intimidating. Other good choices in pump-action shotguns include the Remington 870 and Mossberg 500 and 590. Another type of shotgun that can work well in a home defense situation is a short-barreled double shotgun.The recoil is dependent on the weight of the load and not the caliber. You will find that the penetration characteristics of various bullet calibers complement the “stopping” information obtained from actual shootings. Hence, in addition to proper shot placement, one must possess a caliber of bullet capable of reaching them. For this reason, ten to twelve inches of penetration potential is regarded to be the acceptable minimum for a caliber chosen for self defense.