To clarify :
What I proposed as ideal was a handgun backed up by a long gun. The advantage of this system is that you can have more stopping power if you can bring the long gun into play . If you can't get to your heavy artillery, the handgun is -er- handier . If your long gun goes dry, your handgun is the fastest reload in the world when you transition to it .
My understanding is that some shotguns and rifles can fire from being dropped .
Shotguns do not have much of a spread at close range so you still need to aim .
Bird shot can be soaked up by belly fat or a beefy biceps . Heavy clothing can slow it down . The best shotgun load would be buck or a slug .
If you are ever threatened or have reason to be especially alert, you can carry your handgun in a holster around the house . The long gun will be in the closet upstairs regardless of where you happen to be .
Years ago, in Virginia, a police sniper used an AR-15 instead of a .308 to shoot a hostage-taker in the back because he thought the .308 might endanger innocents by over-penetration . The AR-15 .223 failed to incapacitate the hostage-taker right away . The bad guy killed his hostage, a cop , with a sawed-off 12 guage and managed to pump a fresh shell into it before he died . That is an example of what can happen when you focus on secondary considerations like over-penetration .
Rentacop
" They said they'd take us without firin' a shot ;
I dont know if they will or not ;
But only me and crippled soldiers give a damn . "
From " Me And Crippled Soldiers ", sung by Merle Haggard, used without permission of Epic Records