O.K., so I also agree that my hearing is a minor concern. But my amplified hearing protectors (while allowing me to hear reasonably well.. and clamping out gunfire..) seem to reduce my ability to localize the sounds. If (for instance on the range) I'm looking downrange and someone talks to me - I hear them fine but I don't immediately locate them. Perhaps this is an artifact of the microphone location on my hearing protection. But I'd feel at a disadvantage in a dark house if I were wearing them. I'd have a hard time telling exactly where the noise was coming from.

My wife prefers the 20ga - it's a bit easier for her to handle the kick. We try to avoid discharging the gun indoors, but we have done night firing to see the gas discharge "explosion"

You need to practice the whole possible "engagement" with intruders ... under low-light conditions in your home. Work through the whole scenario carefully. Many home owners go down to the shooting range in the daytime, then assume they are ready to defend their homes at night. It takes more than that.

other Pete

If you have a weapon mounted light, practice shooting with it mounted -- the gun handles differently. It also allows you to see if the light stays mounted under recoil. A friend of mine borrowed my light to see if he liked it. Third shot and the light went for the deck -- not good.

Ditto! And, uh, ditto. That was with #4 shot too that my light fell off. It's now more appropriately seated.

Anyway, it's always a great idea to check the placement/security of a gun-mounted light. Which is, itself, a topic of great debate, mainly, don't point a gun at something you don't intend to shoot, which you have to do by default if the light is ON the gun.