After having watched the Modcast on shotguns and taken two shotgun courses with FPF Training. I definitely believe the shotgun still has a place in today's time. Home defense is definitely a great place it dominates with most violence per trigger press. As Clint Smith has said in his ballistics Youtube video, "shotguns at the right range with the right load will blow chunks out of the bad guy that you will need a snow shovel to clean up." So a basic 870 within 15 yards of HD distance will definitely dominate that space with Federal Flite control. A single shell of that load will definitely have more incapacitation in that trigger pull time frame with more control than anyone's fast trigger finger on an AR. Then there is the political correctness factor, it is a pump action shotgun, It is $600 fully equipped going into the evidence locker, you may have fired two shots at most, that is not going to look bad for you in court or your pocket book. Where as you have scary black rifle, $2000 fully equipped into the evidence locker, and 16 rounds fired, that definitely does not look as good to the uneducated jury. My primary bedside gun used to be a double stack polymer 9mm, now it is a 870 with Vangcomp +1, Magpul furniture, and Surefire X300U light. I have 5 rounds of Federal Flite control in the gun and another 6 shells, 5 federal flite and one slug, in the side saddle. If as a civilian in a Home Defense Situation, with shot liability, need for target Identification, need more than that, as Rob Haught said, " I should have brought friends." It is a different tool with still a major place in the arsenal of anyone interested in self defense with a firearm.
This is my current 870. Eventually will send the barrel to Vang Comp for the barrel porting and backboring, and get it an RMR and new sights when Aridus releases the RMR CROM.