They actually make ammo that is specifically designed for home defense. I bought some a while back, haven’t gotten around to target shooting any of it though to see how it really scatters. Look at the assault weapons law part of NY firearms, if I remember correclty for a semiauto shotgun there is a limitation on the magazine tube size if it has a pistol grip for it to be legal. It is something to the effect that you can’t have a mag extension tube, limiting you to 4 or 5 shells. Something to think about, also I wouldn’t think a slug would be your best option for HD use. I’m not an expert, but I would personally have some spread if I was in that kind of a close engaugement situation. Thats just my .02. Also if you have no real experience with firearms I would suggest starting with a shotgun, they are very easy to operate effectively with little to no experience. I personally like shooting trap or skeet for practice since it gives you a lot of experience tracking and leading targets.