Paul Harrell (RIP Paul) pretty well debunked this, anyone who would be afraid of the shell being loaded would equally be afraid of a weapon being pointed at them, and racking the shell gives them time to react if they truly have hostile intent to warrant a shotgun being pointed at them.
The point is to telegraph that you have a gun to a home intruder before they get in eye sight. If the intruder doesn’t hear it, then the home owner is in the same position as they would be if they hadn’t bothered.
Paul Harrell (RIP Paul) pretty well debunked this, anyone who would be afraid of the shell being loaded would equally be afraid of a weapon being pointed at them, and racking the shell gives them time to react if they truly have hostile intent to warrant a shotgun being pointed at them.
The point is to telegraph that you have a gun to a home intruder before they get in eye sight. If the intruder doesn’t hear it, then the home owner is in the same position as they would be if they hadn’t bothered.