If you feel good with the pump, I do not think you can do better than the 870 Police with an added SureFire #618 or 918 fore end. Things like ghost ring sights, etc. are not really a "waste" of money, rather they cost money that could be put to what many consider a "better" use for serious HD...a fore end light or a railed fore end with attached light. (I much prefer the SureFire fore ends, but others whose opinions I respect feel differently) The shotgun should be fired from the shoulder to be effective, and with practice ghost ring sights do not slow most shooters down at all. Good ones DO, however, cost a significant amount of money, and are not...again, in my personal opinion...necessary for the typical close ranges at which the majority of justifiable HD situations will likely occur.

Some shooters simply do not do well with a pump shotgun. It operates like nothing else except...well...a pump shotgun or rifle, and some shooters just have no real experience with this type of firearm. For those shooters, an autoloader makes sense as under extreme stress they WILL remember to point the gun and pull the trigger. My preference for an auto for HD is the Benelli M1 as I quite simply believe it is the most proven HD type autoloader in existence. (Yeah, I know that won't sit well with some, but so be it!) Others, once again, prefer different makes and models, and you could certainly do worse than the 11-87