How Do You Operate A Pump Shotgun?

turtle4123

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What does your support hand do when shooting a pump shotgun? Do you pull, or push on the pump?

edit* -Before pulling the trigger
 
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Push-pull is the way to go.

Especially when some pump designs will "hang up" slightly when you cycle if you were pulling back on the fore end before firing.
 
Depends what I’m doing but it’s a bit of both hold and push, if that makes sense lol. It’s instinctual more than anything and it’s different when I’m hunting vs. patterning. Hunting it’s more of a muscle memory thing as I’m focusing more on the animal than anything.
 
Umm... I take it this is for making shots in quick succession. While continually pointing (not aiming) the gun at the intended target I shoot, release the trigger, and then operate the pump action while waiting for the trigger reset. If you somehow try to operate the trigger while the action is still in motion, it's going to affect your results downrange, even with a shotgun. And the only pump I'm aware of that will shoot while the trigger is held down, which seems to be part of the question, is the Winchester Model 1897 and the Norinco clone of the same.
 
I shoot a Winchester 1200 so a little bit of pull pressure to do a pull-rack that Paul Harrel talks about. Winchesters don't lock up like 870s do. Once trigger is pulled, slam back then slam forward
 
870P, thanks for your reply. Does 870 also "hang up"?

They can, particularly ones manufactured in recent decades, supposedly because of lawyer driven changes meant to increase the margin of safety against an out-of-battery discharge, even though it was never really a problem before.
 
Push-pull is the way to go.

Especially when some pump designs will "hang up" slightly when you cycle if you were pulling back on the fore end before firing.

Unless you have a reverse pump, then you pull /push. Extremely rare, have only seen a couple in my years.
 
Umm... I take it this is for making shots in quick succession. While continually pointing (not aiming) the gun at the intended target I shoot, release the trigger, and then operate the pump action while waiting for the trigger reset. If you somehow try to operate the trigger while the action is still in motion, it's going to affect your results downrange, even with a shotgun. And the only pump I'm aware of that will shoot while the trigger is held down, which seems to be part of the question, is the Winchester Model 1897 and the Norinco clone of the same.

Ithaca M37 pre 1975ish and Winchester Model 12, Remington Model 17 and maybe Remington Model 10(?)
 
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