Training with your "tactical" shootzgun

badboybeeson said:
people main issue is reloading under stress, reloading and shootging when there is a barrier.
Tac shotgun is my main thing and have been doing it fo alot of years, but you have to reload evey second you not shooting , if you gaming V doing it for real, that meen reloading for cover .
You may want to do lots of left of barrier week side shoting.
Low and prone shooting as well as tac reloads
how you place you ammo on the firearms is allso very important.
Come to one of the One shot tactical shotgun courses and you will be supprised at what you dont know! And what earl can show you.
Earl will come to you if you have a range and a group of people.
bbb
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I agree, reloading under stress should be a key part of shotgun training. Not only reloading, but slug select drills, and using your particular gun's action as efficiently as possible. For example, in a slug select drill, (or to load any type of shell other than what the gun is loaded with, do you load through the ejection port or the magazine of your particular gun? An 1100/11-87 or an 870 or 500/590 its better loading through the magazine, because as soon as you pull back the bolt, the subsequent round pops out of the magazine onto the carrier, so it might as well be the round you need rather than rolling a shot cartridge out of the gun, then loading the slug through the ejection port. With a Benelli, thanks to its drop lever, it allows you to trap the slug between the fingers of your support hand and the groove in the forend, so when the cocking piece is pulled back, the chambered round is ejected but no shell is released from the magazine, then the slug is slid along the side of the gun until it enters the ejection port, and the bolt handle is released chambering the round. That's pretty slick and pretty quick.

When you reload, can you do it without taking your eyes off the target? Do you index the rounds along the bottom of the trigger guard to avoid missing the loading port? How do you hold the gun when reloading it? If the butt is in your shoulder and you let the muzzle droop towards the ground, the gun comes to a balance when the muzzle reaches 45-60 degrees from horizontal allowing easy reloading, and the gun can be brought back into action far faster than when its taken down from your shoulder.

Do you cycle the rounds through the chamber to empty your shotgun? There are better options, one is to pull back the bolt ejecting the chambered round and allowing the first round ion the magazine to pop out onto the carrier, then roll the round out of the gun into the palm of your hand. the subsequent rounds in the magazine can be unloaded the same way or the shell stop can be tripped allowing the shells to drop free of the magazine tube.
 
^^^ Nice.. good food for thought.

On the 870 when unloading, I usually use the method where you push in the little "bars" on the inside of the receiver that allows the shell to pop out.

Cool thoughts on shell selection too. Thats something I haven't tried. I think I'll pick up some more snap caps in 12G to practice this on a couple of different guns...

Thanks!
 
While not the end all be all of training, I found some videos like Magpul Dynamics Art Of the Tactical Shotgun very informative for a novice shotgunner like myself. I don't take the techniques in it as gospel, but it gave my a lot to think about and try to apply to my own informal shooting.

I want to take some courses, but I'm far away from any good ones and my time and money are spread very thinly when you have a young family to take care of. Someday.
 
I've taken a couple tac shotgun courses (the same one twice, technically). Haven't got out to my own "range" since to try anything, so I mostly just practice reloads/changeovers with snap caps in front of the TV when I've got nothing else to do. I don't imagine it's something I'll ever have a practical use for (I hope not...) but it's a fun skill set to learn and gives me a reason to fiddle with my firearms even when I'm not shooting.
 
for select slug drills always load into the magazine if your not starting with a fully loaded gun.
the drill i teach to get people to learn how to load is what i call one and one
load one shoot one.
But how i teach it is.

empty gun, pump, pull trigger on empty gun
"click"
rack back action,pull one round from side saddle and load into empty port and pull trigger on target. dont #### it up and miss the target, just because your stresed.

#2
empty gun, pump, pull trigger on empty gun
"click"
pull one round from side saddle and load into magzine pump and pull trigger on target. dont #### it up and miss the target, just because your stresed.

#3
empty gun, pump, pull trigger on empty gun
"click"
rack back action,pull one round from side saddle and load into empty port .
Pull second round from side saddle load into magazine, pull trigger, one round on each target . dont #### it up and miss the target, just because your stresed.

Do this 5 times each.

Then do it on the move from 15 m down to 5m, DO NOT STOP MOVING!!!!!
 
Nice drill.... I've got 2 snap caps here I'm going to try that with. Thanks BBB..

#### it, we'll do it live this weekend.

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Just get out and shoot an action match of some sort...

You'll likely find you're not as adept at shotgunnery as you think you are... :D

Watching a really good shotgunner run an' gun... weak hand reloading on the move is a great thing...

Watching a LBV clad tacticooler fumble his reloads and short-stroke his pump and just well,,, stand there shaking his jammed shotty is kinda funny to watch.
Sad... but funny.
 
667 said:
Just get out and shoot an action match of some sort...

You'll likely find you're not as adept at shotgunnery as you think you are... :D

Watching a really good shotgunner run an' gun... weak hand reloading on the move is a great thing...

Watching a LBV clad tacticooler fumble his reloads and short-stroke his pump and just well,,, stand there shaking his jammed shotty is kinda funny to watch.
Sad... but funny.
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Now WHERE in this entire thread did I say I thought I was "GOOD" at shotgun?? No need to be like that.. ;)

I'm just looking for some training ideas I can do at home over the winter until s**t starts up again in the spring.... I've done a few courses with some good guys teaching, and I like shooting shotgun.

My "tactical" shotgun consists of an 870 with a 12.5 inch barrel (which I bought from BBB) and a collapsible stock. No lights, no whistles, no bells... It really does nothing for my mirror commando image. :cool:

Sometimes I do wear it around the house when I'm in my lululemon pants though... Does that help make me more tacticool?? :D :shotgun:

Which reminds me.. A buddy of mine sent me the link to your team hoser page... Hoping to make it down this year for at least one shoot.

I'll be sure to bring my lululemons for you :cool: LOL
 
Out here near Vancouver we have the ATS club to go through drills we learned, or taught each other. Perhaps if you can find a range that's accommodating and a group of like minded individuals and start a sub-club?

+ 50m with slugs is a good idea to train, provided your shotgun isn't too short. My 18.5" M2 loves hitting plates out at the 75m mark.
 
THX1139 said:
Out here near Vancouver we have the ATS club to go through drills we learned, or taught each other. Perhaps if you can find a range that's accommodating and a group of like minded individuals and start a sub-club?

+ 50m with slugs is a good idea to train, provided your shotgun isn't too short. My 18.5" M2 loves hitting plates out at the 75m mark.
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I've got an 18.5 inch barrel I can toss on the 870 for that kind of stuff.. cool idea... will need to buy more ammo... hmmmm and make some plates.......
 
Cheap moving targets can be made with an old tire, put a ply wood disc in the middle and roll it down a hill in front of you. They bounce turn wobble. I had friends that used to do that to train for running game shots. Check the plywood after to see just what you can do,
 
Get a few more snap caps and go to town practicing reloads. Then what the other guys have been saying. I especially like running my 6.5 and still banging targets like crazy, while reloading between shots.:D
 
Major Sights said:
From a Policing standpoint, would that not be an unethical application for this system? I am asking, not the ethics police. I have never really shot slugs beyond 50m and I have only shot about 100 of them in my lifetime. Even with optics would this not be stretching the limits?
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Fully depends on your setup. The lower shotgun in this photo is a Deerslayer Police Special. The rear sight has a sliding wedge under it. From a steady rest, palm sized groups are very doable @100 yards, just with the iron sights alone, using standard Winchester foster slugs.
Not all shotguns are created equal friend!
005-1.jpg
 
I have about 16x 12 gauge snap caps and I am always looking for more.

My pre-shoot day practice is usually something like this:

Empty tube, one in chamber. Click, do a FTF clear in any manner (over, under, etc) about 10 times or until my caddies are empty

Empty tube, one in chamber. Click, clear, combat reload, then load four in the tube, click, then perform FTF clears until tube is empty.

Empty tube, empty chamber, combat reload, top up tube, then perform FTE clears until tube empty.

After all that, I am still terrible!.

I do like Simon Says, reload and try to reload fast (but I am still working on that fast weak hand reload, it's tricky) Eventually, you get to the point where you spend less time thinking about reloading and start developing your situational awareness and focusing on your next target.
 
I never can really find any matches, and am kind of limited in shooting area.
I like clay pigeons just because they give you a time frame.
drills like what bbb said.

set up a FTE, toss, clear shell, reload, shoot.

empty gun, pull trigger,toss, side saddle reload,(both over and underhand method), shoot.

the snap caps are great.

I like the palmed round reload practice, it helps keep eyes and SG on target while teaching my left hand where the port is.

empty SG, put snap cap in chamber.
put second snap cap in left hand between index and pinkie.
pull trigger, pump then run your left hand back along the action until you feed the palmed round in, then close the action, pull trigger. transition between targets while doing so.
 
Interesting thing that palmed reload.... I'm a lefty, so I find it pretty easy to hold the gun in my left and palm a shell in with my right hand without having to go under the receiver and find the port...
 
Here's a couple drill suggestions for you.

take them for what they're worth, but we have fun with them.



1. Helps work on your Sight, Acquire, Fire Process.

Setup: Requires 4-5 down range targets, and complete darkness (lights out on the indoor range or night time).
Shooter: on the firing line in the low ready position.
Helper: behind the shooter and holding a nice bright flashlight.

The Drill: The Helper will at random time intervals illuminate a random target for a 2 second count. The shooter must raise the firearm, acquire the illuminated target and double tap on target. Light goes out. Repeat.

Helping Hints: Start closer and then slowly move back bit by bit.

Take it to the next level: only load two rounds at a time and perform your reloading and/or mag changes in complete darkness.




2. Loading and shooting under Duress. - This one requires some exercise and getting your heart pounding.

Background: do some research on "Tachy-Psyche Syndrome"
h t tp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tachypsychia
It's hard to simulate but can kind of get close by getting your heart rate up and loosing your breath.

Setup: Firearm completely unloaded, ammunition on your body or on the table beside the firearm.

The Drill: Get your heart rate pinned, the best we've found is a shuttle type run, stairs are good too, but can be dangerous. Whatever you end up doing you HAVE TO get your hear rate pinned so you are gasping for breath.

Once you've achieved that get to your firearm, load it and put rounds down range on multiple targets.

Take it to the next level: Spread your multiple targets apart and engage on the move. As BBB says don't stop moving, and reload on the move. When you engage the spread out targes do them in the far extremities, so far left then far right, then next far left, then next far right and whittle your way down to the middle.

Let me know how many rounds you drop on the ground. :)

Have fun, and be safe!!
 
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