Depending on the scale of your definition of SHTF, I'd suppose parts might be easier to come by/cobble together for the 870 in the off chance you needed them, given the 10 million plus sold (wikipedia). If you randomly select a shotgun from all the shotguns in the world, it's most likely an 870. I'll guess the odds are even higher in North America. Heck, I own 2 and a clone.
Options for shtf / survival / home security shotgun
- Thread starter DIRTYCLEAN
- Start date
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
The parameters you describe are when the gun is used in a fluid, high stress scenario. Under such circumstances, a semi-auto shotgun is less prone to malfunction than a pump, in that the gun's action will not be inadvertently short stoked under the shooter's stress of the moment, with one proviso; the shooter must have enough body mass behind the gun to ensure it fully cycles. Machinery has proven very good at performing simple, repetitive tasks, so relying on an action which reloads itself is astute. But the shooter must be aware that shooting from awkward positions might result in malfunctions if sufficient upper body mass cannot be placed directly behind the gun, particularly those guns with inertia driven actions. It might be prudent to install over-sized bolt handles, for those occasions when the gun must be used like a repeater.
The pump gun will fire each and every time the slide fully cycles, regardless of the position the shooter fires from. But the pump gun performance can be drastically reduced if the shooter suffers an injury to his side, arm, or shoulder, where the semi-auto only has to be manually cycled rearward then released should it fail to eject or bumped forward to fully chamber a subsequent round. So for what is essentially a fighting gun, my preferences in order would be:
1) semi-auto gas gun,
2) semi-auto inertia gun,
3) pump gun,
4) break action, double or single.
With respect to magazine styles, all shotguns have relatively small magazine capacities, so the training related to loading and unloading is critical, and the style of magazine is less important. The shotgun shooter should be able to load without taking his eyes off target, unload the magazine without jacking the rounds through the action, and shell select, where he needs to fire a different type of round than what is loaded in the magazine or chamber. I might lean towards the tube style of magazine, as that is where my comfort level is, and a methodology for continuous loading of the magazine can be worked out, resulting in shorter pauses for reloading.
The pump gun will fire each and every time the slide fully cycles, regardless of the position the shooter fires from. But the pump gun performance can be drastically reduced if the shooter suffers an injury to his side, arm, or shoulder, where the semi-auto only has to be manually cycled rearward then released should it fail to eject or bumped forward to fully chamber a subsequent round. So for what is essentially a fighting gun, my preferences in order would be:
1) semi-auto gas gun,
2) semi-auto inertia gun,
3) pump gun,
4) break action, double or single.
With respect to magazine styles, all shotguns have relatively small magazine capacities, so the training related to loading and unloading is critical, and the style of magazine is less important. The shotgun shooter should be able to load without taking his eyes off target, unload the magazine without jacking the rounds through the action, and shell select, where he needs to fire a different type of round than what is loaded in the magazine or chamber. I might lean towards the tube style of magazine, as that is where my comfort level is, and a methodology for continuous loading of the magazine can be worked out, resulting in shorter pauses for reloading.
- Location
- Georgetown Ontario
Not prohib on a semi either as long as you can't load more than 5 shells of the largest type it's chambered for in the tube. I have a +1 extension on a Hatsan MPA. Holds 5 3inch shells in the tube and 1 in the chamber, and if you want to ghost load you get 1 more on top of that.
I've had pump actions that had trouble feeding because they were ammo type sensitive, both Winny 1200's and 1300's and 870's. I gotta say so far the Hatsan is doing good reliability wise. Really wanna try a M4 though. Thinking survival wise a my single shot CIL might fill the bill in many ways except firepower in a SHTF situation. For protection in SHTF you need a repeater so my 1300 would probably get the call over the Hatsan.
Damn! Then I have my Mossberg 195KA but I only have 1 mag for it! Wish higher cap mags were available for it. That's really holding it back. Fun shotty though, that one was my Dad's so will never get rid of it.
Dont forget one handed manipulation
Recoil management
Kid/Spouse use
Kid/spouse control while using it
Operating doors with it
Firearms retention
Operation in confined space (under/ over furniture, hallways, stairs)
100% needs a light
Practice your plan at night with the gear you plan to use
Shawn
Recoil management
Kid/Spouse use
Kid/spouse control while using it
Operating doors with it
Firearms retention
Operation in confined space (under/ over furniture, hallways, stairs)
100% needs a light
Practice your plan at night with the gear you plan to use
Shawn
Short stroking a pump is an operator/training issue that is entirely subjective and can be addressed. Unlike semi-auto function in harsh conditions, ammunition choice, magazine capacity, etc, which are out of your control.
Edit: Keeping in mind that the OP was also asking about SHTF/survival.
Edit: Keeping in mind that the OP was also asking about SHTF/survival.
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I've seen top shotgun trainers manage to short stroke their shotguns on their own training videos... they corrected quickly, but still...
I believe a quality semiauto using full power ammo is more real world reliable than a pump under stress, or where movement and/or odd shooting positions are thrown into the mix.
They're also faster shooting at any given skill level, if you don't believe me try pulling off a true double tap with a pump, for one thing.
I believe a quality semiauto using full power ammo is more real world reliable than a pump under stress, or where movement and/or odd shooting positions are thrown into the mix.
They're also faster shooting at any given skill level, if you don't believe me try pulling off a true double tap with a pump, for one thing.
