tube fed Vs. Mag fed

Tube fed generally, for the reasons given above, however I can see the advantages of mag feed for matches or if the shotgun is going to be the primary weapon in a tactical situation.

I would probably own a Saiga or Vepr 12 if they were allowed here.
 
I wouldn't say they're silly, just ........impractical.
Now, if you have, say, 8-10 mags, go to town. Pre-loaded mags would be way faster during a course of fire. The sucky part would be if you run out, and then have to load the mag so you can load your shotgun. That would blow.

(E) :cool:
 
I think a great solution for a shotgun with a box-mag would be something like a Valtro PM5 with a short barrel. I think the short barrel would be essential to get the most out of this type of shotgun.

See, with the tube mag, the more shell capacity you have the longer the overall length of the gun will be. A Valtro PM5 can hold 7 rounds in it's detachable mag (if I remember correctly), and a tube-fed shotgun with the same capacity would have to have a barrel that's maybe 18 or 20 inches long. For close-quarters/indoors scenarios, a shotgun with a 12 or 14 inch barrel would be way more useful than one with a long barrel (DISCLAIMER: I have never been and probably never will be in a CQB situation, but mall-ninjas are allowed to have opinions too :cool:). I just think that when space/maneuverability is an issue, the shorter the barrel the better.

Then, in about the time it takes you to load a single shell in your tube mag, you can slap in a fresh mag and be good to go! You could fire off a few dozen rounds in a fraction of the time it would take otherwise.

To sum it up, I would rather have a 12.5" shotgun with a 7-round detachable mag than a 12.5" shotgun with a 4-round tube mag. And yeah, it goes without saying that you would need a lot of mags too. Having just one or two is kinda silly.
 
I like both and have both.

Mag fed for volume of fire.

Tube fed for topping up on the fly and less snags.
 
I prefer the mag fed variety. I have a Valtro PM5, and like the fact that I can quickly reload to full capacity, rather than feed one round at a time.
 
I bought the Grizzly folding stock mag. fed shotgun for use on my quad. Advantages to me are ease of loading/unloading, and it is short enough to fit in my front box. Although I haven't tried it yet, riding season is suspended until next May, I think it would be much easier to stuff a mag. in and pump than load a tube fed. Here in B.C. you cannot have a loaded firearm on a quad while traveling on logging roads.
 
The "pro" tube mag argument is already well spoken and all points are valid.
The mag fed argument has several twists.
The main one is good luck getting magazines, neither one has any and this is the biggest pain the @ss going!!
Plus if you can actually find one for the Valtro, it's a hundred bucks. Each.
Other than that IMO the Valtro mag system is nice because it holds 7 rounds but sucks because it has to roll into the reciever kinda like a AK. The Grizzly sucks because it only holds 5 rounds but rocks because the mag inserts straight up kinda like an AR. So in my opinion the Grizzly is quicker to reload but you have to do it more often, depending on what your doing with it it may or may not matter.
My experiences in IPSC have taught me that in the walk through you are planning your mag changes while moving, so in a timed event a properly set up mag fed will be quicker than a tube gun if the shooter is properly set up and familiar with his equipment.
If your not in competitions the ability to quickly and safely load and unload your firearm is better with a mag fed, no mag in the gun and the chamber open is an obvious and easy thing to see safe even at a distance. Tube fed gun, did you/he get them all out...
Personally I think the only reason the mag feds haven't been more visible in competitions is that both systems currently available have shortcomings and exactly how could one compete with one when the suppliers can't supply magazines.
go ahead, ask me if I'm bitter over the magazine issue...
 
You can't lose or drop a tube.
Tubes can be topped up without being removed.
Mags can be changed faster than a tube can be refilled, but I'd rather have a 7-8 round tube than a 5 round mag.
 
Grizzly mags hold 5 rounds, I believe. If you have the mag that came with it, and buy an extra one, then you've got 10 rounds at the ready. If you need more than 10 rounds of 00 buck to solve a problem, you really need to keep better company. They both work fine, I'd be very happy, and feel well equipped either way.

For a competetion, or for sporting purposes, unless you've got a large budget for magazines, the tube fed is more practical. Also, carrying a bunch of magazines, will likely be more cumbersome than the same number of loose shells. The magazines would load quicker though. It's all about trade offs, I suppose.
 
mmattockx said:
If you plan on hunting with it, the tube mag can be plugged to whatever limit your provincial regs require.

Mark
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and a box mag can be pinned with an aluminum rivet.

i dont notice the "bulk" of a Valtro 7rnd mag but maybe im just used to 30rnd ak/sks/ar/m14/cz "bulky" mag's.... the Valtro mag's even fit nicely into a AK chest rig.

bulk argument aside the tube has one very clear advantage over any mag platform... the ability to quickly stuff in another variety of ammo during a top up.. say if you are shooting something inside of 25M with 00buck or #2 shot and you suddenly need to fire at something at 50-75M with a slug instead of dropping a partial mag and stuffing a mag full of slugs in you just pop 3 outta the speed feed and stuff em into the tube...

i have also found the issue where a rim on a hull pop's behind the next hull down and jam's the mag up on my Valtro but only under certain circumstances and with certain ammo (steel base trap loads) with sharp formed rim's but this is never an issue with a tube mag...

an issue with a tube that i would point my finger at to argue the above mag fed issue is the amount of moving parts and there keen ability to collect mud and filth in the tube that makes for poor feeding just when its needed most.. mag's have a better tolerance to mud and dust then tube followers and the hull's can flow better in a single stack upwards then straight back thru a tight tube, i myself have seen 2 hull's stuck in a tube and the gun had to be stripped down to get them out all due to a little bit of grit.

even tho i love my Valtro i would say i wouldn't have an issue with a mag or tube fed shotgun in any scenario... i'm quite proficient with both and they both have shortcomings.
 
Dave_Shotgun said:
I went with a mag fed shotgun, because it has a military look and feel to it. I just have to get a couple more mags though, since I only have one mag.
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You mean it looks like a rifle. The military does not use a detachable box fed shotgun.

RUPZUK said:
The "pro" tube mag argument is already well spoken and all points are valid.
The mag fed argument has several twists.
The main one is good luck getting magazines, neither one has any and this is the biggest pain the @ss going!!
Plus if you can actually find one for the Valtro, it's a hundred bucks. Each.
Other than that IMO the Valtro mag system is nice because it holds 7 rounds but sucks because it has to roll into the reciever kinda like a AK. The Grizzly sucks because it only holds 5 rounds but rocks because the mag inserts straight up kinda like an AR. So in my opinion the Grizzly is quicker to reload but you have to do it more often, depending on what your doing with it it may or may not matter.
My experiences in IPSC have taught me that in the walk through you are planning your mag changes while moving, so in a timed event a properly set up mag fed will be quicker than a tube gun if the shooter is properly set up and familiar with his equipment.
If your not in competitions the ability to quickly and safely load and unload your firearm is better with a mag fed, no mag in the gun and the chamber open is an obvious and easy thing to see safe even at a distance. Tube fed gun, did you/he get them all out...
Personally I think the only reason the mag feds haven't been more visible in competitions is that both systems currently available have shortcomings and exactly how could one compete with one when the suppliers can't supply magazines.
go ahead, ask me if I'm bitter over the magazine issue...
Click to expand...

All firearms are always loaded

The speed and ease of unloading does not make one system safer than the other.

TDC
 
Hotwheels81 said:
bulk argument aside the tube has one very clear advantage over any mag platform... the ability to quickly stuff in another variety of ammo during a top up.. say if you are shooting something inside of 25M with 00buck or #2 shot and you suddenly need to fire at something at 50-75M with a slug instead of dropping a partial mag and stuffing a mag full of slugs in you just pop 3 outta the speed feed and stuff em into the tube...

an issue with a tube that i would point my finger at to argue the above mag fed issue is the amount of moving parts and there keen ability to collect mud and filth in the tube that makes for poor feeding just when its needed most.. mag's have a better tolerance to mud and dust then tube followers and the hull's can flow better in a single stack upwards then straight back thru a tight tube, i myself have seen 2 hull's stuck in a tube and the gun had to be stripped down to get them out all due to a little bit of grit.

even tho i love my Valtro i would say i wouldn't have an issue with a mag or tube fed shotgun in any scenario... i'm quite proficient with both and they both have shortcomings.
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Those are a couple of good points, which got me to thinking ,that with a tube fed ,even with the tube damaged or some how not working [how ever,doesn't matter.] you can still load a single round at a time ,so as to still be useable,can you do that with any mag fed ?

I guess you could just change mags for /about the damage thing, but what "IF" you don't have any more full mags, can it be used as a single shoot like a tube fed?
 
Greenhorse six said:
Those are a couple of good points, which got me to thinking ,that with a tube fed ,even with the tube damaged or some how not working [how ever,doesn't matter.] you can still load a single round at a time ,so as to still be useable,can you do that with any mag fed ?

I guess you could just change mags for /about the damage thing, but what "IF" you don't have any more full mags, can it be used as a single shoot like a tube fed?
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I don't see why it couldn't? The current offerings are just pump guns with a mag attached. Short of the magazine being forced into the receiver it should work.

TDC
 
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