Guys and gals -- sorry for a long post. But, I need help from y'all thinking through procedures for reloading pump shotgun for SD/HD use (not competition or hunting)..
Let's define the terms first.
By "emergency" reload (sometimes called "combat" reload) I mean when the gun is totally empty, and one has no time or cover to fill the mag tube with rounds. In this case, one places the round directly into receiver chamber while the pump is back, and then moves the pump forward to place the round into the barrel, making shotgun ready to fire.
By "tactical" reload I mean when the gun is totally or partially empty, and one has either time or cover to top off the mag tube with new rounds. In this case, one inserts rounds into mag tube until it is full.
Most of today's best schools/instructors who teach use of pump shotguns for HD/SD teach the following when shotgun is totally empty:
(1) break the firing position, then place butt of the stock into one's "working space" (or lean it against one's side for support) and rotate the gun so holding shotgun is easier, loading is more comfortable, and one can see ejection port, then
(2) do emergency reload first and then proceed to tactical reload.
I have to question both recommendations, and want to know what everyone thinks.
First, breaking the firing position (where one's sights are no longer aligned, and shotgun is positioned such that it will take 1-2 seconds to make an aimed shot after shotgun is loaded) appears unnecessary if one has muscle strength to keep shotgun in firing position while reloading. Breaking the firing position is useful for looking at the ejection port while doing reload (it makes reloading faster and helps diagnose the problem). However, what happens when shotgun is used in a dark room (e.g., during mid-night home invasion or tactical operation)? It is impossible to see ejection port. Also, most instructors preach (for very good reasons) learning to manipulate one's firearm without having to look at it (operating lights/lasers, reloading, clearing malfunctions, operating safeties, etc.). Being able to manipulate one's firearm without having to look at it makes one also more efficient and quick even during daylight because one's eyes can be used to scan for threats, monitor environment, etc.
Second, it appears "emergency" reload can cause more problems than it solves. Emergency reload appears only useful when shotgun runs dry ("click" instead of "bang"), in which case it is supposed to save time while bringing shotgun back into action. However, what happens when one has a bad primer strike and decides to perform emergency reload because one isn't looking at the ejection port? Double-feed. When primer is bad, and one mistakes this for an empty gun, one racks the pump back ejecting unfired round (so far so good) which simultaneously places a new round into the lift area; then operator, thinking the gun is empty, places another round into ejection port area doing emergency reload effectively jamming the action because two rounds are being forced into the barrel at the same time (oops). This creates a really bad problem, which will take time to solve, under circumstances when one has no time to solve them (i.e., emergency reload is used when there's no time/cover). Again, this assumes that operator is unable (because of darkness or being visually pre-occupied with other things) or unwilling (because of training not to look at the gun while manipulating it) to look at the ejection port area while manipulating one's shotgun.
Another reason emergency reload appears to be a bad idea is that it helps develop a bad habit -- operator trains to think it's OK to wait until gun runs dry ("emergency reload to the rescue") instead of training to top off rounds immediately after rounds have been fired.
Finally, if one insists that breaking the firing position to look at the ejection port is absolutely necessary while doing emergency reload, I have to ask: Wouldn't it take the same amount of time to simply hold the shotgun in firing position and do tactical reload? This takes about the same amount of time, and one's sight picture is still in place (which makes one more ready for potential re-engagement).
Does this make any sense to anyone? Am I not realizing some fatal flaw in my approach? Let me know what y'all think. Currently, I'm leaning towards phasing out emergency reload (as unnecessary, and potentially harmful to speed of shotgun operation) from how i train to use my pump mossberg 500, and just going with tactical reloads while holding shotgun in firing position. Looking forward to your thoughts.
Let's define the terms first.
By "emergency" reload (sometimes called "combat" reload) I mean when the gun is totally empty, and one has no time or cover to fill the mag tube with rounds. In this case, one places the round directly into receiver chamber while the pump is back, and then moves the pump forward to place the round into the barrel, making shotgun ready to fire.
By "tactical" reload I mean when the gun is totally or partially empty, and one has either time or cover to top off the mag tube with new rounds. In this case, one inserts rounds into mag tube until it is full.
Most of today's best schools/instructors who teach use of pump shotguns for HD/SD teach the following when shotgun is totally empty:
(1) break the firing position, then place butt of the stock into one's "working space" (or lean it against one's side for support) and rotate the gun so holding shotgun is easier, loading is more comfortable, and one can see ejection port, then
(2) do emergency reload first and then proceed to tactical reload.
I have to question both recommendations, and want to know what everyone thinks.
First, breaking the firing position (where one's sights are no longer aligned, and shotgun is positioned such that it will take 1-2 seconds to make an aimed shot after shotgun is loaded) appears unnecessary if one has muscle strength to keep shotgun in firing position while reloading. Breaking the firing position is useful for looking at the ejection port while doing reload (it makes reloading faster and helps diagnose the problem). However, what happens when shotgun is used in a dark room (e.g., during mid-night home invasion or tactical operation)? It is impossible to see ejection port. Also, most instructors preach (for very good reasons) learning to manipulate one's firearm without having to look at it (operating lights/lasers, reloading, clearing malfunctions, operating safeties, etc.). Being able to manipulate one's firearm without having to look at it makes one also more efficient and quick even during daylight because one's eyes can be used to scan for threats, monitor environment, etc.
Second, it appears "emergency" reload can cause more problems than it solves. Emergency reload appears only useful when shotgun runs dry ("click" instead of "bang"), in which case it is supposed to save time while bringing shotgun back into action. However, what happens when one has a bad primer strike and decides to perform emergency reload because one isn't looking at the ejection port? Double-feed. When primer is bad, and one mistakes this for an empty gun, one racks the pump back ejecting unfired round (so far so good) which simultaneously places a new round into the lift area; then operator, thinking the gun is empty, places another round into ejection port area doing emergency reload effectively jamming the action because two rounds are being forced into the barrel at the same time (oops). This creates a really bad problem, which will take time to solve, under circumstances when one has no time to solve them (i.e., emergency reload is used when there's no time/cover). Again, this assumes that operator is unable (because of darkness or being visually pre-occupied with other things) or unwilling (because of training not to look at the gun while manipulating it) to look at the ejection port area while manipulating one's shotgun.
Another reason emergency reload appears to be a bad idea is that it helps develop a bad habit -- operator trains to think it's OK to wait until gun runs dry ("emergency reload to the rescue") instead of training to top off rounds immediately after rounds have been fired.
Finally, if one insists that breaking the firing position to look at the ejection port is absolutely necessary while doing emergency reload, I have to ask: Wouldn't it take the same amount of time to simply hold the shotgun in firing position and do tactical reload? This takes about the same amount of time, and one's sight picture is still in place (which makes one more ready for potential re-engagement).
Does this make any sense to anyone? Am I not realizing some fatal flaw in my approach? Let me know what y'all think. Currently, I'm leaning towards phasing out emergency reload (as unnecessary, and potentially harmful to speed of shotgun operation) from how i train to use my pump mossberg 500, and just going with tactical reloads while holding shotgun in firing position. Looking forward to your thoughts.
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