How should my HD shotgun be kept?

How to keep my HD SG?

  • Unchambered and saftey Off.

    Votes: 56 60.2%

  • Chmabered and saftey On.

    Votes: 37 39.8%
  • Total voters
    93
While not 'drop safe' why is it going to fall? Chamber loaded, safety off. If you're grabbing the 12 you're gonna be needin' it, right. Store it leaning in the corner. No reason for it to fall unless you have an earthquake. Store it buttstock UP so you aren't grabbing the barrel pointed at your head. Grab it and go.

No need to rack it because it's slow, is an extra step and chance for a failure to feed, and it is loud and can give away your position. Bad guy behind the wall may start shooting in your direction when he hears the 'chu-chunk' sound. Some people foolishly think it causes badguys too run, but what if it causes him to open fire with his rifle or shotgun?
 
I keep my 870 with the chamber loaded and safety on, but there's exactly zero chance of it falling over as it's already stored laying horizontally on the floor. FWIW, I've tested my shotgun by dropping it (unloaded of course) from sevral feet in the air in different orientations onto my floor (carpet over concrete) and it's yet to release the hammer.
 
Anyone have it go off by dropping?

hoytinak said:
I think it depends on the shotgun. I keep my Mossberg 500 unchambered with the safety off and trigger pulled so all I have to do is pump it to chamber a round and pull the trigger to fire. I mostly keep it this way cause when I head out to the farm it just gets tossed in the back of my truck and it's been known to get knocked around purdy good in there.

I'm not much of a "shotgunner" but I was taught that my 500 doesn't have a drop safety and I don't need it getting knocked around too hard and the thing going off inside my truck. Someone please correct me is this is not correct.
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The LE agency that I work for has a policy that we have the hammer down on both our patrol rifle and shotgun. The rifle is an M4, which I know from prior military, and personal experience is not necessary to do so with, but I've had some slight reservation about the shotgun, a Remington 870.

We are not typical LE, and we bounce around a lot, and traverse rough terrain daily. I don't own an 870 personally, so I can't test it on my own time, but has anyone here ever had, seen, or even heard of one going off due to motion, etc.?

I am a big opponent of our work firearm policy, as it is extremely unsafe. In the Marines (as well as the basic 4 rules), we were taught that our fingers are to be off the trigger unless you are shooting something/someone. Now, my agency has this thing called hot standby, where they want us to release the trigger unneccesarily. We've had a large spate of ND's agency wide, and they wonder why ! Many of our agents handled firearms for the first time in the academy, and the M4 was not covered much. Having the "hot standby" policy significantly increases the risk of an ND, as many guys confuse themselves with the mag, and controls.

Not knowing the internal workings of the Mossberg 500 series or the 870, does not having a drop safety make it "unsafe" to not keep it in Condition 1?
 
Have a barrel to chamber chord steel lock in it. Loaded, unchambered, safety on. Keep key on you at all times, even when sleeping. These are the responsibilities of owning a fire-arm. If you live alone, make decisions as you see fit. I kept one loaded, safety on, unchambered however, and no lock, when i lived alone. i saw no problem in it, but when relatives or children would visit, it was not only locked up, it was in storage at an insured storage crate from a company, about 3 miles from where i lived.
 
I am a big opponent of our work firearm policy, as it is extremely unsafe. In the Marines (as well as the basic 4 rules), we were taught that our fingers are to be off the trigger unless you are shooting something/someone. Now, my agency has this thing called hot standby, where they want us to release the trigger unneccesarily. We've had a large spate of ND's agency wide, and they wonder why !
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The reason for dropping the hammer is three fold:

1. The longarms aren't meant to be carried chambered and the safety, hammer, or sears can all easily fail causing a ND. (I say negligent discharge because the manufacturer and your agency have both instructed you not to carry it that way. Any discharge isn't accidental, it is negligent. It could also cause you to go to jail.)
2. It relieves stress on the weapons.
3. It makes the manual of arms the same.

I know you have been in for a short time, but it wasn't that long ago that even your agency had numerous different shotguns, 870s, 500s, High Standards, Ithacas, and even multiple rifles, ARs, Minis, and even some M14s. Loading the weapons the same way meant that no one had to learn different safety buttons and different slide release buttons. You grab the long arm, then you rack a round in the chamber. You are then ready to deal with any threat. No thinking "is this a High Standard or a Remington?" Even in the HD situation, just being able to rack the round and address the threat is a gross motor function. Fumling around trying to find the action release bar (and/or the safety) is more of a fine motor skill. The former is much more easily done than the latter.

As for the ar, you're wrong about that. Many NDs have occurred from hammer's shearing off, and they are much more likely when bouncing around on rough trails.

Understand that cruiser ready are not just your agency policy they are pretty much standard nationwide for LEOs. Yes, your agency has a funky name for it, but everyone else does pretty much the same thing. I've yet to run into a dept with another policy. There are reason for that.

I know that is pretty harsh. Thought about editing it, but I feel pretty strong about the subject. You are a marine and you carry a badge now. That badge will be respected even more than others because of the traditions associated with it, namely all those esteemed firearms gurus where once wore the same badge.

Stay safe.
 
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I have worked in emergency medicine for quite a few years and I have seen the results

I will bet you in every instance that sentence covers, the parents never engaged in any kind of discussion with the kids about the guns such as rules, training, responsibilities, and giving them the opportunity to fire them. Instead, they try to hide the guns from the kids or don't tell them that there are guns in the house leaving them free to find them inadvertently when they go exploring. Yes, I know it is a shocker, but kids home alone go rooting through everything, it's just their natural curiosity, it's what kids do (but if you get caught there will be serious consequences). So you can either satisfy their curiosity with your experience and guidance in a safe environment, or you can leave them alone with nothing but their curiosity as their teacher.
 
I have seen this many times in several different demographics since I have lived and worked in two vastly different areas. And believe me it happens to both kind of parents. Because you are absolutely right children are curios and go through every thing. But do not have the ability to reason like an adult and understand consequences. I have taken my now 4 year old son out archery shooting since he has been 2 1/2 years old and I still do not trust him to leave his or my archery gear out where he can get to it. He is still a 4 year old and thinks like one. And he has never had a toy bow. We got him a real one and have treated it as such and as a family we take it very seriously, but I am still not willing to take that chance. When all of our kids are older we will see how things go but for know I do and always will trust a small child to do and behave as a small child does.
 
Have a barrel to chamber chord steel lock in it. Loaded, unchambered, safety on. Keep key on you at all times, even when sleeping. These are the responsibilities of owning a fire-arm.
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I will disagree with the above!
It is not my responsibility to render my gun useless to me... It is everyone's responsibility to keep their "grub hooks" off my gun that may be anywhere in my home.

My kids were taught with a slap to their cookie snatchers to leave certain items alone and guns were right up there with knives, tape measures and other dangerous items. they in turn made sure their guests did the same. I did make sure the guns were in my room when they friends over.

My responsibility to my family requires a firearm be at the ready and a padlock on a cable renders it's use delayed.

I never seen a trigger lock or or any other gun lock until I was an adult!

I never personally knew a child killed by irresponsible use of a gun until I was an adult.
I see a direct connection to those...

The NANNY STATE mentality and the suggestion that whoopin' a kid's bottom for misbehavior took the responsibility from the gun owning parent and placed it on the maker of the weapons.

I always kept my gun hot and it did fall over a few times. I am glad I did not see an AD but once I learned these are not a drop safe safety device, I went to empty chamber storage.
Brent
 
Unchambered and safety on.
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No way thats gonna happen,about as much as Hogdogs putting a cable lock on his guns.
I feel a gun that cant be holstered should have one safety device to defeat,2 is one too many.
So unchambered and safety off is the furthest id go.
But as of yet since i started this thread my 500 sits next to me chambered and safety on.

If someone can convince me that the internal parts will weaken over time being left in the cocked position,id reconsider keeping it unchambered,uncocked and safety off.
I know that keeps wear and stress off the springs and sear correct?
Im almost 40 now and plan to at least make it to 80 lol so i figure id like any gun i have in my possession to last 40 years without a major rebuild.
I replace recoil and firing pin springs on my auto pistols at 500-1000 rounds with factory springs,and then every 1000 rounds with quality Wolff springs.
 
A spring in compressed condition will only weaken under severe heat... severe being house fire hot! Otherwise it is cyclic action that could weaken the spring. The only risk from keeping a gun loaded "hot" is the possible discharge following a drop, kick or other severe hit.

I am so used to going for my action release, I do not fret dropping the hammer on an empty chamber... I just re grooved my routine to go for the action release tab then loading the chamber.

Brent
 
Ya I was just reading some on the hand gun side and they all were basically saying the same thing, the spring is fine compressed on a mag, its the duty cycle that wears them out.
 
Well,after reading what you 2 have said it makes sense from the aspect of most other info online about springs in a static position not wearing,and ones being cycled are the ones that wear.
 
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