Is the "racking of a shotgun" sound...

stephen426 said:
Some people feel uncomfortable with a shotgun ready to rock and roll. Maybe they have kids or maybe they are afraid of accidental discharges.
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Too true. I think it takes keeping a round chambered for a while and getting used to the idea. A shotgun or an autoloading pistol with one in the chamber is generally as safe as a wheelgun. What are the chances of accidental discharge (let alone hurting yourself due to an accidental discharge)? If you practice good gun safety, they're astronomically low, or even zero if you don't make any mistakes at all (and let's face it, gun safety is fairly straightforward).

Kids are another story. I don't have kids yet, so it's hard for me to advise on that issue.
 
The only reason I would be racking my shotgun is to put a round up in the chamber. If racking my shotgun makes a intruder leave then so be it. I would not want to be at home with a unloaded shotgun and a intruder who did not leave at the sound of my racking gun. Any intruder who does not leave when I put a round in the chamber of my shotgun will be going to meet the Creator for Judgement Day!

I do not keep a round in the chamber of my shotgun, but my 9MM has one in the pipe and ten in the clip at all times. ( I have two extra clips full and ready) :D
 
Rack this

Yeah, I am tired of people saying oh the racking sound bla bla bla. Salesman use that line and people new to guns use that line. I am new to guns but I have also read that doing that will give away your position. The only place I am going to rack an unloaded shotgun is at the shooting range before I get ready to take it back to the counter from where I rented it from.
 
not an opinionated group here, nosiree....

I think I'll take cover before I post just to be safe :D :D :D

My CHL instructor (whom I know I probably refer to too often, but he's a 30+ year veteran of Texas law enforcement) specifically recommends this tactic. The idea is to get the bad guy away from you, with nobody hurt, if possible. I'm not hunting, I'm defending, and that's the difference here.

My instructor said that you have a shotgun, and you use that sound as a warning. You may even use a verbal warning. I don't know about you, but my little 1850 sq ft house isn't exactly going to be difficult to find me in, so "tactical advantage" and "giving away where I am" isn't a real big worry. If it's 3 am, where is the BG going to expect me to be? under the dining table? You rack it and warn him. If he leaves, hot dog. If he surrenders, wait for the cops and good riddance. IF he doesn't, and he keeps coming, he's dead.

Now in our house, reality would be something like this: alarm goes off. I hit panic switch on alarm button while husband gets shotgun. I have XD-40 and .380. Assuming BG comes in either front or back doors, he cannot possibly get past us to get to only son living at home (unless, of course, said son comes barreling out of his bedroom, ninja sword in hand....) One of us is in bedroom doorway; other goes across very short perpendicular hall and we're set to defend. One stands, one on the floor (probably me).

However, all of this is unnecessary because the BG will BREAK HIS NECK on all the s#&% on the floor that youngest son leaves out. Shoes, backpack, said, ninja sword, practice bamboo sword, vacuum cleaner that he ran and didn't put away....

There was a time when it would have been a skateboard. No longer. Our tactical junk defense is second to none. I may start a school.

Sorry. It's late and I got carried away there.

Seriously, the comment about "I don't do that hunting" disturbs me because we are not hunting in this scenario, we are trying to get out of it alive, and, frankly, with the BG alive too and in jail if he makes good decisions and either lays down without so much as a twitch while we wait for the cops, or else flees.

My highly overinflated $.02 worth.

Springmom
 
The Racking Shotgun Action

1st. This tactic does work I know it from personal observation.

2nd. As to giving away your position, Unless your trained to do it. ( I don't know of any "ner-do wells" that are trained at this sort of thing), I was was trained as a physical acoustical analyst for uncle. racking the slide will give a rough general direction but not enough to really locate you. I can assure you that Racking the shotgun will get you A first response from the BG of "OH S--T!!". The next though will be of flight or fight. By this time they will not be sure of where the sound came from. A command in a loud angry tone will either gain submission or flight. I will note that is this type of situation there are no absolutes. You could somehow be up against a highly skilled pro but would a highly skilled pro go to the risk and trouble if hitting your humble abode for small potatoes? I think not.
 
I've never had an intruder inside my house, but a few months back when I first moved into my town home condo, that has a layout (ironically) like a fortress, my wife's car was being broken into. Well I keep a Mossberg 500 underneath the bed with 4 in the tube at all times, (3) bird shot, (1) 00Buckshot. More Birdshot than Buck mainly because I don't want to mess up the real estate should it be needed indoors, and birdshot at the ranges you'd be talking about in the house is enough to blow a man clean in half anyhow, and messy to begin with.

Anyhow, I went to the second story, opened the window and merely racked a shell into the chamber. Man I tell you I've never seen 3 pukes run so fast in my life. If it were indoors I'd just rack it and send them to whatever GOD they believe in though as they have no business in my domicile. *Thus I guess it works sometimes.
 
Oh for God's sake. When you pick up the gun, you rack it - so you can shoot it. If the sound scares someone, it is a nice side effect.

It is not a 'tactic'.

You also train for the possible. Maybe most burglars are cowards compared to the heroes of the Internet. Some might be Platt or Matix, the DC Snipers or the North Hollywood bank robbers.

The only sensible plan for the home owner is to rack the gun immediately and not try to make a display of it from an exposed position.

This is really not rocket science. You don't make this sound as a warning. Duh - 30 year veteran of law enforcement doesn't drop tactical IQ points on you. Bah. I know lots of veterans and instructors - they don't advise racking as a warning.

Warnings are verbal, clear and from behind cover.
 
i read once that in actual LE firefights, (memory not as good as it once was) that cops and bad guys using handguns, hit each other about equal and maybe the bad guys hit more. when the cop had a shotgun and the bad guys had handguns, the cop never got hit. like it's some kind of virtual shield almost. break out a shotty and folks start to scrambling.

my take on this: having a shotgun = very valuable. letting the bad guy know you have a shotgun = pricless.
 
"A shotgun...... with one in the chamber is generally as safe as a wheelgun."

Generally not true, with the possible exception of Mossbergs. Remington pattern guns and similar do not have a firing pin lock or any mechanism to lock the hammer and/or sear. They are not drop safe and may discharge if the is a round in the chamber and the gun is dropped or struck.

"Oh for God's sake. When you pick up the gun, you rack it"

Again, generally not true. The chamber is charged when the gun needs to be fired, not when it is picked up. There is plenty of time to rack the action while mounting the gun to a firing position.

Most of us will lay hands on the gun far, far more often than we will need to fire it. Prematurely chambering a round just provides more opportunity to a drop- or strike-induced unintentional discharge
 
The unchambered debate is another one of long and useless repetitive posts. If you want to shoulder the gun and rack it at the same time - that is your decision.

Evaluate the risk of dropping it vs. the risk of needing to fire quickly and without worrying about screwing up the rack.

To each his own.

Folks should carry an unloaded musket and charge it while singing Yankee Doodle Dandy to the bad guys.
 
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