I was giving this some thought today. It seems to me that there are plenty of good home defense (or offense 
) shotguns on the market. But they all seem to have some trade offs. Most of our fighting shotguns are just modified sporting guns, with a few standard additions.
I'm a huge 870 fan. For simplicty and durability I don't think there is anything out there that even comes close. I love my 870, and I've been using the same gun since I was 12 years old. But at the same time, I've come to recognize that it does have a few weaknesses.
Most of that stems from the fact that it is a basic pump action design. I love pumps, and I can shoot them very fast. But with that said, how many of us have tried to shoot prone with our pump? Or how many of us have had to shoot them from strange positions, around barricades, or from under a car? (ever have the shell fall off the carrier when pumping the gun on its side?)
Also even the best of us can shortstroke a pump. This doesn't happen very often, and I find that it usually only happens to an experienced shotgunner when they are shooting very fast under pressure, or shooting loads that are much hotter than their standard. I've done it myself, and I've seen some really extraordinary shotgunners do it once or twice. Probably not a very big problem overall, but it does happen.
On the other end of the spectrum you have semi-auto shotguns. The most common gas operated guns are the 1100 or 1187. These are softshooting, and usually reliable, but at the same time they have gotten a bad rap for reliability, and they do have a few weak parts (O rings).
The recoil operated guns like the Super 90 or 1201fp tend to have greater felt recoil due to their operation, and sometimes only work well with higher power shells, which can get costly for practice. In their defense, when they work, they work really really well.
And that is just the basic action type. Then we move into how the weapons are sighted, and how they are stocked. We have gotten into this craze that serious shotguns have to have ghost rings sights, so they are better with slugs, but I've seen way to many shooters struggling with them because the sights are too high and they can't get a proper cheek weld on the standard stock. Beads are fast, but imprecise for slugs. So whats the answer? Beats me.
The new Benelli M4 has got to have the goofiest stock I've ever seen. But hey, they get points for trying.
So I'm just throwing this out for discussion. Lets start with a clean slate, no preconceived notions about what a scattergun should look like or function like. What do we really want in a fighting shotgun?
) shotguns on the market. But they all seem to have some trade offs. Most of our fighting shotguns are just modified sporting guns, with a few standard additions.I'm a huge 870 fan. For simplicty and durability I don't think there is anything out there that even comes close. I love my 870, and I've been using the same gun since I was 12 years old. But at the same time, I've come to recognize that it does have a few weaknesses.
Most of that stems from the fact that it is a basic pump action design. I love pumps, and I can shoot them very fast. But with that said, how many of us have tried to shoot prone with our pump? Or how many of us have had to shoot them from strange positions, around barricades, or from under a car? (ever have the shell fall off the carrier when pumping the gun on its side?)
Also even the best of us can shortstroke a pump. This doesn't happen very often, and I find that it usually only happens to an experienced shotgunner when they are shooting very fast under pressure, or shooting loads that are much hotter than their standard. I've done it myself, and I've seen some really extraordinary shotgunners do it once or twice. Probably not a very big problem overall, but it does happen.
On the other end of the spectrum you have semi-auto shotguns. The most common gas operated guns are the 1100 or 1187. These are softshooting, and usually reliable, but at the same time they have gotten a bad rap for reliability, and they do have a few weak parts (O rings).
The recoil operated guns like the Super 90 or 1201fp tend to have greater felt recoil due to their operation, and sometimes only work well with higher power shells, which can get costly for practice. In their defense, when they work, they work really really well.
And that is just the basic action type. Then we move into how the weapons are sighted, and how they are stocked. We have gotten into this craze that serious shotguns have to have ghost rings sights, so they are better with slugs, but I've seen way to many shooters struggling with them because the sights are too high and they can't get a proper cheek weld on the standard stock. Beads are fast, but imprecise for slugs. So whats the answer? Beats me.
The new Benelli M4 has got to have the goofiest stock I've ever seen. But hey, they get points for trying.
So I'm just throwing this out for discussion. Lets start with a clean slate, no preconceived notions about what a scattergun should look like or function like. What do we really want in a fighting shotgun?
