Why do people prefer pump actions over semi-auto?

[Hank15]

Now that we're talking about reliability, I think I know why people prefer pump actions for defense.

It's the mentality that "With a pump shotgun, I decide when the weapon malfunctions."

And with a semi...."The gun decides when it malfunctions."

That's just my observation; it doesn't apply to everyone.

 

[roy reali]

re:Logjam

Lastly the pump is a bit safer to handle. I'd rather hunt with a guy who is shooting a pump that an auto. He has to pump after each shot and generally understands where the next shell is; either in the magazine or in the breech.

Wouldn't an over and under or a side-by-side shotgun be even safer? Moving a lever a few degrees renders the gun safe. When the shotgun is open, the weather there is a round in the chamber question, is easily and quickly answered.

 

[hogdogs]

I'd rather hunt with a guy who is shooting a pump that an auto. He has to pump after each shot and generally understands where the next shell is; either in the magazine or in the breech.

Wouldn't an over and under or a side-by-side shotgun be even safer?

In this case wouldn't a single be safest was it a pump or auto loader that Cheney used on that lawyer feller?
Brent

 

[SeekHer]

hogdogs -- I see your point...I just haven't ever developed a faith in them and rather lost faith with a like new Winchester that jammed ALL THE DERN TIME! I don't think it fired 3 in a row often. Granted it was an older make and the new stuff is likely great.

My favorite semi pistol stovepiped on range loads routinely but never failed with the old Winchester silver tips. I had 100% faith in that pistol.

Did you buy the shotgun new? If yes, why didn't you take it back to the store and demand they repair, replace or refund? If not, why didn't you take it into a smith or at least wrote to Winchester and maybe they would have done something, like had you send it to them and they fix it or suggested a warranty (or not) smith in your area...

How can you have 100% faith in a pistol that you know stovepipes? You don't use range loads in it, OK, but then it isn't 100% effective...Can you adjust it so that it will accept all loads, without stovepiping as it should? Are you sure that it will only stovepipe with that specific load? What about a lighter load, yet? Tried it and does it stovepipe? If yes, then you just decreased the efficiency of the handgun further! If not, then why, when a more powerful (slightly) range load wouldn't work?

Other then rimfire, I have only .41 mag pistols...SA and DA revolvers and as long as the cartridge fits into the cylinder and the bullet doesn't stick out the other end, I know that when I pull that trigger it is going to go bang--as long as the ammo isn't faulty and I won't know that until I pull the trigger, now won't I? The only problem, with 20 revolvers that I own, is I had a cylinder fail to revolve on me (the little gear lost some cogs) but I could move it by hand to fire the next cartridge and that worked fine and took in to the gun store where it was bought and they fixed it, as they should and it's also their legal responsibility!

 

[hogdogs]

Did you buy the shotgun new? If yes, why didn't you take it back to the store and demand they repair, replace or refund? If not, why didn't you take it into a smith

Nope, used but very little and in Like New/ barely used condition. I cleaned it and it still jammed like crazy. I then took it to the local smith and he verified I had no parts in wrong and no worn/broken parts and went on to say that this model... 1200 or 1300 IIRC was commonly referred to as a jam-o-matic which is exactly what junior and I called her. Smith went on to suggest some "super high brass" hot Rio loads. They were better but we noticed tons of damage to the top edge of the brass as it was catching on something in the feed end of the thing peeling and rolling the brass. It was a mid '70's to early 80's offering. Winchester being less than a fluid company, I have little faith in sending them anything and to top it off I just don't send things back. If they can't build it right, or me fix it... I just off it for what it is... "It jams like mad, it is worth $XXX to me for what i got in it and $XXX in market value... SOLD!!!! To the highest bidder!
Brent

 

[hogdogs]

How can you have 100% faith in a pistol that you know stovepipes? You don't use range loads in it, OK, but then it isn't 100% effective...

Stovepiped on the $5.00 white UNMARKED range ammo... 5,000 rounds plus of winchester ST's and never a failure of any type. From fresh clean to one session where i ran over 500 in one sitting... nary an issue so, YES, 100% faith I had a semi auto so long as i used the first ammo that fed 100% of the time.
I didn't go thru the whole list of 1990 premium ammo... I went down the list until I found one able to go 500 rounds without issue... Same as my Mossberg 500 and now it has near or over 10K down the pipe and has never once failed to feed or fire nor a broken part...
Brent

 

[Hawg]

If a fellow is out shooting doves with his auto shotgun and it jams he will porbably get frustrated. If a guy is walking through a park and a thug jumps him and his auto pistol jams, he is dead. Auto pistols do malfunction, maybe not as often as self-loading shotguns, but the consequences are higher. I find that someone that is paranoid with autos malfunctioning might be a bit hypocritical if he doesn't CCW a revolver.

I favor a pump shotgun and like a SAA for playing but I'd rather carry a 1911.

 

[kiwi56]

pump over semi

I think a lot of the reason this perception of pumps being more reliable than semi's came about was because it was started by the police forces and army decades ago.
The most probable reasons the military and police forces didn't go for semi's was it was thought that semis were more expensive to both buy and maintain. There was the added safety factor that once a semi has been fired unless it has a magazine cut off as in the Browning A500 the next round would be automatically loaded where as with a pump gun it has to be manually done, the police departments were probably just allowing for the fact that most of their officers did not receive much in the way of firearms training. I do think that this situation would have been more cost related than safety. I do believe that a good shooter with a pump can inflict just as much damage as can be done with a semi.
The British police went through a similar thing for years and years choosing revolvers (Webley and later S&W) over semi auto pistols because of the percieved reliability advantage, however this has changed in recent years with the issue of 9mm Glocks.

 

[kozak6]

Police forces also often prefer pump shotguns since they are able reliably fire beanbags, riot, and door breaching cartridges.

I'd also imagine that cost is also quite significant.

 

[spyderdude]

Pump guns in general are considerably cheaper than many of the semi auto shotguns on the market. I've gotten so used to shooting a pump shotgun that when I go to shoot a semi auto I try to manually cycle the action only to realize the forearm doesn't move and there is a spent shell already laying on the ground.

At least with pump guns you can shoot even the lightest of loads while semi-autos are more finicky about what ammo they will and will not accept. Not only that hearing the sound of the action on a pump shotgun is music to my ears so as long as I am not on the receiving end of it! I would like to get a Benelli M3 because with that you got the best of both worlds. I can switch it to semi-auto or pump action for shooting lighter loads.

 

[oneounceload]

n this case wouldn't a single be safest was it a pump or auto loader that Cheney used on that lawyer feller?
Brent

It was a very nice, and expensive, Perazzi over/under..........

I'd rather hunt with a guy who is shooting a pump that an auto. He has to pump after each shot and generally understands where the next shell is; either in the magazine or in the breech.
Quote:

That is unequivocally false

Wouldn't an over and under or a side-by-side shotgun be even safer?

That is true from the aspect that it is easily determined to be safe or presumed not from a distance when it is broken open - from afar, one cannot tell that with a pump or semi