Auto vs pump death match!

[Death from Afar]

I am having an argument with a mate about the pros and cons of autos and pumps, so without turning this into a flame war, what arguments can you see for either?

[Kilroy08]

Some of the reduced recoil ammo won't work properly in a semi.

But, I can shoot a pump as quick as a semi........... So in all honesty, it boils down to whatever floats your boat.

I prefer the nice manly feeling of manualy cycling the action. (insert Tim Allen's trademark manly grunt) :D

[baf2003]

I'M WITH KILROY. my 870 seems to do the trick pretty much as fast as i can pull the trigger. what i'm saying is all you need is practice. btw, i kinda think that if you gotta have a semi-auto shotgun, you're lazy. just my opinion

[kudu]

I will say this, your endurance will suffer to a degree after about 400-500 rounds in a row if you have to pump each and every time, especially if you shoot full dram 12ga loads. Been there, done that. I can shoot a pump as fast as an auto in most cases, but for comfort in the 12ga, give me a good gas gun like a Beretta or a Remington, (or a Win SX2) and still be on targets at the end of a run.

If you have a proven gun, either pump or an auto, there will only be user preference, until fatigue sets in, then the least punishing of the two will be the winner.

[ClarkEMyers]

There is no disadvantage to the well maintained auto with issue ammunition - until it gets to the point of being less well maintained and the ammunition may be scrounged. A well maintained auto is more likely to work every time than the human holding it. Notice the Stryker was a revolver design to be reliable and effective with a variety of loads including odd ball special purpose. I wouldn't want to be changing o-rings on an 1100 in Chindit or Begram dust country.

[IronBalls]

if your on your own, pump
on a team/group, semi (so faults may be cleared)

pump feeds everything, always. Semi is best if you loose a limb?
that said, i have one pump 870, sold my m1s90 and beretta 1201 long ago, and do not miss them (am considering an 11-87p these days however)

[baf2003]

rofl. i'm with good ole ironballs. semis are for people missing limbs or that are just plain lazy

[roy reali]

I suppose stack barrel shooters can say that pumps and semi's are only for folks that can't hit their target in one or two shots. Or they are too lazy to have to reload after two shots.

[Mikeyboy]

Problem is you can still work a semi auto effectly with one arm if wounded. I would have voted 870 pump hands down until I seen a history channel show on Bonnie and Clyde and I first learned what a little woman can do with a whipit gun (basically a semi auto shotgun with a sawed off barrel and a shorten stock).While people complain about gun violence in the USA now, Imagine what it was like in the 1920 and 30, when shootout involved Tommy Guns, 1911s, Shotguns and BARs.

http://texashideout.tripod.com/guns.html

[roy reali]

Wouldn't a shotgun with a break open action be even easier to operate if wounded? Gravity will often open the action. One hand would be neede to load or reload espically if it has auto ejectors. A snap of one hand can close the action. Two shots are then available without any further action manipulation.

I tried the above scenario. I have an old single shot. With one hand I was able to open it, load it, and close it. My auto would be near impossible to load and fire with an arm out of action.

So when wounded in an upper limb, a side by side or over & under would be better then a pump or self loader.

[rugerdude]

You can always toss the pumpgun, so that after you fire it you've got your hand on the pump, then you do the ole' one hand shuck and kinda toss it back up and grab it on the stock.

It's kinda asking for an AD though.

As for reloading, just stick it barrel down between your legs and push the shells downward into the tube.

......huh...there's a couple of un intentional innuendos in there:o

[roy reali]

A break open shotgun would still be easier to operate one handed. Granted, in that situation things are not going well for you. But a side by side could be loaded, one handed, much faster then a pump or semi.

[bclark1]

i'll be the wuss that says auto. it's true, a working pump takes some serious mishandling to put it in a non-working position. you can always count on 'em. but i feel like the reliability of semi's has gotten to the point where i'd trust my life on one. i can pump fast but not as fast as i can pull the trigger.

[roy reali]

You are right, for all intent and purpose, semi's are about as relaible as most other actions. Still, a break open shotgun has to be the ultimate in reliability. If they don't go bang on the trigger pull, it just wasn't your day.

[PaladinX13]

The threat of my relatively untrained family members short stroking the pump- as they have when we've gone clay shooting at times- makes me think I should add a semi to the collection for their sakes.

[Lycanthrope]

If you can keep it reasonably clean, then the semi is the way to go. Same reason that assault rifles aren't pumps and most combat sidearms these days aren't revolvers. Every little bit of speed helps.

I grew up with the pump shotgun and have no problem cleaning doubles on the skeet range with it, but in 3 gun competition I learned that I was still substantially faster with the semi.

My Remington semi cycles everything down to 1oz/3 DRAM shells and has run up to 400 without a cleaning or malfunction. It wears a wide bolt handle and would be easy to work one handed.

[BigG]

Autos have it all over pumps in the vast majority of cases. There are very few reading this that will have occasion to go on long range patrol behind enemy lines depending only on their wits and a shotgun ;) therefore, a recoil operated Browning or Benelli will beat the snot out of any pump, imho.

I still have a Win Mod 1897 for nostalgia's sake, but get real on the comparison. If you like a pump, fine, get a pump. But don't try to knock an auto just because you don't have one. Autos, even gas operated, are much better than pump models, else why don't they sell them cheaper than pumps? ;)