Oleg Volk
September 17, 2001, 12:21 AM
Went to intermediate shotgun course offered by http://www.defensive-edge.net Took their basic shotgun and basic pistol last year. Very interesting course, indeed.
I brought a 20ga Winchester 1300 ("Lady Defender") with a fiber-optic bead. To my surprise, I got through the course with no malfunctions (about 150 rounds of birdshot and ten buck).
Here's what was covered:
loading the gun in various ways -- tube, ejection port, weak hand only, strong hand only, etc.
patterning various loads
shooting with strong, weak hand
firing sitting and prone, walking
transitioning to and from a sidearm
keeping magazine topped off
observation while firing
Here's what I learned:
three-point slings are good to have. I did not have one and my sling was more of an encumberance than help
20ga works, esp. in permitting firing prone, one-handed with not too much flinching...but does noticeably less damage than 12ga
for close range, bead works as well as rifle or aperture sights
pistol grip+stock helps in one-handed manipulation
acurate firing on the move is possible
Equipment observations:
sharp edges abound: next to the magazine opening (that I knew) and sharp plastic edges where the stock meets the receiver (will file them smooth)
Two shooters with Benelli M1s had constant problems (birdshot not cycling one of the guns, both fumbling with loading and making ammo feed...manual of arms semed more complex than on pumps or 1187)
Trigger re-set on my gun is at the end of the travel. Trying to pull the trigger too soon leads to no shot at all.
20ga ammo is heavy and wants to fall out of pockets (bandoliers are all for 12ga). Buck and birdshot feel the same, can't be differenciated easily.
Having the same part (forearms) used for both loading and support is not good.
tube magazines are bad: slow to reload, impossible to check remaining ammo count
All in all, my lesson was that simplest equipment works best and light weight, small size are more important than raw power. At this stage, I'd actually pick an M1 carbine with soft points or an AR15 over a shotgun even for close range fighting. OTOH, the 20ga is close enough to usable that I won't upgrade it and will, instead, learn it better and smooth the sharp edges. Seems that #3 buck's useful range is under 10m when innocents are present and 12-15m is sloppy shooting is OK. Would have to switch to slugs past that range.
Overall, both the basic and the intermediate courses were very good, IMO. Learned lots (couldn't remember it all for this review) and hope to do more of this even though I am not keen on shotguns for fighting. Most techniques and methods apply equally to rifles and handguns.
I brought a 20ga Winchester 1300 ("Lady Defender") with a fiber-optic bead. To my surprise, I got through the course with no malfunctions (about 150 rounds of birdshot and ten buck).
Here's what was covered:
loading the gun in various ways -- tube, ejection port, weak hand only, strong hand only, etc.
patterning various loads
shooting with strong, weak hand
firing sitting and prone, walking
transitioning to and from a sidearm
keeping magazine topped off
observation while firing
Here's what I learned:
three-point slings are good to have. I did not have one and my sling was more of an encumberance than help
20ga works, esp. in permitting firing prone, one-handed with not too much flinching...but does noticeably less damage than 12ga
for close range, bead works as well as rifle or aperture sights
pistol grip+stock helps in one-handed manipulation
acurate firing on the move is possible
Equipment observations:
sharp edges abound: next to the magazine opening (that I knew) and sharp plastic edges where the stock meets the receiver (will file them smooth)
Two shooters with Benelli M1s had constant problems (birdshot not cycling one of the guns, both fumbling with loading and making ammo feed...manual of arms semed more complex than on pumps or 1187)
Trigger re-set on my gun is at the end of the travel. Trying to pull the trigger too soon leads to no shot at all.
20ga ammo is heavy and wants to fall out of pockets (bandoliers are all for 12ga). Buck and birdshot feel the same, can't be differenciated easily.
Having the same part (forearms) used for both loading and support is not good.
tube magazines are bad: slow to reload, impossible to check remaining ammo count
All in all, my lesson was that simplest equipment works best and light weight, small size are more important than raw power. At this stage, I'd actually pick an M1 carbine with soft points or an AR15 over a shotgun even for close range fighting. OTOH, the 20ga is close enough to usable that I won't upgrade it and will, instead, learn it better and smooth the sharp edges. Seems that #3 buck's useful range is under 10m when innocents are present and 12-15m is sloppy shooting is OK. Would have to switch to slugs past that range.
Overall, both the basic and the intermediate courses were very good, IMO. Learned lots (couldn't remember it all for this review) and hope to do more of this even though I am not keen on shotguns for fighting. Most techniques and methods apply equally to rifles and handguns.