question about pump shotgun triggers.

[00__LUGER__00]

This is probably a stupid question, but I'm not all that experienced with pump shotguns.

When a shot is fired, if the trigger were held down while the pump is racked, would the next round then fire when the shell comes into battery?

I'm guessing the trigger would reset before coming into battery and the pressure from holding the trigger would shoot off another round. Is this how they are supposed to work, or is there potential for a kaboom?

NOTE- I am not looking to fire a pump shotgun in this manner- just curious.


Also, is it common for shotguns NOT to have a firing pin block safety?

 

[natman]

Some older pump shotguns will fire in the manner described. Modern pumps won't.

I can't think of a shotgun that has a safety block on the firing pin.

 

[toivo]

I think the only new shotgun you could get that does this would be one of the replicas (Norinco?) of the Winchester 1897 pump.

Firing pin safeties are more of a handgun thing.

There are no stupid questions -- except the ones that somebody already knows the answer to but asks anyway.

 

[Fred Fuller]

It WAS common, once upon a time. The activity is usually called 'slam firing' and a number of older pump shotgun designs would do it. Some people slam fire a shotgun deliberately, a friend of mine who used to carry an old Ithaca 37 in Vietnam as a point man in a recon unit was very good with it and very fast putting lead downrange. You can see video of a Model 97 being deliberately slam fired at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN7AOr3Xpy0&NR=1 . It's a good thing to ALWAYS practice the Four Rules, they're intended to keep shooters out of trouble.

Here's a list of some of the older pre-disconnector pump shotgun designs I recall off the top of my head that will slam fire, there are more out there I didn't remember/am not very familiar with I'm sure:

Ithaca Model 37 (older ones)
Stevens 520
Stevens 620
Winchester Model 97
Winchester Model 12

Newer designs have a disconnector as part of the fire control parts that keep slam fire from happening. But the older guns I've actually handled that were designed without a disconnector still have an interrupter mechanism (if it's still working properly) that keeps the hammer from falling again unless the bolt is fully locked.

Some folks decide they want to be able to slam fire a newer design shotgun and try to get rid of the disconnector. Bad move... even if they do manage to remove or disable the disconnector without disabling the gun, there's no interrupter mechanism in place to make sure the bolt will stay locked when the gun fires. Turning a pump shotgun into an unrestrained blowback design is not safe... or smart.

I don't know of ANY pump shotguns with a safety that locks/blocks the firing pin when the bolt is fully closed. Several designs use components of the bolt's locking mechanism to block firing pin travel when the bolt is not locked however - again, assuming everything is functioning correctly - which is of course NOT something to take for granted...

Stay Safe,

lpl

 

[00__LUGER__00]

Great info. Thanks all. Slam fire- got it.

Another shotgun question, do all pump action shotguns "let go" of the pump once an active trigger is pulled? I think the remington 870 works this way?

In other words, on an empty chamber, you only have to use the pump unlock doohickey once to chamber the first round?

 

[MarkDozier]

Bingo!

 

[Fred Fuller]

Another shotgun question, do all pump action shotguns "let go" of the pump once an active trigger is pulled? I think the remington 870 works this way?

See the current thread at http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=598762 for discussion on this question.

In other words, on an empty chamber, you only have to use the pump unlock doohickey once to chamber the first round?

If the gun is functioning properly, that is indeed the case. The action should unlock when the trigger is pulled, or when the action release is pressed so the first round can be chambered.

On first contact with an unfamiliar firearm, either have someone who knows how that firearm operates to show you the basics, or find an owner's manual and read it carefully. Almost all modern firearms have owner's manuals available online these days, and they can usually be found pretty easily. Where safe operation of firearms is concerned there is no substitute for familiarity with basic operating principles, and none of us were born knowing this stuff. We all have to learn it at some point.

hth,

lpl