This has always bugged the crap out of me. Sure some people may be scared away by the pump action sound, but still others will chuckle to themselves that you just gave away your tactical advantage by giving away your position and BANG you're toast.My reason for a pump is different than others, I suppose. I like the sound! When someone racks a pump, the sound is very distinctive and I hope that the BG will take off for the hills when he hears it!
Using guns as props to scare bad guys away is a good way to get yourself killed.
but if you learn to shoot it a good pump gun will never fail you.
I wouldn't say never. Things break. I have seen pumps fail. I would assert that the odds of critical parts breaking in a quality pump gun is probably lower than the likelihood of a jam in an auto loader. Unlikely, however, is very different than never.
Oh and may I ask what a shotgun course is?
Oh and may I ask what a shotgun course is?
On every pump gun the recoil drives the combined weight of your arm and the op rods and bolt rearward, and that tends to make the opening stroke faster, assuming the gun is broken in and operates smoothly. Usually the gun will open up if you just hold it against your shoulder and pull the trigger without touching the forearm, although it wont stroke all the way.Related question. The Tristar Cobra Tactical 12Ga Pump has a return spring that powers the return stroke of the pump. The text implies that after the rearward stroke of the pump, you could release it and the spring would power the forward stroke and put the gun in battery.
What the opinions have you? Obviously, the rearward stroke is going to be harder in order to compress the spring. I would guess the average arm is stronger in pulling toward the body than in pushing away, but I'm still dubious that it's an overall help. What is the mechanism of the short stokes mentioned in posts above, and would this help, or make the problem worse?
Am I dubious just because it's such a cheap gun and would I be more optimistic if it was an expensive gun?