08-19-2013, 01:43 PM
I have a Remington 1100 shotgun which is super awesome. Also a lot more expensive. It's the semi-auto version of the 870 (which is pump action).
My thinking is that if I had to actually use a gun in home defense, which is ostensibly the purpose of owning it, then each type of shotgun has its own worries:
Pump-action: "underpumping". You think you racked the next round but you didn't.
Semi-auto: jams. If the shell doesn't fire or doesn't fully eject then you'll have to unjam it.
My experience so far is that the 1100 never jams unless you use low recoil rounds and even then it's not that big of a deal. So to my mind it's one less thing to worry about in a situation where there's probably lots to worry about.
Plus you get a little less recoil because the semi-auto action eats up some of it.
And if you really put value on the "chk-chk" sound of chambering a round, you still get that. It's plenty loud when you go from empty gun to chambering the first shell. (I actually don't keep a round chambered because the trigger on this thing is a fairly light pull.)
My pistol is a .38 snub nose revolver. My thinking there was just that you don't have to worry about anything. Pull trigger, gun goes bang, if gun does not go bang, pull trigger again. Downside: only 5 shots. Upside: if the People's Republic of Maryland ever gives its citizens the right to bear arms, it's a perfect size for concealed carry.
I kinda regret not playing with the .38 more before I bought it. It's really too small for my hand. If I grip it naturally my finger wraps around the trigger too much and it pinches when I pull the trigger. I need a larger pistol or smaller hands. Probably cheaper to get a larger pistol.
My thinking is that if I had to actually use a gun in home defense, which is ostensibly the purpose of owning it, then each type of shotgun has its own worries:
Pump-action: "underpumping". You think you racked the next round but you didn't.
Semi-auto: jams. If the shell doesn't fire or doesn't fully eject then you'll have to unjam it.
My experience so far is that the 1100 never jams unless you use low recoil rounds and even then it's not that big of a deal. So to my mind it's one less thing to worry about in a situation where there's probably lots to worry about.
Plus you get a little less recoil because the semi-auto action eats up some of it.
And if you really put value on the "chk-chk" sound of chambering a round, you still get that. It's plenty loud when you go from empty gun to chambering the first shell. (I actually don't keep a round chambered because the trigger on this thing is a fairly light pull.)
My pistol is a .38 snub nose revolver. My thinking there was just that you don't have to worry about anything. Pull trigger, gun goes bang, if gun does not go bang, pull trigger again. Downside: only 5 shots. Upside: if the People's Republic of Maryland ever gives its citizens the right to bear arms, it's a perfect size for concealed carry.
I kinda regret not playing with the .38 more before I bought it. It's really too small for my hand. If I grip it naturally my finger wraps around the trigger too much and it pinches when I pull the trigger. I need a larger pistol or smaller hands. Probably cheaper to get a larger pistol.