Semi-Auto vs Pump for home defense

[new cal shooter]

Just the pump alone works, try it at the Big 5, Close your eyes, Rack the action, see if you recognize that sound, all you need to know!

[maxicon]

How fast can you clear a jam on a semi with one arm?

How fast can you clear a jam on a pump with one arm? The two are roughly equivalent in this situation.

If there's no jam, the pump can't be fired at all one-handed (beyond the one in the chamber), and the semi-auto can. Is this important or not? That's a personal decision.

This is standard risk assessment. It's not that one is necessarily better than the other, but that people need to think through the possibilities, figure out what's important to them, and decide accordingly.

Any situation that applies to one should be applied to the other as well and analyzed, then tested. Looking at the differences realistically is critical to the success of the process.

[Aluisious]

Just the pump alone works, try it at the Big 5, Close your eyes, Rack the action, see if you recognize that sound, all you need to know!

I'll rely on the sound of buckshot rattling around their thorax to scare the baddies.

FWIW, the LAPD SWAT guys use pump shotties for non lethal projectiles only. I read that they figured the rate of fire was insufficient for CQB in the situations they are in (raiding).

[1911su16b870]

Pump scattergun.

My old CHP 870 eats everything I feed it. Regardless of pump/semiauto, you need to practice feeding it while sending rounds downrange. You should be able to grab shells and automatically insert them into the feed tube or open receiver as required.

[raygun5000]

Never had a problem with my pump 870.

[smle-man]

I'm very happy with my Remington 1187 'police' model semi auto shotgun. It functions with 2 3/4 1 oz target loads #8 and 00 buck completely reliabily. I fired it from the hip, held it sideways with the ejection port up and down, functioned fine. Just in case I have to fire it while hanging upside down I held it upside down and fired the shotgun. Worked just fine. I've owned all sorts of pumps and swore that a s.a. gun wasn't reliable enough for defensive work but I've changed my mind. This one is a great gun.

[45R]

Semi with a pistol to back me up.

[1911su16b870]

A defense-configured pump is generally cheaper than a defense-configured semi, and there are more options available.

Either is reliable if you've put enough rounds of your preferred defense ammo through it to work out any issues.

A pump is dependent on your working the action correctly, and if you're in a physically tight spot or your weak arm hits something during pumping, you can have a shortstroke. Pumps can only be worked 2 handed...

...Either way, you need to practice regularly and put hundreds of rounds of your chosen defense load through the gun to make sure it's going to work well and your muscle memory is dialed in.

FWIW the best thing you can do after getting your scattergun is to attend a class that teaches you how to handle it, yes even one handed. Edmundo Mireles needed and did that in '86.