My first shotgun was a Remington Model 870 pump-action with a black synthetic stock and forearm. I used and abused that pump action shotgun for 15 years. It was dropped in lakes, tossed (unloaded) in the back of trucks, dropped, and rarely cleaned. The good news is: It kept working every time I pulled the trigger and manipulated the slides.
What makes a pump action shotgun great is the reliability, durability, and budget-friendly price tag that most of them wear, at least in comparison to semi-autos and fancy break guns. These blue-collar workingman’s shotguns aren’t adorned with gold inlays or high-grade wood stocks. Most are meat and potatoes, and they get the job done for hunters, recreational shooters, and home defense — no matter the weather or abuse they are subjected to during their lifetime.
Pump shotguns are tools, not toys. You don’t own one for its looks or to get jaw-dropping stares from the guys at the gun club. You get a pump action to serve a purpose, and for most, that purpose is to put ducks, geese, deer, turkeys, and upland game in the freezer. For others, it’s to bust clays or to protect their family and home.
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What Is a Pump Action Shotgun?
Before diving too deep, you must know what a pump action shotgun is. Fast and smooth, the pump action shotgun comprises a stock, forend or slide, barrel, action, chamber, loading port, front sight, trigger, safety, etc. The big piece of the puzzle to understand is that a pair of action arms attach to a wood or synthetic forearm and run into the shotgun’s guts to open the breech and eject a spent shell when the shooter pulls the trigger.
This is where the shotgun gets its name, and it’s this feature that makes this style of a shotgun so appealing to so many. Human force, not a gas or inertia-driven system, allows a shotshell to be ejected and a new one to be loaded in the chamber. It’s very similar to how a lever action rifle works, just via a different mechanism.
Pump action shotguns are sometimes referred to as slide action shotguns due to the back-and-forth movement of the forend required to work the action.
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Pick Your Gauge
Besides the fact that a well-made pump action shotgun is durable and functional, these shotguns also come in various gauges and sizes. My 17-year-old son, a brute and a standout football player, refuses to leave his Benelli Nova Pump-Action 20-gauge.
He loves the shotgun’s light weight and the ease of swing he gets with it. He can handle a 12-gauge fine, but he knows with today’s bismuth and TSS (Tungsten Super Shot) ammunition, he doesn’t need to go to a 12-gauge for his duck and upland pursuits. The shotgun fits him perfectly, and he loves it. Many pump action shooters fall in love with a specific make and model and never feel the need to upgrade.
Pump action shotguns are offered in most gauges people want to shoot these days, and you can find older pumps and a few new models in 16 and 28-gauge, too. They also come in an array of stock lengths and barrel lengths to fit a wide variety of shooters — from grown men to small children — and applications.
When it comes to shell length, of all repeating shotgun designs, the pump is the most forgiving — a 3.5-inch pump gun will cycle 3.5, 3, and 2.75-inch shells equally well, and the Mossberg 590S pump gun will handle 3-inch shells down to 1.75-inchers with no problem.
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A Multipurpose Repeating Shotgun
The fact is, the multipurpose nature of a pump action shotgun can’t be overemphasized. Take a popular, time-tested model like Mossberg’s 500 Super Bantam or other models in the Model 500 line, for instance. The price tag on this shotgun is $504, and it handles 2 3/4-inch and 3-inch shotshells, so it can handle everything from light dove and clay target loads to heavy 3-inch shotshells better suited for ducks and geese.
The barrel length is 24 inches — not too long and not too short — making the shotgun ideal for waterfowl, upland, deer, turkey, and home defense. The shotgun has proven to be a balanced, functional shooter capable of taking punishment and answering the hit-the-woods call each season. Plus, that barrel can be easily and fairly inexpensively swapped out if necessary.
Another tremendous multipurpose pump-action that deserves a place in every gun safe is the already mentioned Remington Model 870. The manufacturer once made the 870 Express, which was later re-branded as the 870 Super-Magnum, which handles 3 1/2-inch shotshells. I owned a couple of Express models and was never very impressed with them. The standard Model 870, though, is a winner, and if you told me I had to pick one shotgun for the rest of my days, this would be my go-to.
Why?
Over a 15-year period, I may have cleaned my 870 three or four times, and no matter how much abuse I subjected it to, the shotgun kept on performing. Because a pump-action shotgun relies on the inertia created by the operator to eject a spent shotshell and chamber a new one, jamming, even when a gun is far from clean, is unlikely. Even when the slides get sticky in muddy goose fields, a little elbow grease will almost always do the trick.
A semi-automatic provides quicker shooting and more rapid follow-up target acquisition, and they’re a bit easier to use in a tight blind because all you have to do is aim and pull the trigger, but if the gun stops cycling in the field because you haven’t been cleaning it, you’re done until you can take it apart and give it a good bath.
For a shell to get stuck in a pump gun because it’s dirty — well, it would have to be pretty damn dirty.
I remember one time when I went to clean my 870, I dug out pieces of corn that found their way into the shotgun while I was hunting ducks and geese in harvested grain fields, fragments of tumbleweeds, and more dirt and grime than you can imagine. It took some muscle to get the slide to operate that morning before I cleaned it, but I was able to get in a hunt in and kill some ducks with it. You can’t beat the reliable nature and strength of a good pump action shotgun.
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Home Defense
My home defense shotgun of choice is Stoeger’s M3020 Defense Shotgun. For years, I was a fan of the manufacturer’s M3K Freedom Series Defense Shotgun, but my bride of 20 years didn’t like the shoulder abuse that gun gave her, so I opted to go with a 20-gauge pump action home defense shotgun, and Stoeger’s M3020 was my pick. The shotgun is light on the shoulder and easy to use, and the ghost-ring sights make target acquisition quick and easy.
The Stoeger has an additional accessory rail extending past the magazine cap, making it easy to attach defense accessories like a laser or flashlight. The shotgun comes in just under $700 MSRP and less in real-world prices, and it has a 4+1 magazine capacity.
I prefer a pump action shotgun for home defense for several reasons. First, a pump gun is easy to operate for everyone in my household. My wife doesn’t shoot much, and a semi-automatic loading and unloading process intimidates her. She knows that with a pump, she has to depress the action-release button, which is usually located close to the trigger guard, and work the slide, and she’s then she’s ready to go boom.
I’m not interested in arguing whether Christopher Miner Spencer or John Browning invented the first pump action shotgun. I want to leave you with this: The pump action shotgun has been doing its job since at least 1893, and today’s pump guns are better than ever. If you’re looking for a no-fail shotgun that serves many purposes and won’t disappoint you, a pump-action makes a great addition to any arsenal.
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Pump Action Shotgun FAQs
How much does a pump action shotgun cost?
The more bells and whistles a shotgun has, the more it will cost. There are definitely expensive pump guns out there if that’s what you want. But if you’re purchasing a shotgun to use, not to put on display, you can get an excellent pump action shotgun for under $650.
Why do people use pump action shotguns?
Simplicity and durability are the two biggest reasons people opt for a pump action shotgun. And, of course, the shotgun’s ability to tackle everything from hunting to recreational shooting to home defense plays a big part in why people go with a pump action shotgun.
What is a good pump action shotgun?
There are numerous makes and models of pump action shotguns on the marker, but it’s hard to beat Remington’s Model 870, Mossberg’s Model 500, and Stoeger’s P3500.
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