Nightcrawler
Member
Self Loading shotguns, to many minds, are still considered second rate behind pumpguns for "serious" useage, due to reliability concerns. While many law enforcement agencies are using recoil-operated Benelli autoloaders, those typically won't see hundreds of rounds in one session like a 3-gun shotgun or some such would.
The US Military is buying the Benelli M4 (US XM1014), though I'm not convinced this piece is any better than the Mossberg 590A1s they have now. SWAT didn't give Benelli's first gas gun a stellar review, but that was due mainly to little annoyances with the design. Frankly, from the report, I think with some of those things, an experienced maker like Benelli should've known better.
Anyway, is there something about the design of modern gas-operated shotguns that inhibits reliability? I'm unclear on how they work, exactly. Do they use a gas piston like a FAL or AK rifle? Do they use direct gas like an AR-15? Something else?
The idea that self-loading weapons aren't reliable was the reason that many militaries and police agencies stuck with manually operated long arms and revolvers for decades. While it's true that something you manually operate for each shot will, by nature, probably jam less often than a self loading arm, current technology makes self-loaders reliable enough for combat use. My FAL just doesn't jam, and I've never had a problem with it except for sharp feed lips on new magazines. I'd bet my life that it'd fire a magazine without any problems. (I understand that it could very well malfunction, and routinely practice jam clearing drills, though).
So the question is, are modern autoloading shotguns really unrelaible? What could be done to make them as relaible as comparable self-loading rifles and handguns?
The US Military is buying the Benelli M4 (US XM1014), though I'm not convinced this piece is any better than the Mossberg 590A1s they have now. SWAT didn't give Benelli's first gas gun a stellar review, but that was due mainly to little annoyances with the design. Frankly, from the report, I think with some of those things, an experienced maker like Benelli should've known better.
Anyway, is there something about the design of modern gas-operated shotguns that inhibits reliability? I'm unclear on how they work, exactly. Do they use a gas piston like a FAL or AK rifle? Do they use direct gas like an AR-15? Something else?
The idea that self-loading weapons aren't reliable was the reason that many militaries and police agencies stuck with manually operated long arms and revolvers for decades. While it's true that something you manually operate for each shot will, by nature, probably jam less often than a self loading arm, current technology makes self-loaders reliable enough for combat use. My FAL just doesn't jam, and I've never had a problem with it except for sharp feed lips on new magazines. I'd bet my life that it'd fire a magazine without any problems. (I understand that it could very well malfunction, and routinely practice jam clearing drills, though).
So the question is, are modern autoloading shotguns really unrelaible? What could be done to make them as relaible as comparable self-loading rifles and handguns?