A Couple Questions About HD Shotgun...

[ront]

Hi guys, I have had a Mossberg 500 for a couple of week now. I have been working on getting it set up the way that I like it and now have a couple of questions concerning how to set it up for use.
1. Do you always load the shotgun up to capacity and leave it that way vs loading it round short so that the spring is not always compressed all the way? This is probably a dumb question, but I don't know.

2. This question concerns how the gun is loaded. Do you keep a round in the chamber and the safety on, or the chamber empty and the safety not on? Or any other method? I know that there will be different methods used here, but a HD shotgun is new to me and I am very interested in the methods that you use.

Thanks a lot for your input, Ron

 

[sadp40]

i keep my 590 loaded

to max capacity chamber loaded safety on. it gives me all advantages with no drawbacks. the tang safety makes it so easy to unsafe and fire.

 

[Grunt]

I load mine to capacity but keep the hammer down on an empty chamber. To make ready, cycle the pump and fire. This also has the advantage of not keeping thehammer spring under constant tension as well as not even having to worry about the slide release button or manipulating a safety button. That's the way I was trained in the Marines and it works well for me.

 

[mgkdrgn]

I load mine to capacity but keep the hammer down on an empty chamber. To make ready, cycle the pump and fire. This also has the advantage of not keeping thehammer spring under constant tension as well as not even having to worry about the slide release button or manipulating a safety button. That's the way I was trained in the Marines and it works well for me.

I go with the above, and add an extra reason for that configuration:

I want to be sure I'm awake and lucid enough to work the action once before I open fire.

 

[NonConformist]

Leaving it loade wont fatigue the spring, cycling will

Load it up, but I leave the chamber empty

 

[mnrivrat]

I load the magazine to capacity, cycle one into the chamber and put it on safe . I don't see a tactical, or any other advantage, to leaving the chamber unloaded . Just me !

 

[357wheelgunner]

I have a 7 round tube. I keep 5 rounds in it. To me, the extension is to give the spring a break. The chamber is empty with the safety on.

I really don't think that having the safety on or off matters, you have to train and practice so that you remember what to do if/when the time comes.

 

[Grunt]

I load the magazine to capacity, cycle one into the chamber and put it on safe . I don't see a tactical, or any other advantage, to leaving the chamber unloaded . Just me !

Got kids?

 

[r1ng3l78]

i found that if i chamber mine just until the reciever engages the shell then cycle it back i can keep it by my bed with the saftey off and when i draw it, it's ready to go when it hits my shoulder. i've heard some call this "cruiser ready" but i don't think that's right. also, let me say i live alone and would never keep a gun in this state if i didn't. especially with kids.

 

[Todd A]

I download to 4 shells. Not for spring life but so that I can load a slug from my side saddle if I need to.

I keep mine chamber empty safety off. Just grab it,rack it,and go.

 

[76shuvlinoff]

I keep mine chamber empty safety off. Just grab it,rack it,and go.

same here, and the first round is a slug then 00

 

[Jeff F]

The main reason to leave the chamber empty on a shotgun is because most shotguns are not drop safe. I keep mine loaded one short in the magazine so I can load a slug if it may be called for.

 

[Green Lantern]

*nods* OK, good to know that it won't fatigue the spring. I was wondering myself. Therefore, NOT a dumb question at all, IMO.

For the chamber - I like to use a snap-cap, eh, maybe I'm just paranoid. If you're gonna get some, I'd say spring for the good, full-size ones. I have some really short ones that work ok for what they're sold as, but they don't cycle well enough to be used for dry practice (unless of course you want to practice dealing with a failure to feed/extract )

 

[JImbothefiveth]

Got kids?

That's where a trigger lock, and a LOT of practice unlocking it quickly come in.

For the chamber - I like to use a snap-cap

Same here. Mine cycle just fine, but I think mine are full size.

 

[Jack2427]

Thank you Jeff! The term "cruiser ready" is mag fully loaded, chamber empty, safety off.
That is how just about any professional carries his shotgun. Jeff is right on, most shotguns are NOT drop safe. Meaning if you drop a shotgun with a round chambered it might go bang, with safety on or off! Depends on how the safety operates, most are trigger blocks.

The reason that cruiser ready is usually trained into the professionals (military and police) is: imagine yourself going up a narrow stairwell the guy behind you has a shotgun, and you hear him chamber a round, the hear an obvious missed step and an "oh ****". I can promise you your attention will be diverted, at least temporarily. We use shotguns because of their deadly effects at close range, it works on good guys too!

Normally the guy with the shotgun should be at the front of the stack for indoors, but things do not always happen as they should. Just remember an AD (ND) with a shotgun can be incredibly messy.

Please note; I do not place ANY faith in the racking sound having any benefits to the good guy or have any effect on the bad guy. We are scared of the sound because we know what it means and WE ARE THINKING! If the BG was thinking he would not be there in the first place.

 

[Loosedhorse]

Agree with "cruiser ready." Keep some spare shells ON the gun if possible (I like Side Saddles better than butt cuffs): after you charge the chamber, your mag is now down a shell--so top it off if you have a second.

Put some slugs on the gun too--gives you some versatility. You never know.

 

[Jeff F]

I was wondering myself. Therefore, NOT a dumb question at all, IMO.

The only dumb questions are the ones un asked.

Thank you Jeff! The term "cruiser ready" is mag fully loaded, chamber empty, safety off.
That is how just about any professional carries his shotgun. Jeff is right on, most shotguns are NOT drop safe. Meaning if you drop a shotgun with a round chambered it might go bang, with safety on or off! Depends on how the safety operates, most are trigger blocks.

Thats how I used to keep all of my HD shotguns loaded but I rethought it the past couple of years and came up with keeping the magazine loaded, cocked on an empty chamber with the safety on. Heres the thought on this. All my HD shotguns are 870's that I am intimately familiar with. If for some unknown reason someone was to get hold of one of them, well just about anybody with half a brain can pick up a shotgun rack it and pull the trigger.

Most people are not going to be able to get one into firing mode very fast and that could be my saving grace someday, I on the other hand can get one into operation pretty fast if ever needed.