Shotgun AD- from Farnam

[Fred Fuller]

I see only a couple of mentions in the archives of Farnam's name, so I am guessing not a lot of people here know about his "Lessons Learned" posts. If interested, you can find the index at http://www.defense-training.com/quips/quips.html . You might not like some of the insights but they are what they are, descriptions of adventures and misadventures with firearms.

Here's a fairly recent one emphasizing some good points regarding gunhandling and safety. Even if you do not carry a Benelli it's worth paying attention here. And if you DO carry a Benelli- well, the points are apparent.

The main point applies to EVERYONE no matter what they might carry- engage brain before pulling trigger! A chamber check ought to be reflexive before dry firing or in any other situation where an empty chamber _with rounds in the magazine_ is intended. You can 'crack open' the action part way and inspect visually and/or digitally- look into the chamber and/or stick the end of your finger into the chamber to determine if a round is present.

Shotguns make big nasty holes at close range. That's what they are for, in some cases. But make sure those big nasty holes _ALL_ go where they belong, and not somewhere you didn't intend for them to go. I have dealt with two accidental shotgun shootings in 'normal' life, one fatal (one of my young cousins, dove hunting in a ditch, shot his older brother in the head at less than ten feet when the older brother popped up unexpectedly on the ditchbank as the younger fired at a crossing bird) and one crippling (a classmate of mine in school shot himself in the thigh by clubbing a wounded fox with his double barrel). As an EMT I dealt with several more deliberate shotgun shootings. YOU DO NOT WANT TO HAVE AN UNINTENDED/ACCIDENTAL/NEGLIGENT DISCHARGE WITH A SHOTGUN. Trust me on that.

Stay safe (and I don't type that just to hear the keyboard rattle),

lpl
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http://www.defense-training.com/quips/1Apr04.html

1 Apr 04

Shotgun AD:

"One of our officers experienced an AD with his Benelli Shotgun last week. The incident took place in our parking lot. Fortunately, the errant slug was launched upward, ultimately impacted harmlessly, and did no damage.

I was inside working the desk when I heard the shot. The sergeant and I ran out to find a young trooper yelling that he was okay. I took him aside in an effort to figure out what happened. This really hit home, because I trained this kid personally with the Benelli. He keeps the shotgun in the condition that we teach, and he has always been a competent gun handler.

He was preparing to go out on patrol. He grabbed his shotgun, along with hi s radio, flashlight, et al, and walked out the door of our precinct station. He put everything down, and charged the magazine tube with five slugs. He then picked everything back up and went over to his beat car.

At some point before throwing all the stuff into the car, he inadvertently hit the cartridge-release lever, sending a slug onto the lifter. It happened while he was holding all the other junk, so he never heard or felt it. It was dark. Our officer then pulled back the bolt all the way and let it go, chambering a round. When he subsequently 'dry fired,' the shotgun, of course, discharged the round.

Our officer became confused when he started the procedure, got interrupted, than 'resumed' later. I taught this officer the correct procedure, but I never truly understood the consequences of short-circuiting the routine or transposing steps. I do now!"

Lesson: Stick with your shotgun procedure and perform it from beginning to end at one time! If you get interrupted, start all over. Charging to tube, then walking off and "finishing" the procedure a minute later introduced confusion into the mind of this young officer and contributed to this blunder.

/John

 

[Kestrel]

Interesting and a good reminder.

Steve

 

[Correia]

What would be the point of training people to dryfire a semiauto shotgun with a loaded mag tube? I don't get it.

 

[BigG]

Based on his thoughtless behavior. I am thinking that officer is polluting the gene pool.

 

[00-Guy]

As the proud owner of a Beretta 1201FP it is worth noting that the Benelli and the Beretta 1201FP are similar guns with the rotary bolt and recoil cycling of the shell. I couldn't lay my hands on the manual (heh I do work.), but the following is an explanation as to what was going on.

Taken from another site: http://www.no-treason.com/laissezfirearm/1201fp.htm

<included material>
Here's the scoop on the "weird" loading: The bolt carrier is held back on the last round, which locks the loading gate/shell lifter into the "down" position until the carrier is returned to battery via the bolt release button, thus blocking access to the tube magazine. This is to ensure that the first round is loaded through the ejection port, directly into the chamber. This is necessary because there are only two ways to physically release subsequent rounds from the magazine onto the shell elevator:
The first is to pull the trigger. The problem with this option is that it places undue stress on the long and thin firing pin if there is not a round in the chamber. In addition, the rear of the firing pin is knob-shaped, which allows it to be retained by a solid pin that passes horizontally through the bolt carrier. Repeated dry-firing will chew this knob up because it gets rammed up against the retaining pin. If you're in a serious hurry it's ignorable -- just remember that its a no-no when you're playing with the gun at home.

The second is to push in on the small button that protrudes from the very front of the trigger guard. This drops down the loading gate and then releases a shell. The button is small, so practice with it before you need it. Using the release properly will also permit you to increase the capacity of the weapon by one round if you're fairly dexterous and have some spare time. Since I'd like to keep on the good side of the Beretta folks, I'll let you figure this one out for yourself while strongly recommending that you ONLY try it with dummy ammo!

If you simply hit the bolt release (the big button on the right-hand side of the receiver) to close on an empty chamber, load shells into the magazine, and cycle the action, you will NOT be ready to fire. Instead, your first trigger pull will produce a "click-thud" as the firing pin hits empty space, followed immediately by the first round hitting the front of the trigger guard assembly. Cycling the action a second time will then produce the desired result.
<end included material>

Heh it is weird and takes a little getting used to. But the result for me is a smooth shooting shottie with a very tight pattern with the right load.

paul....

 

[mete]

Benelli's work fine . The officer's problem was that he was trying to do more than one thing at a time and doing them in the dark. When taking care of the gun pay 100% attention to it without distractions.

 

[Smoke]

What would be the point of training people to dryfire a semiauto shotgun with a loaded mag tube? I don't get it.

I'm having a little trouble with this myself.

I carry a shotgun with the chamer empty, the trigger pulled (so the action is free) and the tube full.

It seems to me he reversed the process if that is what he was trying to do.
You cycle the action, hit the trigger, then fill the magazine. Doing it the other way is a sure way to blow holes in something.

Smoke

 

[Duke of Lawnchair]

What would be the point of training people to dryfire a semiauto shotgun with a loaded mag tube? I don't get it.

With a cruiser-readied Benelli, it is "safely" possible to squeeze off ONE dryfire. Once you pull that trigger, a cartridge from the magazine will be thrown on to the carrier.

In all honesty, that is one dry-fire too many WITH a cruiser ready Benelli.

Dry practice and ammo is a "no-no" in my thin book.

Jim