Which USA pump most likely to cycle?

[bushmaster1313]

Given everything that could go wrong, which American made 12 ga. pump is most likely to cycle and operate properly with 2 3/4 inch shells in a tense situation?

The things I am most concerned about are pumping to hard, too soft, too quick or too short, pumping while in an odd orientation to horizontal, and forgetting to release the trigger.

 

[Birdhunter1]

By an 870 Wingmaster and cycle about 3000 shells through it on a sporting clays or trap course to wear off the bluing on the slides... after this you can fire the gun and it will almost slide the action back without any pulling enough to eject a shell.

But new out of the box.. an 870 would be my top choice and if it weren't available I sure hope on of those Mossberg's I've badmouthed forever was nearby.

 

[Milkmaster]

For a NEW gun, the 870 our Mossberg is about the only USA choices on an economical pump gun. Recent quality problems with Remington would move me toward a used 870 for reliability or a Win 1300.

For a new USA pump gun, my choice would be to pay a little more and go with the Ithaca 37

 

[ArmedBear]

I'm not sure that any "name" American pump is failure-prone in any way. Sure, anything can fail, but I mean that they don't have glaring flaws or parts that are almost sure to break, or designs that are likely to jam.

Go to a gun shop with a huge selection of old guns. There's one around here with a pile of pump guns. Really. A pile. There's a gun rack under there, somewhere...

You'll find that there have been many different pumps over the years, and most of them are long gone.

The few that remain on the market are pretty damn good guns for the money. (The Model 12 is a great gun, but it wasn't cheap enough.)

 

[reckless carolinian]

Model 37. I think it speaks for itself.

 

[Hunterdad]

A 70's Wingmaster would be my choice

 

[thebigc]

my win 1300 does pretty good you dont even have to shuck it backwards most of the time it does it for you if i dont hold my hand on the pump and shoot it it ejects the shell on its own most of the time i did have one short strokeing incident with it though where i just assumed it went back far enough on its own and i chambered nothing

 

[oneounceload]

Model 37. I think it speaks for itself

So do I, buy probably not in the good light you seem to infer.....(at least the new ones).......Older ones are fine, new ones - not so much. They sent one to a friend for review (he's a gun writer). Didn't work - neither did the second or third. You would think that a company sending a gun to a writer for a review would send their best one off the line.............then again, maybe they DID.............

 

[GunsAreGood]

Well yes a Remington 870 or Wingmaster would serve you right as well as a Mossberg 500 or 590. I prefer the Remington's for reasons I am not going to get into in this thread. I am not taking a shot at Mossberg's quality it is just personal preference. With that said You said you are worried about pumping it to hard or to soft, to quick or to short. Well I would have to say its better long and hard than short and soft, no pun intended. As quick as you can pump it, it will function at that speed. The last thing you want is to pump the forend slow because you might cause a jam. I don't think you need to worry about pumping the forend to hard either unless you are trying to rip that thing off and then you still probably wont have a problem. You where referring to a tense situation and ability to operate the shotgun. Well if you own the gun and learn where the safety and release's are placed and how to manipulate it properly the gun will be adequate for you, but I suggest handling them first because proper placement of these controls can make the learning and operating a lot easier especially in a high stress situation.

 

[bushmaster1313]

A 70's Wingmaster would be my choice

This would have been my thought before reading the posts.

 

[Al LaVodka]

I would lean towards, and rely on, a Mossberg before others but the 870 is a very good gun too.
Al

 

[reckless carolinian]

Thank you, 1oz. I most assuredly meant the older 37s.

 

[oneounceload]

Thank you, 1oz. I most assuredly meant the older 37s.

Of all the guns that ave come and gone through my safe, my early 80's 37 I bought new back then is one of the few I regret letting go..........especially for us LH's!

 

[Youngster]

I find the Ithaca 37 and Winchester 1300 pump effort to be both smooth and mechanically positive feeling, the Winchester may take some getting used to however.

The 870 smooth and solid feeling but not the most positive, IMO it's just a bit easier to short stroke than the others.

The Mossberg to me feels loose and not all that smooth but quite positive.

 

[Fred Fuller]

[Louis Awerbuck voice] It's the Indian, not the arrow. [/Louis Awerbuck voice]

 

[ArmedBear]

It's the Indian, not the arrow.

Uh, if a pump gun jams despite being operated properly, it's the shooter's fault?

I think that would be the gun's fault.

 

[IllHunter]

It's not the gun that will bleed.

 

[ArmedBear]

True enough.

And it was the shooter who said, "But I can save 50 bucks buying this Chinese knockoff!"

 

[oletymer]

Now you did it Bear, with that comment Max100 will be along shortly. I agree though. Also the only new 37 that I have handled was flawless in operation and as smooth as my old one. I was so impressed I am going to buy one.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Modern pump guns made in the US and some other places are SO reliable it's crazy to compare them on that basis.

Buy any of the ones mentioned here and run lots of ammo through it.....

 

[Virginian]

A well broken in Remington 870 or a Mossberg either one are about as bulletproof as anything on the planet. Any quality issues such as a slightly rough chamber, found on probably less than 1% on the guns, but bemoaned by thousands, will be known and fixed by the time the gun is well broken in. Wingmasters have never had any problems anyway.

 

[Gord]

So basically this thread has nothing to do with hardware malfunction and everything to do with shooter malfunction as per the OP? Short-stroking and "forgetting to release the trigger" aren't the gun's fault, and rather than trying to figure out which gun is most likely to forgive bad technique OP should be focusing on learning good technique in the first place.

 

[chevyforlife21]

mossberg 500

 

[Gord]

mossberg 500

Dontcha just love threads where people throw out a two-word "ooh, ooh, this one, this is the one I have!" reply which is absolutely worthless because it lacks even the basest of rationale for their proposed choice?

 

[chevyforlife21]

fine ninja, dead reliable, easiest safety location,best action release placement,easiest magazine to load. ive owned 5 different pumps this has been best