Why are pump action rifles not popular any more?

[WestKentucky]

How is rifle production much more intricate or expensive than a pump shotgun which can be had for around 250 bucks in a wide variety of flavors? It's a rifled barrel instead of a smoothbore, and pressures are higher so material will be different. That's a few bucks...should be essentially the same otherwise.

 

[taliv]

I don't actually know how shotgun barrels are manufactured but I'd always assumed the chamber was either forged or something and not machined like rifles

 

[briansmithwins]

How is rifle production much more intricate or expensive than a pump shotgun which can be had for around 250 bucks in a wide variety of flavors?

Shotguns runs at much lower pressures than pretty much all centerfire rifles. Lots of shotgun locking mechanisms would work that well or last very long if used with a rifle.

And the build quality on a $250 shotgun is usually pretty abysmal.

BSW

 

[gunboat57]

I learned to shoot with an old Remington Model 12. Much later I bought a Fieldmaster for PA varmint hunting. I sold it because I began to really not like the loose and rattley fore end when trying to make precise shots. Bolts or levers for me now.

 

[TrickyDick]

I once came across a Remington pump action .223 that took AR mags. it was interesting and neat, but i didn't recall the model, and i believe it was remington, although i could be mistaken.

 

[Agsalaska]

I hunt deer with a Remington 760 in 30-06. I am a lefty and, while I can shoot very well right handed, I have never been comfortable operating the bolt shooting my natural way. The 760 is perfect.

I taught a 39 year old woman this weekend how to shoot with a Remington 121 Fieldmaster in 22lr. First time ever behind a gun.

 

[jmorris]

The only downside to a pump in a hunting rifle is that you completely disrupt your view. So does a bolt only arguably to a lesser degree. So does a semi auto only to the degree of the recoil.
...
I have found a lever surprisingly easy to keep on target thru cycling.

I would say your doing it wrong if a pump disrupts your view. All you need to do is move your support arm to the rear and back forward. Head and other hand stay in the same spot.

 

[Col. Plink]

Submitted for your consideration

I thought this one might be a lemon, but after a vigorous decoppering she groups like a dream. It's a '56 Rem 760 .308, which was the first year in that caliber. Free floated barrel, strong lockup mean bolt gun accuracy with semiauto speed (IMO). With really good 10-rd TripleK mags it has everything you need and nothing you don't.

I'd like to start a new aesthetic movement in firearms.
Call it Old School Tacticool?

 

[chicharrones]

Looks good, Plink.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

I think if I hadn't fallen in love with lever actions, I would have probably been a huge pump rifle fan. I absolutely love my pump action shotgun. So many firearms, so little time.

 

[NYH1]

I have a Rem. 7600 Carbine 30-06. I use it more then any other rifle I have. It's short, quick, accurate. I had to take it apart to replace the o-ring bushing in the tube under the barrel after a season. When I replaced it I put grease in it and it's been fine since, no more rattle.

NYH1.

 

[sage5907]

I can't speak to rimfire rifles but I think the reason people abandoned the Remington 760 for a bolt action was the recoil problem. If you have ever fired a 760 in 308 Winchester or 30-06 you'll understand why they are passed from owner to owner.

 

[Sam1911]

I once came across a Remington pump action .223 that took AR mags. it was interesting and neat, but i didn't recall the model, and i believe it was remington, although i could be mistaken.

Remington 7615. Used to be a somewhat popular police "patrol rifle" but have fallen out of favor in lieu of the huge popularity of the AR-15, and the 1033 program.

I've seen police trade-in 7615s for around $450, but didn't have the cash on hand. Neat idea, as USAF_Vet already mentioned -- definitely on my "sort of want, kind of cool" list.

 

[BCRider]

Plink, that looks FANTASTIC!

It's interesting to note that clearly pump action isn't dead. But it's pretty obvious that these rifles in any caliber are in the minority.

Because of the movement in the pump handle I can understand why it would not be the best for some applications. And I can see why the big calibers would not do well in a pump action.

But can you imagine a slightly shorter and handier rifle along the line of Plink's in that photo above but chambered in .223/5.56 that accepts AR mags? The lower kick of this round would make it a natural for a pump action.

 

[Sam1911]

But can you imagine a slightly shorter and handier rifle along the line of Plink's in that photo above but chambered in .223/5.56 that accepts AR mags? The lower kick of this round would make it a natural for a pump action.

Kind of, sort of, like this?

 

[Jason_W]

Plink, that looks FANTASTIC!

It's interesting to note that clearly pump action isn't dead. But it's pretty obvious that these rifles in any caliber are in the minority.

Because of the movement in the pump handle I can understand why it would not be the best for some applications. And I can see why the big calibers would not do well in a pump action.

Actually hard kickers are great in a pump action. With a little practice, you can use the recoil to cycle the action faster.

 

[rodinal220]

They should be,they are plain fun. I like my Remington 14/141 as well as various pump .22RF.

 

[kanook]

http://troydefense.com/troy-sporting-rifle/

The answer

 

[ifit]

Wow ar15 pump action, that would look nice next to my.....

 

[Col. Plink]

The slide action itself helps reacquire the target; hadn't noticed if recoil helped.

I like being able to jack the brass in the air and catch it!

 

[Col. Plink]

They make great wall-hangers as well!

Check out that tootsie roll!

 

[BCRider]

Sam, you caught me writing my post while you were posting yours. I missed it as a result.

So there ARE a few older and newer pump options. Those are sweet!

 

[Frostbite]

Not so popular anymore? I went to the range yesterday and counted six pump rifles. There are twenty spots where to shoot from over there. Were pump rifles ever really more popular than that (that is a real question, not rhetorical)?
Granted, it is moose season up here and most people there were moose hunters. I guess the pump rifle is either still quite popular among hunters or this was an exceptional sample.

I will admit that when it is less dangerous at the range (when there are not so many hunters who almost never shoot and do not really know how to behave at the range, i.e. when it is not hunting season!), I see a lot less of those, mostly bolt then.

Even suggesting that a pump action attenuates the recoil sounds like blasphemy to my ears. My 760 Remington in .30-06 is painful, that is the best word I can think of to describe it. I have shot other rifles in .30-06 which were way easier on the shoulder. I guess I would fear that rifle if its recoil was not reduced... Seriously, a pump mechanism reducing the recoil? Please explain that theory.

As fast as a semi? Well, not in a hundred years, no. Want to compare with this or that pro who shoots so fast on YouTube? Have him try both and see. Is a pump fast enough? Sure. Three shots in a fast running animal for a very average shooter? I doubt it. I have done that with a semi: once on a white tail deer at 130 yards, once on a black bear at 30 yards. We found one hole in the deer, three holes in the bear and they both died quickly. I used the same BAR .270 Win. rifle for both. I am positively and absolutely certain I could not have done it with the pump rifle.

 

[tahoe2]

"Old School Tacti-cool"

Col Plink, that has a nice ring to it !!! LOL

 

[Dr.Rob]

My dad killed a lot of deer, elk, antelope and even a Russian boar with a Remington 760 carbine in 30-06. I borrowed it a time or two and killed antelope with it myself. I think it would make a dandy bear rifle.

Best thing about the pump gun is a follow up shot almost as fast as a semi auto and operating the action helps you tame recoil and stay on target.

For being 'unpopular' Remington is still making them. The 760 has a free floated barrel and excellent accuracy. Works exactly like an 870 shotgun, so if you are used to one picking up the other feels natural.

They are a bit awkward to carry as the balance point is right on the metal. They do tend to get scratched up for that reason. They are also a pain to clean.

Dad bought a couple steel 10 shot aftermarket mags.. and surprisingly they work but are a bit awkward.