Why are pump action rifles not popular any more?

[olafhardtB]

I wanted to get handier with all kinds of pumps so I got some pump 22's and started shooting them. Discovered I did not like shooting them. I like looking at them but not shooting them. Don't know why.

 

[tark]

I own three pump rifles, all Remingtons and all old John Pederson designs. My 121 is a joy to shoot, and it is very accurate, but it is infected with the John Pederson Takedown Screw Disease. So are the other two. As you shoot, you must constantly check the takedown screw for tightness. It tends to back itself out during firing. And that murders accuracy.

My favorite is my model 25 in 25-20. Slick, fast, smooth and ten shots as fast as you can pump. I just wish I could figure out what a Pump rifle in 25-20 is good for! Too small for deer and Illinois does allow hunting with a centerfire rifle anyway, or it might be good for turkeys....

My model 14 is an early one (without the thumb nail safety on the bolt) and it is an interesting gun in that it is an accedental death waiting to happen! When you fire a round and pump the handle, with the trigger held back, nothing happens.....until you let up on the trigger....and it GOES OFF! I don't know what is going on, but I do not shoot this one at all. 30 Remington is getting hard to find, anyway.

It is pretty easy to see why these three went out of production; lots of intricately machined hand fitted parts.

And that is kind of sad..

 

[Col. Plink]

Thought I'd include the 'big brother'

'52 Rem 760 in 30'06 (first year of the model 760)

 

[Bezoar]

magazine fed ones tend to have magazine issues as they age. tube fed,well depends on the brand of rifle. But in general you cant use modern fancy bullets.

its not sexy. Once upon a time sexiness didnt matter. Now it has to be on every magazine cover.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Just an FYI, there is a Remington 141 Gamemaster in 35 Rem listed at the Cabela's gun library in Wichita.

 

[mdauben]

Not the point of the thread, but it is too bad that so many restrict their shooting to bench rests. I use the bench to get sighted in, but as a hunter, spend a good bit of my practice shooting from field expedient positions. More hunters should, too.

Honeslty, these days the opportunities to hunt are much fewer than the opportunties to shoot at the local range. At least for most people Also, a lot of outdoor ranges these days restrict rifle shooting to the bench due to the reduced chances of flyers going over the back stop and drawing lawsuits.

 

[bjon79]

Pump 35 Rem

I have and enjoy a Remington 141 chambered in 35 Remington. It can use a spire point despite the tube feed because of the tubes spiral design. That helps with the accuracy.

 

[Swing]

I vaguely remember them being semi-popular back in the 80s and early 90s. My hunting buddy in that era used a Remington pump (I forget the model) in .30'06. I'm not entirely sure why they faded away, but, as far as I know, they were never massively common to begin with. At least not compared to lever-actions, bolt-guns, and, eventually, self-loaders.

 

[Old judge creek]

I believe the pump rifles faded away because we stopped being true riflemen. Today every one wants to squeeze every iota of accuracy out of a piece, so we only train to shoot from a rest. In my day we learned to shoot standing, kneeling, and sitting and the "rest" was the off hand that supported the forearm.

I realized I had fallen into that trap when, about 30-35 years ago, I started cowboy shooting and more or less started to retrain myself.

There aren't many places today where you can safely "walk" a tin can across 100s of yards. Certainly not at any public ranges I know. As well, your choices there are standing offhand or from a bench - and usually rested.

So in the field, we "do" as we've "practiced" and that is rarely conducive to pump (or lever) action platforms.

Personally I like pumps, they're lightning fast and I don't loose image over the sights. And my preference for action types in the field is hands down for lever rifles.

Just this old man's thoughts....

 

[788Ham]

I sure like that new pump Henry I bought a couple of months ago, really a sweet shooter...... now if it would quit snowing so I can get to the range again !!
I have an older Remington 572 Fieldmaster also, not the BDL, just the plain model, its a shooter also.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

I love pump action shotguns. If I hadn't fallen in love with lever action rifles, it would have likely been a pump action center fire rifle. Or, if funds allowed a double rifle.

 

[jim in Anchorage]

I asked the same question about pumps
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=738184

 

[jim in Anchorage]

Tark-Good to know there's another Rem 25 in .25-20 owner out there that shoots it. I have blast hunting marmots with mine.

"] [/URL]

 

[barnbwt]

They're more annoying to shoot off bags than even lever guns, and you don't shoot skeet with rifles (at least , I'm not that good ). Lots of folks only have the option of shooting from bags, evenmore know no other way. "Nation of riflemen" is and always was hooey, seems we've always been lamenting that going back centuries; there's a whole lot more shooters now than in decades (if not ever), it's just they aren't all hunters like in the olden days. I suspect our Minutemen weren't nearly the crack shots legend suggests, either

TCB

 

[Dr.Rob]

This topic has come up a few times. It also makes me think back to when I wanted a Savage 170 in .30-30 as my first deer rifle.

 

[Oldschool shooter]

I normally will hunt with a bolt gun if hunting from a blind where I have a good rest, but if out walking for the day I grab my Remington model 14 in 35 Remington. Fast follow up shot if needed, and handles well for offhand shooting. I also like plinking with dad's old Remington model 12 in .22, great for dispatching vermin with 22 shorts, neighbors don't complain about noise.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I have my Dad's old Winchester '06 that his Dad bought for him in Abercrombie and Fitch in New York City in the 1930s. That was back when A&F was a sporting goods house. I also have a nice 1941 Vintage Winchester Model 61. Don't have any centerfire pump rifles, but I have three Model 12s and they are my favorite Trap guns.

Anyhoo, a bunch of years ago Pedersoli and a couple of others first offered replicas of the Colt Lightning pump action rifles. The thinking at the time was that in no time the pumps would completely supplant the lever guns in CAS. It never happened. First off, the only Lightning worth a darn was the Pedersoli. The Taurus was a piece of junk. The other thing is, for action shooting, most shooters decided they liked a lever gun better than a pump. With a lever, for a righty, your left hand keeps the muzzle steady and on target while your right hand works the lever. With a pump, your left hand is working the pump and the muzzle has more of a tendency to jump around than with a lever. So the Lightnings are pretty rare at CAS events these days, never achieved the popularity that was predicted.

 

[TheVision]

I wonder if the pump action AR will gain in popularity in some of the states with "assault weapon" bans?

The Remington Tactical 7615 is already banned in Connecticut, as a named "semi-automatic" assault weapon.

Edit: I just realized that I responded to a four month old reply. :|

 

[lemaymiami]

Me, I've always wondered about the practicality of a pump action pistol cartridge carbine (particularly in 357mag). I've only seen pictures of the discontinued Israeli Timberwolf so far and none other mentioned. Seems to me you'd come close to duplicating the combat handiness of a 30 carbine at distances under 100 yards with one if it were available (all my hunting experience has been of the two legged variety....).

I'd be interested in what folks on this thread think about that possibility. I've already figured out that gun makers would come out with one if they thought it would be profitable (and that's why any discussion is likely to remain theory only...).

 

[jmorris]

Here you go.

357 pump action
http://www.taurususa.com/product-details.cfm?id=403&category=Rifle

http://www.uberti.com/lightning-rifle

 

[Old judge creek]

Lemaymiami,
The IMI Timber Wolf is the "kittycats whiskers" IMO. I have had experience with one.

The top of the receiver has a "built in" pic rail for scope mount and space between the rails is relieved so there is a trough under the mounted scope which affords an instant choice between using the scope or iron sights - although I hasten to add that I've never seen any practical advantage to that set up.

The rifle takes down with a single screw (an advantage for "stowing away" when necessary) and the stock is set up so that you can adjust the male part of the connecting tang such that the height of the stock's comb can easily be adjusted for your preference of sights and/or scope height. Thats a really cool feature, IMO.

The rifle is light weight, slick and extremely fast handling. Spent shells are ejected and the rifle reloaded with a mere flick of the wrist. The one I am familiar with cycled literally 100s of rounds - both 357mags and 38 Specials - without any failure or fire, eject, or feed. It was 100% reliable.

My only "complaint" about the rifle is that unlike a lever action, that can be reloaded through the side gate when the action is in battery, the T Wolf must be fully out of battery (action open and fore end completely retracted to the rear) before you can reload through the bottom of the action. There's nothing wrong with this, except I've been a lever action all my life and it took me a second to "think" 'am I fully out of battery?' before reloading.

The rifle was accurate. With iron sights, I was shooting fist sized groups at 150 yards. Quite frankly, I chronographed several loads out of this rifle and was greatly pleased with what I saw, but alas, that was 10 years or more ago and I cannot find those results.

OTOH: the 357 Magnum out of a carbine length barrel is nothing to scoff at. Depending on your sights, you can stretch the range out to 150 yards or even a bit more - IF you have sufficient familiarity with your load in any given rifle. I've seen deer and smaller boar readily taken with that cartridge.

I think its a shame that IMI discontinued the Timber Wolf line. Its been gone many years now and to my minds eye would be a perfect addition to almost anyone's battery in most of the lower 48 states.

 

[BCRider]

Jim, that is one BEE YOU TEE FULL looking rifle. The last thing my own shooting needs is yet another caliber to reload. But if I tripped over as fine looking a gun in my travels I'd buy it and just sigh then start buying dies and casings.

 

[rszwieg]

As has been said, we don't shoot offhand much anymore. Pump action centerfire rifles are hunting guns and there aren't as many hunters or opportunities to hunt.

My uncles and cousins use Remington 760s and 7600s to fill the freezers every year. Most are chambered for 30/06. They do alot of driving so moving deer are the norm.

Off a bench pumps tend to be a little sensitive as to where or how the piece is rested. One cousin has a 7600 in 270 Win that can punch groups of about an inch @ 100 yards but the truck load of whitetails and two bears he's killed probably didn't care. This next season he'll be chasing mule deer in Montana with it.

It's hard to argue with success.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I only have one pump action, rifle but I do like to take it to the mountains now and then. Mostly for target practice, but nice to have as comfort against possible rabid animals or feral dogs. Ten rounds, .22 Magnum, 16" barrel, takedown to fit a backback.

 

[geologist]

I like my Timberwolf and with my S&W 19-5 they make a nice matched pair.