Why do we prefer "factory" riot guns?

[bushmaster1313]

Not all of us, but many of us, me included, get a special kick out of a factory riot gun compared to a cut down field gun.

The cut down field gun is certainly going to be more economical and there is no hesitation to shorten the stock, fit a recoil pad or shoot the poop out of it.

What then is the attraction to the "factory" riot gun?

Here are my four "factory" riots:

btw, the 620 is on an online auction to thin the herd

These are my "factory very unoriginal" BBQ riot guns.
Lot's of fun, but the economically unsound reason that I do not sell them is that I could never get back what I put into them:

 

[Fred Fuller]

They were made for the purpose originally, and there are usually far fewer of them produced than standard sporting models. A cut-down shotgun can be useful and effective for the purpose but a factory made riot gun has more panache.

 

[bushmaster1313]

but a factory made riot gun has more panache

Is that a fancy way of saying it appeals to the "little kid" in us?
....(a very worthy and valuable consideration I may add)

 

[Lightsped]

What actually defines a "riot gun"? Would my 870 be considered a riot gun? It is all factory stock...

 

[bushmaster1313]

Lightsped:

Don't know the exact definition, but yours certainly qualifies

 

[SwissArmyDad]

I'm not into checkering, fluer de lies (sp), pretty wood, and case hardening

I'm more an abbreviated forend, blued finish, handsome walnut furniture, kind of fellow.

I find that more in the riot models than I do in the sporting/classy models...

Same reason I love my SA XD9 tactical. form follows function in it's design, and it's very ergonomic for my hand. Plus it goes bang every single time, and there are no safeties to get in my way, though it intrinsically is a very "SAFE" gun. (getting a bit, off-topic here, but just trying to make the distinction that some would say my XD is very similar to a glock or a sig, and I disagree heartily. Similar to the difference I see in an original riot gun vs. a sporting version)

Cheers!

 

[Fred Fuller]

Is that a fancy way of saying it appeals to the "little kid" in us?

No.

It's a fancy way of saying that it appeals to the big kid in us .

Panache - "dash or flamboyance in style and action"

Riot guns have panache in a very subtle fashion.

 

[Rshooter]

My factory gun, as it came from Remington in 1960.

 

[bushmaster1313]

RShooter
What is the barrel length on that man-eater?

 

[Rshooter]

20 inch rifle sight barrel with a two shot extension.

 

[dfariswheel]

The factory gun doesn't require having to have a new front bead or sight installed after the barrel is cut off.
In the old days, the Remington police gun was nothing more than a Wingmaster with a dull finish, no checkering, and an oil finish on the wood.
Many were actually stamped Wingmaster.

The term "riot gun" is no longer politically correct, or even valid.
In the day, few police departments issued shotguns to patrol cars.
Shotguns were stored in the station and only issued for high risk raids, barricaded suspects, man hunts, and actual riots.
As soon as the emergency was over, they went back into the racks at the station.

While there's no real solid definition of a "riot gun" it's usually understood to be a short barreled pump shotgun with an Open Cylinder or Improved Cylinder choke barrel of 18" to 20", with a dull, no-frills finish.

 

[Bobson]

- Post Deleted -

Should have read dfariswheel's post before adding my reply to the thread.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Shortly after the Model 870 was introduced in 1950, it became available in two fighting-shotgun forms. These were simply short-barrel versions of the field-grade sporting gun. One was designated the Model 870R Riot Gun. The other was the Model 870P Police Gun. The Model 870R was equipped with a 20-inch (50.8 cm) cylinder-bore barrel that displayed a standard bead-type shotgun sight.

...

The Model 870P was made in 12 gauge only, with an 18.5-inch 947 cm) cylinder-bore barrel.

-- Thomas F. Swearengen, The World's Fighting Shotguns, Alexandria, VA: TBN Enterprises, 1978. Page 242
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I don't profess to be any kind of an expert on much of anything, I'm pretty much a generalist and mostly just an old redneck who has always loved shotguns and especially pump shotguns. I don't care much most of the time for being PC, though I do try to observe social conventions that seem useful. And I don't know if that old leatherneck Swearengen that I quoted above did his homework very well or not. Remington mentions the 870R at http://www.remington.com/products/archived/shotguns/pump-action/model-870-wingmaster.aspx and the Remington collectors' society mentions it at http://www.remingtonsociety.com/rsa/journals/870 .

The article at http://www.shootingillustrated.com/index.php/2647/remington-870-express/ agrees that we should no longer use the term riot gun for fear of offending somebody. Well, OK then. If you're worried about offending somebody, don't call 'em riot guns. I generally call 'em 'working guns' anyway, unless someone is being formal. Far as I'm concerned, the formal descriptive term is still riot gun. The first two 870s I bought my own self way back when Hector was a pup were trade-in/surplus 870R riot guns (with 20" cylinder bore bead sight barrels) that I got from a dealer in Montgomery, AL. That would have been about 1978 or 1979, I don't recall exactly.

I'm too old to get all exercised overly much at what someone calls a plain utilitarian short barrel shotgun one way or another. But if I do sometimes slip up and call one a riot gun out of antediluvian habit, I hope no one gets their feelings hurt.

 

[Devonai]

My Wingmaster has a three-shot extension on it, but other than that it's the same as when it came out of the factory in 1960-something. I have little use for much else on it save a sling.

I'm a huge fan of the 20" rifle sight barrel. It makes those 50-yard shots with rifled slugs a piece of cake.

It helps that my Wingmaster has the slickest action of any pump I've ever laid hands on. I've only owned it for 8 years but the previous owner must have spent his spare time in front of the TV racking it for the hell of it. It wouldn't surprise me if he went blind, but I appreciate the results.

 

[evan price]

My factory Winchester 1200 Police shotgun, which has a 3" chamber and the regular 1200's didn't seem to. Plus the blonde furniture and stainless finish appeal to my panache as well...