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do you shoot better with a pump than a auto

3K views 36 replies 28 participants last post by  waterfowlhunter 
#1 ·
I know I do and I use a lot less shells. What's your experience?
 
#4 ·
About the same, but when I get in one of those slumps, I switch back to my 870. It always seems to put me back in the groove. Only time I notice that I go through more shells with my auto is when I'm shooting crows over decoys. I burn through a lot of shells doing that but we do it on purpose......a crow can never be too dead. :lol3:
 
#6 ·
My 870WM's (as a group) are better balanced than many of the S/A's in the battery and therefore swing & point very well not to mention the 870's reputation for a universal fit.
 
#9 ·
i always burn through shells when I use my auto. Pump makes me put a better lead on the bird for the next shot, because usually there is a next shot :lol3:
 
#11 ·
I think new shooters need to start on a single shot, then move on, to a pump. Once you learn the basics, your'e ready for a gun capable of shooting multiple shots. Pump guns make you a better shooter. Like other have said, acquiring the target after loading another shell, just makes you better. Before moving onto an autoloader, start with a pump.
 
#12 ·
im a hardcore pump shooter I do better with a pump, im way more confident that my gun wont jam, plus after a good amount of practice ive gotten extremely fast, I will put my pump up to any auto.
 
#14 ·
jaysweet3 said:
Pump guns make you a better shooter.
If that were true, all the world's trap shooters, skeet shooters, 5-stand shooters, FITASC shooters, and sporting clays shooters would be shooting pumps. As it is, the pump is the type of shotgun least likely to be seen in the hands of those shooters.

I like pumps, don't get me wrong. My shotguns consist of four autoloaders, five O/U's, three pump guns, and a single-barrel (trap gun). I shoot all four types over the course of a year. I seem to shoot all types about equally well (or, equally bad, depending on how you look at it)
:biggrin:

cootlover said:
I don't understand why you would give a new shooter a single shot that kick's like a mule :no:
Maybe he doesn't want the new shooter to outshoot him...? :shades:
 
#19 ·
cootlover said:
I don't understand why you would give a new shooter a single shot that kick's like a mule :no:
Exactly. I started at 12 with a single shot 12 ga. and after 2 boxes on opening day of dove season my shoulder was black and blue. The very next year I got an 870 and the recoil was no where near as bad. Maybe if the single is a 20 ga. But if you want to limit the new shooter to a single shot then only give them one shell at a time.
 
#20 ·
LiquidA45 said:
I started at 12 with a single shot 12 ga. and after 2 boxes on opening day of dove season my shoulder was black and blue. ...if you want to limit the new shooter to a single shot then only give them one shell at a time.
That's good advice. :clapping:
Best beginner gun in my opinion is a 20 ga autoloader....with one shell in it.

I bought my oldest son a 12ga H&R, many years ago. The first time he shot it (he was about 8), he said, "Dad, it hurts." I poo-poo'ed him and then shot it myself. It hurt.
That gun has never been shot since.
 
#21 ·
mudpack said:
LiquidA45 said:
I started at 12 with a single shot 12 ga. and after 2 boxes on opening day of dove season my shoulder was black and blue. ...if you want to limit the new shooter to a single shot then only give them one shell at a time.
That's good advice. :clapping:
Best beginner gun in my opinion is a 20 ga autoloader....with one shell in it.

I bought my oldest son a 12ga H&R, many years ago. The first time he shot it (he was about 8), he said, "Dad, it hurts." I poo-poo'ed him and then shot it myself. It hurt.
That gun has never been shot since.
Not to mention when I was 12 I was about 5'6" and 160lbs. Couldn't imagine how that would have gone if I was an average 12 yr old, about 5" 110 lbs?
 
#22 ·
my first shotgun was a single shot youth H&R 20 ga. that thing kicked hared than the 870 express 12 ga my dad got me a year later when i was 11. i now shoot a Beretta 390 and shoot that better than any other gun i own. my dad uses the 870 when he goes out with me and twice now i have let him use my beretta so i shot the 870. i could not hit a damn thing with that gun s0 we switched guns and i was right back to hitting birds. i now have brand new benelli SBE II on the way from the factory in bottomlands camo so we will see how that shoots.
 
#23 ·
Over the years I've shot all kinds of actions in the marsh. Everything from a pumps to break actions to semi autos and in my option is that once a person masters shooting a certain style of gun he will shoot it well. What really matters more then anything even over the style of action is GUN FIT!. Plain and simple a shotgun needs to properly fit a person for them to have shooting consistency with it. Pumps are more reliable and they many "slow" your shooting down but in time and as you master shooting a pump you will over come it slowing you down. In my option a semi auto or light recoiling break actions for the majority of new shooters will make them better shooters. The reason is with these guns all of your focus is on the target and not on working the gun. most new wing shooters with a pump have a very choppy swing with a lot of stopping and raising of the barrel off the target plane. now these problems will go away with time but may be frustrating for a shooter in the beginning. So I guess what i'm getting at is I'd bet that your pump fits you better then the auto you have shot which made you a more consistent shooter which in turn gave you more confidence which is why you shoot said pump better then the auto you have shot. I had a high school friend that owned a Winchester 1300 and a bolt action mossberg and he always used that old bolt gun. Finally I asked him why he used it over his 1300 and he told me "because it kills" I said "yeah but what about getting off a second or third shot." and he said " Yeah ,but you don't need a second or third shot when the bird is dead on the first!" :smile:
 
#24 ·
mudpack said:
jaysweet3 said:
Pump guns make you a better shooter.
If that were true, all the world's trap shooters, skeet shooters, 5-stand shooters, FITASC shooters, and sporting clays shooters would be shooting pumps. As it is, the pump is the type of shotgun least likely to be seen in the hands of those shooters.

I like pumps, don't get me wrong. My shotguns consist of four autoloaders, five O/U's, three pump guns, and a single-barrel (trap gun). I shoot all four types over the course of a year. I seem to shoot all types about equally well (or, equally bad, depending on how you look at it)
:biggrin:

cootlover said:
I don't understand why you would give a new shooter a single shot that kick's like a mule :no:
Maybe he doesn't want the new shooter to outshoot him...? :shades:
Both of you missed the point. But that's ok, go back and read my post.
 
#25 ·
I'd say that if you shoot better with a pump than you do with a semi-auto, it has a lot more to do with the gun, than it does with the action.

Some guns just seem to hit where you point them.
And others, that seem in all ways measurable to "fit" just don't.

It has nothing to do with whether they are single shots, side-by-sides, over-unders, pumps or auto loaders.
 
#26 ·
copterdoc said:
I'd say that if you shoot better with a pump than you do with a semi-auto, it has a lot more to do with the gun, than it does with the action.

Some guns just seem to hit where you point them.
And others, that seem in all ways measurable to "fit" just don't.

It has nothing to do with whether they are single shots, side-by-sides, over-unders, pumps or auto loaders.
Agreed. When someone new starts shooting, especially a young one, a hammered single shot is about the safest gun available. Some say they kick like a mule and they can. Get one that fits and has a good recoil pad, they're fine.

That's the biggest drawback to those guns. Nobody spends the time and money on them to get it right. They figure it's a youth gun, only payed $75 for it, I'm not putting another 50 in on the stock work. You'd never get it back out. Which is true, but your investing in the shooter not the gun.

After proper safety and profencicy is obtained with the single shot, move onto a pump gun. The added weight reduces recoil, but take the time to fit it. Learning how to shoot multiple targets with a pump gun, just makes you a better shooter. Gun control and target acquisition on the pump, has a learning curve. If you go through it, it just makes the move to a semi auto that much smoother.

Shooting isn't something that one masters in a season or two. It can take years to become a decent ************.
 
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