My father and I are both in police work. You may have seen my shotgun in posts recently here, it's the Mossberg 590 in the picture above. It started life as a tactical model with an adjustable stock and pistol grip. I got ahold of a wood stock from my uncle, and made it into a proper working gun, and it will ride in the trunk of my unit.
My dad owns the Remington 870 in the photo. I have borrowed it for qualification with my department for the past 3 years, as I have not owned a 12 gauge police model shotgun until recently. Dad's started life as a humble, bone-stock, off the shelf 870. He bought a short, unrilfed barrel with rifle sights, removed the plug, and put a sling on it.
Both of us are of the same school of thought on working guns. It needs to be simple, with only what you need to run it properly added to the base gun. In his case, he needed a sling and good sights. In my case, I needed a better (read more ergonomic and with less moving parts) stock. I chose the Mossberg over a Remington, because I am left handed, and both the safety and the slide release are more easily accessed by a lefty on a Mossberg.
Few things in life are more comforting than a gun that is customized to your needs, that you know will reliably run when you pick it up.
5 comments:
Nothing like a working shotgun, it won't win any purty awards, but it's darned sure effective.
http://dezendorf.us/writing/pump.htm
On the shotguns. Of course bear in mind I am not judging or anything. Honestly I am not an expert in shotguns so you guys might know some things I do not.
I ask why Pawpaw's shotgun does not have a tube extension?
I ask why yours does not have a sling?
Between the two I am curious why no side saddles for another reload worth of ammo?
Please bear in mind I am not being critical. Just curious about the thinking behind the way your shotguns are set up.
To Pawpaw's poem, My great grandfather had a saying "A thousand dollars and a thousand shells." Rough math says a grand in the 1930's would be 17,000 and change today. Between the cash and that amount of ammo split between his 30-30, Browning A5 and .22 rifle it would solve a lot of problems.
Thanks for the discussion.
Ryan- I can't answer any questions about my dad's, but mine does not have a sling because it is missing it's forward sling swivel mount. I plan on ordering one on payday, so it will likely have a sling in about 2 weeks. I personally do not have a side saddle on mine because with the tube and butt sock, there are 12 rounds of ammo on that shotgun. It is already a heavy firearm, and truly I feel that a gun should have everything that it's owner needs, and nothing it doesn't. After getting a sling for it, when I start carrying it in my trunk, I will keep a shotgun shell belt with it, a setup I am familiar and comfortable with. Side saddles may be awesome, but they are a piece of equipment I have never used, and add weight. I my reasoning could he silly, considering the overall weight of the shotgun as it sits, but there it is. Feel free to respond!
No problem Ryan.
My shotgun doesn't have a tube extension simply because I mounted one once and it had trouble feeding shells as the follower went through the transition. I worked with it for a while, (several months), couldn't get it to work reliably, and took it off.
I don't have a sidesaddle because my particular method of working the action caused my wrist to bang into the sidesaddle. After a long shotgunning session, my wrist was banged and bruised. So, the sidesaddle went away.
Plus, the added weight of the loaded extension and the added weight of the sidesaddle screwed up the balance of the shotgun.
Wanna buy a good used tube extension?
Gentlemen, Thanks for taking the time to reply.
Questions on sling and tube extension make complete sense.
As to side saddles. The trade off of weight to ammo is definitely present. Especially if the gun is stored with some sort of on body ammo carrier ditching the side saddle is certainly reasonable. I went with a side saddle because there is a notable possibility that if I grab the bedside shotgun I will not remember or be able to grab anything else. So what I have on the gun could very well be it.
Thanks again for the thoughtful replies and the overall conversation.
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