Remington 870- Do you "ride the pump back" when shooting?

[mannythegreek]

Hey All,

Took my 870 police out this weekend- it has been a while since i have been shooting with it. I took a number of 3 inch loads and heavy 2 3/4 inch loads. I have not had formal shotgun training but am looking forward to it in the future.

After firing some shells, I noticed that sometimes I "rode the pump back." Sometimes I did not ride the pump back fully, and I would fail to eject the spent shell. I found that when I purposely held the pump forward during shooting, I felt that I had greater control over the weapon in the pumping phase, but was reticent to put too much pressure on the action bars. (Is that a problem?)

have a Knoxx stock, and that absorbs recoil well. I enjoy the platform, but would appreciate advice on how you all find the most trouble free operation of your 870. I think I will stick to lower recoil/LE loads in the future. I dont remember having these problems with lower recoil loabs.

Thanks

MannytheGreek

[J-Dub]

Honestly, i have no idea what you're trying to explain. My advice would be, dont baby it. Work the slide like you mean it, on the ejection stroke and load stroke. I've found (in my limited pump shotgun use) that if you rack the slide hard, you wont short stroke it.

What does "rode the pump back" mean? Does that mean the recoil of the shot made your hand start the pump motion?

[mannythegreek]

That's right. Excuse my lack of proper terminology.

I havent noticed it on lighter loads, but definitely on the heavier ones. I found that while shooting if I kept the pump forward Id have more "control" over the gun but wasnt sure if I should move the pump itself back during the recoil phase.

Thanks

MannytheGreek

[kmrtnsn]

If you are talking about working the action upon firing, absolutely. I know several good 870 operators who can fire an 870 as fast as an autoloader.

[indawire]

Manny - "I found that when I purposely held the pump forward during shooting, I felt that I had greater control over the weapon in the pumping phase, but was reticent to put too much pressure on the action bars. (Is that a problem?)

I can't speak to an 870 but I have put a Lot (thousands) of 12 g. thru a Mossberg 500. I can't imagine that a 870 is less robust than a 500 and I can tell you I never had problem with the action bars. Rack that thing forward and back like you mean it - hold it forward, cycle it back briskly and get the feel so it becomes ingrained.

[Dan Goodwin]

Just did NRA Instructor school, believe the correct terminology is "aggressively" working the action.

[rojocorsa]

When it comes to any pump action shotgun, the SOP is to "rack it like you have a pair." Otherwise (as you found out) the shotgun will jam. I am sure an 870 can take it or it wouldn't be where it is today.

[ZRH]

The recoil wouldn't cause you to ride the pump. The gun moves backward, your hand stays in the same place, essentially forward in relation to the gun.

Pushing forward feels more stable because of body mechanics. Just holding things up usually feels less stable.

You are supposed to manipulate the slide fast not necessarily hard.

[ZCORR Jay]

Honestly, i have no idea what you're trying to explain. My advice would be, dont baby it. Work the slide like you mean it, on the ejection stroke and load stroke. I've found (in my limited pump shotgun use) that if you rack the slide hard, you wont short stroke it.

What does "rode the pump back" mean? Does that mean the recoil of the shot made your hand start the pump motion?

Nothing likes a short stroke.

Like others have said, be a little aggressive and it should work fine. If these firearms couldn't handle it they wouldn't have the popularity they earned.

[mannythegreek]

The recoil wouldn't cause you to ride the pump. The gun moves backward, your hand stays in the same place, essentially forward in relation to the gun.

Pushing forward feels more stable because of body mechanics. Just holding things up usually feels less stable.

You are supposed to manipulate the slide fast not necessarily hard.

Ok,

This is what I was getting at. I was finding that the recoil of the 3 inch shells I was shooting did cause me to ride the pump and short cycle.

So during the recoil of the actual shot, my left hand will be with the pump forward and only after I feel the recoil *finish* will I aggressively work the action to the rear. I can still get off about 1 shot per second this way.


-MannytheGreek