Pump shotguns

[farmboy]

O.K.,for the record,I would trade a few of my guns (maybe) for a matching pair of English doubles. I grew up learning to wing shoot on my fathers side by side,adore them,over and unders too! My question is why the dislike of the purely functionally of a pump shot gun everywhere but the U.S.? Assuming proper gun safety,action is open when not in use,why the instant dislike? Does the break over shot gun merely show that you have good sense( no fools with guns please!) and wealth? Both will function in the harshest of conditions and one looks so much better and feels better but the pump is the black sheep. A "workhorse" when nobody's is looking.

Style of hunting/shooting/tradition is the answer to my question,I guess. what do y'all think?

[Andrew]

In my opinion a break barrel is more comfortable (particularly the side by side), whether cradled,crooked!

[Mike A]

The feel ,the look and the way a sbs or ou handle are just better IMO
But I can also see a gun broken and safe at 25 yards , not so with a pump or semi auto .

Personal taste and the way I was brought up I suppose

Mike

[Naj]

I've always shot with O/U & S/S shotguns but last year bought a semi-auto, find mine handles far superior & would never go back to a twin barrelled gun. Modern pump guns seem just as slim & user friendly. I use a sling when not ready to shoot - far more comfortable than carrying a gun over the arm for hours on end. The only hassle is the spent shells flying out but you get that with an ejector model, admittedly more manageable. Wish I'd tried one years ago & would be quite happy using one in any company.

Naj

[pontbeck]

Unfortunately there is a certain amount of snobbery when it comes to types of guns and where and when they are suitable. Personally, on the safety front ,I'm more concerned about the man carrying the gun than the kind of gun he's carrying

[Naj]

Quite right. Just owning a gun that 'breaks' doesn't make you automatically 'safe'. I've seen some diabolical handling by S/S & O/U owners. If anything, I find that I'm now even more conscious of safety & 'muzzle awareness', especially when shooting in company.

Naj

[trekmoor]

At one time or another I have owned every kind of shotgun there is including a pump action. I thought it was O.K. but preferred semi - autos .....I've had three of those. The only kind of shotgun I don't like using is an over and under.

Wullie

[crackerd]

farmboy, I know he's arguing for autoloaders, but given Naj's law-and-order mien on this board (as practitioner of proper decorum), I've got him down as a secret Bullpup aficionado http://www.bullpupunlimited.com/

Bill T. (a/k/a Wullie hereabouts), more of an Ithaca Model 37 man, and myself a Mossberg .410 shell-shucker...

MG

[Naj]

You got me excited for a moment there, MG, when I saw Nashville & the geetaaar!

Naj

[Blanco]

The pump guns became popular in the US because they were cheap and reliable. For the longest time, and even today most doubles were not in the practical price range of the working man. My go to gun today is a beautiful Weatherby/ SKB. I have heard many people say that SKB's are just cheap Japanese imports. I have seen my share of the astronomically expensive spaghetti guns miss birds just as often and the birds can't tell the difference.
But I do still drool over some of the nice ones