Advice
Remington 870 with the ISS (J-lock safety)
Remington 870 with the ISS (J-lock safety)
Special thanks to RomeoPapa for posting pic of the ISS (J-lock safety) of Remington 870 on Remington 870 Forum:
Remington 870 with the ISS (J-lock safety)
Here ya go. As shown, with the pointer aligned with the white dot, the safety cannot be moved to the “fire” position. You have to insert the key (the green thing) into the “J” shaped opening and rotate the pointer to the red dot. You can then take the safety off.
Related Post:
3 Dangerous Shotgun Myths
Unfortunately too many would be shooters get their firearms training from movies and certain videos on line. Others may have been brought up with firearms and naturally pick up certain traits from family members, who have picked up training and habits from their family members in the past. One thing to keep in mind, just because your where trained a certain way does not necessarily mean it was the proper training. No doubt, there are good intentions on everyone’s but bad habits have a way of becoming the norm because that is what people are used to. The bad habits become truths and myths get started because of this.
Using Cover Properly
Do not confuse cover with concealment. There is a very important distinction between the two. Cover can be concealment but concealment is not always cover. Cover is protection from rounds, shrapnel and debris blown about. Concealment prevents someone from seeing you, which may be vegetation you are crouched behind or you are simply concealed in the shadows. This article will discuss how to use cover in a tactical situation.
Shotgun Stopping Power
Shotgun Stopping Power
Takho Ukraine Buckshot
To most people stopping power is taken to mean a projectile fired from a weapon will incapacitate an animal or person, stop them in their tracks as it where. Usually stopping power and lethality are two different things. Energy transfer and shock is what determines stopping power. Certain projectiles penetrate more easily and may cause a through-and-through injury that may be lethal but may not stop a person or animal immediately if it has not struck a vital organ. The projectile had limited contact so energy transfer is less. A person in a combat situation that receives a through-and-through may function long enough to discharge a round in your direction.
Shotguns have tremendous stopping power. The projectiles are either numerous in the case of buck shot or birdshot so there is maximum contact or they are slugs that maximize energy transfer. Rarely will a person be able to function even for a few seconds regardless of the lethality of the shot after being struck. Simply put the person goes down. Your objective in any combat situation is to neutralize the threat immediately. You have to know that once struck your aggressor is down for good. This is crucial when there are multiple targets and you cannot focus solely on one.
The momentum of a shotgun shell is greater than any handgun cartridge available. The sheer physics of this will abruptly stop any forward motion of any individual and may even force someone back a few steps. The momentum from a handgun cartridge is simply not enough to move anyone back or pick anyone off their feet as depicted in many Hollywood movies.
What typically happens to a person that is shot for the first time is disbelief, fear of traumatic injuries and then physical pain all in a microsecond, which accounts for the so-called “one-shot” claim. The person may be alive but is so surprised by actually being shot they have been stopped from engaging in combat. This contributes to any weapons stopping power.
Ammunition and distance plays a key role in stopping power. The shotgun shell must be of sufficient strength to penetrate and destroy vital organs. Slugs and buckshot have this stopping power while birdshot may at very close range. Usually stopping power is of a greater concern when engaged in close quarter combat. Your aggressor may only be feet away so they have to go down for you to escape or to engage other targets. Therefore, distance is not always a factor, when determining the shell. Energy transfer, distance and shell size all effect the actual penetration, which is essential as far as “stopping power”.
Shotgun stopping power is important in hunting and self-defense. Not putting an animal down may cause you to go hungry and causes unnecessary suffering on the animals’ part. In a self-defense situation, it may mean the difference between surviving and not.
Remember regardless of the shotgun, shells, distance and other factors there are no guarantees when it comes to stopping power. Having the proper training and knowing your weapon also plays a role. What you think is one-shot-stop may not be the case, so always be prepared to send multiple rounds downrange and never assume anyone can be stopped with one shot.
The Combat Mindset
The Combat Mindset
LoadMaster Systems on Remington 870
The decisive moment is when you realize you have failed. That moment when you understand you have been in denial all this time. You failed to get ready because you thought you were ready. People always over estimate their own capabilities because they cannot face the truth. You are not physically prepared just because you think you are. You believed you had instinct when instinct is nothing more than a learned reaction. You must be taught how to react, how is it you would know how to counter an attack if you never encountered one before. You thought it was part of the will to survive. Your only defense is wishing you had trained and listened better. Even if you do survive the situation, you have shattered your confidence. You have just seen your true self, reality hurts, and it may ruin you. You feel shame and horror and worst of all you feel helplessness.
It Is a Mindset
First, no matter how good you are in combat situation there is always someone better. Someone faster and better trained someone who will never underestimate the enemy. Someone who knows they will always rise to the level of their training, training that goes on every day. They do not speculate on how good you are. They naturally assume you are as good as they are so they never take anything for granted. They are efficient and they do not think about the mechanics anymore, muscle memory takes care of that. They fully understand their own capabilities they will never be in a situation where they are left wishing they had trained better. They live because they come to the fight prepared mentally as well as physically.
Anyone can train but it takes a combat mindset to use that training. You have to be able to pull the trigger at the critical moment. Hesitation is fatal, your life and the lives of others are in jeopardy if you hesitate. Training gives you the mechanical skills to use a weapon but you need to be able to pull the trigger mentally.
People
There are predators, humans that prey on other humans, ones that have no empathy for the suffering of others. They attack without provocation and never have remorse for their actions.
There are those that would rather avoid confrontations, they have never struck another human being in anger. They go to work every day and they hope they never meet a predator because they know they cannot defend themselves against such aggression. These upstanding citizens see the good in everyone and many if not most will never have to deal with a human predator.
Then there is the person who does not seek out others to hurt but will do what it takes to defend themselves and their families. They will confront a predator, a killer, at the risk of their own lives to save the lives of family members or even strangers. They help balance the scales and most others never realize this type of person even exists. They must have a capacity for violence but also have a love for their fellow humans and will avoid hurting anyone without a good cause, a combat mindset. They know when to use lethal force and when not to, there is no hesitation. There is no desire to hurt just for the sake of causing pain. They train, and they know they will do what it takes when the time comes, because they can pull the trigger mentally as well as physically. They do not question themselves they just do what has to be done.
Related Post:
Pump Action Shotgun
Until recently, the typical combat shotgun was a pump action, or sometimes called a slide action. It was used because of its reliability. This is important in a tactical situation where the weapon is covered in dirt or mud because you can pump through some obstructions. You are relying on your actions to cycle the round and not the energy of a fired round to cycle a new cartridge, which is how many semi-automatic shotguns operate.
Semi-Automatic Shotgun with Magazine Tube
A tubular magazine usually runs under the barrel allowing rounds to be loaded tip to primer. This works well for shotgun shells, because there is not a pointed protrusion that can trigger the primer on a shell. The magazine load is limited by design particularly on shotguns because of waterfowl laws and other local, state and federal laws. Usually you can load four in the tube and have one chambered for a total of five. However, some believe that leaving five rounds loaded for extended periods may wear out the magazine’s spring, so some only leave three in the tube to reduce stress. This is only conjecture however, but it does appear that springs can wear out from use and not just because they are compressed for long periods.
Semi-Automatic Shotgun with Detachable Magazine
Various semi-automatic shotguns can have a detachable magazine. This typically means the rounds are loaded into a box type magazine or clip and is then inserted into the shotgun just as if you would a rifle or even a handgun. The magazine is loaded then inserted versus loading the under the barrel tube magazine.
Single and Double Barreled Shotguns
Typically, a double-barreled shotgun will be a breakaway, where the barrel bends forward to load the shells. The breakaway position is how the weapon is usually carried when unloaded so everyone can plainly see the firearm is not loaded. This method of display is particularly important when you are at the firing range.
How to Avoid a Short Stroke on Your Pump Action Shotgun
Short stroking or short cycling means you have not brought the bolt back far enough to eject the cartridge, which means you cannot chamber a shell. In some instances, the shell may eject but there is not enough force to chamber a round and it can jam on you, which is not what you want to happen. On semi-automatics, the work is done by the exploding gas from the propellant or gunpowder. Shells designed for less recoil can cause a short stroke on semi-automatics because there is not enough energy produced by the powder to slam the bolt back and then propel it forward. The work is done by you with a pump action shotgun however. Sometimes not allowing the trigger to reset or there is a failure to reset can cause a short stroke but this is not typical.