A possible option, here. With a Rem 870 (and most others), if you empty the
magazine and dry fire, then load the magazine, the slide is released and you
don't have to fumble around for the release button, just shuck it and chamber
a round. Same effect, nice noise and less operations to mess around with in
moments of stress.

FWIW, the safety is completely removed from my house gun (which also doubles
as a ruffed grouse gun). I use the same loading procedure while hunting.
I've shot enough rounds of skeet with round in chamber, safety off vs. no
round in chamber, work pump then shoot to know that it doesn't slow you down
much to work the pump in the process of getting on target.

Reminds me of the story by Bill Jorden (maybe Jeff Cooper, damn this oldtimers
problem, anyway) about the Texas Ranger who was walking around with a 1911 in
Condition 1, but with the thumb safety off. When someone pointed out that
this carry method was "unsafe", the Ranger replied "it's supposed to be."

Mike Eberlein

Jack Erbes wrote:

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 02:06:07 GMT, "Steve" wrote:

Thank you. Just as a data point, do you keep it loaded, and
do you keep a round chambered? Do you prefer a shot load
or a slug load?

Nothing in chamber, 3 rounds in the magazine, basic dove & quail, nothing
that would go very far.

I consider that to be the perfect way to store a pump shotgun. And,
I'll add, with the bolt all the way home on an empty chamber and the
safety off.

To bring it into play, the first thing you have to do is press the
bolt release. That is under you thumb beside the trigger and it is
intuitive to you if you know the gun. It is a safety feature of sorts
if someone else picks up the gun.

Then you rack the bolt smartly and chamber a round. Your trigger
finger is, of course, straightened out and along side the trigger
guard, not on the trigger. Yet.

If you have an intruder, the sound of the bolt racking a round home
was his free warning and should provide all the inspiration he needs
to leave now.

And the dove and quail loads are perfect for inside the home.
Overspray can be repaired with spackle. If I chamber three rounds,
sometimes I'll load a 00 buck round as the first round in the magazine
(last round out). I figure the first one or two will do the work and
if I have to finish up outside the house the buck will give some extra
range.

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