“It all looks great in the showroom”
Equipment notes:
Last weekend, during a DTI Defensive Urban Rifle/Shotgun Course at Terry Lord’s wonderful Deer Hollow Outdoor Range in Whitehouse, TN, my instructors and I took note of several equipment issues that we’ve all seen before, but upon which maybe I have failed to comment in sufficient detail.
1) A student’s newly-purchased Remington 870 pump-action shotgun repeatedly failed to feed, and eventually jammed-up so profoundly that we had to pull it off the line and substitute another shotgun.
This particular 870 was equipped with an after-market two-round “magazine extension” fitted to the front of the existing four-round magazine tube (with which the shotgun came from the factory).
These never work!
I said nothing to this student at the beginning, hoping there would be no issues. That was pretty naive on my part!
The problem is always the joint between the front of the existing magazine tube and the rear of the magazine “extension.” There is always just enough misalignment to cause the magazine follower to hang-up at this junction.
The student has since called me to announce that he has replaced his 870’s “tube and extension assembly” with a continuous, one-piece, six-round magazine tube. His 870 now runs just fine!
Once again, two-part shotgun magazine tubes are not recommended!
2) Another student brought an ATI (American Tactical Imports) 12ga, bullpup shotgun that fed from a box magazine. There are a number of bullpup defensive shotguns currently being manufactured and marketed in the USA, and the ATI “Bulldog” is probably the least expensive exemplar. This was the first copy we’re seen in a Class.
In all fairness, the ATI ran fine through our entire Course of Instruction. The shotgun’s owner had two (ten-round) box magazines for his shotgun, and both functioned throughout the day without problems. Not a single hiccup!
I have seldom seen box magazines designed for shotgun rounds that have worked reliably. In fact, in my experience shotgun box magazines have been so untrustworthy that none enjoy my recommendation. Indeed, one manufacturer has recently introduced “rimless” 12ga shotgun rounds, specifically to address box-magazine issues. This product is pretty new, so I’ve heard little feedback so far.
However, based on last weekend’s experience, I may be compelled to soften my opinion!
It may be possible to design a dependable box magazine for conventional 12ga shotgun rounds, albeit these were among the first I’ve personally witnessed.
Deer Hollow Range is excellent and conveniently located, close to BNA (Nashville Airport). Nice hotels and restaurants nearby. I conduct live-fire Courses there regularly, and Terry hosts other instructors as well.
I’ll be back there this fall!
deerhollowfirearmstraining.com/index.php/range/
/John
