I don't think an AR is the answer....

[Wondering Beard]

My shotgun is not my HOLY SHIT I NEED IT RIGHT NOW gun. I've got time to rack it if it's what I went for.

+1

Mine is left cruiser ready as well.

[txdpd]

Regarding shotguns being drop safe -- I've always been pretty retentive when hunting to un-chamber a shotgun if it's not in my hands, and of course when traversing bad terrain.

I remember reading this article from Mas Ayoob (also a member here) back in 2003:

Remember that no shotguns have internal firing pin locks. This means that if a shell is in the chamber and the gun is struck sharply against a hard object at either muzzle or butt end, inertia can cause the firing pin to bounce forward against its spring and unintentionally fire the shotgun.


This is why shotguns in police cars are ALWAYS kept with loaded magazines but empty firing chambers. For the same reasons, a shotgun stored loaded in the home for family defense should be a magazine-type weapon kept with its firing chamber empty. It is customary to hunt with rounds in the guns’ chambers, and this is why the “Ten Commandments of Firearms Safety” for hunters includes admonitions to unload the gun and set it down before crossing fences, and to always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

http://www.backwoodshome.com/firearm...g-refresher-2/

That's really only an issue with free float firing pins and it takes a serious impact for it to be an issue. Were talking Ithaca 37s, Winchester 1897s etc. Anything of recent vintage with a firing pin return spring is going to have to be dropped from an unrealistic height and land on the muzzle. The bigger issue is that pretty much everyone uses some sort of trigger block as a safety. If the sear or hammer is released due to an impact there's no safety device to stop the hammer from hitting the firing pin and no safety to stop the firing pin from striking the primer.

I thought that at least some of the Mossberg pumps were drop safe. The ones used as military weapons.

The double action models were essentially drop safe.

[Chuck Whitlock]

I thought that at least some of the Mossberg pumps were drop safe. The ones used as military weapons.

The double action models were essentially drop safe.

What he said. I purchased a T&E model for my 1.2 man agency back around 2000. I'd buy another personally in a heartbeat if I could find one. Too bad that they never really caught on. (P-F group buy, anyone? )

[farscott]

Remington uses a different (more stout) sear spring in their police guns than in their conventional 870's.

FWIW, we carry our 870's hammer back and safety on. This requires that you hit the action bar release prior to cycling the action. This was done after a number of folks failed to check the chamber before releasing the hammer for a more conventional cruiser ready.

When I was taught to carry and use a shotgun, I was told that "cruiser ready" meant 1) chamber empty, 2) hammer cocked, and 3) action closed. This has the advantage of locking the forearm so that the action will not open from vibration that is surely encountered in patrol vehicles. This is how I store my shotguns in the safe, so that the actions remain closed. Another advantage is that one needs to hit the action bar release to load the chamber. Interestingly the safety was never discussed in reference to "cruiser ready" but I followed the above quoted post out of an abundance of caution.

Most shotguns are definitely not drop safe, including the Remington Model 11 and 870, as the safety only blocks trigger movement. That is why hunters are taught to unload when crossing fences as dropping an 870 from waist height is enough to jar the sear enough to release the cocked hammer. I have verified to my own satisfaction with my 870P models that a three-foot drop is enough to cause the gun to fire. If you pull the trigger plate from an 870, it is easy to see the 870 is not drop safe.

[Edster]

This is worth repeating. I cannot begin to describe what big, dirty fun these guns are.

And get the Smith, not one of the Umarex/Colts or the Chiappa or whatever. The Smith will use almost any accessory you'd care to use on the centerfire gun, so if you want to try out some safety or trigger or whatever, you can do it on the toy gun first. The M&P15-22 is a straight-up plastic AR-15 in .22LR; the other ones are just AR-shaped on the outside.

If nothing else, this thread caused me to buy an M&P15-22 this weekend.

Took it to my "Yes, you can draw and rapid fire just don't shoot our target carriers" pistol range today. Wow. This is a very useful little rifle.

[LOKNLOD]

After he fired the second and third shot at you, did you get the idea it might not have been an accident?

If this isn't a case for increased police firearms training, I don't know what is.