I'm reviewing my entire line of defensive firearms, especially in a time where there is a less than ignorable chance that those who seek to make it difficult to continue owning autos of the types they don't like may get their way. I'm well set on pretty much everything semi auto, so I'm having a renewed interest in manually operated firearms, such as revolvers and pump shotguns. Now that that's out of the way, here's my deal.
As a lifelong hunter, I spent years using a pump action shotgun of a few varieties, mostly Remington 870s. There was a point where I ditched the pumps for a semi auto when I found that I have had a few instances where I've short stroked the pump action when excited or not paying deliberate attention. Not very often at all, but enough to where it was annoying in a hunting situation, and could be potentially deadly in a home defense situation.
Yet here I am again, looking at pump shotguns for a defensive long-arm role. I've been seeking the stances of any and all experts (especially class instructors) who can speak to the viability of a pump shotgun for self defense when taking short stroking into account. Yes, it's a user error, but in a chaotic and stressful situation, it's not unimaginable for someone to short stroke. Anecdotally, I've heard from a few people that auto shotguns are more popular than pumps in 3-gun competitions for this very reason. 3-Gun is one competitive sport that I have not participated in, so I can't speak to that.
The Mossberg 590A1 has my eye as far as a pump. What are people's thoughts on the reliability of a pump vs autoloader when short stroking the pump is taken into consideration?