Originally Posted by
TCinVA
When a client comes to me with a new pump gun in a private session, the first thing I'm looking for is mechanical function. I'll run the action dry a few times to see if anything stands out. Then I'll load the gun and see if anything feels off. I'll shoot a magazine's worth of shells through and see if anything feels off.
If it feels good there, I'll essentially mag dump the gun 2 or 3 times. Running a pump gun at .24-.3 splits will tell you a whole lot about how the gun is running.
If I encounter a problem there, I'll change ammo to see if it clears up with an ammo change. If not, I'll try to hone in on exactly where it's having an issue. Feeding, extraction, or ejection so I can advise the client on something useful they can tell the company that made it or a competent smith.
If it passes the mag dumps, I just run through the rest of the training. As I'm watching the client I'm also looking at how the gun is running. Consistent feeding, consistent ejection, etc.
The 2,000 round challenge was really a sort of torture test with a pistol understanding that reliability issues would likely manifest by the end of 2,000 rounds with no cleaning or lubrication. With a pump shotgun the issues tend to manifest much, much sooner.
If I take a pump gun out and run it through ~ 100-200 rounds of birdshot doing my usual training and I haven't identified any sort of issue, I'll pattern it with a couple of different types of buckshot and maybe run 25-50 rounds of cheap buckshot on some of my usual drills. If it gets through that without manifesting an issue, I'm not too worried about it.
And I try to do that with the gun in more or less the configuration I want it in. If I run the basic reliability test in stock form and then I put on a new magazine tube and replace the spring and follower I've introduced some significant changes to the system and I need to shake those down just to make sure things are working the way I expect. Of course, it helps that I'm probably using additions I've already used on other guns (Vang Comp follower, Volquartsen extractor, Wilson Combat or Vang Comp magazine tube extension, Vang Comp big dome safety, etc) so I'm reasonably certain that they're not going to give me any problems. If I use something I haven't used before I'll just do usual practice with it to shake it down and see how it runs.
With manually operated shotguns, there tends to be an upside down bell curve when it comes to likelihood of reliability issues. Up front with the gun new out of the box, you're most likely to experience problems with how the gun was manufactured or assembled. Then once you get past that initial 100-200 shells without an issue, the odds of encountering any sort of problem with the gun itself kind of craters into near zero if you are running the action with the correct enthusiasm. If you shoot the gun frequently and run it like you mean it for a long enough while, you start to climb up the other end of the bell curve just because you're going to start wearing things out. Shell stops, magazine springs, springs in the trigger plate...that stuff will eventually give you issues if you run the gun the same way you would fight with it.
The pump shotgun is one of the rare manually operated firearms that can take a real beating and still function. So don't think you have to baby it or minimize the round count on it to keep it working. Run it like you mean it. Just realize that running it that hard for an extended number of rounds and useful dryfire will eventually necessitate some forms of maintenance to keep the gun functioning properly.
On a pump gun, most definitely.
On a semi-auto I'd want more than the round count I described above, but even that isn't really 1,000 rounds and most assuredly not 1,000 rounds without cleaning or lube.
If you're looking at mechanical function in a pump gun, pretty much any load will do. I'm perfectly happy running whatever inexpensive bulk birdshot I can find as a significant part of the shakedown, but with the knowledge that given the variability in shotgun shell manufacture that if I experience a problem step 1 in diagnosing it is to change ammunition. If I find that a particular gun hates roll-crimped ammunition, for example, that's useful information. Or I may find that just one manufacturer's ammunition is the issue. (Like Rio buckshot)
Most of the stress of running a pump gun comes from the user moreso than the ammunition. Shotgun shells are potent but relatively low pressure. They tend to shake things loose and then once those things are loose, it tends to tear them up. Sights, optic mounts, etc. On the 870 the magazine cap will loosen on you during shooting and then every time you fire a shot the barrel is literally trying to leave the gun. Then you run the action and slam the barrel into the nose of the ejector over an over and over again and that's how you break ejectors.
Make sure you use Loctite or VC3 on anything fastened to the gun because it will shake loose in short order if you don't.
Revolvers are hyper-sensitive about ammunition. Due to the nature of their function they are much pickier about what ammo they will run than pump guns, especially when the revolver gets a little bit of shooting through it. In less than 50 rounds with a soft lead bullet, most of my L frames will be semi-functional without a thorough cleaning. With FMJ ammo it can be a couple of hundred rounds before they start being grumpy enough to force you to give them a light scrubbing and wipedown with some solvent.
Pump shotguns...modern ones, anyway...tend not to be that delicate. They'll usually work just fine if they're under-lubricated and dirty from shooting. I clean my teaching 870 maybe once a year. Most of the time I just squirt some lube in the action, run it with vigor, and drive on. I don't get a lot of leading in the barrel of that gun because I use decent ammunition. If you find the bore of your gun accumulates fouling quickly you may want to try running through it with a honing system to smooth it up a bit. It will probably help with patterns, too.
The 590 will readily take a Magpul stock. You can get a thinner butt pad from Kick-Eez that further shortens the length of pull of that stock. Extra insurance and a good idea overall.
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