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Slam fire shotguns


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Are slam fire shotguns dangerous??????????

When discussing vintage shotguns the subject of slam fire frequently rears its ugly head. Is slam fire the ultimate in shotgun firepower or is it an accident waiting to happen?

About 20 years ago I was discussing the lack of a disconnector with a Ithaca official.

He told me that the LA sheriff had adapted the Ithaca riot gun without a disconnector. An officer got into a shootout with a bad guy who was resisting arrest. The officer made a justifiable shot into the bad guy and decked him. Bad guy no longer a threat.

In a moment of high stress the officer failed to release the trigger as he pumped the shotgun and inadvertently fired another, unjustifiable load, into the bad guy. As often the case, some pesky witnesses were present. Sort of an early "hands up-don't shoot" situation.

Ithaca agreed to take all the LA shotguns back and design, and equip, them with diconnecters. As far as he knew those were the only Ithaca guns equipped with such a devise.

Ithaca guns made around the time of the Ithaca "87" to present would not fire if the trigger was held to the rear while pumping.

But these guns did not have disconnectors. They simply had a different hammer that would follow the bolt forward with out hammering the firing pin. You would find one empty and 4 loaded shells at your feet.

 

Does the slam fire feature serve any useful purpose???

Not likely. Herb Parsons was a famous trick shot for Winchester for many years. One of his famous tricks was to throw 7 clay targets into the air and break each one separately before they hit the ground. When you watch the video you can clearly see that he pulls the trigger for each shot..

That's fast enough for anyone.

Jim C

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There are a number of "trick shooters" whose feats are simply amazing to me. One of the issues, I believe, is the relative slowness of some semi-auto shotguns -- The Remington 1100, being an example. I suspect that a pump gun -- even with a disconnector -- in the hands of the right person -- could fire faster than the 1100. I haven't had the place (or time) to try rapid "slam-fire" with a '97 or a Norinco. I would imagine that the current "combat shotgun" -- the Benelli? -- is just as fast as a pump gun being slam-fired. Might make an interesting video project: comparing the firing rate/fire effectiveness of slam-firing with some semi-autos. As an afterthought, rapid fire shotguns would (might?) be beneficial in breaching a door or barricaid. Or taking on a mob. . .especially if firing into the ground and letting bouncing pellets pepper lower legs. . . Don't know. (didn't Applegate suggest this in RIOT CONTROL?)

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