There is something special about seeing a huge sea turtle braving the pounding surf to nest. Every year, thousands of people are drawn to coasts around the world in order to get a glimpse of these beautiful creatures. Some go farther and help researchers tag and study turtles.
I first wrote these articles while working at Holbrook Travel. I was in charge of creating a website for them, but found myself in a dilemma; we had nothing to put on the website. So after careful research and several interviews, I wrote this series of articles. With the pasage of time, the articles have been removed from the Holbrook website. Perhaps it’s sentiment for my sophomore effort, or perhaps it’s professional pride, but I thought that the articles were important enough to save for posterity. They are centered around the conservation efforts to preserve the Green Sea Turtle.
So I hope that you learn something, and I hope you enjoy the articles. I look forward to hearing from you.
Those famous words were spoken by Wesley (Cary Elwes) in The Princess Bride in response to Vizzini’s convoluted arguments. I feel the same about anyone who can understand all of the intricacies of firearms. I have already written about some of my adventures into the realm of handguns, but this did nothing to prepare me for the dizzying variety in the world of shotguns. Shotguns have infinitely more variety than handguns
This little article will describe some of the choices and options to consider when purchasing a shotgun. (Please keep in mind that I have not yet had the opportunity to take a shotgun class, so much the information here will most likely need to be updated afterward.)
As always, the first question to be asked of any gun purchase is the gun’s intended purpose. With shotguns, the basic purposes boil down to recreational shooting such as traps and clay birds, hunting birds and small game, hunting larger game (such as deer), and self defense, especially home defense. If you are on a tight budget you will probably want one shotgun that can serve multiple roles. This can be accomplished because most shotguns allow multiple barrels that, in combination with different types of ammunition, can be configured for different roles.
The shotgun I am buying is first for self/home defense, and second for hunting/sporting (two things I do not do that often). The key things to consider when purchasing the shotgun are the action, the gauge, and the barrel.
The Action
The action refers to the type of shotgun. The basic (most common) three actions are break-action, pump, and autoloading. The break-action has a pivot between the chamber and the barrel. The action “breaks” or pivots open and the shells are loaded into the barrel. This is the traditional shotgun and comes in two basic varieties. Single barrel, and double barrel. Double barrels may be side by side or over-under, which describes the placement of the two barrels. These shotguns are very simple, very durable, and the barrel can be changed out for different purposes. They have been around for hundreds of years and vary from extremly inexpensive to very expensive.
The second type of shotgun is the pump-action shotgun. This is the iconic police shotgun from just about every movie featuring a policeman. Pump shotguns offer the advantage of quicker follow up shots when compared to break-action shotguns but are more complicated and can be more expensive. The shotgun shells are typically loaded into a magazine tube mounted below the barrel. The user loads a new round by sliding (pumping) the action.
The third type of shotgun is the autoloading (or semiautomatic) shotgun. These shotguns use the recoil of the shotgun to load the next round. These offer the quickest followup shots but are the most complicated and most prone to mechanical failure.
Generally speaking, the pump action is preferred for self defense purposes, due to it combination of quick follow up shots and rugged, reliable action. Of course reading any internet forum will bring a myriad arguments in favor of all three. So which did I go with? The pump action.
The Gauge
The gauge refers to the size of the round the shogun will accommodate. Gauge is typically measured as a fraction, so 12 gauge is actually larger than 20 gauge (1/12 > 1/20). The most common gauge by far is the 12 followed by the 20, with the oddly named .410 recently gaining in popularity. (The .410 is measured in inches and would be equivalent to 67 gauge.) Other relatively common gauges include the 10 and 28 (probably best known for being the gauge former vice president Dick Cheney used to shoot a hunting partner by accident).
Shogtun shells are verstaile creatures, able to accommodate, birdshot, buckshot, slugs, and specialty rounds such as flechettes (tiny darts) or tear gas cannisters. For civilians, the first three are the most common ammunition. The size of the gauge determines how much shot or what size slug can be used. The trade off is the amount of shot vs the kick or recoil of the gun. Shotguns are notorious for their kick, and new users are often steered to the smaller gauges because of their lighter recoil.
Randy Cain (my gun guru of choice from reputation, accessibility, and experience) maintains that this is a mistake. There is more 12 gauge ammunition available than any other choice, and if recoil is an issue, low-recoil 12 gauge shells have less recoil than traditional 20 gauge rounds. Anne Langlois also offers that loading a 20 gauge magazine is more difficult than a 12.
So what did I go with? 12 gauge. I haven’t paid for Randy’s advice on shotguns yet, but I might as well try to do it his way first.
The Barrel
The barrel on most shotguns can be replaced, so a single shotgun can be configured for multiple purposes.
Length
Generally speaking, a short barrel is desirable for self defense applications because it is more maneuverable. The shortest barrel that can be owned by civilians without hassle is 18 inches. Shorter barrels are also used for hunting in more densely wooded areas. Generally speaking, a longer barrel is used to for hunting game that moves because the heavier barrel swings more smoothly.
Bore
The bore refers to the inside of the barrell. There are two types of shotgun bore: smooth and rifled. Rifled barrels are a more recent development and are generally used for hunting with slugs. Smooth bores can be used for shot or slugs.
Choke
Some shotgun barrels are choked, which means the muzzle end is constricted. Choking the barrel prevents shot from spreading as much, allowing the shotgun to be used for longer distances. Some shotgun barrels have interchangeable chokes so that the same barrel can be used for several different purposes. For self defense shotguns, cylinder or improved cylinder barrel is preferred.
Sights
The traditional shotgun sight is a single bead at the muzzle end of the barrel. The shotgun is pointed not aimed. However for slugs and longer distance hunting, traditonal rifle sights or vent-ribs may be used. A vent rib is a tube or ridge that sits above the barrel and aids in sighting. For a defensive shotgun, rifle sights are preferred. Note: Jeff Cooper decided that ghost ring sites were best for tactical shotguns, so that is what is most popular, but in more recent times, instructors such as Randy Cain have discovered they shoot faster and better with traditional rifle sights.
The Conclusion
We have only begun to scracth the surface of shotguns, but hopefully, you have enough basic vocabulary to choose a shotgun for home defense. The preferred home defense shotgun is a 12 gauge, pump-action, shotgun with an 18 inch, improved cylinder barrel with rifle sights.
The Contenders
The two most common types of shotgun that meet these criteria are the Mossberg 500 series and the Remington 870. (Please note that I have no experience with the Mossberg, so this information is either factual or 2nd hand anecdotal). The Remington 870 has been around a long time and is a standard among armed forces, police, and hunters. It seems to be the standard by which all other pump shotguns are measured. There are a ton of replacement parts and accessories available for it.
The Mossberg 500 series is both stronger and weaker, more and less reliable, more and less rugged than the Remington 870 depending on who you listen to. Generally speaking, the major factors in its favor are that it is often less expensive, and the safety is located on top of the receiver and is completely ambidextrous, making it attractive to left handers.
The choice
Randy Cain’s preferred shotgun is the Remington 870, and since I have no preferences whatsoever (my shotgun experience is only with break-actions) I went ahead and bought a Remington 870. Of course, that brings another set of dizzying choices with it. The next article will highlight the different models of Remington 870 and guide you through some of their major features.
In the last article I highlighted some of the major choices that must be made in choosing a shotgun. Having narrowed my choice to a Remington 870, I thought that I simply needed to find the best price on one and buy it. If only it were that simple. This article will detail some of the choices and options available for the Remington 870.
The first thing to understand is that the Remington 870 comes in four different models or levels:
Remington 870 Express
Remington 870 Wingmaster
Remington 870 Police
Remington 870 other
This link has some nice information regarding the differences between the models although the information is a few years old and may be subject to change.
The most basic is the 870 Express. The internal workings are not as nice, the action does not slide as smoothly, and the finish is quite terrible (reports of it flaking off abound on the internet). Its major advantage is that it is 50%-60% of the price of a Wingmaster.
The Wingmaster has much more attention to detail than the Express, a much smoother slide, and high quality blued finish. The Wingmaster is considered vastly superior to the Express.
The Police model (870P) has even more attention to detail, is assembled in a special part of the factory to ensure quality, and features a parkerized finish. The 870P is also the only model to come with a 18 inch factory barrel (14 inch is also available if you want to go through the NFA hassle).
The other models include the Marine model which is identical to the Express but has a nickel plated corrosion resistant finish and is intended for salt water use. The HD and Tactical models are sold with home defense and tactical accessories. Some are based off the Express model while others are based off of the Police model, so care should be taken when choosing one of these.
Generally speaking, in order of desirability for home defense, the Police is preferred, followed by the Wingmaster, while the Express is deprecated. So now you have decided to get a Remington 870 12 gauge pump-action shotgun with rifle sights. Congratulations. But if you want an 18 inch barrel, it’s only available in the Police model. You could of course, get 20 inch barrel and have a gunsmith cut down the barrel and resolder the sight. But care must be taken because a quarter inch too short will land you in trouble with the ATF not to mention that resoldering the sight means refinishing the barrel. (Also keep in mind that although you can use other 870 barrels with the 870P, the finish will not match.)
So you might decide to get a Police model with a factory barrel. But the police model is only available from authorized LE (law enforcement) distributors, which means your chances of finding a super discount are close to zero. On the other hand, you could keep an eye on the pawn shops looking for police trade-ins. In the four months that I looked, I was unable to find a used 870P for a decent price, and finally ended up buying a new one with the exact features I was looking for. Four days after I called in my order, I found a good deal on a police trade in on a local gun forum. (Customizing a used gun can end up being more expensive than simply buying it the way you want in the first place.)
This website has a decent guide to the various 870P models. I decided on the 4421 (includes extended magazine tube), although I was told by one distributor that the 4421 was discontinued (of course that same distributor told me they didn’t know what the 4418 model was). Another store said they had no 4421s in stock but sold me a 4417 with a magazine extension tube for less than other stores’ price on the 4421*.
The next article will detail some of the possible accessories you may want to add to your Remington 870.
Update: Both of the models I mention above are synthetic stock shotguns. I originally went that way because I wanted the OEM extension tube, and it was only available on synthetic stock shotgun from factory. Because they were either discontinued or out of stock, I ended up getting the shotgun tube separately (although it’s still OEM). Knowing what I know now, I would have gotten the 2505 version which is 18″, rifle sights, but with wooden stock and then installed the magazine extension. Wood is prettier and also easier to cut to the correct length. (Cutting your shotgun down to size is the topic of a future article.)
Here’s a fabulous article on the Tiananmen Square massacre. It does something few of the other articles I’ve read–it gives perspective.
…
“A China that has made enormous progress economically, and that is emerging to take its rightful place in global leadership, should examine openly the darker events of its past and provide a public accounting of those killed, detained or missing, both to learn and to heal.” –Hillary Clinton, Sec. of State
There is only one proper response to this: Look who’s talking!
Before an American secretary of state gets up on her hind legs and lectures the rest of the world about “the darker events of its past,” complaining about the lack of “a public accounting of those killed, detained, or missing,” let’s look at the record: in 1993, then-attorney general Janet Reno ordered the murder of 76 people in Waco, Texas, on grounds that didn’t sound all that credible at the time, and, in retrospect, turn out to have been entirely dubious and self-serving. Can it really be that the U.S. government – yes, the same people who ordered this and this – is hectoring China for unlawful detention?
As a great philosopher once said, oh, puh-leeeeeeeze!
No one disputes the fact that the suppression of the Tiananmen Square revolt was a brutal act, one that belied the Chinese government’s claim to enjoy popular support in the face of what it characterized as a “counterrevolutionary” gathering. Yet what, exactly, was being suppressed? This is where the Western-spun narrative veers markedly away from reality.
To begin with, what was the uprising about? What demands were the students – and most of them were indeed students, rather than ordinary workers and peasants – intent on pursuing to the end? The initial protests were over reductions in student subsidies. As an economizing measure, the government decided to drastically cut student allowances, while China’s generous foreign scholarship program, which enabled many students from Africa to study in Chinese universities, was continued, in spite of the cutbacks.
This outraged the fiercely nationalistic Chinese students, who, in the winter of 1988, used it as an excuse to rampage through the living quarters of African students, injuring 13. What began as a lynching miraculously turned into a “human rights” protest, as 3,000 demonstrators showed up in Nanjing, where slogans such as “Kill the black devils!” mingled with demands for “political reform.”
One of the most confusing aspects of choosing a handgun is choosing a trigger action. The discussion of trigger action can get very confusing very quickly, especially since some of the same words can mean different things when talking about revolvers or semi-automatics.
If you don’t care about the definitions and just want to know what to get, here are the Randy Cain recommendations:
Revolvers take longer to shoot well. Most beginners should start with semi-automatics, because they can become proficient quicker.
The most important thing in a trigger is that it works the same every time. (This rules out DA/SA triggers unless they can be carried like SA, cocked and locked).
1911s can have the best triggers if they’re worked on by a competent gunsmith. Glocks and Glock-like guns (e.g., M&P and XDs) are next.
I will just cover the basic definitions and then some thoughts about the advantages and disadvantages. We’ll start with revolvers because they are more intuitive to understand.
Revolver Single Action (SA)
A revolver single action trigger is one where the only thing the trigger does is make the hammer fall. The gun must be manually cocked by pulling back on the trigger. This is the traditional cowboy action seen in Westerns.
Revolver Double Action (DA)
In a double action revolver, pulling the trigger cocks the hammer and makes the hammer fall. The two actions in one trigger pull make it “double action.” (For you purists out there, you could argue that pulling the trigger also turns the cylinder, but that’s really a side effect of the hammer cocking, so they don’t count it as three actions.) Double action revolvers can also be manually cocked and used as single action. Because the trigger pull does more than one thing, the trigger pull is typically longer and heavier than single action, but the guns are simpler to fire.
Revolver Double Action (DAO)
Some revolvers are “hammerless” so they cannot be manually cocked. These are often called double action only, because you can’t shoot it single action. Rand Cain advises against hammerless models. Instead, he prefers shrouded hammers (where a hammer is relatively hidden by a “shroud” of metal to prevent the hammer from snagging on clothing. Shrouded hammers offer a compromise (or is it the best of both) between DAO and DA revolvers.
If you can understand the revolver actions, the rest of this article should be fairly simple.
Single Action Semi-autos (SA)
A single action semi-automatic is one where the trigger only makes the hammer fall. The recoil of the gun re-cocks the hammer for the next shot. The hammer is cocked the first time by “racking the slide” and chambering the first round. Most SA pistols have a manual safety and can be carried “cocked and locked”. The major advantage is a consistent trigger pull. The major disadvantage is that it takes practice to release the safety before firing (and to re-engage the safety before holstering). The most famous American gun of all time, the Colt 1911, and its clones are SA. Some SA pistols are not safe to have a closed hammer on a live round which can lead to dangerous situations with people not properly trained in their use.
Double Action Semi-autos (DA) or (DA/SA)
Double action semi-automatics are similar in concept to revolver double action except for one major difference. On the first round, the trigger cocks the hammer and then makes it fall. The recoil then re-cocks the hammer so that the next shot is a single action shot. (Hence why they’re sometimes called DA/SA.)
The major advantage is that the hammer can safely be carried down on a live round. The first shot will then have a heavier, longer pull. The follow up shots then have the lighter trigger pull of the SA. The major disadvantage is that some people cannot get used to the transition between the DA and the SA trigger pulls. This can be ameliorated by manually cocking the pistol before the first shot.
The Crunchentickers as they are derisively known are notoriously difficult to shoot well from a holster. As Randy Cain says when the class starts to learn to shoot from a holster, “Now you’re going to learn to hate your gun.” And I did, and I no longer have it. DA/SA guns should be avoided (despite the penchant for law enforcement to use them) unless they can be carried cocked and locked like a SA gun.
The trixie part: DA/SA guns may or may not have manual safeties. The thinking here is that the hammer down, long trigger pull is a safety mechanism, so some guns omit the manual safety in favor of a decocker that is designed to safely lower the hammer onto a chambered round without an accidental discharge. In guns with a manual safety, some guns will not allow the safety to be engaged unless the hammer is cocked, while others will allow the safety to be engaged only with the hammer down, and others will allow both. Know what your gun will do before your purchase it.
Double Action Only Semi-auto (DAO)
Every trigger pull cocks the hammer and makes it fall. The recoil does not re-cock the gun. DAO triggers typically have long relatively heavy trigger pulls. This is very popular with politicians who know that their police officers are not adequately trained in the use of their weapons. The New York politicians (like Guiliani and Bloomberg) think their policemen are so inept that the trigger specified for New York policemen has its own name–you guessed it, the New York trigger (essentially a very heavy trigger).
The advantage of the DAO is that every trigger pull is the same. The disadvantage is that every trigger pull is relatively long and hard.
Striker fired Semi-autos
Striker fired semi autos have gained increasing popularity throughout the world thanks to Glock. A striker is an internal firing mechanism instead of a hammer. Think of it kind of like a slingshot hidden inside the gun. Here is a nifty animation that helps to explain it.
The major advantage of a striker fired gun is a consistent trigger pull (much like a single action). Glock calls theirs “Safe action” Other companies call theirs single action, and others double action only depending on whether the striker is fully cocked, half cocked, or uncocked between shots. Whatever; the important thing is that the trigger pull is always consistent. Some striker fired weapons have no manual safety, while others do. The trigger pull is usually a little heavier than a single action gun and often has some kind of safety lever on the trigger itself to help prevent the gun from firing unless the trigger is deliberately pulled.
The striker is generally fully cocked or half cocked, so when disassembling the weapon, the tension on the striker must be released. Some striker fired guns, like Glocks require that the trigger be pulled, which has caused at least a few negligent discharges (I thought it wasn’t loaded). Other companies have a decocker whose only purpose is to prevent the trigger from being pulled while disassembling the gun.
Other Trigger Actions
There are other trigger actions out there, but these are the major ones. Another that is growing in popularity among law enforcement is the Double Action Kellerman (DAK), named after it’s creator. This is a variant on the DAO, where the first trigger pull is long and heavy, and the follow up shots are short and heavy. This kind of trigger breaks Randy’s rule that a trigger should be consistent.
A Note on Trigger Weights and Pulls
Trigger weights are a highly subjective matter. The quality of the trigger, and its design have an influence on the overall feel. Generally speaking, smooth triggers feel lighter than gritty triggers. Triggers that travel a short distance and triggers that go straight back rather than travel in an arc feel lighter. So weight isn’t everything. Also guns can be modified after market, so this list should be taken with a grain of salt, but generally speaking, for semi-autos:
Single action: 3.5 – 5 pounds
Double action: 7 – 18 pounds
Striker fired: 5 – 8 pounds
Trigger reset
In addition to the trigger action, another important consideration is trigger reset–the distance the trigger has to move forward before it can fire a second shot. All things equal, a shorter reset will allow for more accurate, quicker shots.
Updated: The information below is outdated and only left for posterity. Click here to see current recommendations
So, what do I have? I have a DA/SA with a decocker only (no manual safety). Why? Well, a combination of things, but the confluence of price and availability collided with my being left handed. The guns I was interested in didn’t fit my hand in the full size, and the compact models didn’t have ambi-dextrous safeties (I’m left handed). So I went with the decocker version, although I’d prefer a gun that lets me carry cocked and locked in single action mode. You really do have to practice that first double action shot in order to be good at it or it will tend to twitch the barrel to the side.
Obama says that for far too long, America has consumed more than its share of resources. He’s right. But unwittingly so, and not in the way he thinks. Put simply, America consumes more than its fair share of resources because it borrows money to pay for its consumption. When we borrow to subsidize our sumptuous lifestyle, someone else has to lend, i.e., not consume.
Individual Americans have contributed to the problem through personal debt, but we are gross amateurs before the American government. In order to fund its profligate spending, the American government uses a secret weapon–inflation. The government owns a printing press through the Federal Reserve. As it borrows, it also prints more money to pay its debts; you could say that the government has a monopoly on counterfeiting. Printing more money causes existing money to be worth less, which would ordinarily cause massive inflation.
Happily for the American government, the dollar is the world’s reserve currency, which means that international trade is priced in dollars. In order to keep inflation down in America, we exported the inflated dollars by selling government bonds to other governments, primarily China. Only China isn’t buying anymore.
And that brings us back to the opening statement. We ARE using more than our fair share of resources, because we have conned the world into loaning us the money to buy them. Loans that we intend to pay back in inflated (counterfeited) dollars (and lately it seems, with no intention of every paying back). Obama has NO intention whatsoever of actually remedying the situation. If he meant his “good citizen of the world” rhetoric, he would order the Fed to stop printing money, or better yet dissolve it altogether. He would stop issuing government bonds. He would end deficit spending. He would encourage Americans to stop borrowing to fund their lifestyles. Unfortunately, Obama is doing the exact opposite. He sent Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to China to beg them to continue buying our debt. The Fed has ramped up money printing even more with no end in sight. Obama’s first year budget deficit will be more than twice as large as Bush’s last (even including the bailouts). And he is still encouraging Americans to borrow and consume.
The sad fact is that it did not matter who was elected in November; the underlying cancer in the American economy, the inflationary policy favored by the government and the Fed, was not going to change. You will notice that McCain campaigned for the bailouts. Bush said he had to abandon the free market to save it. And Obama? Obama is simply following the trail laid out by Bush and all the presidents before him back to 1913 when the Fed was established.
If this has piqued your curiosity, I highly encourage you to read Murray Rothbard’s short book What Has Government Done to Our Money. It can be downloaded for free from www.mises.org. For those of you with an aversion to books without pictures, search youtube for Irwin Schiff How an Economy Grows. (It’s a narrated graphic novel.)
There is something special about seeing a huge sea turtle braving the pounding surf to nest. Every year, thousands of people are drawn to coasts around the world in order to get a glimpse of these beautiful creatures. Some go farther and help researchers tag and study turtles.
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