Shotgun without pressing little button

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  • tallen702

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 3, 2012
    5,102
    In the boonies of MoCo
    I push up the lifter (is that what's it's called?) and release the shells by depressing the catch that holds them in the magazine. It's easier, faster, and not to mention, safer, than cycling the rounds in and out of the chamber to unload it.

    This x1000. Cycling a shotgun is the improper way to unload it. The shell latch/cartridge stop simply needs to be depressed at the mouth of the magazine tube to eject live rounds from the magazine. This is the same on Winchester, Remington, Mossbergs, Savages, and most, if not all other shotguns out there. When you rack the slide to load and then eject live shells, there's always the off chance that you will get a slam-fire or other malfunction that will cause the firearm to discharge accidentally. This is how one of my best friends was killed when we were in 8th grade. His buddy was showing him his new shotgun and was unloading it improperly by racking the slide repeatedly. His finger slipped onto the trigger during one of the cycles and wound up discharging it at near point-blank range into my friend's neck and head.

    Here are detailed instructions on how to unload a shotgun (in this case, from Mossberg)

    Mossberg.jpg


    Or for those inclined to watch videos:

     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    Unload - he said he cycled the action to unload the shells from the magazine. That's not how I do it on my 870. I push up the lifter (is that what's it's called?) and release the shells by depressing the catch that holds them in the magazine. It's easier, faster, and not to mention, safer, than cycling the rounds in and out of the chamber to unload it.

    Yeah, I missed the UN

    Thanks
     

    jrumann59

    DILLIGAF
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 17, 2011
    14,024
    The only inconvenient thing about the button is if you change the stock to a pistol grip the button is hard to manipulate from the pistol grip.
     

    Amigo109

    Active Member
    Jan 25, 2018
    265
    Columbia MD
    .

    I do not keep it loaded because of the constant pressure on the magazine spring. I try to store all of my weapons with the springs under as little stress as possible.

    I actually heard that it's better for the magazine spring to stay under compression, they are designed for that. And that for guns with removable mags, store the extra mags loaded so they will be compressed.

    To be honest, I'm no expert, and there's tons of bad info that gets circulated. But springs should be under tension is what I was told.
     

    WatTyler

    Ultimate Member
    A metallurgist will tell you that a spring can be under compression or not under compression - makes no difference. What does make a difference is cycling the spring. Springs will wear out with repeated cycling. Good ones take a long, long time.
     

    jrumann59

    DILLIGAF
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 17, 2011
    14,024
    A metallurgist will tell you that a spring can be under compression or not under compression - makes no difference. What does make a difference is cycling the spring. Springs will wear out with repeated cycling. Good ones take a long, long time.

    This. Multiple compressions and decompressions is what fatigues the spring not one or the other.
     

    JWinners

    Member
    Jul 26, 2017
    91
    Saint Marys, MD
    This x1000. Cycling a shotgun is the improper way to unload it. The shell latch/cartridge stop simply needs to be depressed at the mouth of the magazine tube to eject live rounds from the magazine. This is the same on Winchester, Remington, Mossbergs, Savages, and most, if not all other shotguns out there. When you rack the slide to load and then eject live shells, there's always the off chance that you will get a slam-fire or other malfunction that will cause the firearm to discharge accidentally. This is how one of my best friends was killed when we were in 8th grade. His buddy was showing him his new shotgun and was unloading it improperly by racking the slide repeatedly. His finger slipped onto the trigger during one of the cycles and wound up discharging it at near point-blank range into my friend's neck and head.

    Here are detailed instructions on how to unload a shotgun (in this case, from Mossberg)

    Mossberg.jpg


    Or for those inclined to watch videos:



    Can't believe I've been unloading my Mossberg the wrong way for all these years. Informative stuff. Thanks for this.
     

    03gsxr1000

    Speed Demon
    Jul 4, 2010
    136
    Balderdash.


    Springs are designed to be compressed. No harm will come from keeping magazines loaded.

    "A gun that ain't loaded and cocked ain't good for nothin'!" - Rooster Cogburn.

    If I leave 5 rounds in my Remington 870 more than one day, I can't cycle because the spring doesn't have enough tension to push the last cartridge out of the tube far enough causing the carrier to jam. I have to stretch the spring out.

    Is there a spring upgrade I can get that won't "go soft"?
     

    jimbobborg

    Oddball caliber fan
    Aug 2, 2010
    17,112
    Northern Virginia
    If I leave 5 rounds in my Remington 870 more than one day, I can't cycle because the spring doesn't have enough tension to push the last cartridge out of the tube far enough causing the carrier to jam. I have to stretch the spring out.

    Is there a spring upgrade I can get that won't "go soft"?

    It sounds like you have a bad spring and/or it's too short.
     

    03gsxr1000

    Speed Demon
    Jul 4, 2010
    136
    It's the spring it came with new. Must be a bad one. Thought it was a little weird that it does that.
     

    jrumann59

    DILLIGAF
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 17, 2011
    14,024
    Get the wolffe spring it snaps the rounds out. I had a similar issue with my mossberg
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Ok i did not realuze you only have to press it to make the first round cycle. I rarely ever fire them I just unload 5 or six shell and have to press it each time. Thanks guys

    Most you don’t either. Look up in the action and you should see a small metal tab you can press in and it’ll unlock the magazine tube and all of the shells will come sliding (well, under pressure) out of the tube. So you don’t have to cycle the action at all other than ejecting whatever might be in the tube.

    Also go to a trap range and shoot a few rounds. It sounds like you need some live fire experience with your shotgun (well, if large enough. Most only allow 23” or longer barrels)
     

    GuitarmanNick

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 9, 2017
    2,221
    Laurel
    I know that springs are not supposed to be damaged by long term compression as mentioned by a few in response to my previous post.

    I have also seen some evidence that long term compression on magazine springs has caused them to loose some length. I would guess that the quality of the springs in the experiments may be a variable and that most will not weaken under sustained load, but since some will, I treat all my springs with extra care.

    Now I do keep quite a large selection of magazines fully loaded for a selection of weapons at all times. Detachable magazines can be easily repaired or replaced but the correct spring for a particular gun may be hard to acquire and is why I store my guns with the springs not under load. This eliminates the need to be concerned about it functioning should the gun be needed in an emergency. This is especially true on older weapons. I have some milsurps that I am sure appreciate my extra care:)

    I may be a little OCD on this but I am the kind of guy that put my cars on blocks and made sure they were well protected before long term deployments when I was in the military. Others would come home to damaged tires, leaking shocks, and a host of other issues. Outside of draining some extra oil and grease, charging a battery and dropping it to the ground, I rarely had to make repairs before my car was again road worthy.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    How do you remove the load from the springs? Do you disassemble the mags?

    Otherwise, the spring is already compressed. And if it were to weaken that much, it would not feed the last few rounds, even if you leave them unloaded.

    BTW, the same thing applies to the springs on your car.
     

    jrumann59

    DILLIGAF
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 17, 2011
    14,024
    I think many of the manufacturers look to cut corners and go with "adequate" springs. I bought my Mossberg used and when I finally shot it I noticed that the last two rounds were iffy when it came to the spring, in other words to get them to feed the barrel had to be inclined a little bit to feed. I am sure the spring was great when new but I also think the spring should not have been this bad for a gun that is not really old in the sense that it had less then 500 rounds through it. I tend to look for common failure pieces when I buy a gun and replace it before it fails. That is why I bought the wolffe spring before i even fired the gun. Also remember the life of a spring is how many times it is compressed and uncompressed. Leaving a mag loaded or unloaded does nothing to spring, though depending on the mag like some polymer mags may not like having a fully loaded mag due to the mag lips deforming under constant tension.
     

    Rack&Roll

    R.I.P
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 23, 2013
    22,304
    Bunkerville, MD
    Can't believe I've been unloading my Mossberg the wrong way for all these years. Informative stuff. Thanks for this.

    It’s called “Administrative Unloading”.

    I have demonstrate that I can execute this process once a year as part of the re-qualification for my credential.
     

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