In what condition do you store your HD shotgun?
I have a Mossberg 590A1 which I keep as my primary home defense firearm. The question is, "HOW should I keep it?"
The Mossberg has a release tab that must be depressed before you can cycle the action. The tab is small and could easily be missed in a stressful situation, so I'm exploring conditions in which I can keep the shotgun which don't require the tab to be pressed.
I don't know if I want to keep the shotgun locked & loaded. I realize that this would optimize the speed of use and maximize capacity, but I'm still a little weary of the loaded chamber. Should I be? I'm also not thrilled with the tab safety on the Mossberg, and in any situation where I had to use the gun, I'd likely habitually cycle the action first anyway.
I could leave the action open, but that would require some finagling to get a full tube with the action open, which I don’t want to do every time I store the gun. Plus that would require the action to be closed, opened, then close again before the gun is ready to fire.
The condition that seems to work the best would be to keep the action closed on an empty chamber with the hammer back. The tab in question would be recessed in this condition, and a quick cycle of the action would confirm the gun is loaded and ready for use. Would keeping the gun in this condition present any problems (stress on the hammer, perhaps)?
Any thoughts? How do you store your HD shotgun?
I have a Mossberg 590A1 which I keep as my primary home defense firearm. The question is, "HOW should I keep it?"
The Mossberg has a release tab that must be depressed before you can cycle the action. The tab is small and could easily be missed in a stressful situation, so I'm exploring conditions in which I can keep the shotgun which don't require the tab to be pressed.
I don't know if I want to keep the shotgun locked & loaded. I realize that this would optimize the speed of use and maximize capacity, but I'm still a little weary of the loaded chamber. Should I be? I'm also not thrilled with the tab safety on the Mossberg, and in any situation where I had to use the gun, I'd likely habitually cycle the action first anyway.
I could leave the action open, but that would require some finagling to get a full tube with the action open, which I don’t want to do every time I store the gun. Plus that would require the action to be closed, opened, then close again before the gun is ready to fire.
The condition that seems to work the best would be to keep the action closed on an empty chamber with the hammer back. The tab in question would be recessed in this condition, and a quick cycle of the action would confirm the gun is loaded and ready for use. Would keeping the gun in this condition present any problems (stress on the hammer, perhaps)?
Any thoughts? How do you store your HD shotgun?