Thinking Man's Corner

(Observations on Recent Shotgun Sessions, in the Dark)

Article by: William G. 

I was recently accused of being against progress, by someone that was ignorant of my track record and efforts. While the idea of living in the past (another country, where they do things differently) may be romantic, it is not necessarily the best course for all actions. As much as I like Frank Dutton, I am not the wall progress crashes against. Having said that, some of the old ways got that way through superiority under pressure, in spite of progress. Come to think of it, some men achieved the same thing. 

A couple of years ago I had a problem with a pre K22 Smith & Wesson. No one could figure it out. I took it to Capt. Red (GSP, Ret. Who is a  former sponsored shooter, and holds some records at little places like Camp Perry). He pulled out some obscure tool, made a few passes around the ejector rod, did a few things with his hands to the cylinder as he rotated it under pressure. Took maybe 2 minutes, and when he handed it back it was fixed. I asked in genuine amazement how he fixed it. His was reply was simple “Those are the old ways, boy.” 

I watched my father use a fire poker laid on an engine of a high tech new twin turbo that no computer or technician could figure out the issue with. After about a minute of placing it in a few spots, and closing his eyes, he told me the fuel line was clogged. I took it back to the dealership, and told them it was a clogged fuel line. They were amused that I had made the suggestion, and was so convicted in my declaration. They half laughed and asked why I thought that. I told them my father held a fire poker to the engine and said it was a clogged line. They then got a serious look, due to his reputation for building engines and hot rodding cars. They flushed the lines, and would you have ever guessed the problem went away. An old man with a life of experience, and a fire poker did what $100,000 computers simply could not figure out, he just used the old ways. 

The Modern Technique of the Shotgun, as developed by Col. Jeff Cooper (you knew I would fit him into the article); and enhanced by Awerbuck/Reitz/Cain is not so modern any more. It has started to become part of the old ways. The old ways have been adapted to newer equipment, but they still work at their core, and a lot of times, just as is. They should not be discounted due to perceived lack of progress, since sometimes when people harp about progress, they really have no idea what real progress is, or what it takes to achieve multiple wins under really brutal, nasty situations. Which leads me into observations of recent qualifications, training, and a night stress combat match where the old ways proved to be more advanced.

It is the time of year again, when I prefer to do adverse light training with long guns. It gets darker quicker, the cold introduces more variables, and it is a pleasant way for me to end out the calendar year, being surrounded by my fellow law dawgs (old ones who are taking in the last few times of their career, and new pups eager for knowledge), shooting by moon light. Sometimes with a few good fires blazing, and some fine cigars. 

There are very few things that are truly new. Most are rebranded, or improved, and some are actually the opposite of improved. I’ve spent most of the last few weeks with my old faithful friend, the shotgun. Culminating with a night shotgun match. As usual, you find out a lot of things about yourself and your equipment, in the dark, under the stress of the timer, unknown courses of fire, and in front of your peers. If you are running the show, and paying attention, you get to see a lot of other things too. Teaching helps you be a better student, and being a good student helps to make you a better teacher. 

The self loading shotgun has come a very long way over the decades. It is not new to LE. Col. Charles Askins preferred one way back when he was on the Border Patrol. Various, legendary Texas Rangers chose them. LAPD D Platoon was quite fond of the short Benelli. I still don’t like them for duty, so that shows you how much I know. Col. Cooper did prefer a self loader for his bedroom long gun. I point this out to show that while I respect, appreciate, and value all he taught me, I don’t agree with all of his choices when it comes to what works for me. There is probably a lesson somewhere in there about not blindly following a person or system, and using critical thinking to rationally determine your own course of action. The Colonel respected that too. When I first met Leo H. I was using a one off full house custom 11-87P I had Hans Vang personally build to my specifications. That gun ran like a scalded dog, except with light loads from the under arm tuck “combat assault” position. Then it became hit or miss. Is that a serious problem? For me it is. At the time that was how I was trained to do entries, because it took a foot off the muzzle when you penetrated a doorway. There were also some other reasons for doing it. 

The other issue was manipulations, and malfunction clearance. It was slower for me to load, and slower for me to clear a malfunction. Any of those factors by themselves made any faster shooting advantage of the self loader a moot point in my world. I stuck with the slide action “pump.” A few times I have flirted with an auto, and I do train with one so I can teach people who choose (or are issued) one to have a fighting chance if they ever need it. I always come back to my beloved 870 (the best fighting knife ever made). 

The select slug drill is a lost art, as is running a shotgun fast and accurately. Some decry the select slug as unnecessary and cite few real world examples. Last night I was on the phone with a friend of mine that retired as the Range Master for a large metropolitan city which is an international tourist destination. He recalled several times his officers used the select slug to terminate a deadly force threat. The examples are out there, you just have to know where to look……

One drill I ran was two IPSC cardboard targets. One at 3 yards, and another off to the Left a couple of feet, and 5-7 yards back. Shotgun was loaded with 4, and only 4 rounds of 00 buck. On command, fire 2 rounds to the chest of T1 then T2. Retrieve your slug, and engage a steel IPSC target (T3) at roughly 40 yards with 1 round. Now to do this right, you turn the light OFF, and open port load the slug, quick. I saw the old ways win by hit, time, and form. The autos became a little cumbersome for all but one salty old FI from a decent sized agency that goes to every match he can, and has carried a shotgun for many decades. He just got the 1301 Tac recently, but had already gotten the operations figured and smoothed out. Experience, and the old ways. Point being equipment matters, and technique matters. The situation can vary, and you have to adapt. 

It use to be taught to come under the gun to pop that slug into the ejection port. Then someone decided it was faster over the top. Either works, and you should practice both, though I still prefer to do it from under rather than over, as it works fastest and surest for me. During a class prior too the night shoot, several shooters had 1301’s. The ones with a dot on the gun, found it very cumbersome to load over the top, and had to go underneath for any kind of speed. That presented a separate issue of having to be cautious of the bolt release, which happens to be right where your hand hits as you get the slug in, so you do not induce some type of malfunction, and it is just a matter of time until you do. So, hand all the extra stuff on the gun you want to get perceived advantages, just make sure it works in the dark, while someone is trying to kill you, and your hands are numb or wet, or both. Adapt your gun and handling of it to worst case scenarios, not the other way around. Do you really need the red dot and the side saddle, or is the extra ammo better suited to carry on your belt? Do you need the extended controls because they are a real advantage on the street, or are they tailored to the range?

The way to set up a shotgun is with sights you can see (Ghost Ring or XS DEA), an integrated light in the fore end, a stock that is the proper length of pull for the individual shooter, a good sling, and a way to carry spare ammo (either a +1 tube, or a +2 if you have good upper body strength, maybe a side saddle, or the excellent Safariland dual shell belt holder). Maybe a large dome safety, maybe a stainless steel or heavy duty nylon follower, maybe even an optic if that is your thing. What I know is that Scattergun Tech or MMC (can’t get those anymore) Ghost Rings can get you pepper popper hits to 125 yards with good slugs, if you do your part. 

What I saw on the range with people with dots on their shotguns was the same thing I see with dots on rifles and pistols. Often time, offset is forgotten in the heat of battle. Whether that is an issue depends on the yet to happen. I am not opposed to dots on shotguns, just begging that the reader thoroughly tests the chosen combination of equipment, and makes choices based off real vs perceived needs.

Some lights were so bright, that on close targets it washed out the dot, that people forgot to prep beforehand (do you have time to prep the dot before a gunfight? Maybe, maybe not.) People want to see the dot. When they don’t they hesitate. When they hesitate, they tend to either shut down or go so fast to catch up they don’t make good hits, or hits at all. (You absolutely can miss with a shotgun, even inside of a small room. Especially, if you are using a slug or buck with flight control wadding. 

Integrated lights are the most intuitive and reliable. Surefire is the long crowned king of tactical lighting, with very good reason – they work better than anything else, and the price reflects it. Streamlight makes a budget friendly forend, but the switching is a little problematic for actual high end applications, and the girth is a little much to run at speed, especially with gloves or numb fingers. What should be avoided is a bolt on/clamp on light on a pump gun. You can put one on a self loader, but be careful adding a pressure switch to one of those. 

Recently one of the primary LE firearms instructors for a state agency, in another state, called me with a problem of pressure switches losing connectivity on a SBR when they were being run hard. They resorted to electrical tape to hold it in the jack cap. At least that light had a backup tail switch, but you really shouldn’t be having connectivity issues on lights in 2025 (though the problem light wasn’t a Surefire). In the match, a shooter did have a Surefire with a pressure switch, on a high dollar custom Beretta 1301 Tactical. It was an older model with just the jack cap, and no backup tail switch. You guessed it, the jack switch unplugged in the middle of a stage, leaving the shooter in the dark, literally.  Answer is a push button only or a jack switch with push button override, if you can’t use a Surefire fore end. 

A common theme was not knowing how to use a shotgun with a handheld light. Why would you need to do that when we have weapon mounted lights? The Old Ways still have a place, and maybe a very a more robust and important place than the new ones when the new ones fail. It is a needed skill. Best light for the job………Surefire with a dead man’s switch. Twist until it is constant on, and back off until it just turns off. Hold the forend as normal, with the light wedged between it and your fingers. Apply pressure to the SIDE of the tail cap will give you light. Releasing the pressure will give you darkness, It only works with Surefire specific switching. Why I have long followed the advice of my old friend and GALEFI Plank Owner, the legendary Capt. Richard McClarin, and use Surefire on my guns, and on my belt. 

Add in cold and humid to the dark, with equipment that the shooter has not mastered, and the fog of battle becomes a real issue. Tried dynamic movement in the dark to get a second or clear shot through the smoke of a shotgun blast in those weather conditions? If not, might consider getting in some reps and figuring out, if you ever carry one in those conditions. Even if you just have one in the house, may be a good idea to work out movement and lighting before you need to under the stress of a reacting to a band of marauders. Just a thought. 

A pump with ghost rings and an integrated fore end may not be new and sexy (depending on your preferences on these things – though I think they ruined the Corvette after 1967, so I may not be the best to talk on looks, but then I remember the 63 split window as maybe being even better looking than a convertible 67 Stingray, and forgot this was a gun and tactics article…..) Knowing how to run a pump at speed, and perform the lost art of select slug and open port loading in the dark is a worthy skill to own. Just because it is old doesn’t mean it isn’t still good, or even better than newer ways. Progress can be regress until it is battle tested. Choose your gear, tactics, and instructors wisely; and don’t discount the old ways for everything. 

Louis Awerbuck was a mentor of mine, and he was the best gauge man I ever met. He is no longer with us, but his books and some videos still are. Even though they are “dated,” the information is timeless. Scott Reitz of ITTS isn’t teaching as much, but his company still does, and is the Ivy League of shotgun classes. Randy Cain won’t be teaching much longer, and I don’t know if he will do another or many more shotgun classes. He and Louis were very close, Randy holds his own, and he is the last change to get a doctorate from the equivalent of MIT with the shotgun. Tom Givens of Rangemaster has a wonderfully practical and proven shotgun program, and he is still teaching – so sign up for the class. I was fortunate to take a shotgun class from the Tactical Professor, Claude Werner. Claude no longer teaches shotgun to my knowledge, but man oh man was that a great class he put on, especially for a home defense shotgun. Greg Ellefritz is still teaching and sharing his valuable knowledge of application of shotguns in the realm of life or death, and that would be one I would try real hard to get in on before he stops teaching. The knowledge is there if you search (with a Surefire), you will find the truth in the dark, maybe even with the old ways.