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CONTENTS:
A. General Overview 3
B. Safe Handling 3
D. Chambering 10
E. Reloading 11
A. GENERAL OVERVIEW
The shotgun is one of the most infrequently used items of emergency
equipment, but when required, the officer must possess the skills to use it
safely and effectively.
Firearm Instructors must ensure that shotgun techniques are trained-in
through repetition. Officers must have thorough knowledge concerning use
and deployment of the law enforcement shotgun and have the proper skills and
abilities to effectively use their shotgun. This includes being proficient in
loading, unloading, reloading, shotgun firing positions, exchanging shell
types, transition drills, and clearing stoppages.
In short, shotgun training must be designed to produce the same level of
proficiency and knowledge as handgun training.
B. SAFE HANDLING
While there are major system differences between
pump action and semi-automatic shotguns, many
basic functions are similar. These include trigger
use, safety button use, magazine tube operation,
chambering or extracting rounds, sighting
methods, etc.
Additionally, there are a number of system
differences in regards to the release and operation
of the shell carrier, the device that carries a round
from the magazine tube up into the chamber area.
We will describe the general handling features for This shooter tactically reloaded his
shotgun while keeping his finger off the
the standard law enforcement pump shotgun.
trigger, his muzzle back from the
While described for the pump action shotgun, the forward edge of cover, while keeping an
semi-automatic shotgun mechanism is very eye on the threat. His partner covered
similar. the threat area after he communicated he
The main difference is the use of the bolt handle was reloading.
to cycle the action when manually chambering or
extracting a shell from the chamber instead of using the forearm to cycle the
action of the pump action shotgun.
Check with the manufacturers owners manual for the recommended loading,
unloading, handling, and firing instructions for the particular shotgun you are
using.
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NOTES:
Over 99% of the time shotguns are removed from cruisers,
they are not fired. Firearm Instructors must ensure that
officers are fully trained and efficient in returning their
shotgun to Cruiser Safe or Cruiser Ready Condition. An
excellent training method is to use dummy rounds and dry
practice the techniques thoroughly.
When returning to Cruiser Ready Condition after having
chambering a round, officers must be extremely careful to
ensure the hammer is dropped on an empty chamber to unlock
the action. Be sure to reset the safety to the on position.
TO CHAMBER A ROUND
Press Action Release
& Just Rack
Rack
D. CHAMBERING
1. Chamber When Deployed: Like your Duty Handgun, once it is
removed from the cruiser, the shotgun should be fully loaded
with a round in the chamber. There may be times when an
officer does not wish to immediately chamber a round, such as
while standing by a Command Post awaiting assignment, but at
all other times the weapon should be loaded and ready to fire if
necessary.
Instructors should be aware that some schools of thought
believe that a round should not be chambered until actual firing
of the shotgun is imminent. This is based partially on increasing
safety and the idea that adversaries can be psychologically
scared into compliance when they hear the aggressive
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E. RELOADING
Reload the shotgun whenever the situation allows. Ideally,
ammunition will be replenished during a lull in the action and
behind cover, if available. The Shooting Hand controls the shotgun,
while the Support Hand handles and loads the rounds.
During reloading you must keep your eyes on the threat(s). The
shotgun can be held in either a firing position or lowered to a ready
position with the butt still in the shoulder. You can also lower the
shotgun and place the stock under the armpit to bring the shotgun
into the body and increase control (this method aids smaller
shooters in gaining leverage of the shotgun while loading).
1. Empty Gun Ejection Port Reloading:
a. Two Safety Checks: Control the Shotgun, ensure that the
Safety is On and remember Trigger Finger and Muzzle
Discipline.
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3. Selective Loading:
There are times when you may need to change the type of round
you are firing under tactical conditions. For instance, due to
distance changes or a suspect using cover, you may wish to
change from Buckshot to Slugs. To do this quickly, the shotgun
cannot be unloaded and reloaded in the standard manner.
As mentioned in the previous sections, some agencies load
down by one round when filling magazine tubes to allow quick
loading of individual selected new rounds. It must be
remembered, however, that if you have a standard magazine
tube holding 4 rounds, downloading to 3 shells reduces available
ammunition by 25%.
a. Magazine Tube not Loaded to Capacity:
1) Insert New Shell into Magazine Tube
2) Open the Action: Release the action and open the bolt if
another shell is already chambered. This will not be
necessary if the shotgun was in Cruiser Ready Condition
(action UNLOCKED and the chamber empty). Close the
Action to chamber the selected round.
3) Insert Additional New Rounds: If you have loaded one
round of a particular type, you will probably need two.
To be ready you should place another new round into the
magazine tube.
b. Magazine Tube Fully Loaded:
1) Cycle the action and insert the selected round into the
magazine tube. Cycle the action a second time to
chamber the selected round. If the chamber was loaded
in the beginning, two unwanted rounds will be ejected in
the process of chambering the selected round.
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If the officer is seated behind cover, the shotgun can be Students need to have the confidence to
braced against the chest and the foot while it is loaded, handle the shotgun under difficult
cleared, or the action is worked conditions. This student is dry practicing
one-handed loading and firing techniques.
SAFETY REMINDER: Be very certain that all firearms are empty, that all students have
removed ALL live ammunition from their magazines and their person (double check) and the
training area, and that only colored training safety rounds are used for practicing these drills.
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Shotgun Unslinging
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Transition / Muzzle Up
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