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With one look, experienced shotgunners will probably want to ask, “Just tell me. Is it a Remington 870 or a Mossberg 500 clone?” On the contrary, Rock Island Armory’s M5 pump-action shotgun is neither. The M5 is actually based on the underrated, now obsolete High Standard Manufacturing Flite-King pump-action shotguns. High Standard used to market its shotguns as the “world’s fastest firing pump-action shotguns.” They eject by gravity alone. Sounds crazy, but flip the M5 upside down, click the slide release and it does just that.
Maybe you are brand new to the gun world, jonesing for a new gun, preparing for the apocalypse, want to start hunting, or need something for home protection. Perhaps you checked all the boxes above. Would you be surprised to hear that one gun will do all of that? One gun does truly rule most—the 12-gauge pump-action shotgun. Even if you haven’t jumped on the shotgun bandwagon yet, let the Mossberg 500 JIC convince you. If you were to only purchase one gun, especially for a survival or emergency situation, the Mossberg 500 JIC is the smarter choice.
It’s hard enough today to get kids away from the Xbox, the iPad, the computer, or even the lowly television set. The last thing you want to do is to discourage them further by making their shooting or hunting an unpleasant experience. I am fortunate in that I have a large number of friends and acquaintances whose children also shoot. I will never forget the first shotgun I ever fired. It was a Beretta Companion, a single shot 20 gauge that folded entirely in half and weighed next to nothing. That gun kicked like a mule!
One thing that is often over looked when introducing a new shooter to long-guns is the rifle or shotgun’s length of pull. The length of pull or LOP is the distance from the middle of the trigger to the end of the gun’s buttstock. It is one of the most important aspects of a gun’s dimensions and determines whether the gun will fit you. Meaning how comfortable the gun feels to you and how accurate you can shoot it. With the correct length of pull, you will have quick sight acquisition, better control, better accuracy, and feel more comfortable.
A 12-gauge means that you can make 12 balls of equal size out of a pound of lead and they will each fit the diameter of the barrel precisely. This is why a 20-gauge is smaller than a 12.
To be honest, you can kill a turkey with just about anything. However, let’s take a look at some standards that will make your chances just a bit better.
If you threw your shogun in the closet last year and haven’t touched it since, it is probably time for a pre-season gun cleaning. Take it out to the range and do some functions testing. Get some turkey targets and make sure you are using the optimum choke and load for your gun.
When you chamber a shell in an otherwise quiet house, you just gave the intruder two tactically important bits of information. You gave away your location and the fact that you are home.
One of the best, low-cost options for a security shotgun to cross my path has been the Interstate Arms Hawk Model 981R and Model 982. As the old saying goes, “You can’t step into the ring with Ali just because you say you can box.” I decided to take a closer look at the Model 982 and see just how close and reliable it really is.
While they may not be rare gems, they certainly fill their role as useful tools quite well. A new shooter would do well to purchase one of each.
