Pros/Cons of a Pump vs Autoloader

[Will]

I shoot both but my 870 Super Mag 3" loads kick a lot harder than my 3 1/2" load from my A5. I also think the current market has a lot to do with it. I'm 46 and most of my family had pump guns back in the 80's to early 90's. Remington 870's we're built well and most are still probably going strong. They were affordable compared to an A5 or 11-87. Look at how they market the semi autos. You don't see alot of waterfowl videos and guys shooting pump guns. They seem to be affordable for people now and correct me if I'm wrong but there seems to be more companies investing in the semi auto arena.

[gergg]

I have always had auto's, pumps, O/U, used them for different activities, all work fine. Only used pump gun for turkey hunting, mostly because I didn't want to mess up my other pretty guns crawling around the swamps. Now that I am old and not so possessed about chasing/killing turkeys, I am going to tote an old SxS this year, just because I like them.

[Tom007]

I used semi autos for many years, but since joining this great forum, I started collecting Old School 870's and Laminated Winchester 1300's. I also added a Browning Cynergy Over under Turkey gun. I basically love them all. I use a different gun every few days or so during my seasons. I enjoy collecting Turkey guns, building them, patterning them etc. It's my favorite hobby.......

[Missouri hunter]

I had always used pump guns until last year. Primarily a Winchester 1300 turkey, but then I got a Cz 1012 auto that I liked the feel of and used it all last season. It is lighter weight, softer shooting and nice to carry. Both of these are 12ga guns.

[strut]

I have shot a 12 ga Remington 870 for 51 years. My first was for my 12th birthday. Fantastic gun for ducks and shooting in general.
I'm now shooting a Benelli M1 Super 90 in 20 gauge that has a Fastfire 3 and is camo'd for turkeys. I recently did the same for a Franchi 48AL in 28 gauge. With TSS, both of these have amazing patterns at 40 yards and are  5.8 and 6 pounds.
If I miss with either of those guns, it is my own fault and would probably miss with the heavier 12 ga too
I don't find the recoil of the 20, nor the 28, to be any issue.

[Kygobblergetter]

Honestly I use an auto because it was the lightest gun I could find. Love my stoeger 3020 but I've killed plenty of birds with my 870 20 gauge and an old h and r single shot. The light weight is the main reason I went with my current set up. I also have a cz side by side that I'll mess with this year but I really like using a red dot and don't think I want to drill and tap it since it's my dedicated dove and rabbit gun


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kygobblergetter]

I also added a .410 semi auto this year that will probably get carried quite a bit. I can only think of one bird that a semi saved me on and very likely would have killed him with a pump as well


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[strut]

I'm interested to know from Shane, do you still use a 12 gauge?
I'm a fan of your videos and don't believe I've ever noticed a 20 gauge.

[simpzenith]

I'm interested to know from Shane, do you still use a 12 gauge?
I'm a fan of your videos and don't believe I've ever noticed a 20 gauge.

I have both a 12 and a 20 but use the 12 most often because I seem to miss with the 20 the most often. 

[30_06]

A semi auto doesn't require an action for the second shot, felt recoil is less, and by nature is quieter before the shot ie. no fore end rattle.
So naturally this year I will be using a single shot and a pump.

Esse quam videri

[guesswho]

I'm interested to know from Shane, do you still use a 12 gauge?
I'm a fan of your videos and don't believe I've ever noticed a 20 gauge.

I have both a 12 and a 20 but use the 12 most often because I seem to miss with the 20 the most often. 

See, you need an automatic in the 20 gauge.

[Howie g]

 I swore I'd never shot a auto . Shot a 870 pump and a couple different O/U 's for my whole life .
I also swore  I'd never put a scope or optics on a turkey gun ,  seemed ghey to me !
   But I guess I should have listened to mom and stopped that swearing .  I now shot a auto loader with a scope !!     I love the looks of a good O/U , and the tuff ness of a 870 pump .   But man this lil 20 ga auto is so light , and shots so sweet !  I swear by it ... lol .

[Wigsplitter]

 Recoil mainly for me as i shoot a 12 but also what I started with and am comfortable with

[Matt76cmich]

Up until last year I had only shot an old 870 for turkey in the last almost 20 years and then I bought a couple semi autos (a 12ga and a 20ga). Right now the 20ga semi is the first one I'll grab, but have also added a single shot and another 20ga pump to my small turkey gun collection. I actually found myself trying to pump my semi auto 20ga after last years shot lol. 

Personally I don't see an advantage shot wise with either, but to me a pump is possibly more reliable. Take that with a grain of salt as I am learning as I go with guns in general.  I've always been one that was a good shot, but didn't know much of anything mechanically about the gun. Trying to change that as I am getting more into putting turkey guns together.

Sent from my SM-G986U using Tapatalk

[Bedge7767]

My turkey gun is an auto and my dove gun is an over and under. I don't shoot a pump because I would forget to pump.