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I was thinking about shotguns, (again), and I wanted to share my personal experiences in SASS with every type of allowed shotgun. Yes I have shot all five types of SASS legal shotguns, some repeatedly some for just a match or two. What follows are my personal opinions and observations on each type.
As some of you remember from my previous article, I started my SASS shooting with a single shot 12ga. I love my particular single. For competition, with alot of practice, I feel they can be just as fast as a model 97. They are allowed by SASS rules to have an ejector not just an extractor, which completely eliminates the need to "shuck" shells. I found that while shooting there was no need to remove the butt from my shoulder at all. Removing all the extra steps involved in "shucking" and then re-shouldering the firearm reduces the overall time spent with the shotgun. In addition to that, because it has an external hammer the barrel will literally fall open when the action is unlocked. It stays open at the fullest angle until closed again, making it very simple to reload.
Up next is the iconic side by side double barreled shotgun with internal hammers. I switched to one of these after the single, and it took a bit of time and practice to load this efficiently. I've found that even after a good action job these will not fall open like a single barrel, due to the fact that the internal hammers are re-cocked by opening the action. What that means is the action must be "broken" open using both hands, and sometimes it will not stay open to the fullest as the spring tension of the hammers will allow the barrels to creep shut to a degree. This can restrict the reloading, causing extra time be taken to reopen the action a bit before shells will seat all the way into the chambers. What it DOES have going for it are lightning quick second shots. On a stage with just two knock downs a double will win almost every time.
Which leads us to the external hammered double barrel. This allows for a faster reload because, like the single shot, the action will fall completely open when unlocked. It also has the same fast second shot of the internal hammered variety. The one draw back to this one is the TWO external hammers. I have long fingers, and respectable hand strength, but I DO have trouble cocking both hammers at the same time with one pass of the thumb. I CAN do it but it is hard and if you are getting fatigued it can make it quite difficult to accomplish. Cocking each hammer individually is the obvious solution to that problem, but this adds time. All of that being said the hammers needing re-cocked is only an issue if there are more than two knock downs on a given stage, as you can "stage" the gun with the hammers pre-cocked because it is always staged with the action open. In addition if there is movement between the first set of knock downs and a second set, the hammers can be cocked on the move.
Taken in general the side by side seems to be the go to shotgun of SASS. I would wager that at the events i have been to they account for five of every ten shotguns with the other five composed of the other SASS legal types, mainly.....
The Model 1897 and its clones.
This is the type both my wife and I currently use. It is also the very close second place for most popular shotgun used for SASS. It has alot going for it. Ease of use, as well as CONSISTENT and fast follow up shots no matter how many shells a stage calls for is the reason I use one. By design it EJECTS the hulls, so just like the single shot, there is no need to remove the stock from your shoulder between shots. If one were so inclined it can also be loaded with two shells (a second one in the magazine tube) allowing for even faster second shots, but this does slow down the loading time. I have used both the "over the top" and "one through the port one in the tube" methods of loading this variety and find for me the single load over the top method to be most effective. My wife, even after 2 years of competition with an internal hammer double was still fumbling a bit with reloads. This winter she started using a model 97 and has shaved a significant amount off of her overall time, and will just keep getting faster as she practices with it.
The last option is the model 1887 lever action. This type seems to be gaining more popularity lately. With practice and a little bit of gunsmithing it can be amazingly fast. Like the single shot and the 97 it ejects the hulls so no need to "shuck", just keep it shouldered. I have been playing around with one since fall and it does take quite a bit of dedication to master. With the right technique and the right modifications you can utilize the "drop two" or "load two" method of loading. Open the lever, drop two shells in the top, close the lever and pull the trigger, lever and trigger a second time, done. The lever has quite a long travel and you must work it fully or you risk "short stroking" which leads to the empty hull not ejecting correctly and or your second shell not coming up far enough to enter the chamber. That minor problem is easily over come with a bit of practice. The biggest downfall I have found with this variety is the "trainwreck" which is when the top shell in the stack doesn't quite line up correctly with the chamber and the action will not close. To correct this I've found that wrapping my hand around the reciever with my thumb over the top to keep the shells from popping out, and then pushing the lifter up from the bottom with the fingers will align the top shell correctly. It takes time to do though. When loaded right this shotgun is indeed very fast. When loaded incorrectly it is quite a timesink. You can always single load this, one shell at a time to avoid the dreaded "trainwreck" but doing so makes it much slower than a singleshot or a model 97.
All of that lends the shooter a great variety when it comes to shotguns. Now some shooter catagories limit which types you can use, but others do not. Choose the proper fit for you or your style and you, like my wife, could find MAJOR improvments in overall time. You could also just do what I did and play around with all five types to see what you like best. This is surprisingly easy to do. Cowgirls and Cowboys in SASS are almost without exception always willing to let you try something new, by allowing the use of their firearms for a stage or two. So try them all for some enlightenment, or pick the one you like the look of and practice. They all offer a different experience.
till next time keep your powder dry and your whistle wet...
Veddy Badman