I was at the range yesterday and was asked to coach someone who was working out with a shotgun on one of the 25 yard pistol bays at our gun club. A gentleman who was on a very tight budget was shooting a well worn 50+ year old Stevens pump action shotgun with 28" barrel.
I watched the man shoot at three targets placed 10 meters from his firing point, spaced like you would position targets to run an El Presidente drill. He was running 10 round, not 12 round, drills. He had 10 rounds left in a box of high brass # 6 shells and some 5 round boxes of #4 buckshot. He seemed to be reasonably proficient, and I asked if he would mind if I timed him with a CE shot timer.
First run, he fired 5 rounds of #6 high brass shells, reloaded with 5, then put 5 more shells on target. His time was 17.2 seconds and all shots were centered on target. I replaced the targets with fresh ones, then he loaded his shotgun with 5 rounds of # 4 buckshot and put 5 more rounds between his belt and trousers on his strong side. On the second run, he finished in 15.8 seconds, which I found quite impressive. To fire 5 rounds of # 4 buckshot, reload, then fire 5 more with all shots centered on target in 15.8 seconds showed he had been practicing and knew his equipment.
I asked if he was willing to fire one more relay, to see if his time improved, he told me he only had 10 rounds of #4 buckshot left and he needed to keep the rounds to have on hand for home defense. Did he set any records? No. Can an individual on a limited budget find something he can use for home defense? Certainly.
I had little advice to offer him to help him improve his speed and efficiency and we discussed low cost WML options. I've seen people with high dollar equipment not do as well and will use this an example in future classes.
Buy what you can readily afford, then train with it. If all you can afford is a beat up $100 shotgun, I would not consider you defenseless.
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