Pump Shotgun
Specifications
- Type
- Shotgun
- Origin
- United States
- Era
- Late 19th century – present
- Notable Users
- Military, police, hunters worldwide
- Epoch
- Modern Age
History
The pump-action shotgun is cycled by sliding the forend rearward and forward, ejecting the spent shell and chambering a fresh one. John Browning’s Winchester Model 1897 was the first commercially successful pump shotgun and saw extensive military service in World War I, where its devastating effect in trench clearing earned it the name ‘trench gun.’ Germany formally protested its use as inhumane — an objection the United States rejected. The Remington 870 (1950) and Mossberg 500 (1961) remain two of the most produced firearms in history, with combined production exceeding 20 million units.
Significance
The pump-action shotgun is the most versatile firearm ever designed. With a change of ammunition — birdshot, buckshot, slugs, breaching rounds, less-lethal — it serves as a hunting arm, a combat weapon, a door-breaching tool, and a riot control device.
More from the Modern Age
12 weapons
54 Weapons. Five Epochs. One Poster.
The Pump Shotgun is one of 13 weapons from the Modern Age featured on the poster.
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