Unicorn Gun

Gratuitous Gun Pics, The Gun Thing

I was browsing hither and yon on Teh Intarwebz, and happened upon these lovely creatures (sample below)

…when a random thought occurred to me:  does anyone make a pump shotgun with an exposed hammer anymore?

To be sure, there are some examples of the “coach gun” type with exposed hammer(s), e.g. the Rossi side-by-side:

…but I don’t think they make them anymore.  CZ does, of course:


…and very pretty the “Hammer Classic” is, too:

But at the moment I’m looking for a pump-action shotgun, not a side-by-side.  At the moment, anyway.  (When it comes time to get one of these, that CZ is a goner, even if it’s only available in 12ga.)

Here’s the thing.  I like exposed hammers on a shotgun.  I like to see when the gun is ready to go boom, and there’s no better indicator than a cocked hammer.  And in practiced hands, a manual cocking action isn’t that much slower than a semi-auto one, especially when you take the nannyish auto-safety feature into account.

But while the handgun world is replete with guns with hammers standing proud, shotguns seem to have “evolved” completely into the concealed hammer genre.

And they’re all sleek and stuff, but that’s not what I’m looking for.

And who the hell can afford to pay over three grand for an old 1897 Winchester trench gun anymore? (Norinco used to make knock-off copies of the Win 97, but they’re off the table because ugh Chinese government company.)

Incidentally, the top pic is of an affordable 1897, but it’s chambered for 16ga — not in itself a problem, unless you can’t afford / don’t want yet another caliber in Ye Olde Ammoe Locquer.

What I’m looking for, in other words, is a pump-action hammer-exposed shotgun.  In 20ga. [thud]

Anyone have any ideas?

7 comments

  1. I must say John Browning’s (Hallowed be thy name), pump and Auto 5 have one thing in common.
    They kick like a mule. Not pleasant, cannot recommend.

    My wife’s grand uncle had an 1897 that stayed in the kitchen to shoot varmints out of the garden. It was devoid of blueing and the stock was in rough shape. It did go BOOM every time though. A farmers gun.

  2. I have one of Norinco’s Trench-Broom replicas, complete with a M1917 bayonet, I’m saving it for when the idiots in Antifa want to meet Great Basin dirt.

  3. I thought Norinco was the only choice for that style shotgun. Maybe Rossie had something in their catalog at one time to appeal to the cowboy action folks. Maybe look at the cowboy action shooters for their input.

    JQ

  4. As far as I know:

    * Mod 97 is the only exposed-hammer slide-action shotgun ever invented.
    * It’s also the only slide-action shotgun to lack a disconnector.

    If I’m wrong about either of those, someone tell me.

    1. Tom,
      If the disconnector on a slide or pump action shotgun prevents the shotgun from firing until the trigger is released, then the model 12 from Winchester also lacks a disconnector. You can keep firing that shotgun by holding the trigger down and working the slide/pump.

      JQ

    2. I would have to check on the exposed hammer bit, but I don’t THINK it’s the only one. I want to say there was a High Standard(?), but I’m not sure on this point.
      As for slam firing? The 1897, the Model 12, the Savage/Stevens 520 and 620, Ithaca 37..
      They abound in the older designs. It’s not rare in the slightest.

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