Quote Originally Posted by Stan View Post
Hey Matt,
Actually, the idea is fairly sound if you consider why the folks at Colt put a "forward assist" on an (ahem) otherwise fully functioning semi and full auto weapon - the M-16 (most of us wondered about that since the early 70s). A semi-automatic shotgun is prone to jams for all the reasons Kiwigrunt posted and having the pump in place is remotely (ass-backwards) the same as having a forward assist. You can either slam the round home (bad idea if time is on your side), or choose to eject the jammed round (real good idea even if time isn't on your side ).
My original thought was that rolling two functions into one gun (a semi-auto for heavy loads and a pump for less lethal loads) could lead to unfortunate situations both ways. But it does make sense to think of it as a semi-auto that’s easier to clear.

You could also deal with the rate of fire vs. jamming dialectic by buying up some Ithaca 37s. Though I assume a different set of unfortunate situations might ensue.