“Push-Pull” To Pick Up The Pace In Pumping Out Pellets.

Shotguns probably have a longer history than most people realize; around the same time that the first pistols and rifles were making their debut around the world, the shotgun was there scattering projectiles at targets with great effect. Henry VIII even owned multiple primitive “shotguns” in the first half of the 16th century. Even back then, the concept of the scattergun was basically the same as it is today: send multiple objects down range to increase hit probability and do more damage to a target with a single shot. The idea sounds simple in theory, but maximizing the effectiveness of a shotgun has become far more complex than just pointing the muzzle at the target and pulling the trigger.

Shotgun shooting, especially in high-stress situations such as home defense, isn’t as easy as pop culture makes it seem; one doesn’t aim in a general direction, pull the trigger, and boom, solve problems. There’s an art to proper defensive-shotgun shooting, and running a scattergun efficiently takes some practice. Shooters need to account for recoil management and mitigation, proper grip, cycling techniques, and reloading methods. Employing your shotgun to the best of your ability requires proper training, and some of the greatest training available for defensive-shotgun use comes from Symtac Consulting, a group specializing in the art and science of shotgun training.

Symtac started about 35 years ago after Rob Haught, Symtac’s President and Lead Instructor (as well as some other well-known instructors) began teaching introductory LEO shotgun courses. Over time, the concept of recoil mitigation became the key focus, and that’s where the practice of “Push-Pull” began. The course we took – simply called the “Shotgun Skills” course – is based around the “Push-Pull” method of recoil control Rob started unofficially teaching in the early 1980s.

The name of the “Push-Pull” technique popularized by Rob is exactly what it sounds like; the shooter exerts two opposing forces – pushing and pulling – on two opposite ends of any long gun, but the method was initially designed for use with pump-action shotguns. Most shooters pull the stock into the shoulder with both hands to minimize the butt of the weapon impacting their body. The “Push-Pull” method, however, splits the tension between the shooter’s support hand on the gun’s fore end and dominant hand, pushing forward with the former and pulling back with the latter, just before firing a round. Doing so minimizes the punishing recoil impulse doled out by a scattergun.

Understanding a shotgun’s recoil makes it easier to counter, as Symtac’s training shows. As bore diameter increases – or decreases in gauge in the shotgun world – recoil increases. A shotgun’s gauge is measured by how many lead balls perfectly matching the shotgun’s bore diameter equal a single pound of lead. For instance, in a 12-gauge shotgun, it takes a dozen lead balls sized to the shotgun’s bore diameter to equal a pound of lead. A larger bore diameter also means recoil increases because the volume of the shell is larger, which means a larger payload can be propelled at the target. Physics tells us if two different bore diameters – say a 28-gauge and a 12-gauge – are loaded with the same size pellets in the same length shell, the 12-gauge recoils more because a 12-gauge shell has more volume, allowing for more pellets.

Now apply the concept of shotgun gauge to Newton’s Third Law of Motion, which states “for every action there’s an equal-and-opposite reaction,” and we can conclude the quantity of pellets is larger in shells with more volume, so more gunpowder is required to move the larger pellet quantity. Therefore, the equal and opposite reaction of moving more pellets leaving the barrel at a similar speed as fewer pellets of the same size fired from smaller shells means more recoil imparted to the shooter. That’s where Symtac saves the day – and your shoulder.

How did Rob discover his method? From a young age, Rob enjoyed shooting shotguns while most everyone else he knew preferred rifles. The initial concept of his shotgun manipulation technique started after Rob went to a training session at Quantico. People noticed Rob wasn’t nearly as negatively impacted by the shotgun’s recoil. Rob was asked what he was doing differently, and he responded, “I don’t know … I just shoot.” After analyzing Rob’s shotgun-shooting form, Rob’s stance and how he was shouldering the firearm was different than what any firearms instructor or training institute was teaching at the time. He was asked to present his shooting style to other instructors, and after the first training session, Rob received an invitation to return on a regular basis to promote his unique shooting style. Word of mouth spread, and Rob found himself building a career teaching others his recoil-management technique domestically and, eventually, internationally.

There are some other important ideas to keep in mind with this method of shotgun manipulation. Because shotguns tend to be long, most shooters tend to stand with their bodies bladed to the target when shooting to compensate for this extra length-of-pull. A central change in stance helps further mitigate recoil by squaring up to the target. But because shotgun stocks’ length-of-pull tend to be long, switching stocks to something shorter – which also shortens the weapon by an inch or two – is imperative to finding the proper fit of the firearm to the shooter. Some type of compensation also helps control muzzle rise and decrease split times between follow-up shots; a compensator which doesn’t obscure the sight picture is ideal (for more details on the shotguns we used in the course), check out MAGPUL X VANG COMP.

Vang Comp Systems was founded in 1990 by Hans J. Vang. The original goal of the Vang Comp System was for government purposes in making agencies’ duty shotguns safer by minimizing pellet spread to keep bystanders out of harm’s way and minimize muzzle flash when shooting at night or in dark CQB situations. The system met those standards, and soon others saw its use in self-defense scenarios; Vang Comp states their shotguns produce a 1-foot shot pattern at 25 yards with a typical 00 buck load with no need for choke tubes, and that held true.

With 12-gauge shotguns in hand – outfitted with Vang Comp craftsmanship as well as some Magpul accessories to further enhance the functionality of the shotgun – and Rob’s thorough instruction of “Push-Pull” operation in mind, we began the course. Over two days, we were taken through a wide variety of training drills, all taught by expert team of Symtac instructors, to include Rob’s son, Matt, who is a competitive shooter by trade. After implementing Rob’s ingenious “Push-Pull” method in tandem with our Vang Comp/Magpul shotguns, we dished out lead much faster than we had anticipated, learning lethal precision using 2.5-inch shells. To fully understand the effectiveness of various shotgun loads, we shot several types and sizes of projectiles ranging from bird shot to slugs on paper silhouette targets at defensive distances (15 to 25 yards). This reinforced why the shotgun makes such an exceptional weapon in a wide array of scenarios, lending to its overall utility as more than just a hunting firearm.

Rob, Matt, and the rest of the team at Symtac Consulting know what they’re doing when it comes to scattergun implementation. After all, Rob created the common shotgun-shooting method using pump shotguns that has been adopted by top law-enforcement and government agencies across the country. It’s safe to say these guys are familiar with shotgun employment for tactical and defensive purposes. And, after proving out their methodology in person, it brings a newfound utility – and enjoyment – to shooting shotguns in general, and it gave us more confidence in our ability to use a shotgun in self-defense scenarios.