Pump finger?

[roostershooter]

I'm sure most of us have heard of or experienced first hand the pain of scope eye with a rifle. Well this year i have learned a new one, the dreaded pump finger, lol. I shoot one of those noisy, rattling forearm 835s that kick like a beast, so its almost impossible to hold the forearm quietly while trying to sneak in close for a shot. Its not a problem those times that I can sit and wait for ol big daddy to come struttin by, but if he is not willing to play then I'm not above doin the belly crawl to get the shot. I have found that the only way I can keep it quiet is to hold right behind the pump with forward pressure so that it can't rattle any. The problem comes when the trigger is pulled and the pump jumps back violently almost ejecting the shell. The finger does little to stop the violent impact. I look down after those shots to see a torn, blood soaked glove and a dang sore index finger. I guess its all worth it to see that red head floppin on the ground. The crazy things we do for these birds. I love it lol.

[hobbes]

My 11 yr old did his best to break his finger with the 870 Turkey Special this year.  It was swolen and sore for days.  The rattling forearm is definitely a mossy issue, but the finger smasher isn't unique to a Mossy.  If you lay your finger in the right spot on any of them they'll make you sore.

[tactikel]

I did the same thing -once! I got smart and moved the grip forward, then the trigger guard smacked my right second finger. Solution, a Knoxx stock, every thing slowed down and got real comfortable.

[West Augusta]

My 870 SLAMS my trigger finger with the B-Square scope mount.  After the season, I may file the edge down a little.

[HogBiologist]

I found with the B square mount on my 870, shooting position plays into my finger getting hit.  If if am leaning forward or on a bench rest, i get it.  If i am in a natural shooting position against a tree or lower to the gun I dont have an issue.

[stinkpickle]

Back when I was using my 835, it only took one case of "purple palm" to remind me to make sure that no body parts rested directly behind the forearm grip.     

[Fastcat]

When I shoot my turkey guns I use the same grip that cowboy action shooters use on there lever-guns.  I keep my thumb on the same side as my palm(my thumb doesn't wrap over the stock).  This should stop the problem with the B-square problem.  It also stops you from breaking your nose on your knuckle when your 3.5 inch gun goes off.  That really sucks. I know!  It happened to me when I leaned into my 870 supermag a little too far.  Major bloody face!

[njdevilsb]

My 535 drew blood on me as well on the 2nd bird I took with it.  Doesn't take long to learn not to do that anymore.

[roostershooter]

So glad to know I'm not alone on this one. My Mossy's forearm has gotten me 5 or 6 times this year between hunting and time at the range. It always hits me in the same exact spot on my index finger. I know i'll end up with a good scar from it this year. It will be weeks after season before this thing finally heals. Still worth it though lol

[bowhunter84]

my 835 i had a few years ago was a beast. i made the mistake of holding it on the slide bars ONE time. leason learned!

[gobbler74]

I believe the shurshot forearm helped some on the rem pumps. Less dead space behind the forearm.

[Reloader]

Ah yes, the ole pump finger.  Learned my lesson on that one up in AR years ago.  My buddy was excited and going on about the huge tom I had smoked, but I was still sitting at my tree pulling on the pump of the ole 1300. Yep, a finger will fit long ways in that little gap between the wood and the mag tube and trust me, it aint fun.  Even with gloves, I lost the nail and couldn't feel the tip of my finger for nearly one year after it happened.  I couldn't hardly sleep that night as every time my heart beat it felt like someone was hitting my finger with a hammer.  I tapped her up with good ole electrical tape and called up a dandy tom for my bud the next morn

[drenalinld]

OUCH!!! Awesome stories.

[Nimrodmar10]

My Remington 870 Super Mag got me while I was sighting in a new scope with it in a  Caldwell DFT Lead Sled. I had 50 pounds of lead shot on the sled. There's no recoil with the lead sled so I wasn't even holding on to the shotgun except for the grip in my right hand. I thought I should at least hold the gun somewhere with my left hand. The forearm was in the front cradle so I put it under the receiver in front of the trigger guard. Fail!!! The Nitro 2 7 /16 oz. load caught my hand at the base of the left pointer finger and hand and mangled it. The sharp edge of the 870 receiver cut the dickins out of my finger and hand. When you think about it this doesn't even make sense. With the forearm snugged in the front cradle and the but pad snugged into the rear cradle/stop the foreend shouldn't have come to the rear at all. If anything the recoil should have forced the forend toward the front of the gun as the shotgun recoiled to the rear. It didn't. Luckily the season didn't open for a couple of weeks. I'm not sure I could have shot a turkey for the next few days. I guess the moral of the story is that the 3 1/2" shells can hurt you even in a lead sled.