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Senior design project - shotgun

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brodbeckrt

Junior Member
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0
Hello all,
I have posted this on other forums as well but I am trying to get input from as many people as possible. I was actually recommended to this forum from a member of *************.
I am a Mechanical Engineering Technology Student at The University of Cincinnati in my final year. Another student and I are researching a project we feel could be quite helpful. We are developing, designing and building a one handed shotgun for our senior design project. More of the design is the stock than the gun. We came up with the idea because we feel it would help single arm amputees enjoy shooting more comfortably and more accurately. We also have tossed around the idea of use in tactical situations as well. It would be nice to be able efficiently use a shotgun without even the slightest thought of using you other hand. My thoughts are using a Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 for the pump version and the Mossberg 935 or Remington 1100 or 1187 for semi-auto.

It is a requirement to gain input from other gun-owners and especially amputees.

I am asking you all for your input, suggestions, products you have seen like this(the more info on them the better. I want to make sure I am not taking anyone's patent or anything), which shotgun(make/model) do you suggest for semi-auto or pump and why?

We do already have a basic design and features list, but I do not want to put it up yet because I do not want to influence your answers in any way. I am more looking for accessories, features, or other things you have used that you added on, modified, or that came with a gun(i.e. a stock I bought for a mossberg was everything I wanted in a gun stock except the end of the butt stock was really thin and was very uncomfortable to shoot. Also when it folded the shells wouldnt eject properly because the stock folded in front of where the shells came out). Which things did you hate or love about them, and obviously why?

Thank you all for your input.
 
M

MK111

"Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky"
Supporting Member
6,551
66
SW Ohio
A semi auto with a scrap across the off shoulder to hold the front of the shotgun up steady.
Frank
 
rgecko23

rgecko23

*Supporting Member*
7,466
0
Massillon, Ohio
I would think it would be better spent on a support system design than the actual gun itself. Being able to swing the gun up on the support that was light and able to be like your off shooting arm. Also being able to rack a shell or re-load.
 
jagermeister

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,284
237
Ohio
I think this is a good idea. Seems to me like balance and recoil reduction would be the most critical design points. As long as the gun is balanced properly, I don't think that a separate support system would be necessary. It's funny... because just this past Thursday, while on the cell phone with Hoytmania, I pulled up my full length Browning Gold and dropped a pigeon with a one arm/handed shot.

I'm not really sure that a pump gun is a good idea. The whole idea is to make this gun functional for a one-armed or one-handed individual. Adding in the necessity to pump the gun just seems counterintuitive. To me, a semiauto is the only feasible option. And for a semiauto, I think you're going to want to avoid a recoil-operated gun. They may be a bit more reliable that a gas-operated semi, but unless you drop big money on a gun with a built-in recoil reduction system, recoil will be a problem. Gas guns are tried and true, and soak up recoil very nicely. A Remington 1100 or 1187 would be a decent choice... as would a Browning Gold, Silver, or Maxus... one of the Winchester SuperX series semis would also be a good platform.
 
bowhunter1023

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
49,433
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Appalachia
JBrown said:
I'm not really sure that a pump gun is a good idea. The whole idea is to make this gun functional for a one-armed or one-handed individual. Adding in the necessity to pump the gun just seems counterintuitive. To me, a semiauto is the only feasible option. And for a semiauto, I think you're going to want to avoid a recoil-operated gun. They may be a bit more reliable that a gas-operated semi, but unless you drop big money on a gun with a built-in recoil reduction system, recoil will be a problem. Gas guns are tried and true, and soak up recoil very nicely. A Remington 1100 or 1187 would be a decent choice... as would a Browning Gold, Silver, or Maxus... one of the Winchester SuperX series semis would also be a good platform.
Click to expand...

Kind of my thoughts as well. What was the reasoning behind choosing a pump shotgun?
 
Beentown

Beentown

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,740
154
Sunbury, OH
JBrown said:
Maybe a dumb question... But why must it be inertia driven instead of gas?
Click to expand...

Definitely not a "need" to be. It is all a trade off. If I were to only have one limb I would take a bit more recoil (inertia driven) and have to clean less often. I bumble fart around while cleaning with two good hands. Also, in general, a inertia gun is going to be lighter than a gas gun. I myself REALLY like a gas gun.

I guess a lot of all this depends on how the OP wants it designed. Are we talking a half arm amputee, full arm, chair mounted, etc... Seems the OP has moved on and we won't know.
 
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brodbeckrt

Junior Member
7
0
I am still here. Been crazy busy and havent got back on here in a couple days... to reply to everyone:
I have grown up around/using firearms. My experience with 'regular shotguns' is I have shot cleaned and modified a Mossberg 500, H&R pardner pump, and a Remington semi-auto(can't remember the model). I have taken deer with shotguns and shot skeet as well.
The need for the pump is the fact that our board of advisors, who all openly admitted they knew nothing about firearms, said since we have two people on the project we need to build two platforms. We chose pump because a lot of people have or can purchase them more easily due to the low cost and semi-auto because it seems to be the best choice. We would have liked to do a double barrel, but the board said it was not complicated enough. For the pump and semi-auto we were thinking of using some type of modified bullpup. As far as the pump goes we were discussing a pistol grip(or similar) forend with a trigger in front of it linked to the guns trigger. We will be using a Remington 870 or Mossberg 500.
Also the entire gun will be legal, we do not plan on doing a lot of modification to the gun itself. Right now we are looking at a build for up to a 30" barrel, but we have not done any design work yet.
I went to BG gun & knife show on Sunday and traded my Beretta Px4 for a Remington 1187 Supermag Turkey gun. So that will be the semi-auto we will be designing towards.

Current assumptions are the shooter will only have one functional arm that will be used with the gun. There will be a second attachment point on the shooters body for added stabilization. We have looked into some type of a forend support/rest but it just seems too big and clunky to be comfortable. We are still in the research/paperwork phase, so we do not have a picture of what it will look like. We are asking for input from anyone and everyone so we can come up with the most feasible design.

Thanks all for the input. Keep the comments/suggestions coming.
 
RedCloud

RedCloud

Super Moderator
Super Mod
17,438
207
North Central Ohio
Would it be possible to use an over the shoulder harness like the ones used with the binoculars to help support and stabilize the front of the gun as well as take some of the wieght off the one good arm/shoulder ? See if you could make the attaching straps long enough to attach to the end of the feed tube like a regular sling.

Great thread and concept. Just thought I would chime in with an idea lol.
 
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brodbeckrt

Junior Member
7
0
Its been a while since I posted. We are currently in the process of building this. here is a render from one of our models:
 
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NoDakRat

Junior Member
41
100
I think it's an interesting start. Based on this picture, I'm assuming the following:

- Removed the pump and connected the handle directly to the slide ring that is encapsulated within the forend part of the stock.
- The tube is accessible immediately behind that forend (it looks like you are inserting the shell at that location in the picture)
- The shooter will wear a 'mounting point' of some sort on his/her shoulder that the butt of the stock will connect to (needed so the action can be worked using just one hand without pulling the gun down)

How is it triggered? Assuming you didn't change the 'direction' of the pump action, I can see a problem going from the pump handle to the trigger if the trigger is in the 'original' location. Why not work a pulley system of sorts in the forend piece and reverse the pump action? This would minimize the amount of movement and distance between the pump handle and the trigger. Granted it would be a little awkward to get used to. But, a couple inches of movement between pump and trigger would be a lot more comfortable than almost a foot (not to mention safer). Given the size of the stock, I would say they would even be able to rest/balance the gun on the heal of their hand while transitioning between pump and trigger. I don't see any reason why this couldn't be used for hunting. Based on the picture, the only thing that changes is the stock. All other functionality is the same as any other pump shotgun out there. I like it!
 
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