Myth No. 3: "A pump-action shotgun will never fail."
Here's why this is a myth: One of the main problems with a pump-action shotgun is a phenomenon called short stroking. This occurs when a shooter fails to complete the action of loading the shotgun by not pumping the action to the end of the slide. As such, the shotgun fails to go into battery. In simple terms, you’ve got a serious problem: your gun will not fire when you pull the trigger.
Blame short strokes on two causes:
First, the shooter is trying to operate the shotgun beyond their abilities, in turn causing them to become agitated and, with a shot of adrenaline, they failed to complete what should be a gross motor function.
Second, American sporting arms companies are notorious for including stocks that are simply too long for self defense purposes. The stock that works well for bird hunting doesn’t work well for a fighting tool. Further, take a person of small stature, add a bulletproof vest, and a full-length stock and presto -- you have a deadly combination for short stroking.