well being a pump action with the chamber stuck open (pump down) it has disloadged a shell spent or not and to place another shell into the firing chamber the pump has to be pushed forward, so the bowl would fit in the gun with a round in it if the action was open. But the bowl kinda acts as one of those saftey things they make you use at the range to hold the action open.And those pump action shotguns took a few pounds of force and slam that pump,And being out in vietnam with the weather and all.