Photos by Straight 8 Custom Photography To paraphrase Mark Twain, “The reports of the death of shotguns for defense have been greatly exaggerated.” As long guns are concerned, M4-type carbines currently reign as king. But no weapon is more versatile than the shotgun. It can use slugs, buckshot, birdshot, breaching, less-than-lethal, and chemical agents (such
I’ve written before about the advantages of a 20-gauge combat shotgun, and decided it was time to revisit the issue in this column. Up front, I’ll admit that the #3 Buckshot load normally used in the 20-gauge shotgun is not as devastating as the 00 Buckshot load standard in most 12-gauge fighting shotguns. However, that
I have regarded the pump-action shotgun as my “go-to” firearm for some time. This is due to police experience when the shotgun was not a personal weapon but the “community” firearm shared by many officers. It had to come up shooting every time, and there were rules concerning its storage and load.
The Mossberg® 590® ShockwaveTM is one of the hottest new firearms to hit the market in 2017. That’s not at all surprising, since the Shockwave offers shooters a compact, 14-inch-barreled 12-gauge reminiscent of the legendary Witness Protection Shotgun of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) but with no NFA (National Firearms Act) restrictions, as confirmed in
Firearms myths abound: a hit by a .45 will tear off an arm, J-Frame revolvers are the perfect guns for women (despite the fact that it’s one of the hardest platforms to become proficient with), polymer frame guns are always more reliable and the list goes on. More myths probably surround the shotgun than any
What if you could have a shotgun built from the ground up as a fighting shotgun, shorter than most while weighing within a few ounces, and with a total capacity of 17 shells? The SRM Arms 1216 makes this a reality.
I’ve had the good fortune to train with some of the great instructors, most of whom come from Gunsite lineage—Chuck Taylor, Clint Smith, Bill Jeans, Pat Rogers, Bill Murphy, and Louis Awerbuck. Bill Murphy ran the 260 Shotgun class at Gunsite, and Louis taught “the gauge” through his company, Yavapai Firearms Academy.
The Winchester Model 1897 was designed by John Moses Browning. Though all Browning designs were not successful, the majority were, and the 97 is no exception. This shotgun has all the earmarks of a classic firearm and is not only a war dog, but a long-serving law dog as well.
The defensive 12-gauge shotgun is unique in the armory for its versatility. The slug, the typically one-ounce hunk of lead that converts the “shot” gun into an “unrifled” bullet launcher, allows the shooter to stretch out the effective range and connect with targets beyond shot or handgun range. In other scenarios, the slug can give
Although the shotgun has lost its premier status in law enforcement with the “advent” of the patrol rifle, it hasn’t lost its effectiveness as a defensive tool. A quality pump-action shotgun is generally inexpensive, simple, reliable, versatile and easily customized. Many agencies are transforming their older shotguns into dedicated less-lethal platforms. Although it has its
