Shotguns

Mossberg had a couple of new shotguns to show off at SHOT Show 2016. These were all built on the tried and true 930 platform. One is a new compition gun that bares Jerry Miculek’s name and the other is a winter themed hunting shotgun. Both of these new lines are pretty cool and one of them is down right cold.

The Sweet 16 is one epic update from the folks at Browning. The classic 16 gauge A5 is back, and super sleek. The weight of an anemic 20 gauge combined with healthy recoil management makes this one smooth shooting shotgun.

When the import bans made the Saiga shotguns much more precious, many of us went looking for an alternative. Today, we’re kicking the tires on a Vepr 12–and we like what we see. Could this Russian import be even better than the Saigas? It is much easier to find, and priced right. But how does it handle the abuse?

Over and under shotguns have been around for quite some time and have changed relatively little over the decades. Cosmetically, the Benelli 828U looks like a slightly more space age take on the classic double, but the under the hood features are what stand out as the unique elements of this shotgun.

Everyone I know who owns a shotgun started out with a pump. Where do you go when you want something just a bit faster, or more responsive? Automatics have a reputation for being finicky–at best. But not the Benelli M4. This may be the most complete tactical shotgun in production today.

When we first saw the DP-12 at SHOT Show, we were leery. Bullpup shotguns always seem to get our hopes up, then dash them to pieces with faltering reliability. They’re rarely anything more than range toys. But we’ve been beating up the DP-12 now for a few weeks, and we’re converts. Read our review.

What’s wrong with the Remington 870? The list isn’t very long. Yet there are ways that the classic pump shotgun can be improved. And Nighthawk has worked out a laundry list of upgrades that cover every inch of the gun. What goes in looks pretty familiar to just about everyone, but the shotgun that comes out the other end is nothing short of perfect.

Black Aces Tactical’s take on the pump scattergun is pushing the limits. The DT has an 8.5″ barrel, and a folding stock. There are very few functional guns in this class that are more ergonomic and effective. Yet this 12 gauge beast is not a shotgun, and it is not an AOW, and it is not a short barreled shotgun. It is a firearm, and perfectly legal–and functionally perfect. Read our review.

The recent dominance of the bullpup shotgun has made the pistol grip scatter-gun seem old fashioned. But there’s still a place for the reliability of a pump shotgun. But operating a shotgun without a stock is a challange. So how practical are these cinematic beasts?