Shotguns

We are often asked what firearms we recommend for home defense, and based on the circumstances, we often say that a shotgun may be the best choice for a number of reasons: ease of operation, stopping power, and multi-shot capacity, to name three. Most shotgunners know that defense shotguns have long held 5, 6, 7, and 8 rounds, usually in tubular magazines under the barrel. But there are bigger-capacity shotguns out there, and we recently had a chance to test four of them.Our test guns were the Akdal Arms MKA 1919 3-inch 12 Gauge, $799; the Kel-Tec KSG 3-inch 12 Gauge, $1075; the Saiga IZ-107 12 Gauge, $640; and a Red Jacket Saiga RTS-SBS-12 Short-Barrel 12 Gauge, $1939.The KSGs popularity has grown exponentially since it was announced in 2011, part of which is driven by its inclusion in shooter video games, including the most recent Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and it is rumored to be returning for Call Of Duty: Black Ops II. The KSG is a bullpup pump shotgun whose short overall length of only 26.1 inches allows for greater maneuverability and makes it suitable for close-quarters combat.The Akdal MKA 1919 is a gas-operated semi-automatic shotgun that was created by a Turkish company called Akdal Arms. The 1919 is designed to look and feel like the AR-15 rifle. The gun comes stock with a polymer AR-style fixed front sight and polymer carry handle that has a built-in flip sight. Both the front and rear sights can be removed if you like to customize your guns and add your own optics. The upper receiver is made of an aluminum alloy, and has a Picatinny rail that runs along the top. The lower half of the gun is a single polymer piece that is both the grip and a fixed stock that has a rubber buttpad already built in.Our older Saiga 12, still in Very Good shape, was manufactured at the Izhmash Factory in Russia and imported through EAA Corp. What we believe is an identical gun, the IZ-107 12 Gauge, $640, is available from K-Var Corp. of Las Vegas (K-Var.com, [702] 364-8880). Because its currently available, we listed K-Vars model number throughout. So you can either look for a used gun like ours, or if you want a brand-new gun of this type, you know where to start. Designed as an all-purpose shotgun, this Saiga comes with a chrome-lined barrel which allows the use of many different types of ammunition, including steel. The Saiga 12 is capable of cycling both 23/4- and 3-inch magnum shells. As with all Saiga 12s, this shotgun is not designed to use low-pressure shells. Saiga 12 gauges now come standard with the bolt hold-open feature. This allows for a quicker change time between magazines. This shotgun was manufactured utilizing the Kalashnikov gas system. This gas system reduces felt recoil dramatically.Our fourth gun, the Red Jacket Saiga, was the most expensive by far and was the worst performer, our testers said. They simply couldnt make the gun work very well. This was a loaner gun from our home test facility, Tactical Firearms in Katy, Texas (TacticalFirearms.us), who had bought the RJS in both compensated and suppressed forms. The Tactical Firearms staff called it the Red Junket instead of the Red Jacket Saiga because they could rarely fire more than a couple of shells before the action locked up in several different ways, which we describe below.Because the Saigas are only supposed to use 1.25-ounce or heavier shotcharges, we fired them mostly with 12 gauge Winchester Super-X Game and Field Loads (23/4 inch #6 Lead, 11/4 ounce, 1330 fps), which we bought at Cheaper Than Dirt! for $16.51/25, #2-WNX126BX. Other CTD loads we used included Hornady Zombie Z-MAX 00 Buckshot rounds (23/4 inch, 8 pellets, 1600 fps, $10.29/10 #AMM-8212); and Fiocchi Exacta Aero Slugs (23/4 inch lead, 1 ounce, 1560 fps), which cost $7.91/10, #6-0309542. We also fired Remington Slugger 3-inch 1-ounce rifled slugs ($5.34/5 @ 1760 fps, currently out of stock); and Winchester Supreme Partition Gold 3-inch 385-grain sabot slugs SSP123 ($12.55/5 @ 2000 fps, also out of stock).Our plan was to shoot all four shotguns for function and to check features, then shoot groups with the slugs to compare their accuracy. However, the second part of that turned out not to be necessary because we had function trouble with the Akdal, KSG, and Red Jacket guns, making the Saiga the winner by default. We describe the problems we had in fuller detail below.

Despite its wide appeal, the 12-gauge shotgun and the recoil it produces are not for everybody. But we think we’ve found a shotgun that is—the Mossberg 410 Cruiser (No. 50455-3).

Introduced in 1963, the Remington Model 1100 shotgun has been around for over 50 years now. Variations include a sporter for field shooting, a Magnum version for ducks and geese, as well as a skeet and trap model for those who enjoy breaking clay targets. In all, there have been well over 3,500,000 Model 1100s produced over this period of time so you are bound to see one (or more) come across your bench. In this article, I'll cover some of the common problems that result in ejection failures along with a few of the possible glitches that aren't seen very often. And, of course, I'll examine the cures that will help you get this shotgun back in service as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Competitive clays shooters who were using Winchester AA ammunition had a good summer. Led by gold medalists Kim Rhode and Vincent Hancock, who won the Olympic skeet competitions in London, Winchester AA-equipped shooters took the top spot in or placed in several major competitions.

New shooters, especially young ones, usually begin training with a rimfire pistol or rifle because recoil is minimal. This makes it easier for the shooter to concentrate on fundamentals such as sight alignment and trigger control. Introducing a young beginner to shotgun shooting with a bore smaller than 12 gauge is a good idea for much the same reason. In this test we will evaluate three 20-gauge semi-automatic shotguns with reduced-length stocks. A shorter stock makes it easier for the younger or smaller shooter to point the shotgun and achieve a solid mount. Semi-automatic operation relies upon energy from the ammunition to cycle the bolt, so, in effect, each gun offered a built-in mechanism to reduce recoil to some degree or another. Our test shotguns were the $1299 Benelli Montefeltro Combo, Browning's $1179 Silver Hunter Micro Midas, and the $499 CZ 720 Reduced Length shotgun.

Our first step was to pattern each shotgun. This meant firing at a stationary paper target to determine the size, shape, and density of shot impact each gun would deliver at a given distance. For tips on patterning we visited the shop of Larry Feland located in Cypress, Texas (FelandGunsmith.com). Feland began his career in 1981 and soon found himself bending stocks and making leather pads for none other than Cyril Adams, one of the world's renowned double-gun experts and author of Lock Stock and Barrel: Making an English Shotgun and Shooting With Consistency. An expert in the field of shotgun fit, Feland specializes in aligning the shotgun with the eye of the individual to deliver shot where the shooter is looking.

The first question we asked Feland was if the procedure for patterning a semi-automatic was any different than patterning over/under or side-by-side shotguns. We also asked if 20-gauge shotguns should be patterned differently than 12-gauge models. The answer was no to both questions. But Feland did advise that the shotgun should be benched and shot like a rifle. This would help evaluate tendencies of elevation or alignment to the right or left by reducing the effects of individual shooter fit.

All three of our guns arrived with removable choke tubes. The choke tube acts like a funnel to regulate the final diameter of the bore and the manner in which shot is metered into the atmosphere. Some shooters feel that patterning with a choke that is more open will reveal more about the bore. But Feland pointed out that using a tighter choke would actually be more definitive. Not all of our test guns arrived with a full set of chokes, so we decided to pattern using the most commonly chosen constrictions, which are Improved Cylinder (IC) and Modified (MOD). Feland advised a pattern distance of 20 yards for testing with the IC choke and a distance of 35 yards to test with Modified chokes. Our pattern procedure was to mount each gun in a rifle rest and shoot one shot per target per choice of ammunition. First, we shot an IC choke at 20 yards, then installed the Mod choke and fired on the 35-yard board.

Each shotgun was capable of chambering 3-inch ammunition. But since were trying to avoid unnecessary recoil, we chose 2-inch cartridges from Remington and Winchester. The Remington Premier STS Target Loads and Winchester's AA Target Loads each launched a 7/8-ounce payload of No. 9 shot over a powder charge of 2 dram equivalent. Our choice of Winchester Super Target threw No. 8s.

Our next step was to put each shotgun into the hands of a young beginner shooter under the watchful eye of an instructor. Our junior shooter was a 15-year-old young lady whose previous experience was limited to informal clay shooting with her father's Browning A5 12-gauge shotgun, probably less than 75 rounds in total. Our choice of instructor came by way of recommendation from World Side by Side Champion Ed Arrighi. Brian Ash, the son of sporting clays gurus Gil and Vicki Ash, literally grew up in the sport. His input regarding course design has been sought repeatedly by the National Sporting Clays Association for the national championships held annually at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, Texas. Ash (email: Bash390@aol.com) teaches at American Shooting Centers located in George Bush Park in Houston, Texas (AMShootCenters.com). Lessons for our beginning shooter utilized several shooting stations along the Blue Sporting Clays trail designated for beginning and intermediate shooters. She shot the stations a minimum of three times to cover all three shotguns. Because the Benelli Combo also shipped with a full-length stock, we enlisted an adult beginner to challenge clay targets on the skeet field. We chose the Winchester Super Target ammunition for the bulk of our field shooting with the supplied Modified chokes installed. Here is what we learned.

One of the more popular of these inexpensive shotguns is the Mossberg Model 500 pump action. It is a reasonably strong and reliable repeating shotgun with many features normally found on much more expensive shotguns.

There are two sides to the competitive shooting coin—one side is the challenge of being the best you can be and the other side is just being able to have a little fun. Picking the right shooting tool to handle both sides of this coin has become a lot easier with the availability of a good number of quality, fine-handling 20-gauge semiautomatics. These small gauge shotguns provide the shooter with a lighter, quicker target-busting tool that also carries the freight in the field during bird-hunting sessions.

(GunReports.com) — To encourage collegiate target shooting at both varsity and club levels, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) is inviting schools to apply for a total of $300,000 in grants to be awarded through its Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative.NSSF, the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry, has awarded more than $650,000 to 75 colleges to help establish, expand and sustain shooting clubs and teams. Grant applications are available at…

Buy an expensive hydraulic dent remover if you want. But a tool you can make yourselfwill do for most jobs. Here’s how to make it.

Antonio Zoli has introduced the Z Trap Unsingle shotgun, based on the Z Series action with removable trigger mechanism.

(GunReports.com) — The National Rifle Association is auctioning a one-of-a-kind Browning Citori Gran Lightning XS NRA Edition 4 barrel set, available for a limited time through Friends of NRA at www.GunBroker.com. The skeet set is made possible through a partnership with The NRA Foundation, Browning Arms Co. and Baron Technology, Inc.

Here are current 2012 shooting-event results from the London Olympic Games, with finishes for U.S. shooters.