When you get down to it, shotguns are pretty simple, right? It’s a smoothbore tube, a (usually) tubular magazine, a stock, and we pretty much call it a day. Well, we’d like to, but to be perfectly honest, no one ever innovated by keeping things simple. As a shotgun nerd, I embrace designs that try … Read more
My love of shotguns extended to all forms of scatterguns, cheap and expensive, traditional or tactical, even bullpups. Bullpup shotguns actually make a lot of sense. Personal defense shotguns are made for close-quarters combat, and bullpups fill that role really well. When you combine the two, you get a short weapon that dominates at close … Read more
[UPDATE: Since this review was published, Iron Horse Firearms has parted ways with Blackwater Worldwide. You can get more information about the Iron Horse Sentry 12 shotgun here.] The former CEO of Blackwater, the renowned, often controversial private security company, has gotten into the firearms world. I’m not clear how the company’s corporate structure works … Read more
It’s okay, I know what you’re thinking. The concept of a 12-gauge AR tends to be some version of unreliable, can’t-cycle vaporware. It isn’t just the 12 gauges, either, it’s basically any big-bore “latest, greatest” AR that’s tried to hit the market in the last several years. Even the ones that look cool seem to … Read more
Escort’s new BTS bullpups expand the Bentonville, Arkansas company’s Versatile Tactical Shotgun line with more compact, portable packages in 12 gauge or .410 bore. Offered in either black or FDE Cerakote, the new inline gas piston design is mounted around the barrel, minimizing bulk and allowing the use of a proper bullpup layout. The polymer … Read more
Just a short while back, I reviewed the pump action Mossberg 500 Retrograde and found it to be a fun, lightweight, easy-shooting gun. It was as simple as shotguns get. But the 500 is not the only Retrograde model, Mossberg also introduced two 590 Retrograde models. I got my hands on the manlier version of … Read more
In a world where we can cover just about anything with Picatinny rails, it’s nice to see the industry slow down and take a moment to simplify things. Don’t get me wrong, I love my rails, my M-LOK handguards, my lasers, lights, and optics. However, there’s a real appeal to the simple nature of the … Read more
Buck and ball loads have a pretty long history of success in the United States. However, that success was primarily from 1776 to the 1860s. New buck and ball loads haven’t been quite as popular since the invention of modern shotshells and cartridge ammunition. Several years ago, Winchester introduced the PDX1 Defender load, which introduced … Read more
The Armscor Rock Island Armory VR family of shotguns is a line that seems to be continually growing, which is just fine with me. I appreciate the budget-friendly nature and reliable design of these guns. The VR line is known for being semi-automatic, magazine-fed shotguns. The newest model in the VR line, though, is the … Read more
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