combat shotgun
A type of shotgun mainly issued by militaries for warfare, as well as police tactical units. The earliest shotguns specifically designed for combat were the trench guns or trench shotguns issued in World War I, such as the pump action Winchester Model 1897 and Model 1912. While limited in range, the multiple projectiles typically used in a shotgun shell provide increased hit probability unmatched by other small arms.
In context of present-day usage, the term "combat shotgun" refers to shotguns that is specialized, designed for police and military roles. They primarily came in some of the following features, such as:
- Ability to fire specialized ammunition, such as the flechette rounds, breaching rounds, or less-lethal rounds for riot control.
- All-black finish with synthetic furniture, instead of conventional wooden ones.
- Bullpup configuration.
- Capability of different firing modes, ranging from pump action, semi-automatic, or even full-auto.
- Feed system that allows it to hold more ammunition, such as removeable magazine.
- Folding, retractable, or adjustable stock.
- Presence of pistol grip, sometimes foregrip - for the sake of ergonomics.
- Rails that allows attachment of accessories such as optical sights.
Notable example of modern combat shotgun:
- Atchisson AA-12
- Benelli M3
- Kel-Tec KSG
- Benelli M4
- KSK (Karabin Spetsialniy Kalahnikov, "Kalashnikov Special Carbine"), variant of Saiga-12 used by the Russian armed forces
- SPAS-12
- SPAS-15
- Standard Manufacturing DP-12
- USAS-12
See also
- List of combat shotguns on Wikipedia
- list of weapons
- Wikipedia page: Combat shotgun