1/2/2019 5 Best Shotguns in the World (Winchester, Remington and Beretta Make the Cut) | The National Interest

5 Best Shotguns in the World

(Winchester, Remington and Beretta
Make the Cut)

December 29, 2017 Topic: Security Blog Brand: The Buzz Tags: Guns, Shotguns, Military,
Technology, Beretta, Remington, Winchester

What would you choose? 

by Kyle Mizokami
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A
shotgun is a rearm, typically a long arm that is red from the sho
instead of a single bullet res a number of smaller pellets.
Shotguns are chie y sporting arms, useful for hunting birds or
other small, fast-moving game, but also have military and
civilian self-defense uses. The ability to project a devastating pattern of lead
or steel shot to short ranges is also valuable in urban or jungle environments.
This makes a properly tted out shotgun an excellent weapon for home
defense or close quarters combat.

Winchester Model 1897

Developed by the proli c American rearms designer John Moses Browning,

the Winchester Model 1897 pump-action shotgun was better known as the
“Trench Gun” in World War I. Originally designed as a civilian sporting gun,
the Trench Gun version sported a twenty-inch barrel, making it easier to
handle in the narrow trenches of the Western Front, a bayonet lug for hand-
to-hand combat and a heat shield. Trench Guns were used not only to clear
narrow trenches during attacks but also, interestingly enough, to shoot down
hand grenades ung towards American lines. The six round tubular magazine
made it a formidable adversary when red lengthwise down an enemy
trench; a single 1897 shotgun could send fty-hour .33 caliber pellets
downrange in three seconds or less.

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Remington 870

One of the most common shotguns in circulation is the venerable Remington

870.
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in 1950. The 870 is sold in a variety of con gurations, with barrel length
ranging from eleven inches to thirty, magazine capacity ranging from four to
ten shells, and sold in shell calibers from .410 to 12 gauge. The shotgun was
quickly picked up for police and prison guard use in the United States and has
seen limited service in foreign military forces. Highly modi able, a stock 870
can be modi ed by the user into an excellent home defense weapon.

Beretta 1301 Tactical

Self-loading shotguns have been slow to catch on in the United States,

particularly in military units, for reasons that are not well known. The
Beretta 1301 is one of a new generation of semi-automatic combat shotguns.
Beretta claims its Blink gas operating system makes the 1301 thirty 6 percent
faster than competing shotguns, enabling it to empty its four-shot magazine
in just one second. The shotgun has a barrel length of 18.5 inches, making it
handy indoors, and an enlarged charging handle that’s di cult to miss in
stressful shooting situations. A combination ghost ring and blade sight is
supplemented with a Picatinny rail that allows the 1301 to utilize prismatic,
red dot or any number of compact optics.

Benelli M2 Tactical

Manufactured by Benelli Armi SpA, a subsidiary of Beretta, the M2 Tactical is

a somewhat larger semi-automatic shotgun than the 1301. The M2 has a 18.5
inch barrel but can accommodate ve rounds in the internal magazine. The
Benelli shotgun also features a pistol grip, and the manufacturer claims it
features up to 48 percent less recoil than comparing shotguns. The shotgun
is tted with a variety of iron sights, including ghost ring and tritium sights,
and the receiver is drilled and tapped for a MIL-STD1913 Picatinny rail,
allowing the user to install specialized optics. Length of pull is an unusually
long 14 3/8     inches to accommodate the user’s bulletproof vest. The U.S.
Marine Corps uses a similar version, the M4, designated the M1014 .
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Mossberg 500 Series

The shotgun with the most recent U.S. military pedigree is the Mossberg 500
series pump-action shotguns, including the Mossberg 590. The 590 is the
only shotgun that passed U.S. Military speci cation MIL-S-3443G, which
outlines the standards for U.S. armed forces riot-type shotguns with regards
to accuracy, endurance, ability to withstand rough handling and the
e ectiveness of the supplied heat shield. A typical military grade 500 series
shotgun has all-metal construction, an eight round internal magazine, a
manual safety and bead sights. Like other shotguns barrel length varies quite
a bit but the U.S. military’s shotgun barrels are likely 18.5 inches long. The
500 is used by the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.

Kyle Mizokami is a defense and national-security writer based in San Francisco

who has appeared in the Diplomat, Foreign Policy , War is Boring and the Daily
Beast . In 2009, he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security
Watch . You can follow him on Twitter: @KyleMizokami.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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BobValdez • 3 months ago

Winchester 1200 Riot gun. I own 2 of them, far better than the 870.
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Norm Fishler • 9 months ago

I have a friend who has a 590, sans muzzle brake and it beats the stuffin's outta me. I'll stick with my
Nelli.
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Wolfy King • 9 months ago

I own a Mossberg 590 in the Marine Corp's Desert Thunder configuration. You can't beat the muzzle
break to inhibit recoil but it does lengthen the barrel a bit. But, I can put the entire magazine of 00
buckshot into a target at 30 feet in less than 10 seconds and that's perfect for home defense. It's an
expensive gun, and can be hard to find at gun shows, but it's my choice as a combat vet from Viet Nam.
It's also easy to break down for cleaning. Never once had a jam, either, so much prefer a pump over
any semi auto.
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Norm Fishler • 10 months ago

Scott - I guess I misunderstood because I thought I was told that the Beretta 301 was an almost line for
line copy of the Benelli. For some reason I never cared for the Beretta and sent it on down the road
within a couple of years. The Benelli is a keeper.
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Norm Fishler • 10 months ago

My vote goes to the Benelli. It is an all business, fighting machine. The Beretta is not far behind, being
a basic copy of the Benelli. There are many who love the Mossberg 590 but its brutal recoil has me
loosing interest quickly. In a pump, I'll go with the Remington 870.
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George Gassmann > Norm Fishler • 4 months ago
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g g
Before you buy a new 870 you should read up on the problems the newer guns are having.
Remington Quality control is nonexistent and you would be better looking for an older used
gun.
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Norm Fishler > George Gassmann • 4 months ago

Sad to say George, but 870s have been sub par for the better part of the last two
decades. I've been looking for a decent 870 in 20 gauge, but it is hard to find a decent
one these days.
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Wolfy King > Norm Fishler • 9 months ago

The military version of the Mossberg 590 has a muzzle brake that reduces recoil to almost
nothing.
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Scott Farmer > Norm Fishler • 10 months ago

Norm...not to put too fine a point on it, but Benelli is an inertia action, and Beretta is gas
activated There is no "basic copy" other than they are both shotguns of the semi-automatic

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