The combat shotgun is the ultimate CQB weapon. Outfit your scattergun with a blinding white light for even greater fighting power.
From the legendary Winchester Model 97 to the latest Benelli Super 90,
the tactical shotgun has evolved substantially from those heat shielded,
bayonet lugged, stubby barreled trench guns of The Great War. While the basic
mechanism and functioning has remained the same - not much can ever be
done to improve a classic John Browning design the accoutrements and accessories
for the tactical shotgun have improved greatly.
Extended magazine tubes have increased the payloads, and a variety of
barrel modifications, such as lengthened forcing cones and special chokes,
have enhanced the accuracy and patterning of the big smoothbores. Sights have
dramatically improved, with tritium inserted front sights and ghost ring
rears being factory-spec on many of the better models.
But the most important of all upgrades to a combat shotgun is the development
of SureFire's dedicated forend WeaponLight. The U.S. Border Patrol,
among others, specifies a SureFire WeaponLight on their custom-order Remington
870s from Scattergun Technologies.
The reasons are simple-target identification and a non-lethal force
option of white light.
The shotgun, perhaps more than any other type of firearm, needs a WeaponLight
because the fundamental role of the tactical shotgun is a close-range
weapon often deployed in high-risk situations. The handgun is essentially
a reactionary weapon, often drawn unexpectedly and in haste when a sudden
and unpredictable attack happens. Shotguns are only plucked from a police
cruiser when a known threat has materialized.
Similarly, people often use a shotgun for a home defense weapon because
of its formidable firepower and intimidating presence. It only makes sense,
then, that if a home owner most likely anticipates using a gun in the dark,
that a weapon-mounted light would be a good addition to the armory.
Policemen, of course, have no choice. They must utilize the utmost care
in identifying a hostage from a kidnapper, a robber from a clerk. SWAT
teams are under the same constraint of needing to ID friend from foe. No one is
under greater pressure to do so than the point man on the entry team.
And guess what is the favored weapon of most point men? A combat shotgun.
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