LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SHOTGUN - by Gabe Suarez

If I were writing the Shotgun Doctrine today, in the same manner as Cooper did in 1990, I would say this as a mission statement for the scattergun -

The shotgun is intended for proactive use in close range combat where the dynamic tempo of events may surpass the operator's ability to use traditional sighting concepts, and where the probability of a hit with a single projectile may also be affected by these events to include reduced visibility. Anything not fitting this performance envelope is far easier handled with a rifle.

The natural loading for the shotgun to manage these events is buckshot. Thus while the weapon may be pressed into service to other things (such as launch less lethal, gas, breaching, and other jobs), or used with slugs for special circumstances involving the destruction of cover, or reaching beyond its intended envelop via the use of slugs, we seek to optimize the weapons for their intended use with buckshot.

If such a mission statement had been made, the development of the shotgun nearly twenty years later would have taken an entirely different path. The shotgun would be seen as a special-use weapon and trained thus, rather than the currwent attempt to turn it into a ballistic Leatherman's Tool.

The shotgun is not a rifle and seeking to turn it into one will yield a shotgun that is not useful for shotgun problems and a poor performer at rifle problems. True, there are police officers that are not trusted with anything else. For them there may be little choice. But why would a free american that can choose any weapon and set it up as he pleases, want to be limited in the way the untrusted, shotgun armed, policeman is?

To those who would argue, I would mention that while you could shoot a CCW pistol at 220 yards, its use is to carry concealed 24/7 in anticipation of a close range gunfight, and not to shoot at 200 yards. So modifying the pistol for use at 200 yards makes little sense. Adding a scope, a stock, and a bipod to your Glock 17 seems as silly as trying to turn a shotgun into a rifle regardless of what the gun guru said.

This is what I suggest -

Barrel - Short as possible - left as it comes so we have a natural spread of the buckshot.
Sights - Standard open rifle sights. No ghost rings.
Magazine - Even with the end of the barrel
Forend - Long style. We don't carry it in police racks so why modify it for that?. A light may be used here.
Sling - Two point caveman style
Stock - Pistol grip full stock (folding is OK).

That is it. I would add nothing else. Now, let's look at how that may apply to the ubiquitous Remington 870. I know it will be a long long time before the Saiga 12 ever eclipses the 870 so I am not going to dwell on it. I have an 870. I attended all the important schools dealing with 870 and actually taught a good amount with one. I even shot a bad guy or two with them. They are good to go and very nice weapons.

There are probably as many 870 acessory makers as there are for 1911 and AR-15. All the current schools take a very Cooperian view of the shotgun and specially the 870.

So lets examine how to best use this beast and set it up to fit our methods for fighting in the close range environment.

1). Barrel. The trend today is to so choke the shotgun barrel that one can discuss the impact in terms of minute of angle rather than pattern. This comes from two areas. One is the competitive nature of the early tactical community. They would set up a pepper popper way in the heck out there to force the student to transition to slugs (as taught in the class and as favored by its instructor). Crafty shooters would get all choked up in the barrel and take the shot with buckshot, thus giving themselves a definite time advantage over those who sought to "go to slug". The other area is the impossible-on-the-street thought that ALL PELLETS MUST HIT. Even with pistols and rifles this is not possible, so how will using a shotgun change things. This is more from a police fear of liability than a desire for combat effectiveness.

I prefer to leave the barrel as it comes, and use quality buckshot. This will give me a relatively tight pattern up close, but a natural spread of the impact on a threat outside the close range (5 yards and in) envelope. Consider that our forefathers shot more bad guys with shotguns than we do today, and that chokes were available back then as well. What did they do? Exactly what I am suggesting - Leave your barrels alone and stop setting them to win gun school games.

2). Sights. I don't think a shotgun needs ghost ring sights. For 90% of all shotgunning the regular bead will work great. An optimizing of the bead concept would include a high visibility bead from XS sights.

Personally, I like the regular standard rifle open sights that come on most 870s. Adding an XS system to this is the optimal sight for shotgun use IMEAEO (in my educated and experienced opinion). If your shotgun has ghost rings, don't worry, leave them...but I don't think they are optimal nor as fast as the previous options. There has been a move to add red dot sights tot he shotgun. While I don't think this is actually necessary, I am not against it. I think a forward mounted Aimpoint is far more useful than ghost rings.

3). Magazines and Ammo Capacity - The tubular magazine should NEVER exceed the length of the barrel. I don't care what the competition gurus do with their guns, you should not copy them if your pursuits are more martial than sporting. Leve the magazine as it came. if you wish to add a few more shots (not a bad idea) add an extension that reaches out to the muzzle but no farther.

Extra ammo - I am not a weak guy by any means, but I hate side saddles on any of my guns. They make a gun that should be light handy and lighting fast, into an overweight pig.
The buttcuff ammo sleeves are just as bad. Ever try to shoot from the left side with one of those? Forget it. To carry extra ammo get a small bag and throw the shell in there. Store it with the gun so when you grab one you grab the other.

4). Forends and accessories. Most shotgun accessories are focused on the police job. In police work the shotgun rides in a rack, and that rack secures the shotgun vis-a-vis the space between the receiver and the rear of the foreend. "Sporting" fore ends are far too long to secure in police racks and thus just about all after market accessories deal with the short fore end.

A long fore end, however, is far more desirable in therms of handling and speed. How many competitive shotgunners of any sort, use a shorty police rack fore end? None. In fact, look at the 11-87 version of the Remington. Long forend. The only reason for the short forend is the rack. I leave the regular length fore end on all my shotguns.

A light is nice, but not at the expense of added weight nor of a compromised police forend. Take a light and attach it to the regular length fore end via rifle bedding material, screw in rail or whatever, but don't give up the long forend..

5). Stocks. On the stock...."A Pistol Grip"? Some might ask why? In fact, Cooper didn't like pistol grips on anything. Why? His view of the rifle was not so much for the CQB envelope but rather the classic view of the snap shot and long range shot. The view was of a "general use" which was focused less on shooting people than on the hunt of wild game. The development of the shotgun mirrored the methods for the rifle.

Me, I think that a pistol grip stock is essential. You can shoot like they do at gun school with a regular stock, or hunt ducks with one, but don't you have a pistol grip on your MP5 or AR 15...or even the AK?. There is a reason for this. Because it facilitates dynamic transfer from shoulder to shoulder. Because it facilitates shooting in the CQB (Under the arm) position. Because there is no loss of any weapon attribute at all with a pistol grip other than not being socially acceptable in Commie-fornia.

So get one on your shotgun.

6). Finally slings. The best sling for a shotgun is a simple two point caveman sling. I think those uber-tactical three point slings look stupid on a shotgun. They complicate the weapon, make it slower to deploy or use in a fight. They make it impossible to transfer the weapon from side to side or to use it as a club when the time requires it. The shotgun is a simple weapons, put a simple sling on it.

Shotguns are wonderful weapons, and the Remington 870 is a great example of what a shotgun can be. But before you train with it or accessorize it, take a long and deep look at why you have it, the real circumstances where you will use it, and then act accordingly.