Pump

One of the hottest firearms introductions of 2017, announced at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas, was undoubtedly Mossberg’s 590 Shockwave, which was originally chambered in 12 gauge. Right on its heels came Remington with the 870 Tac-14, another wildly popular defense shotgun, and yet another confirmation of the worth of a compact shotgun that can be had without climbing a Mount Everest of bureaucratic red tape.

It’s a banner day for pump shotguns.

We have waited a long time for this. Today, I am happy to report about the greatest leap forward in pump shotguns I have seen in my lifetime. This miracle of engineering is named the Remington 870 DM (Detachable Magazine). This has been a long time coming, and I am beyond excited to see it come from Big Green.

Why do I want a sawed-off shotgun, a tiger skin run, and a moonshine still? Mostly because the government tells me I can’t have them. At least not without some serious hoop jumping. After all, anything is an option if the price is right. But for us mortals, we don’t have thousands of dollars and lawyers on call. Good news. Remington has solved one of those problems for us this week. At least in a new gauge, they did.

There are few manufacturers that have a long-storied history in the defense industry as Winchester. Undoubtedly, few things are more formidable or reliable in battle than a 12-gauge pump action shotgun. Winchester’s Model 1897 has proven over time to be a reliable firearm for protection of America’s finest.

When the original KSG hit the streets so many years ago, it set the firearms world ablaze. It was the must-have new toy for a variety of reasons. Now the KSG-25 offers 24-plus-one shells of buckshot and slugs at your fingertips! An entire box of shells onboard, with the reliability of a pump shotgun. Yes, please! I will take one.

The Stevens Series 320 Field Grade hits a ridiculously low price point while delivering the quality we’ve come to expect from Stevens. With an MSRP between $238 and $273, you can likely find one in the sub-$200 range on GunsAmerica.

It would be easy to dismiss this gun as novelty. With a standard capacity of 25 rounds — 40+1 with mini-shells — the KSG-25 is a beast.

If you’ve fired different types of shotguns, it’s obvious that recoil can be all over the map. Some load and gun combinations are relative pussycats, allowing one to fire hundreds of rounds per day with no ill effect. Others make you want to start sticking safety pins to your shirt and run for the nearest safe space. With recoil in mind, I got an itch to check out a 20-gauge pump shotgun for home defense. That brought me to the Stevens 320 Pump in 20 gauge.

There are few firearms as versatile as the shotgun. The modern shotgun is a work of engineering prowess, but one seemingly insurmountable issue has been developing a semi-automatic that can fire the full range of loads. In these cases, you usually must revert back to a pump action. But what if you want one that can do everything?