NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Combat shotgun

A combat shotgun is a shotgun that is intended for use in a combat role. The earliest shotguns specifically designed for combat were the trench guns or trench shotguns issued in World War I. While limited in range, the multiple projectiles typically used in a shotgun shell provide increased hit probability unmatched by other small arms^[1] Image File history File links Winchester Model 1897 trench gun Template:PD-70 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Winchester Model 1897 trench gun Template:PD-70 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Winchester Model 1897 The Winchester Model 1897 is a pump-action shotgun with an external hammer and tube magazine. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 193 pixelsFull resolutionâ€Ž (2,941 Ã— 711 pixels, file size: 522 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 193 pixelsFull resolutionâ€Ž (2,941 Ã— 711 pixels, file size: 522 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... For other uses, see Shotgun (disambiguation). ... â€œThe Great War â€ redirects here. ... It has been suggested that Lead shot, Shotgun slug, Slug (projectile), Brenneke slug, Foster slug, specialty shotgun amunition, Flexible baton round, Breaching round, Bolo Shell, Dragons Breath, R.I.P. cartridge, Rat-shot be merged into this article or section. ...

1 Characteristics
2 Combat use
3 Effectiveness
4 Ammunition
5 Method of operation
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Characteristics

Confederate cavalryman with muzzle-loading shotgun.

United States Marine carrying a Winchester M97 shotgun.

The most common type of shotgun used for this purpose is the manually-operated, slide-action/pump-action type, because it is commonly believed to be less prone to malfunction (particularly when dirty) than semi-automatic designs. Image File history File links Confederate cavalryman with shotgun. ... Image File history File links Confederate cavalryman with shotgun. ... Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem (none official) God Save the South (unofficial) The Bonnie Blue Flag (unofficial) Dixie (unofficial) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861â€“April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Religion... Image File history File links United States Marine carrying Winchester M97 shotgun, World War 2. ... Image File history File links United States Marine carrying Winchester M97 shotgun, World War 2. ... Winchester Model 1897 The Winchester Model 1897 is a pump-action shotgun with an external hammer and tube magazine. ... Pump action shotguns are a subclass of shotguns that are distinguished in the way in which spent shells are extracted and fresh ones are chambered. ... Walther P99, a semi-automatic pistol from the late 1990s A semi-automatic firearm is a gun that requires only a trigger pull for each round that is fired, unlike a single-action revolver, a pump-action firearm, a bolt-action firearm, or a lever-action firearm, which require the...

Combat shotguns typically have much shorter barrels than shotguns for hunting and usually, though not always, have magazines of modified design to hold more than the three to five shots normal with sporting or hunting shotguns. Most combat shotguns have tubular magazines to hold the cartridges, mounted underneath the barrel, identical to those of hunting shotguns except for being longer to hold more ammunition, though some recent designs have detachable box magazines.

Combat shotguns for military are typically very similar to the police riot shotgun, but the military versions will usually have a ventilated steel or plastic hand guard over the barrel to reduce the danger that a soldier will burn his hand on the hot barrel during repetitive rapid fire, and usually also have attachment hardware to mount a bayonet under the muzzle. Riot shotguns are also more likely to trade off the increased magazine capacity for the decreased size that entails; for example, a combat model would be more likely to have a 51 cm (20 inch) barrel and a 9 shot capacity, while riot shotguns are often found with barrels of 35 to 46 cm (14 to 18 inches) and a capacity of 5 or 6 rounds. Mossberg 590 pump-action riot shotgun, with 20 inch barrel Remington model 870 pump-action riot shotgun held by a Florida Highway Patrol cadet A riot shotgun is a shotgun designed or modified for use as a primarily defensive weapon. ... For other uses, see bayonet (disambiguation). ...

Combat use

A Mossberg 590 being used by a US Marine for door breaching in Karma, Iraq, in 2005

The combat shotgun has evolved from its original role as a short range combat weapon into a wider role in modern times. With proper configuration, ammunition and training, the modern combat shotgun plays three roles: Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 533 pixelsFull resolutionâ€Ž (3,072 Ã— 2,048 pixels, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 Ã— 533 pixelsFull resolutionâ€Ž (3,072 Ã— 2,048 pixels, file size: 1. ... Mossberg 500 Field model, with a 28 inch vent rib barrel The Mossberg 500 is a shotgun manufactured by O.F. Mossberg & Sons [1]. Rather than a single model, the 500 is really a series of widely varying hammerless, pump action repeaters, all of which share the same basic receiver... United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... Located six miles northeast of Fallujah in the Al Anbar province, al-Karma (Arabic: ) is a small village in central Iraq. ...

Offensive weapon
Breaching system
Less lethal crowd control

Effective range of the shotgun with standard buckshot is limited to about 30 meters with a full stock (depending on the sights on the gun), and 10 when equipped only with a pistol grip due to the difficulty in accurately aiming without a full stock. Slug rounds, if available, can extend the effective range of the shotgun to 100 meters (although this is also dependent on the shotgun's sighting system; right sights and ghost ring sights will allow the average shooter to effectively engage human-sized targets at considerably greater distances than with a bead sight).

Less lethal rounds vary, with ranges from 10 meters for rubber buckshot to 75 meters for rubber slugs. These less lethal munitions are the same type as used by police, and have served well in riot control situations, such as that in Kosovo in 2001.^[2] For other uses, see Kosovo (disambiguation). ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ...

When used in as a breaching system, the shotgun may be provided with a muzzle extension to allow it to be pressed firmly against the door while providing the correct standoff distance for optimum performance. While there are specialized rounds for breaching doors with minimal hazard to any occupants of the room, any type of round will do the job, though with some degradation of effectiveness and increased risk of collateral damage. In operations in Iraq, the shotgun was the preferred method of door breaching by infantry units, ideally with a frangible breaching slug. For the breaching role, shorter barrels are preferred, as they are more easily handled in tight quarters.^[3]

The limited ammunition capacity is one of the primary downsides of the combat shotgun. While box magazines are available in some models (such as shotgun derivatives of the AK-47 design), the tubular magazine is still dominant. This limits capacities; the current US pump shotgun issued, the Mossberg 590A1, has a 5 or 8 shot capacity depending on barrel length. However, the tubular magazine does allow easy "topping off" (a tube-fed pump shotgun can be kept shouldered and aimed at a target and ready to fire while being loaded), so training emphasizes the need to load the magazine to full capacity whenever the opportunity presents itself. A common doctrine is "shoot one, load one": load a shell immediately after every shot (when this does not jeopardize the operator's safety), to ensure that the shotgun is fully loaded at all times; this ensures that the operator has a full magazine at his/her disposal in case of emergencies when he/she may not be able to reload inbetween shots. A pistol is also advised as a backup weapon, should the operator empty the magazine and not have time to reload. A sling to carry the shotgun is essential if it is to be used in conjunction with another weapon, so that the shotgun may be readily accessible. Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947 g. ... Mossberg 500 Field model, with a 28 inch vent rib barrel The Mossberg 500 is a shotgun manufactured by O.F. Mossberg & Sons [1]. Rather than a single model, the 500 is really a series of widely varying hammerless, pump action repeaters, all of which share the same basic receiver... A Browning 9 millimeter Hi-Power Ordnance pistol of the French Navy, 19th century, using a Percussion cap mechanism Derringers were small and easily hidden. ...

Effectiveness

A Joint Service Combat Shotgun Program report on the lethality of shotguns in war states, in support of the use of the shotgun in warfare, "the probability of hitting a man-sized target with a shotgun was superior to that of all other weapons", and goes on to support this with statistics compiled by the British from the conflict in Borneo in the 1960s^[1]. Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969. ...

The buckshot typically used in a combat shotgun spreads out to a greater or lesser degree depending on the barrel choke, and can be effective at ranges as far as 70 m (75 yards). The delivery of the large number of projectiles simultaneously makes the shotgun the most effective short range weapon commonly used, with a hit probability 45% greater than a submachine gun, and twice as great as an assault rifle^[1]. While each pellet is only as effective as a small caliber handgun, and offers very poor penetration against an armored target, the multiple projectiles increases the likelihood of one or more peripheral wounds. For other uses, see Shotgun (disambiguation). ... A Browning 9 millimeter Hi-Power Ordnance pistol of the French Navy, 19th century, using a Percussion cap mechanism Derringers were small and easily hidden. ...

Ammunition

The most common type of ammunition used in combat shotguns, whether for military or law enforcement purposes, is buckshot, typically a 70 mm (2 3/4 inch) 12 gauge shell loaded with 9 hardened 00 buckshot, with a diameter of about 8.4 mm (.33 inch). Buckshot is brutally effective at close ranges against unarmored targets--enough so that Germany issued a protest against its use in 1918^[1]. The only other type of ammunition currently in use in military shotguns are breaching rounds, which are specially designed frangible rounds designed to destroy a door lock or hinge while minimizing the risk of damage to occupants of the room. Shotgun slugs are currently under consideration by the US military as an anti-material round; the tendency of typical commercial shotgun slugs to deform on impact would render them illegal under the Hague Convention of 1899. Ammunition, often referred to as ammo, is a generic term meaning (the assembly of) a projectile and its propellant. ... A shotgun shell is a self-contained cartridge loaded with shot or a slug designed to be fired from a shotgun. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... A breaching round is a shotgun shell which is designed to blow off the hinges of a door without harming the operator or the occupants of the room to be entered. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into bullet. ... The Hague Conventions were international treaties negotiated at the First and Second Peace Conferences at The Hague, Netherlands in 1899 and 1907, respectively, and were, along with the Geneva Conventions, among the first formal statements of the laws of war and war crimes in the nascent body of secular international...

In military use, flechette ammunition has also been used in shotguns (primarily by special forces, such as its use by the SEALs in the Vietnam War[1]), but this is not common. Other experimental shotgun ammunition has been created, such as SCIMTR, but none have been successful enough to be adopted. The word flechette is French and means dart (literally, little arrow). It is a projectile having the form of a small metal dart, usually steel, with a sharp-pointed tip and a tail with several vanes to stabilize it during flight. ... For other uses, see Special forces (disambiguation). ... // Look up seal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam Peopleâ€™s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... SCIMTR was an experimental military shotgun ammunition created in the 1970s. ...

Due to the great flexibility of the shotgun, it is often used in non-offensive roles as well. The US Infantry, for example, offers a number of less lethal varieties of ammunition for use in the riot control role, and for door breaching with #9 birdshot, shotgun slugs, and specialized breaching rounds. Less-Lethal options also include the use of grenade launching cups, speacial launching cartridges and a less-lethal grenade. Non-lethal force is force which is not inherently likely to kill or cause great bodily injury to a living target. ... A shotgun slug is a single projectile designed to be fired out of a shotgun. ...

A Mossberg 500 shotgun fitted with a grenade launcher adapter, shown holding a less-lethal riot control grenade

There are a number of experimental rounds currently under development and consideration by the US military, including explosive rounds and stand-off breaching rounds, that could further improve the range and flexibility of the combat shotgun. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ...

Method of operation

There are two primary modes of operation for combat shotguns, the pump action, and various semi-automatic designs, usually gas operated. The SPAS-12, SPAS-15, and Benelli M3^[4] shotguns, combine the two, offering pump action or, when the pump is locked forwards, gas operation. There have also been a few fully automatic shotguns produced. A pump-action rifle or shotgun is one in which the handgrip can be pumped back and forth in order to eject and chamber a round of ammunition. ... Semi-automatic shotguns are a subclass of shotgun that are able to fire a shell after every trigger pull, without any of the manual reloading typical in most shotgun designs. ... The gas-actuated system for implementing automatic reloading of a firearm is one of three such systems, the others being recoil-actuated and blowback. ... Caliber: 12 gauge Action: Pump-action/gas-actuated Mass: 4. ... The SPAS-15 is a dual-mode 12 ga. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ...

The autoloading shotgun (semi or fully automatic) offers a higher (theoretical) rate of fire than a pump shotgun, though controlling a heavy recoiling shotgun in rapid fire is difficult. The autoloading action is more suitable for firing from a prone position, as operation of a pump action moves the elbow normally used to support the shotgun, and it can more effectively be used one-handed, unlike pump actions which require two hands for effective cycling of the action. An early naval cannon design, allowing the gun to roll backwards a small distance when firing The recoil when firing a gun is the backward momentum of a gun, which is equal to the forward momentum of the bullet or shell, due to conservation of momentum. ...

The pump shotgun is more versatile than the semiautomatic, as it will more readily fire low powered less than lethal munitions which lack sufficient pressure to cycle the action in an autoloading design. A pump shotgun, which does not rely on its ammunition for energy to cycle, operates normally with the lower powered ammunition, and provides utility in combat and riot control situations. In addition, the pump shotgun has an advantage in situations such as door breaching, where the shotgun is immediately dropped (retained by a sling) and replaced by another weapon after the door has been breached. By not cycling the action after firing the final breaching rounds (multiple rounds are often required) the pump shotgun is left without a loaded round in the chamber, unlike a semiautomatic shotgun. Non-lethal force is force which is not inherently likely to kill or cause great bodily injury to a living target. ...

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Joint Service Combat Shotgun Program, includes the history of the shotgun in combat, and the requirements of the Joint Service Combat Shotgun
^ Shotguns at GlobalSecurity.org
^ Captain Ryan J. Morgan, US Army Training and Doctrine Command (2004). "The tactical shotgun in urban operations". Infantry Magazine.
^ http://www.benelliusa.com/firearms/specialPurpose.tpl

"Give Us More Shotguns!" by Bruce N. Canfield, American Rifleman, May 2004
Fawcett, Bill. Hunters & Shooters, An Oral History of the U.S. Navy SEALS in Vietnam. NY: Avon Books, 1995. ISBN 0-380-72166-X, pp. 79-80, especially.
The combat shotgun in the BCT, Infantry Magazine, Sep 1 2006
The tactical shotgun in urban operations Infantry Magazine, Nov-Dec, 2004
The Magnificent Mossberg, Guns & Ammo Magazine, April, 2007

American Rifleman is the official publication of the National Rifle Association(NRA). ...

External links

Combat Shotgun, Robert Clements, Pro Patria, Inc

Category: Shotguns

Results from FactBites:

HK Benelli Joint Service Combat Shotgun (217 words)
	Designated the M1014 Combat Shotgun, the M1014 is a gas operated, semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun designed and manufactured by Benelli for HK, Inc. It is being procured for issue to all of the Armed Services, including the US Coast Guard and Special Operations Command, to replace or augment the current inventory of pump-action shotguns.
	Engineered with dual gas ports, pistons, and cylinders, the ARGO Twin System was developed especially to meet the stringent Joint Services Combat Shotgun requirements.
	The M1014 is fitted with Ghost Ring iron sights, adjustable for windage and elevation without special tools, and an accessory mounting rail is attached to the top of the receiver to mount sighting and night vision devices.

More results at FactBites »

COMMENTARY

Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here

Want to know more?
Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms, 1022, m

Contents

Characteristics GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");