Think shotguns will ever be "cool" again?

[KarateHottie93]

The fact that shotguns remain so unpopular just blows my mind. I’ve always felt like nothing beats a good shotgun. Even in that whole SHTF type scenario you always hear about, I'm pretty sure I'd grab my TS12 for my long gun and my TRR8 for my handgun. With the right slugs and choke, your typical smooth bore shotgun can shoot accurately a lot further than most people would probably think, but I know I'm preaching to the choir.

I just don't get what it is that made them less popular these days. There's plenty of tactical looking options. There's tons of unreliable junk, but there's also plenty of cheap options that are very reliable from my experience. I've had bad luck with Turkish Saiga clone bullpups but I've had very good luck with Turkish AR12 bullpups. Those look great and can typically be had for $400 or less. My TS12 hasn't been as reliable as my BTS12 with low brass or magnums but as far as 2.75 buckshot (#4 and up) goes, it's never had a single failure. Hopefully it runs everything reliably once it's broken in more. Where it wins hands down though is that construction feels substantially more robust, it's tube fed and has gates on each side, and capacity is much greater when you count all three magazines. Of course you can get larger capacity box magazines and drums for the other platforms but they're much more bulky. Most importantly though, it's one of the most unique looking and operating firearms on the planet, and while over $1,000, it's much cheaper than almost any bullpup rifle on this planet. It's even cheaper than a lot of basic 556 AR's from reputable manufacturers. Yet when I talk to any local FFL'S that carry them, "they don't move". Mine had been sitting there for well over a year before I won it at auction at reserve price. It's the cool OD green version too. They're always listing the ones they still have left and nobody ever bids on them.

I have rifles and love rifles. There's no disputing the capability of even just your typical 556. 00 buck is no slouch either though. There's room for both, which is why I'm sure everybody here has multiples of both.

Anyways, why are shotguns so unloved by the average gun buyer these days, and do you think they'll ever be as popular as salt rifles again?

 

[TTv2]

As long as the capacity for them is low and factory buckshot remains high, no.

There's a reason AR's are so much more popular and why the standard issue weapom for soldiers is the M4/M16 and not shotguns.

 

[herrwalther]

For home defense, I have both a carbine and shotgun loaded. Carbine or bedside handgun are my top picks depending on what I grab first. Shotgun is the backup. Shotgun is loaded with mini buckshot shells with assorted birdshot, slugs, and full size buckshot sitting in a side saddle. It is good to have options. And one place where the shotgun does excel over a carbine is shell variety.

 

[jmorris]

The fact that shotguns remain so unpopular just blows my mind. I’ve always felt like nothing beats a good shotgun.

There are a number of uses where this may be true and a number where it’s false. To find more that feel like you do, you just need to find folks with the same set of circumstances.

 

[desmobob]

I'm surprised. As an older guy, I thought shotguns have become way MORE cool these days. There didn't used to be nearly as many tactical shotguns available as there are now! I used to think my Mossberg 590 Marine Coat was a cool tactical shotgun. Lately, the new stuff out there makes me think it's outdated and I need an upgrade! ​

 

[trackskippy]

I think it all depends on what you want the gun for. They are versatile, Ill give them that, but I mostly see them as a hunting gun, more than anything else.

And once the AR's and a few other things got smaller and handier, and the fact that pretty much anyone can easily work and shoot one, and the fact that they will defeat vests that will stop a shotgun, that was pretty much the end for me for using a shotgun for anything serious.

That said, I still have a number of "riot" type shotguns, and of those, the Chinese Lynx 12 Saiga knockoffs, have become my favorites of the lot. If I were to decide to use one, they would be the choice.

 

[PapaG]

Don’t understand your question. Go to a trap club. Skeet. Sporting clays. Three gun. Shotguns are evolving just as fast as the tactistuff and are a whole lot prettier in the clay sports field.
Cool is a jaded construct.
I guess I’m not thrilled by a bunch of black guns that all look alike from a distance.
Fancy walnut, engraving and coined receivers are definitely cool and breaking a hundred straight is way cool.
Only my opinion.
And I have a couple of black guns I like and shoot, a couple quite well.

 

[AJC1]

One word "recoil" in a lite and agile platform any 100 pound woman would pick an AR over a shotgun every time. I mention women as they are the fastest growing segment in our hobby. Not to be confused with Joe recommends a shotgun and no one would take his advise.

 

[mcb]

The shotgun shines in several application. Bird hunting being a big one. But the one that looks like a lot of fun and where the shotgun seems to really excel is fast moving hog hunting. Where the shooter is in a UTV or low flying helicopter using a high capacity or even magazine feed shotgun shooting good buckshot. That just seems to flatten the hogs better and more reliably than many rifles. No doubt the buck shot pattern make it more forgiving to accuracy to a degree but the multiple hits from the buck shot seem to put the hogs down really well. I would love to give it a try, but thankfully we have no hogs on our property.

 

[Frulk]

One of the problems I have with making a comment on this topic is that I have no industry data to quote to support my response.

Are there recent articles by national gun writers saying shotgun sales are on the decline? I’ve not seen one thread on this site on that point.

I do know spring turkey season is in full swing here and I haven’t seen anybody toting anything other than a shotgun. No AR’s to be found.

 

[jdsingleshot]

I am in a tiny minority. I'm not planning to buy another gun of any kind. My only repeaters are bolt action center fires and a revolver. My three shotguns are single barrels. My revolver is a .22 RF. I live in a very low-crime rural area. I can't imagine missing a head shot at SD range. I would not own a gun that wasn't blued and had wood furniture. I hate the look of "tactical." I'm 74 and got here by staying out of trouble, not by firepower.

I like my old shotguns--a Remington '93, Stevens 107 and an H&R Champion. American made with not a grain of plastic, no ceramicote, no black paint no laser sights, nothing to go wrong.

1893 Remington with interchangeable .30-30 WCF and 12 ga. barrels.

 

[DukeConnor]

I think my hammer coach is the coolest gun on the planet.

 

[hoardingthemanual]

shooting clays is fun i guess but i've never wanted to own a shotgun. if the good lord asked me to explain it, i couldn't.

 

[LimaCharlie]

Didn't know they were ever uncool. When boarding boats in Viet Nam, guys carried M-16s, 1911s, and 12 gauge riot guns. As far as the people in the boat, whoever had the shotgun was in charge with all eyes on him.

 

[Rlafever]

I think shotguns are cool because wing shooting is cool. The funnest hunting is dove shooting, duck hunting ,or pheasant hunting. Quail hunting or shooting is fun to but the quail aren't that common anymore

 

[FL-NC]

Unless I'm shooting something with feathers, I have very little use for them. I did have my single shot 20 gauge with me earlier today mowing a pasture in case I saw a nice yummy reptile. Because 20 gauge birdshot costs less than any type of snake shot that goes in a handgun.

 

[Buzznrose]

I am basing my input on 12 gauge firearms and ammo used in self defense…

Pro’s: generally less to buy, very versatile with different loads.

Con’s: Heavy recoil, limited capacity, less maneuverability, slower to reload, limited range, more chance for over penetration, higher probability for malfunction (short stroke pumps), fewer range options.

I have shotguns and love them. I keep one in “cruiser ready” in the safe with 00 Buck. But if someone tries kicking in my door at 0-dark-30, I’m grabbing an AR if I have time and a high capacity handgun if I don’t.

 

[JO JO]

I am a pump 12 ga fan , I think shotguns
still have some demand and are a great tool if one takes the time to get comfortable with it
Seems the AR-15 is the hot item nowadays it gets so much publicity
And notice that other long guns / shotguns are taking the passenger seat

 

[DeepSouth]

Get the government to prioritize banning them over other guns. Popularity will explode.

 

[GEM]

Shotgun sales have been flat according to industry purchase figures. However, when NYS passed the CCIA, LGS's here saw a run on the cheap, Turkish shotguns (which have a very spotty record). For those contemplating one, it may just be a lean against the wall gun - a version of the underwear drawer handgun. I know a guy with a pistol grip shotty in his underwear drawer for 20 years. Another guy who couldn't understand why his frail 60 year old wife refused to shoot the 12 gauge pistol grip at the range. Sigh.

Anyway, if you are serious - and most don't train - a good shotgun class for SD usage and/or running one in a competition as compared to a good handgun or carbine is informative. I shot a shotgun decently and if the local big wildlife comes to visit (low probability - last time a bear was annoying in 2018, the law shot it) or that was what I reached for, it would work. I would rather reach for a carbine but the handgun is first as more practical. Hunkering down - the long guns are what will be there also.

 

[CoalTrain49]

The latest trend in shotguns for home defense is industry driven, not demand driven. Not sure what that's all about except maybe the industry wanted to reinvent the shotgun for a growing home defense market. The fact is most people wouldn't consider a 12 ga shotgun if they actually had some range time with one before they bought it.

I've got lots of range time with shotguns and wouldn't consider one for home defense. I think I have three in my safe, one with an 18'' barrel. I probably had 5 or 6 a few years ago. The shotgun trend for home defense will soon run it's course. Putting a handle and a light on one is lipstick on a pig. Just isn't a practical solution for most people even though we have lots of trainers swearing it's a new day and a new deal. Follow the money.

My self defense is a pistol which is what I train with. Carbines and shotguns are in my safe. I doubt I would have time to secure one in a break in.

 

[kje54]

I have three 12 gauges that I love to shoot and two are set up as home defense shotguns. The two HD shotguns are both bullpup designs, a KS7 and a BT 12 semi-auto, the third is an old (long discontinued) Chinese Ithica M37 clone. The two bullpups sport Limbsaver Airtech slip-ons while the M37 has a Choate youth buttstock with their propriety recoil pad. All three are soft shooters which is good because over the decades I tore my rotator cuffs so many times they've separated and are irrepairable.
Moral of the story, put Limbsavers on your 12 gauges............

 

[d2wing]

I don't understand, what does cool mean? And why does it have to be? I have several shotguns, it never ever occurred to me that they were cool, or not. Maybe I am not normal because I think caring if something is cool is pretty uncool.
If the question is why are they not more popular is probably because hunting is not a popular is it once was. More folks by guns because they are tactical and folks seem to be getting ready for hordes of zombies or want to match their favorite gun from whatever video game they play. Then some of us actually shoot guns. Hunting, plinking and target shooting. Generally cheaper and more useful and pleasant to shoot rifles or pistols. But sometimes only a shotgun will do.

 

[Insignificant bill]

They are still real popular with me

 

[Nuke8401]

I have a few including a Beretta 1301 COMP (24") I used in 3-gun. Shooting it in 3-gun was fun but going to the range with it isn't much fun except to shoot a plate rack. My view is if you shoot trap/skeet or hunt they get some use otherwise they sit in the safe. 3-gun comps are almost non existent theses days.