Welcome back to the “if I could only have __” series! This post is the second in the series, following up on my #1 gun, the EDC handgun. Today’s pick is the gun I’d have in addition to my EDC Handgun. The gun in the number two slot, if I could only have two guns, would be the defensive shotgun. Let’s get into it!
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The “If I Could Only Have x Gun(s)” Series
Welcome back to the “If I could only have _ gun(s)” series!I know this type of article has been done to death, but I really enjoy discussing it! It’s a fun problem to solve: getting yourself down to the bare minimum hardware, while still covering all the bases.
My series will proceed up to at least five guns. Each article will cover only one gun, and build on the articles behind it. It may go beyond five, but currently the plan is to cover my “core 5” firearms that I don’t want to try and live without. All of these articles will follow basically the same format, first explaining the “why” behind that general category then explaining my particular choice to fill that category. Due to the complex explanations behind these choices, these will likely be some fairly lengthy articles.
These articles also build on each other. Each article in this series builds on the one before it. Today I present one gun I would have if I could have two; the previous article covers the first one in-depth and requires no recap here.
If I Could Only Have Two Guns: The Defensive Shotgun
The second gun in this series should be a long gun. The EDC handgun provides the everyday carry capability, and serves as the gun that is with you most often. It covers down on 99% of situations in which you need a firearm. While a second, full-size handgun would offer some additional capability, a long gun offers massively expanded capability.
Long guns are chambered in more powerful cartridges. They offer something much more like “stopping power” than any handgun. They are also much easier to shoot. Because they are easier to shoot, they tend to permit much more accuracy than handguns in high-stress situations. Coupled with additional power, this makes long guns better fight-stoppers than pistols.
If I could only have one gun it would be my EDC handgun, for reasons explained in that article. If I could have two, the second would be a defensive, 12-gauge shotgun.
This choice might be a controversial one: two low-capacity, “legacy” firearms in a row? As with my last one, I have mentally explored this question thoroughly, and there are some good reasons for the shotgun. It might not be a good choice for you, but it is for me. Here’s why.
Why The 12-gauge Shotgun?
I am a huge fan of the shotgun. The first, most-important reason is skill. I am pretty good with a shotgun. I’ve spent a serious amount of time dry-practicing with the shotgun, and I’ve taken some classes with them. I’ve even earned a Sym-Tac Skills Gauge Coin (Coin #11) as a marker of proficiency. Suffice to say, I’m pretty comfortable running a 12-gauge shotgun.
The 12-gauge shotgun is a very powerful weapon. It is perhaps the ultimate close-quarters battle weapon, delivering a devastating payload with each and every pull of the trigger. If I had to bet my life on a single round of ammunition, you better believe it would be a 12-gauge slug or round of 00 buckshot.
Along with 9mm Luger, .223/5.56, and .22 LR, 12 gauge ammo some of the most common ammunition in America. Practice ammunition is also very inexpensive compared to the .223/5.56 (about $0.40/round versus $0.60). Shotguns are typically very robust guns that fire low-pressure ammunition. As a result, shotguns tend to be long-lived.
And of course, there is the versatility of the shotgun. It can fire anything from birdshot to slugs. The 12 gauge is the only modern chambering selectively chosen by both dove and bear hunters. The shotgun is commonly used to hunt rabbit, turkey, hogs, and whitetail. It’s also used to breach doors, and fighting shotguns are still in use on the street. IWith the right ammunition, there isn’t much a shotgun can’t do.
Adding to this versatility is the fact that the shotgun is about as broadly legal as a long gun can be. I can throw a shotgun in the car and drive to any nearby state without becoming a felon by crossing an imaginary line. I do travel a lot, and sometimes I feel better taking a long gun along for the ride. This is absolutely not the case with the very polarizing AR-pattern rifle. Nor is it the case with the short-barreled 870, which requires an ATF permission slip to cross state lines.
Perceived Disadvantages of the Shotgun
All of the above makes a pretty compelling case answering, “why the 12-gauge shotgun.” There are some potential downsides to the shotgun, however. Most of these are not the big problems that those unschooled in the Gospel of the Gauge believe them to be. I do feel like I need to spend some time on these, because this article is also intended to educate, not merely show off my shotgun.
Below are some of the perceived disadvantages of the shotgun. Like a job interview where you’re asked your greatest weakness, and somehow turn it into a strength, I hope to demonstrate that these disadvantages really aren’t all that problematic.
Limited Range
One of the biggest disadvantages of the 12-gauge shotgun is its limited range. Really, really good buckshot is only good for use on human-sized targets out to about 25 yards. You can hit someone further away than that, but buckshot spreads rapidly further out. Pellet accountability is imperative in a defensive context. The the round balls that make up buckshot also lose energy fairly rapidly. Slugs can extend this distance, but only out to about 100 yards, or maybe just a little more.
For me this isn’t a huge limitation. There I live – in heavily-wooded mountains – it’s hard to get a shot much longer than that. And in a defensive situation, the distance is likely to be much closer. For some this might be a dealbreaker, though. If you live in another clime – the desert of the Southwest, the plains of the Midwest, or the more open western mountains – you may need a gun capable of making much longer shots.
The purpose of the second gun might be for much more than defensive purposes. It may also be for farm/ranch defense against predators. It could also be for hunting. Again, for me, shooting whitetail, black bear, or hogs is a 100-yards-and-in proposition, and the shotgun will do just fine.
“Low” Capacity & “Slow” Reloads
Another reputed disadvantage of the 12-gauge shotgun is its capacity. I’ve addressed this before, but the shotgun is NOT a low-capacity firearm. Sure, it only holds 4 – 7 rounds compared to 30 or so from an AR. Comparing raw round-count is not helpful because the rounds are not the same. Similar to how we acknowledge that 9mm does not produce the same fight-stopping ability as 5.56, 5.56 isn’t in the same league with 12-gauge.
Tim and Ashton expressed this idea in the context of “serving size.” You don’t have to shoot everyone with three-to-six rounds of 12-gauge buck or slugs to achieve the desired results. When you realize that you don’t have to run a Bill Drill on every adversary – and in fact, one round is almost always plenty – having 6 or 7 in the gun sounds pretty good. My shotgun is loaded with 6 rounds, with 6 more on a side-saddle. A dozen rounds of 12-gauge will answer the mail for any defensive situation even remotely likely to befall me.
“Slow” Reloads
The perception concomitant with that of low capacity is that shotguns are slow to reload. I disagree. Again, if you are running your shotgun like an AR and shooting it completely dry, the shotgun will be slow to reload. This is a failure to recognize that the shotgun should not be run like an AR. If you realize one or maybe two gets the job done you are very unlikely to run the gun dry. If you follow the principles of “shoot one, load one,” and “if you’re not shooting, you should be loading,” your shotgun will stay ready for action.
And quite honestly, the ability to top-off without removing the gun’s feeding source is actually an advantage over a magazine-fed rifle. To top off a magazine-fed rifle, its feeding source must first be removed, reducing it a single-shot. A new magazine must then be inserted. With a shotgun, it’s actually fairly simple to keep the gun in action by loading rounds as you shoot them.
Recoil
The next criticism that inevitably comes with a shotgun is the recoil. Recoil can be mitigated, first through skill. The Push-Pull Technique taught by Sym-Tac Consulting’s Robb and Matt Haught (aka Double-Aught Haught) renders recoil extremely manageable. It is not a difficult technique to learn. It does, however, require a bit of upper-body strength, though brute-strength is not necessary. Much more importantly is mastering the skill of Push-Pull. Like any skill it must be learned, ingrained, and maintained. Once mastered, the Push-Pull technique makes the shotgun extremely manageable.
Skill as achieved through training and practice is the most important aspect of the recoil equation. Ammunition selection does play an important role, however. There is a tendency among some to stoke their shotguns with full-power buck, or even 3″ Magnum loads. I fell prey to this as a younger man. Frankly, there’s only so much work to be done on a human body, and it can be accomplished more than adequately with a low-recoil buckshot or slug.
Mitigating recoil will go a long way to ensuring accurate hits. In the exceptionally rare case you need a follow-up shot, it will also help there. Making hits also mitigates the “low capacity” and “low reload” thing by ensuring you don’t do the one thing that is mostly likely to cause you to run out of ammo: missing.
My Shotgun
My shotgun is a Beretta 1301 Tactical. I am a long-time fan of the 870, and a very biased fan of my 870 SBS, so this may come as a surprise to some of you. However, I feel the Beretta 1301 has some big advantages over the 870. Mainly, the Beretta 1301 is easier to work with. It’s easier to shoot and it’s easier to accessorize. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not bashing the 870, but for me, it’s the right choice.
Additionally, the 1301 has prove itself reliable. I don’t have many rounds on this particular specimen, but the 1,000 or so rounds I do have have been utterly reliable. Not only that, but there’s a reason that shotgun guys who really know shotguns are moving to the 1301: it works. Coincidentally just yesterday Lucky Gunner released a 10-year review of the 1301. The Haughts, Tim and Ashton, and Adam, Jonathan, and Zach all run 1301s…again for good reason. Reliability aside for a moment, let’s look at a couple other compelling features of the 1301 Tactical Mod 2.
Let’s look at Reliability and both of the “Easiers”: Easier to Shoot, and Easier to Accessorize.
Easier to Shoot
The 1301 is objectively easier to shoot than the 870, and for several reasons. First, being a semiautomatic, it is so much easier to work. Racking the slide of the 870 for ever shot is not difficult, but it is work. Running an 870 is like driving a ’83 F150 with a manual gearbox and no power steering to the 1301’s 2024 F150 with all the bells and whistles. The 1301 doesn’t require as much user input to shoot.
There’s also the recoil thing. Recoil is hard to quantify, but the 1301 seems to have less of it. The gas-operated system helps absorb some of the recoil, while the 870 (and other pumps) just have to eat it. That doesn’t mean you don’t have to use good recoil management technique. Indeed you do! The push-pull technique really takes advantage of the Beretta’s B-Link gas system, which lets you run the gun without quite so much effort as running an 870.
Finally, I don’t have to load quite as often. Holding 7+1, the 1301 is at the top of the heap in regards to capacity. There are shotguns that hold more rounds out there, but they also require going to a longer barrel (like the 20-inch 590s). My SBS’d 870 holds 5+1. Even before I cut the barrel, it only held one additional round, making it 6+1. The 1301, on the other hand, holds 7+1, translating to a bit less reloading.
Easier to Accessorize
Even if comparing the baseline 870 and the baseline 1301, I would certainly choose the 1301 as my long gun, if I could only have two guns. I don’t think either gun needs to be accessorized to an excessive extent, but there are some modifications that can make it a better fighting shotgun. Unfortunately, modifying the 870 to the best possible standard is difficult.
What does a fighting shotgun need? I think it needs four things: a shortened stock, high-quality sights, a white light, and on-board ammunition storage. I also think it can use one other thing: a sling, though I know that’s debated by some. Let’s look at each of these categories in a bit more depth.
Shortened Stock
Why does a defensive shotgun need a shortened stock? Frankly, because most come with stocks that are too long. The OEM stocks on the vast majority of shotguns is more suited to wing-shooting than defensive shooting with buckshot or slugs. It’s hard to square up behind the gun and used good Push-Pull technique with a stock that is too long. Some manufacturers are taking notice of this, but for most the Magpul SGA stock (Mossberg version) is the right answer. I resisted it for a long time, but it’s popular because it’s the best shotgun stock out there.
On-Board Ammo & Sling
These are also a wash between my 870 and my 1301. For on-board ammo I use the soft, Vang Comp shotgun cards. I truly believe these are the best of the breed. Mine hold six rounds, and the Vang Comp cards are rigid enough not to curl up when loaded with shells. Shotgun cards from ESSTAC are also good and much cheaper, though they do tend to curl, and wear out more quickly.
Personally, I think a shotgun needs a sling. Part of that is that my shotgun is now a patrol shotgun. The other part is that even in my home, a confrontation might get hands-on. I don’t want to suddenly come up without a shotgun in my hands…and the other guy having one. A sling is – at least partially – about attaching the gun to my body.
Either of these guns will take a sling. I have both set up with SGA stocks, and both have forward mounting points for a sling, though this is not standard for most factory 870s. My 1301 wears a Edgar Sherman Design Sling, while my 870 is outfitted with a classic VTAC sling.
Sights
Shotguns are not “point and shoot” weapons that require no aiming. This is a myth that has (thankfully) largely been dispelled, at least in my circles. Shotguns require sights to be shot effectively. The Beretta 1301 Tactical comes with outstanding iron sights. The rear ghost ring is protected and adjustable for both windage and elevation. It is large and open and allows rapid sight acquisition.
The elevated front sight is protected, as well. Both have white dots to aid in lower-light acquisition. XS sights makes a replacement, HD-style front sight with an luminescent orange ring and tritium insert. I’ve not yet found the need to purchase one, but may sometime in the future.
The irons on this gun are excellent, but I decided to take advantage of the 1301’s optic capability. The shotgun I ordered came with a Reptilia Saddle mount installed. This minimalist mount is purpose-built for the Aimpoint ACRO P2. The ACRO is a rugged, closed-emitter optic.
While a bit bulky on a pistol, the ACRO P-2 is lightweight and compact on a shotgun, but provides good field of view. The red dot provides a precise aiming point while also aiding in speed at close range. The lack of a provision for red-dot mounting on my 870 was a big consideration in ruling it out.
The ACRO P-2 sits low enough to provide an outstanding co-witness. Should the battery die or the light be washed out, I can immediately switch to the excellent iron sights. I initially found the optic window to be a little cluttered with the irons. Time has smoothed this out for me and now I hardly notice.
The Pump Shotgun Light Problem
The ability to easily mount a light is a huge consideration on any defensive firearm, and especially on a long gun. One of my ongoing complaints with pump shotguns is the difficult in attaching a weapon-mounted light. The two most common solutions are the Surefire DSF-870 and the Streamlight TL-Racker. Both have their problems. The Surefire is antiquated in my opinion, being heavy, clunky, not very ergonomic, and putting out an anemic 500 lumens… Oh, and it’s a special order item now anyway.
The TL-Racker is slightly better, but I didn’t really take to it until I did some serious cutting, sanding, and stippling. This light works pretty well for me now, and I’d take it over a Surefire any day, but it’s still not ideal. And the discontinuation of the DSF-870 tells me support for pump shotguns probably isn’t going to get much better in coming years.
Lighting the 1301
The 1301, however, allows the mounting of any weapon light you want. Thanks to MLOK slots on the factory handguard you can mount any MLOK compatible light. This means you are free from purchasing a shotgun-specific light, and a world of options open up to you. You don’t have to find a “shotgun light” or “1301 light” – you can just use any old weapon-mounted light.
I upgraded from the factory handguard to the Aridis Imperium. It provides more mounting options, as well as the ability to C-clamp the barrel. As I learned in the Full Spectrum Shotgun class, the barrel gets hot after just a few rounds, so this is very welcome. Add to that the fact that I personally prefer aluminum over plastic for mounting MLOK accessories.
I chose to go with a Modlite PLHv2 18350 on an Arisaka Inline mount. To actuate the light I chose a Modbutton, and coupled it with a DAC Angler. A DAC Cable Management Panel also keeps the Modbutton cord from hanging out, in the way and only weights 4/10ths of an ounce. This is a sophisticated light setup that isn’t really possible with a pump shotgun.
At the end of this long description it sounds like a bunch of stuff on my shotgun. Really it’s an improved stock (Magpul SGA) and forend (Aridus Imperium), which aren’t additional items on the gun – they replace other stuff. Added to the gun is an Aimpoint ACRO P-2, a light (Modlite PHLv2), some Vang Comp shotgun cards, and an Edgar Sherman Design Sling. Sights, light, ammo, and a sling. That’s it.
Ammunition
My philosphy around the shotgun has evolved tremendously in the past few years. The more classes I attend the more knowledgeable I become and. the more evolved my position on the shotgun becomes. But I still like to use slugs in the defensive shotgun. I like the precision of launching a single projectile. Slugs aren’t lacking in their ability to stop a threat, and frankly, I don’t know that buckshot offers that big of an advantage over a 1-ounce slug. Where I live I also have bears, among other wild animals. The ability to extend my range as needed is also appreciated.
One commonly cited flaw of the slug is that they over penetrate. According to Dr. DiMaio’s authoritative Gunshot Wounds, soft, Foster-type slugs don’t over-penetrate in the human body. Doctor Gary Roberts echoes this, saying soft, Foster-type slugs typically stay inside the human body. If you make good, solid hits, slugs are not going to over-penetrate.
I have evolved significantly on the slugs I use, however. For the past several years now I have used low recoil slugs. A slug at 1,600 feet per second generate substantially more recoil than a slug at 1,300 feet per second, but probably doesn’t do appreciably more damage on target, or stop threats any faster. The Federal TruBall Rifled Slug (PB127 LRS) is accurate, reliable, and light-recoiling, and will do anything I need a slug to do. I can pick up the shotgun, place a round exactly where I need it to be, with plenty of power, without excessive recoil.
Potential Future Modifications
This gun is pretty good-to-go as-is. It doesn’t really need any further modifications. There are a couple of things I am likely to put on it, however. The first is the high-visibility XS front sight mentioned earlier. This is a “maybe” for me, but I like this style of sight and have it on most of my serious-use handguns.
The other mods that I will certainly make (as soon as they are back in stock) is replacing the factory charging handle and bolt release. Both will be replaced with upgraded parts from Aridus Industries. The existing parts are OK, but knowledgeable users rave about the Aridus charging handle, so I’m going to be smart and take their word for it. The other problem with the factory bolt release is the tendency of the plastic button to come off the gun. The Aridus part tightens down, eliminating this possibility.
If I Could Only Have Two Guns
So that’s it: the second gun, if I could only have two guns. With this combo I have an easily concealable sidearm that I can carry every day. It will be there when I need it. And I have a formidable fighting weapon. The Beretta 1301 can be used for home defense, close-quarters battle, and a hunting gun for any animal species that lives anywhere near me. But I don’t just choose it for that; I choose the shotgun because I have a lot of training with it. I am confident in my shotgun, and my abilities with it. If I could only have two guns, my EDC 1911 and my Beretta 1301 would absolutely be those guns. There is nothing I am remotely likely to face in my lifetime that I couldn’t handle with these two firearms.
