As I noted in my Green Ops shotgun class AAR, I am a HUGE fan of my SDS S4 shotgun. This is a Benelli M4 clone that, unlike the previous M2 and M3 clones, is damn near perfect in. Read on for some thoughts, and how I upgraded mine.
Continue reading Quick Review of the SDS S4 with some upgradesTag Archives: 12ga
Green Ops Introduction to Shotgun Clinic AAR (SDS S4 Edition)
I was remarking to an acquaintance a couple weeks ago that “I’m not a shotgun guy”. And it’s true. I have shot zero rounds of clays/skeet/trap in my life. I respect the shotgun as a weapons platform, especially in close range capacities, but I’m a pistol guy when it comes to home defense. Most of my shotgun shooting is in 3gun, where it’s definitely not my strong suit, Yet, when I look in my safe, I’ve got six shotguns in there. To your usual non-gun-ethusiast normie, this would make me the shotgun king.
While I have to admit I’d probably most benefit from a competition-oriented shotgun class, I always make a habit of taking shotgun training when I can. I was really excited when Green Ops announced that they’d be getting into the shotgun training game, and signed up for their class as soon as I heard about it.
Continue reading Green Ops Introduction to Shotgun Clinic AAR (SDS S4 Edition)
Sentinel Concepts Practical Shotgun AAR
I make no secret that I like to train with a diverse variety of instructors. I think this makes you a better shooter, and it also gives you a lot more perspective on what you see in classes. In this case, Green Ops was hosting Sentinel Concepts for a shotgun class. Sentinel Concepts is a one-man show run by Steve Fisher, who’s one of the biggest names in the tactical shooting community. Needless to say, I was excited by the opportunity to train with him, and signed up months in advance.
Was it worth it? Read on!
Continue reading Sentinel Concepts Practical Shotgun AAR
JDC Defensive Shotgun Essentials Seminar AAR
I’m not really much of a shotgun shooter. I do quite a lot of practice with rifles and pistols, but shotguns never seem to figure into the mix as much. This is generally because I shoot at indoor ranges most of the time, and they almost never allow birdshot or buckshot. Shooting slugs is an expensive, and often uncomfortable proposition. I know I am not alone with this problem.
When I see a shotgun class that works with my schedule, I jump on it. When Justified Defensive Concepts released their 2020 schedule and the Defensive Shotgun Essentials Seminar was on it, I signed up as soon as I could. Now that I’ve taken it, I can tell you what I think!
Continue reading JDC Defensive Shotgun Essentials Seminar AAR
FPF Training Home Defense Shotgun Class AAR (AGR-870 edition)
I’ve been enjoying quite a lot of high quality training this year, but have wanted to see what the other quality instructors in the area have been offering. One thing I’ve never done before is take a shotgun class, so I was very interested in the Home Defense Shotgun class that Tim Chandler and FPF Training offer. Tim has been on the Primary and Secondary podcast, and enjoys an amazing reputation for his courses.
I was fortunate enough to be able to get in to it, and have an AAR for you… more after the break!
Continue reading FPF Training Home Defense Shotgun Class AAR (AGR-870 edition)
Tavor TS12 Formally Announced
IWI has formally announced the Tavor TS12 shotgun.
I got most of the details right in my previous post, but did get the magazine situation wrong. It appears that it’s using an SRM1216-style rotating magazine to pack in those 15 shotgun shells (5 per tube). As far as I can tell, you need to manually index the next tube when you run dry (appears there’s an unlock button at the front of the trigger guard), given the location of the magazine on the handguard. This is not exactly optimal, but still looks more user-friendly than the KSG or even the SRM1216.
Alas, this rotating tube (aka, revolving cylinder) makes it illegal in MD , so don’t expect a hands-on review in the near future.
Some other things I noticed:
- No built-in backup iron sights mentioned or obvious in the pictures. This is a bit of a shame, given how good the ones on the Tavor and X95 are.
- The safety is cross-bolt, which is a step backwards, IMHO.
- Not mentioned, but unless the pictures were mirrored, it’s fully ambi. Ejection ports on both sides, controls on both sides, etc.
- The design seems to be much more one-piece than the Tavor rifles. Not a bad thing, but it explains why it’s cheaper. I could see this hitting the $1200 mark in the near future.
- It looks like they could put together a 20rd version without too much more design work… it would make it less comfy to hold, but that might be acceptable to some people.
- Reloading it looks like a giant PITA, which has always been a problem with tube-fed bullpup shotguns.
On the whole, it looks nice, but I’d personally prefer a 12ga version of the Tavor 7 that takes stick and drum mags. Still, I expect this to sell reasonably well for its price point.
The Hebrew Hammer 