The C-MORE M26 may be available to civilians
An interesting piece of intel I picked up at SHOT was that C-MORE are considering civilian sales of their M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System.
I love this photo. M26 Pistol (top), Standalone version (middle), M4 underslung version (bottom)
The pistol and underslung version would have NFA requirements (destructive devices AOW or Short Barreled Shotgun) but the standalone "carbine" would be civilian legal without any paperwork if the barrel was extended to 18".
The M26 is a breaching tool and not designed as an anti-personnel weapon. It was chosen by the US military over the KAC Masterkey and Remington MCS Accessory Weapon, both of which use the Remington Model 870 shotgun as a base. The M26 distributes its weight further back compared with the 870 and so it feels lighter.
Remington Model 870 MCS Accessory Weapon
Its a straight pull system. Grasp the bolt handle with your left hand and pull straight back and then let the bolt fly forward and it chambers the round. Most of the pics show the bolt handle folded in the downward position. In operation you flip it up so that it horizontal to the receiver body then pull straight back. It stays locked horizontal while you’re operating the weapon, you aren’t lifting it and “working the bolt” like a traditional bolt action each time. That also solves the issue of where you put your left hand, its on the large protruding handle on the left side of the weapon. I watched the guys at the SHOT booth cycling an empty weapon and they could work the action pretty quickly. It seemed pretty comparable to a fast operator on a pump gun. Obviously you’d have to see live fire with recoil to say for sure.
the benifit is simple, one gun rather than two. A shotgun to shoot open locks, chains, doors, you name it with breaching rounds. While clearing rooms you have a shotgun you can fire also, no need to transition to a second weapon, your already pointing it at them.
They most likely went slide action with this to save weight, it shaves a few lbs over an autoloader.
This gun is intended to be mounted to the rifle, so it will be a SBS short barrel shotgun because the rifle has a stock. $200 tax stamp on top of the weapon M26 cost.
Well I wouldn’t even mind if they only sold a civilian 18.5″ with stock model, the receiver alone is a refreshing concept
We had these in Afghanistan in 2003. Thoroughly worthless-nice idea, but poorly made and threw your marksmanship skills in the toilet because of how bulky it is.
Martin, two words: Starship Troopers.
The guns in that movie are exactly what you’re talking about. Search Morita rifle. Ridiculous though.
we had the M26s briefly at my unit, and we discarded them almost immediately. they worked ok, had some feeding issues, but they just didn’t provide a significant improvement over the pumps for all the added weight and operator inconvenience.
Did some Googling. 5.56/12 version were Mk-1′s, earlier 7.62/12′s were Crossfire 88P’s. Done by Sabre Defense in the 1980′s. All were apparently pump action so my recall of a semi version must be off. Not a ton of info out there but some if you look under Crossfire MK-1 or Crossfire 88P. It was a selective system though via a switch on the side of the action. One receiver, one trigger, one pump for both calibers.
There was such a creature back in the late 80′s or so if I recall. Selective 12 gauge under a 7.62 NATO semi. Or maybe it was vice a versa? There was a later 5.56 and 12 gauge combo too but I think that whole monstrosity may have been pump operated.
I’ve always liked the idea of the under-slung shotgun, but to me they always look horrible and ineffective. The shotgun always looks like some horrific afterthought that only makes the rifle a cumbersome mess. I’m still waiting for the day when one receiver/trigger group will operate two weapons/calibres in perfect functional harmony.
Woah! I just had a patentable idea! Somebody contact me!
Just reread my own post and wanted to clarify: I stated “Grasp the bolt handle with your left hand and pull straight back and then let the bolt fly forward and it chambers the round.” Now that I read it again thats a bit misleading. Its a manual straight pull meaning you pull the bolt back and push forward to chamber the round, not “let fly”. Not sure what I was thinking when I typed that. Not enough coffee. Or maybe not enough beer :p Something. Anyway, carry on!
@Dave
It’s economics. A Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 is between three and five hundred depending on the model, while an M4 auto from Benelli is $1700. Even a Remington 11-87 auto is $850. They would probably get bulk rate discounts but that is still a massive price gap.
It’s sort of a bolt action
Its a straight pull system. Grasp the bolt handle with your left hand and pull straight back and then let the bolt fly forward and it chambers the round. Most of the pics show the bolt handle folded in the downward position. In operation you flip it up so that it horizontal to the receiver body then pull straight back. It stays locked horizontal while you’re operating the weapon, you aren’t lifting it and “working the bolt” like a traditional bolt action each time. That also solves the issue of where you put your left hand, its on the large protruding handle on the left side of the weapon. I watched the guys at the SHOT booth cycling an empty weapon and they could work the action pretty quickly. It seemed pretty comparable to a fast operator on a pump gun. Obviously you’d have to see live fire with recoil to say for sure.
Intention was originally for breaching but also as a means to have a less lethal weapon attached to the M-4, or used in a stand alone role. They said they did a lot of testing with rubber rounds and beanbags. They said they have run conventional buck and slug through it as well.
Mags do indeed look a lot like Saiga mags. I don’t think they’re the same though. They said they had a lot of tweaks to do on the mags to get them to feed a variety of rounds correctly. I had mentioned how the Saiga used two different mags for 2 3/4 and 3 inch shells and the guy at the C-More booth said they just used one mag for both shell sizes.
As far as having a rifled barrel and no stock and registering it as a pistol, that’d be a no go. Not sure exactly what the BATF regs are but essentially that only works with the .45 Colt/.410. A rifled 20 or 12 gauge doesn’t qualify as a handgun. Like other folks said, it could be an AOW, but not a conventional handgun.
Steve: unless you’re talking about pants, that should be “breaching” tool.
/Spelling Nazi mode OFF/
DaveP., thanks.
It would not be a destructive device: the handgun would be an AOW and the carbine would be a SBS.
If you could get a SBR and a SBS on them it be a cool kit then.
Yeah it might be lighter but I have never liked the way the M26 exposes the bottom half of the M4′s barrel. The Masterkey/MCS systems clamp to the barrel and the rear of the fore-end, and how exactly do you hold the weapon now that there’s a bulky magazine right where you used to put your other hand
I see Johnny’s comment, but…
Is it really a bolt action, or a semi-auto?
If it really is a semi-auto instead, does the charging handle reciprocate as well?
I’ve never understood why slide-action shottys are so popular with the military/LE. I get that the “chak-chunk” sound is intimidating, but when you’re just trying to put holes in things, intimidation sorta goes away, and wouldn’t a semi-auto be more effective? Automatic, instant reloading, recoil abatement…
Maybe I’m missing the point, I dunno…
Dave, it is bolt action.
A bolt action?? I would love to try to breach with one of these, I really want to know if it would be fatser than my old 590a1
The earliest iteration of the M26 used Saiga magazines. Don’t know what the current version uses now.
The pistol version would probably come as an AOW (Any other Weapon) like the other short barreled shotguns that come from the factory with a pistol grip and no stock.
AOW= $5 tax stamp
SBS = $200 tax stamp
Mmm… tempting.
I don’t really understand the concept behind this weapon. Can someone who has served explain the benefits?
If the pistol version had a rifled barrel, and it was under 16″ barrel length, it would be considered a pistol, and not subject to an BAFTE Form 4 background check and tax stamp to own. I would be considered a pistol.
I’ve seen Saiga 12s with that type of conversion, and they are considered pistols after conversion, and didn’t need any type of tax stamp to own.
It wouldn’t be legal for CCW unless your state allows greater than a .45 caliber round.
@tim better make that 18.5″. You know how the BATF’s barrel-measuring rulers all run a little short.
Scratch that, I just realised its a bolt action.
It looks very bulky as a Masterkey dealio but it might be a nice alternative to the SAIGA.
Wonder what the magazines cost though. D:
It would need an 18″ barrel to be civilian legal. 16″ is minimum for rifles, its 18″ on shotguns.
I played with those at SHOT. Neat systems, very compact. The straight pull action seem very fast to operate and it keeps everything tucked in fairly close to the body.
Tim, ooops, yea, 18″.