Oleg shoots the VEPR 12
Over at All Outdoor Oleg Volk shoots the VEPR 12 shotgun and he likes it….
The shotgun comes equipped with RPK light machine gun open sights. At first, I was confused by the decision to make 1,000-meter adjustable sight with fairly short radius on a shotgun, but range use showed it to be a brilliant idea. The gray rear sight makes it easy to focus on the front post. It is adjustable for windage without tools, and the machine gun and the shotgun have something in common: both are made for creating beaten zones, with the difference of one doing it over time with bullets and the other simultaneously with shot. Great range adjustability also comes in handy when regulating for slugs of different weight and velocity. For example, the lowest 100 meter setting works perfectly for 25 yards with Brenneke Home Defense slugs, which cloverleafed right at the point of aim. A 0.6 center-to center group fired over open sights from kneeling is quite respectable, to my mind.
Sadly, the VEPR 12, which is produced at the Kalashnikov owned Molot factory, can no longer be imported into the USA. If you want one, you better buy it quickly.
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I was fortunate enough to get a VEPR-12 sometime ago when AIM Surplus had a sale on brand-new, original VEPR-12's with the OEM tubular metal stock at a sub-$1000 price point. Since then, I have noticed assorted firearms web sites such as AIM Surplus, Arms America, Classic Firearms and Atlantic Firearms offering the VEPR-12 in both metal stocked and classic AK-style polymer stocked configurations for as low as $799.00-$899.00. This held true up until just a few days ago, when the Russian AK ban became a Presidential edict. However, you should not give up the search if you really want one at a reduced price as it is possible that there are still some available at the old prices due to stock overage ( if so, this will probably last only for a short time to come for obvious reasons ), although there are also no absolute guarantees this will be the case for too long.
For example, I checked Classic Firearms at the time of writing ( 072214) and found that they are still accepting pre-orders for VEPR-12's with tubular metal buttstocks for $929.99, with deliveries to commence by 072814 ( which means they still have some in stock ). This price point is only a few dollars higher than the discounted pre-ban sale pricing ( I seem to recall it was $899 ), so I personally think it's definitely worthwhile, all things considered. They also have some VEPR and Saiga rifles available at the pre-ban prices for a limited time. Searching around, other reputable vendors on the Internet appear to have similar offerings still in effect as of now.
At any rate, I will say that the VEPR-12 is a truly excellent tactical / military shotgun by any standards, bar none.
All of the improvements many shooters wanted for the Saiga were applied to the Vepr. Molot did some homework and put out a excellent product.
I have no particular love for magazine fed shotguns and think the concept is flawed in many ways, although I bought a Vepr for a reason and will not part with it now.
One thing I noticed about the Vepr and that is that they work. The same cannot be said about Saigas, which are universally known to be a PITA.