Industrial shotguns have been in use for a very long time, however, this is a category of firearms that is mostly unknown to firearm enthusiasts. I decided to write this short article to tell about the industrial shotguns and their use on the example of currently produced 8 gauge Winchester industrial shotguns.

Winchester “Ringblaster” Industrial Tool

When you think about industrial guns you probably imagine a nail gun or something like that. That is arguably the most known alternative use of firearms. However, there are big bore industrial shotguns that are designed to be used in industries such as steel industry where often times there is a need to remove excessive or built up materials from furnaces. As you can imagine, doing a manual work in such environments is not the quickest, easiest and safest job. That’s why they use these shotguns to do the job from a safe distance.

Winchester “Western” Industrial Tool

Winchester Industrial Products makes two such shotguns called Ringblaster Industrial Tool and Western Industrial tool. Here is how these shotguns are described on the company’s website:

The Ringblaster® Industrial tool is a heavy-duty shooting apparatus that is designed for multiple industrial applications. The industrial tool is coupled with our specialized Ringblaster® Mount system which has a precision weight balanced construction that helps maintain bull’s-eye accuracy, with substantially reduced vibration and recoil. The Ringblaster® can be fired by a manual lanyard operation or an auto fire operation. The Ringblaster® has been used by the cement, lime, and ferro alloy industries for over 60 years. Because it has proven to be durable, versatile and cost effective, it has been the tool that these industries depend on.

The Western™ Industrial Tool is a portable alternative to the Ringblaster®. This tool utilizes a pistol grip and hanging bracket to allow an operator to shoot and maneuver in much tighter spaces and from a more broad range of angles. It was originally designed to remove ash build-up in power plant boilers. The portability and versatility of the Western™ tool makes it useful for many other industrial applications.

These are single shot shotguns firing 8 gauge lead or zink slugs and buckshot. You can find the range of 8 gauge Winchester industrial ammunition by clicking here.

Here are also a couple of videos showing how these shotguns are used.

That’s the brief description of these less-known shotguns. If you have experience with these guns, please share your stories in the comments section.

Images from www.winchesterindustrial.com