In recent years the firearms industry has witnessed a boom in sales of Pistol Grip Firearms or PGFs.  “Firearms”, as they are classified, like the Remington Model 870 Tac-14 and Mossberg Shockwave have left some gun owners scratching their heads.  These specialty grip weapons are simply viewed as “firearms” or “non-shotgun shotguns” and have barrel lengths shorter than 18in.

Legal Overview

To those familiar with the laws surrounding barrel length this raises some questions.  Under the National Firearms Act or NFA, a shotgun with a barrel length shorter than 18in must have some sort of tax stamp associated with it. Right? Well, not exactly.

Unlike AOWs (Any Other Weapons) PGF’s are considered non-NFA firearms, because while their barrel is shorter than 18 inches, the overall length of the firearm exceeds the 26 inch minimum.  They also don’t possess a fore-grip, that would make them an AOW. First potential tax stamp dodged.

Second, the weapon utilizes a birdshead pistol grip, rather than a traditional buttstock.  As such it is not considered a short barreled shotgun or SBS. Keeping it outside the purview of the NFA, and keeps you tax stamp free.  

Remington TAC-13: What’s New

Aside from the minor aesthetic changes, what makes this PGF style shotgun that much better than the rest of the field?  Two words; Semi-Automatic. Finally, a PGF auto-loading shotgun using Remington’s new Versaport Gas System to mitigate recoil.  No more unnecessary kick, or pump-reload fumbles that plague pump-action PGF style shotguns. Remington is also keen the boast the reliability of the new gas system on the TAC-13’s product page stating,

Gas system optimized to run common light field loads or full power buck and slug and anything in between

And that

The Remington V3 Tac-13 represents the ultimate in compact personal defense regardless of where your journey takes you. From the comfort of your own home, to the remote wilderness the V3 Tac-13 offers the assurance that no matter what you encounter in the world you will have adequate means to defend yourself or those you love from any threat.

The receiver has been beefed up as well, and is slightly larger while not being overly bulky.  

There are also small but noticeable additions like QD Sling mount located on the left side of the grip.  

Testing and Reliability

As a trap/skeet shooter, I’ve heard plenty of claims from shotgun manufacturers claiming their semi-auto platform will more-or-less cycle anything.  This claim of course being met with mixed results. A certain Italian shotgun manufacturer always sets a high bar. Remington was keen to point out, this new gas system was optimized to run with any kind of load.  Between this claim, and the shotgun being marketed as a defensive weapon, I wanted to make sure this claim held true.

When it came to ammunition, I sourced a wide variety across a large price range.  With ammunition types ranging from light field, heavy field, high velocity, military grade 00 buckshot, and even some 1oz rifled slugs.  Ammo was sourced from various manufacturers as well, as some shotguns will favor certain brands of ammo. Lastly, I would not be cleaning or performing any maintenance on shotgun during testing.  This would simply be taking it out of the box, and strait to the range.

Results and Impressions

Shooting the TAC-13 was surprisingly easier than I had imagined, and a lot more fun to boot.  Accuracy is not its strong suit as it only has 13in of barrel and no choke. Still, even from the hip it is easy to rapidly engage close range targets.  

Having shot similar style pump action shotguns, it was nice to be able to make it past 50 rounds without feeling like my hand was about to fall off.  The adjustable tension hand strap is also a welcome addition when shooting for prolonged periods of time. Providing a much needed sense of confidence that is needed when shooting a stockless 12 gauge.  Slugs and buckshot did have noticeably more recoil, but I didn’t find myself dreading pulling the trigger on any of these heavy loads. Remington did their homework with the Versaport gas system, and it takes a sizable chunk out of the felt recoil.  Adding a magazine cutoff switch was a welcome addition, as it allows you to remove a shell without cycling a new one into the action.

Most importantly though, was the reliability.  After all, Remington did market the TAC-13 as a defensive shotgun, and that means it needs to work no matter what ammo you throw at it.  Well to that end, I can say the TAC-13 is incredibly reliable. I even tried to “trip up” the gun by loading mixed ammo, and it still cycled.  Furthermore, during my testing of the TAC-13 I never experienced a single jam or malfunction. These types of failures could be induced by firing the weapon improperly, but with your hand through the front loop it’s not something to be concerned about.  The gun was dirty but not filthy when field stripped. It’s worth noting that it’s very easy to field strip as well. Requiring only a single 5/32 allen wrench to do so.

Conclusion

With an MSRP of the V3 TAC-13 at $915 this isn’t a cheap entry level shotgun.  Other pump action shotguns in this market cost significantly less, and that may drive some away from the TAC-13.  Personally, I think if you’re in the market for a PGF style shotgun, this is the one to beat. Right out of the box, you get a forward mounted picatinny rail, you can easily mount lights or lasers.  

I think a flashlight would be a perfect fit for this setup, and would provide you a general idea of what the pattern would be.  I also found it was the perfect size to fit inside my 5.11 Tactical Rush 72 backpack. With just the grip exposed it’d be an easy over the shoulder draw in the backcountry.  

The receiver is also drilled and tapped from the factory, should you decide to mount and optic in the future. These features, pared with the reliability of the new gas system, make the Remington V3 TAC-13 a new benchmark in the PGF shotgun market.  

Remington TAC–13 Product Page

https://www.remington.com/other-products/v3-tac-13

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