At range day at this year’s SHOT Show I ran into Wilkinson Tactical, a veteran-run company based in Wyoming, that specialises in shotguns – AR platform-based shotguns to be exact. Their CR12 is a box-magazine fed 12 gauge shotgun with parts compatibility with other AR-platform guns.

Wilkinson Tactical’s AR Shotgun at SHOT Show 2020 (Matthew Moss/TFB)

Wilkinson have previously appeared at SHOT Show with a number of prototypes in recent years but this year they were happy to report that they are nearing production with fine tuning of magazines the last hurdle. I ran a few rounds through the CR12 and found the controls and handling were, as you would expect, instantly familiar – a major selling point according to the company’s CEO Jim Wilkinson.

Wilkinson Tactical’s AR Shotgun at SHOT Show 2020 (Matthew Moss/TFB)

Wilkinson Tactical’s AR Shotgun at SHOT Show 2020 (Matthew Moss/TFB)

The gun is a semi-automatic and uses a direct gas impingement system. It comes as standard with 5-round box mags but larger magazines are in the works. The CR12 has a nickel boron coated bolt carrier group and permanent bonded dry film lubrication on its internals. The gun has a full-length 12 o’clock picatinny rail and an MLOK forend. According to Wilkinson the guns weigh in at 6.2 lbs unloaded.

Wilkinson Tactical’s AR Shotgun, the mag seen here is not the final pattern that will be used with steel and polymer mags in development (Matthew Moss/TFB)

Wilkinson’s vision for the system is to enable a conversion from shotgun to AR-10, with their Modular Advanced Weapon System (MAWS) achieved through the swapping out of the upper. I ran some buck and slugs through the gun and with the lighter loads it was especially easy to rattle through a magazine. Wilkinson hope to interest not just the civilian market but also the military and law enforcement too believing the familiarity of controls and handling will entice users.

You can find out more at www.wilkinsontactical.com/