#12ga

Ok, I know what you are thinking. A tricked out 12 gauge Nighthawk ‘firearm’ is going to be priced somewhere between the moon and New York City (great tune, by the way). And you are right, the MSRP is on the high side. So instead of insulting your intelligence by trying to explain features and specifications that make the numbers add up, I’m just going to leave everything here for your review. Doesn’t fit your needs and/or budget? No problem. But it will fit in someone’s safe.

If you’re a gun guy, odds are pretty good that non-gun people often ask your opinion on things. At least, People often make the mistake of asking my opinion, anyway. I guess they figure that just because I write about and make videos about guns, that my opinion is worth listening to. Of course you, dear reader, know that my opinion is worth every cent you paid for it. Still, I should probably indulge these poor, misguided souls. To that end, I’m going to answer some of these more common questions in a series of articles. Today, we’re going to cover the ever popular “best” home defense gun.

AR patterned shotguns have always caught my attention. So when I saw the Chaos-12 Development on social media, I was definitely intrigued.  Aside from using VEPR-12 magazines, many of the other components are interchangeable with AR parts – stocks, grips and triggers.

Beretta brought out their latest shotguns to SHOT Show Range Day. The first shotgun that caught my eye was the new XCEL400 Black. Due to customer feedback, they are now offering the XCEL400 in black anodizing rather than blue anodizing. It comes with a 30″ barrel with extended black edition Optima HP chokes. On top, the barrel has a carbon fiber rib. The stock will come with the kick off limb saver and is Gun Pod ready. Most interesting was the oversized controls that you see on Beretta’s Tactical 1301 on the XCEL400 Black. Such as the over sized charging handle and bolt release. The XCEL400 Black will retail for $2200.

Happy Thanksgiving! Since turkey is a staple for the holiday what is your go to Turkey Gun?

@Empty_Shell_LLC and @Aeroknox have been posting progress pics of their 5.56 minigun project and their D12 bullpup shotgun project.

Sure there were some people trying to convert AR10s to shoot 12ga. Then there are the AR style 12ga shotguns. Now someone has made a beltfed AR upper that shoots 12ga shotgun shells. Just need to iron out the kinks.

Kel-Tec brought out their line of firearms to the range at Media Day. The suppressed KSG caught my eye. At first glance I thought it was a SilencerCo Salvo 12 but the shape is different. This is made by Aklys Defense and uses a unique QD attachment muzzle device. This allows the user to install muzzle brakes, standoff devices and their suppressor at a whim. The suppressor retails for just a little over $1,000. Check them out here.

While I was at the booth shooting the DP-12 double barreled pump shotgun I noticed two other shotguns on display. The makers of the DP-12 are branching into semi-automatic shotguns. They have two versions of magazine fed semi-auto shotguns.  A standard shotgun configuration and a bullpup. Unfortunately they were non-functioning prototypes with 3D Printed components.

Earlier I posted a video about the Beretta UGB25 XCEL. A friend of mine told me about a similar shotgun called Cosmi. The Cosmi is more like a traditional Semi-Auto shotgun since it has an 8rd capacity. The action does break open similarly to the UGB25, however the Cosmi does not have an extended magazine tube. Instead, it stores the shells in the stock.

My friend John Saunders, of CNC NYC, teamed up with Taofledermaus to make CNC aluminum projectiles. It was Taofledermaus’ idea to have a projectile that would have pop out fins.

Beretta semi-auto shotguns are prized in the competition world, but don’t have the same presence in the “tactical shotgun” world alongside weapons such as the Remington 870 Police and Benelli’s Tactical series. Beretta is hoping to change that with the Tx4, a 12ga semi-auto with an 18″ hammer forged and chrome lined barrel, iron sights, and a top picatinny rail. Jarno of Beretta explains more in the video.