there's not much left for gun makers to innovate when it comes to the operating system of new shotguns the focus now is improving the outside and overall functionality of the gun you're seeing larger bolt handles and loading ports lighter triggers and custom exterior.

Finishes a good shotgun is a long-term investment so when you decide to close the deal you're cementing a relationship with a tool that you may have for the rest of your life and pass on to your children design excellence aesthetic quality overall.

Form reliability decorative detail integrity of materials value for money and shooting performance might all be considered fortunately shotguns also hold their value fairly well so trading them out won't usually break your wallet.

But you want to make an informed decision when getting a new shotgun so we put our years of collective shooting experience together for some recommendations to help guide your purchase inevitably we've had to trim the list to just the top picks so there are plenty more excellent guns.

Out there no matter if you carry a shotgun a couple of times a year in search of cotton tails and squirrels or you shoot 10 000 shells at the range this list has a gun for you from sleek semi-autos to durable pumps and high-end brake action doubles here's a.

First look at the best shotguns for this year this is the tomahawk the tomahawk is a pistol grip only 12 gauge shotgun it's got a 16 inch barrel and 26.1 inches overall so doesn't classify as an nfa weapon it is a legal shotgun now.

When you pick up a shotgun what's the first thing you want to do you want to run the action and what you'll notice on the nighthawk custom is the action is extremely smooth sometimes i think it's running on bearings that's because nighthawk custom hand hones the actions and the rails so it's got a great smooth.

Feel and a solid sound now the hogue 4n grip also adds and gives it a solid feel overall it's really nice it does have a one shot extension it's made of solid billet so it brings the round count up from four to five you got a four round side saddle as well.

The safety is a tactical type with a large button that's easy to get to i don't shoot too many pistol grip only 12 gauge shotguns and i was a little bit nervous about shooting the tomahawk but it was actually quite nice that's thanks to the vancomp barrel porting system the vancomp system.

Features 62 ports near the end of the barrel there are 31 on either side of the front sight these ports allow hot gases to escape and reduce felt recoil it also reduces muzzle flip and reduces flash the system works amazingly well.

Wow   so  that is a nice shooting shotgun this is the wilson combat cqb shotgun this is their new model they just came out with and this thing has.

Literally every feature that i would probably want on a tactical shotgun number one i want to have a robust set of sights of course you if you can't see something to do sights you can't shoot it this has the track lock ghost ring and fiber optic front sight and it's heavy duty and made out of metal i mean i can.

Bang this side up against the wall or the edge of the doorway and not have to worry about it breaking off so the fiber optic is going to allow me to pick up that site in lower light conditions faster and a big ghost ring allows me to see that front sight better and quicker and of course the faster you can see.

The faster you can shoot number two and probably the most important thing for me in the middle of the night if i'm grabbing a shotgun to defend my home is the ability to use a weapon mounted light and one of the downsides that i see in a lot of pump shotguns is guys and gals have weapon mounted lights.

That are mounted somewhere up on the tube which means that they can't continually operate the light as they're working the pump not so much on this shotgun this one actually has an integral surefire weapon mounted light on the pump so it's right there it's set up so.

I can use it with either thumb so i can shoot this shotgun on my right shoulder or my left shoulder and use it with either hand so i'm really really liking that the next thing i'm gonna look for in a shotgun is spare ammunition while this particular shotgun has an extended tube so i might have six rounds.

In the gun this also gives me the ability to carry six more rounds on the firearm because think about that in the middle of the night you're not going to have the time or presence of mind to stuff your pockets full of shotgun shells so this allows me to carry my spare ammunition already on the shotgun which.

Is to me of a big key now last but not least if you have an ar type system or rifle this particular shotgun has a metal mounting plate which is key because it's not the plastic stuff you're going to find on the market in a lot of different shotguns but it has a metal mounting plate that.

Allows me to fix an ar type butt stock as well as pistol grip so think about this i can go from my defensive rifle to my to my defensive shotgun like this and i'm getting the same butt stock grip angle all the same look and feel that i would on my rifle so it's consistent and consistency.

Is a big key and of course this stock offers multiple sling mounting points so i've got my attachments on the side of the gun so if you are a guy that likes a single point sling or a girl that likes a two-point sling whichever you want this shotgun is set up and ready for you to mount.

That sling system so out of the box probably the best tactical defensive shotgun i've seen in a long time  benelli takes the m2 to the next level with the performance shop m23 gun edition the ultimate tactical competition gun.

With a host of custom features that make it simply perfect the heart of the m23 gun edition is the ultra reliable inertia driven operating system which has been highly polished to ensure smooth cycling the trigger group has been finely tuned and the loading port has been widened.

And the carrier modified to assist with the speed and ease of loading the magazine  the performance shop m2 is outfitted with nordic component's extended bolt caulking handle enlarged bolt release and a teflon coated shell follower has been fitted in.

The magazine for rapid target acquisition the m2 3 gun edition is fitted with the high vis comp green front sight and comes with extra light pipes in different sizes and colors  designed for serious run and gun style 3-gun shooting.

Under intense pressure the performance shop m2 3-gun edition is not just a competition gun this is a gun you trust with your life good enough.

So  so   oh   you.