Summary and key points: In the 1980s, the US military tested fully automatic shotguns for close combat, especially in the jungle, but these efforts largely failed.

– Projects such as Special Operations Weapon (SOW), Repeating Hand-held Improved Non-rifled Ordnance (RHINO) and Close Assault Weapon System (CAWS) aimed to develop effective fully automatic shotguns, but struggled with problems such as recoil, aiming difficulties and bulky ammunition.

– Despite initial enthusiasm, the impracticality of fully automatic shotguns led to the cancellation of these projects. The U.S. military now recognizes that the inherent advantages of shotguns, such as effectiveness at close range, are not improved by fully automatic capabilities.

The experiments with fully automatic shotguns in the 1980s: What went wrong?

The 1980s marked a unique era in military weapons and introduced a rather unconventional trend: fully automatic shotguns. Effective only at close range, shotguns have always had a specialized role in warfare. Since the advent of firearms, rifles have held the edge due to their range and versatility. The often overlooked shotgun was the “middle child” of military combat weapons.

Due to their limited range at short distances, shotguns are not widely used in military operations. Interestingly, however, the U.S. Army invested considerable effort into developing fully automatic shotguns in three projects spanning several decades.

Today’s shotguns bear a striking resemblance to their 1897 counterparts. Even the most modern shotgun in our arsenal, the Benelli M1014, still adheres to the basic design of the Winchester M1897. That should tell you that these three programs were not particularly successful.

The weapon for special operations

The idea behind fully automatic shotguns originated in Vietnam as a result of jungle warfare. Jungle warfare is tough, much of it takes place at close range and often involves ambushes. In an ambush situation, a high-capacity, fully automatic weapon increases your ability to hit a threat because it fires multiple projectiles with each trigger pull.

For this reason, Navy SEALs experimented with modified Remingtons known as the 7188. However, despite the promising idea, the Remington 7188 had low capacity and was difficult to control due to its recoil.

In response, the Naval Special Weapons Center, under the direction of Major Carrol Childers, initiated the Special Operations Weapon project, the goal of which was to develop a close-combat weapon for jungle warfare.

The result was the Multipurpose Individual Weapon System, commonly referred to as the SOW, a fully automatic shotgun with a top-fed magazine. It had two pistol grips and no stock – the idea was to fire the weapon from the hip and minimize recoil. The weapon only made it to the prototype stage because funding was cut. The project was terminated, but it did not die.

Related: Shotguns are still relevant in modern warfare thanks to a new threat

Improved non-drawn handgun for repeating

The Repeating Hand-held Improved Non-Rifled Ordnance (RHINO) evolved from the SOW and was a Joint Service project because the U.S. military wanted a new combat shotgun. Therefore, it was a larger and better defined project than the SOW.

The Department of Defense wanted a shotgun that could fire buckshot, explosive rounds, flares, tear gas, and flechettes. The request called for a 10-round box magazine and the development of new 12-gauge ammunition. The weapon was to have a selective fire design with recoil less than or equal to that of the standard Remington 870 shotgun.

The Navy led the project, and weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch partnered with Olin to produce the weapon and new ammunition. Before the weapon went to market, however, the Navy renamed RHINO the Close Assault Weapon System, or CAWS.

Close combat weapon system

The Navy changed not only the name of the project, but also its overall purpose. The project moved away from developing a weapon capable of firing multiple types of ammunition and instead focused on producing shotgun shells that had a longer range than previous designs. Several companies competed for the project.

HK’s competition entry was a fully automatic bullpup shotgun with a detachable 10-round box magazine. The gun could fire tungsten alloy bullets, 000 shot and flechette loads. The outer casing was made of impact-resistant plastic.

Renowned small arms manufacturer AAI produced a CAWS prototype with a conventional layout that resembled an M16 – if the M16 had been drawn by a child who had seen it just once while watching the series “Predator”.

S&W produced the select-fire shotgun, aptly named Assault Shotgun, but it was not very successful. It was also an M16 imitation and had a short recoil mechanism. A company called Pan Associates tried to produce a weapon called Jackhammer but was not finished in time.

Eventually, Hong Kong won the contract and the Department of Defense began testing the weapon and the concept. However, by that time, no one wanted or needed a fully automatic shotgun anymore, so the program was terminated without official approval.

Why fully automatic shotguns are silly

As an idea, fully automatic shotguns make sense for jungle combat or similar environments. The problem is that shotguns have a lot of recoil and you’re likely to be looking up at the sky in the middle of a burst.

SOW probably tried to solve this problem by removing the stock, but if you don’t have a stock you can’t aim, and if you can’t aim your chances of hitting something drop significantly. That’s not the only problem.

Ammunition for 12-gauge shotguns is bulky and heavy. Significantly, a 10-round magazine for 12-gauge is longer than a 30-round magazine for an M16. A soldier can easily carry 210 rounds of 5.56; the same shotgun load would contain 70 rounds, which would be quickly used up in continuous fire.

Shotguns, on the other hand, allow you to pull the trigger once and fire nine pellets into a target – at close range, this is often a fight stopper. The spread of the pellets means that a quick shot with a flash sight is still likely to be effective. While a shotgun’s spread still requires you to aim the weapon, it is more forgiving of accuracy errors. Shotguns are great for night combat and for hitting moving targets with effective hits. However, going full auto doesn’t improve any of the shotgun’s advantages.

The U.S. military is over the idea of ​​fully automatic shotguns. Sure, the Marine Corps tested a few AA-12s in the early days of the GWOT, but they never adopted one, and the testing wasn’t extensive. A fully automatic shotgun just doesn’t make sense.

About the author: Travis Pike

Travis Pike is a former Marine machine gunner who served with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Corps for 5 years. He deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 and again in 2011 with the 22nd MEU (SOC) for a record-breaking 11 months at sea. He has trained with the Romanian Army, Spanish Marines, Emirates Marines, and Afghan National Army. He is a certified NRA pistol instructor and teaches concealed carry courses.

​This article was first published by Sandboxx News.