Shorty shotguns

Manufacturers probably don't expect there'd be any meaningful demand for them. I'm guessing they'd be right.

But there are short-barreled O/U shotguns for sale.

Google"tactical over under shotgun" and look at the images.

Yep, https://stoegerindustries.com/shotguns/over-under-shotguns. Look down the list.

Having run some 'tactical' shoot house exercises with a coach gun, I'd pass unless it was a fun gun. One exercise was interesting. You were in bed and supposedly without clothes. To simulate this, we wore a bed sheet with a hole for your head and the sheet draped over you. You had an unloaded coach gun and a box of mixed bird shot and slugs. This was a 3D shoot house with quite a few targets at various distances. Theoretically, you were to detect what kind of round it was for the appropriate distance by feel - the 'house' was dark. You had to move through it - no hunkering down. Handling multiple targets was interesting. There's one down the hall, one to your side - bang, bang. Oh, no - one pops up right next to you. Butt stroke him!

Anyway, I prefer more rounds unless I was in some weird circumstance. I know Clint Smith argue if that's all you got use it and practice with it. I supposed the tactical double barrel and O/U guns are for those who want to get in the DeLorean with Doc Brown and Marty and head for the old West and not disrupt the shotgun configuration time line and have Doc Strange and the Illuminati after you.

Coach sxs are fun like in cowboy action. But I think cost and function are the reason. You can get a good reliable 18" barrel pump with a short butt stock or pistol grip pretty cheap. You got 5 or 6 rounds in it and only have to thumb more in the bottom as use shoot. Not shoot 2, break and eject and find 2 more to put in. Thats if you don,t drop them.

Just get an 870.

I’d love to have a coach gun in 10ga.
Preferably Nickle/Chrome and wood with exposed hammers.

That’s about as tactical as want my shotgun, but everyone is different and it may well be possible make what you want yourself. Also, a decent machinist can make most anything with metal and time, he will charge you heavily though.

Mossberg used to have one in the maverick line called the HS-12. I couldn’t ever find one or I would tell you about it. They ran for about 500 dollars and didn’t sell well enough to stay in the lineup.

JCooperfan1911 said:

Just get an 870.

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Lol. Agreed. Doesn't even remotely address the OP and his question in the slightest, but is good advice all the same and I wholeheartedly agree. Either that or a Mossberg 500/590

Lack of demand. A short O/U has no reason to be. A rather awful short barrel O/U was offered under the Stoeger brand, as the Condor Outback. They were appalling. 20” barrels and all the quality of a Soviet laptop. Hopefully no longer made.

T.R. said:

Currently the market offers side by side shorty shotguns called coach guns. Then there are tactical pumps and autoloaders but zero over and under shorty's offered for sale. Why is this? - TR

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The popularity of coach guns is because of the myth that short barrelled shotguns were prevalent in the Old West. Because of this myth, they are very popular in Cowboy Action Shooting.

Driftwood Johnson said:

The popularity of coach guns is because of the myth that short barrelled shotguns were prevalent in the Old West. Because of this myth, they are very popular in Cowboy Action Shooting.

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I’ve always wondered if anyone try’s to run a single shot. Which I bet were far more common as they are cheaper.

1- I don't think shorter O/U shotguns have any place in "history", unlike the SXS shotguns. 2- having more rounds loaded into any gun "on demand" is more tactically advantageous.

FL-NC said:

1- I don't think shorter O/U shotguns have any place in "history", unlike the SXS shotguns. 2- having more rounds loaded into any gun "on demand" is more tactically advantageous.

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The main advantage tactically was oal length. You could get way closer to the minimum required for a non sbr and still have a stock. But I don’t think it worked out because you could buy a cheaper pump for less. Which is even more true now with the current round of Turkish and Chinese guns.

Here is my thoughts on this.

O/U shotguns were pretty much designed from the start for hunting upland game and waterfowl. And there was a time that everyone wanted longer barrels for hunting. It was not uncommon to see barrels ranging from 30"" - 32" or even 34" in length. And this transferred over to the different shooting sports games such as trap and skeet.

I am not a double barrel guru so can't say if shorter barrels are any harder to regulate than longer barrels. Or how much harder it is to regulate O/U barrels vs SxS barrels. Regulating the barrels is a fine art. And that is part of the reason why a good double ,O/U or SxS, costs more.

IF you are wanting something tactical, stick with a pump action or semi-auto. Or if you must have a double stick with a SxS.

Driftwood Johnson said:

The popularity of coach guns is because of the myth that short barrelled shotguns were prevalent in the Old West. Because of this myth, they are very popular in Cowboy Action Shooting.

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Many years ago I had a fellow tell me he “duck-billed” his shotgun. I asked what that was and he proceeded to tell me how you hit the end of the barrel with a hammer to oval it, therefore spreading the shot out to the sides. It used to be common he said.

While short o/u shotguns have been offered they have not been popular for two very good reasons: Stoeger quality sucks, and they have to be broken open much farther than a double negating any kind of speed reload.

DeepSouth said:

Many years ago I had a fellow tell me he “duck-billed” his shotgun. I asked what that was and he proceeded to tell me how you hit the end of the barrel with a hammer to oval it, therefore spreading the shot out to the sides. It used to be common he said.

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I think he’s been playing to much call of duty.