Shockwave, Tac-14, and short-barelled shotguns
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trackskippy
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All Ive done with mine was take the strap off and stipple both the forearm and grip, put a dab of bright orange nail polish on the front sight, and add a short sling. The stippling makes holding on to and controlling the gun a lot easier, especially with full power loads.
I also have one of the OpSol adapters for it so it will reliably cycle the 1.75 shells.
This is one of those guns that I think is best left alone as far as add-ons. Its a handy little package as it comes, and works well once you figure it out.
Ive shot one with one of the side folding braces on it, and between it being dangerous to your teeth and adding a lot of bulk to the gun, it wasnt worth anything gained from the brace. I think if you want a stock, youre better off putting an actual stock on the gun and going the SBS route.
I also have one of the OpSol adapters for it so it will reliably cycle the 1.75 shells.
This is one of those guns that I think is best left alone as far as add-ons. Its a handy little package as it comes, and works well once you figure it out.
Ive shot one with one of the side folding braces on it, and between it being dangerous to your teeth and adding a lot of bulk to the gun, it wasnt worth anything gained from the brace. I think if you want a stock, youre better off putting an actual stock on the gun and going the SBS route.
I do find the optic with a circle dot reticle to be a very nice addition. And it never hurts to have a light on a HD/SD gun. I do have to agree about putting a brace on these, you might as well use a real stock and SBS it.
The correct method to use these is to hold it up at arms length and use the push/pull method. Or at least that is how we were taught to use them in the military. We used them as breachers.
The correct method to use these is to hold it up at arms length and use the push/pull method. Or at least that is how we were taught to use them in the military. We used them as breachers.
trackskippy
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I tried both inner tube and skateboard tape and they didn't stay on very long.
Took almost a half hour to get the inner tube on, and it only took six rounds to have it rolled up onto the safety and interfering with it.
The skateboard tape lasted longer, and gave a better grip, but it was coming off pretty quick too once I started shooting.
There was also no good way to deal with the forearm with them either. The plastic as it comes is slippery, especially if your hands are damp and/or calloused, and hard to hold onto under recoil. The gun would usually torque out of my grip each time I fired it.
Stippling is the ticket and solved the problems for me.
As far as sighting, shooting the gun, I find using the Applegate "pointing" approach works well for everything close, or out to about 10-15 yards or so. I hold the gun in tight, on the centerline of my chest, nipple high, arms in tight to my body, and focus on the target, not the sights.
The gun is easy and natural to shoot this way, and recoil and cycling is much easier to control. You "aim" by squaring your shoulders to the target, and not with your arms. Your arms act like shock absorbers, and soak up the recoil. The gun basically starts to cycle itself under recoil and your quickly back on target.
Once you figure it out, and get used to it, which isn't long, especially if you're used to point shooting, you'll make good hits every time.
At longer distances, holding the gun up at eye level, and aiming more traditionally, is the way to go. I find it a bit awkward, as my arms are a bit short, but it's still easily done. I find recoil recovery and cycling the gun aren't as quick, but it's not a problem either.
These are really a special purpose/niche type guns and their size and handiness is their strong point. If you want the short barrel and use it more like a traditional shotgun, an actual stock is what you want.
I've had and shot a couple of stocked, 14" guns in the past, both traditional and pistol griped stocks, pump and autos, and they are a sweet handling and still a fairly small gun, but they are still a good bit bigger than the Shockwaves too, and as a lowly civilian, also put you into the NFA realm and require that tax stamp.
Took almost a half hour to get the inner tube on, and it only took six rounds to have it rolled up onto the safety and interfering with it.
The skateboard tape lasted longer, and gave a better grip, but it was coming off pretty quick too once I started shooting.
There was also no good way to deal with the forearm with them either. The plastic as it comes is slippery, especially if your hands are damp and/or calloused, and hard to hold onto under recoil. The gun would usually torque out of my grip each time I fired it.
Stippling is the ticket and solved the problems for me.
As far as sighting, shooting the gun, I find using the Applegate "pointing" approach works well for everything close, or out to about 10-15 yards or so. I hold the gun in tight, on the centerline of my chest, nipple high, arms in tight to my body, and focus on the target, not the sights.
The gun is easy and natural to shoot this way, and recoil and cycling is much easier to control. You "aim" by squaring your shoulders to the target, and not with your arms. Your arms act like shock absorbers, and soak up the recoil. The gun basically starts to cycle itself under recoil and your quickly back on target.
Once you figure it out, and get used to it, which isn't long, especially if you're used to point shooting, you'll make good hits every time.
At longer distances, holding the gun up at eye level, and aiming more traditionally, is the way to go. I find it a bit awkward, as my arms are a bit short, but it's still easily done. I find recoil recovery and cycling the gun aren't as quick, but it's not a problem either.
These are really a special purpose/niche type guns and their size and handiness is their strong point. If you want the short barrel and use it more like a traditional shotgun, an actual stock is what you want.
I've had and shot a couple of stocked, 14" guns in the past, both traditional and pistol griped stocks, pump and autos, and they are a sweet handling and still a fairly small gun, but they are still a good bit bigger than the Shockwaves too, and as a lowly civilian, also put you into the NFA realm and require that tax stamp.
GunnyUSMC
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My Tac 14 is just plain Jane other then the Magpul fore grip. It sits close to the bed and ready to use.
trackskippy
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Gunny, does the Remington feed the mini shells reliably without issue now?
The Shockwave I have isnt 100% with them without the adapter, and with it in, you cant use standard shells.
I recently saw that Mossberg is advertising the 590's will handle the 1.75" through 3" interchangeably, so Im wondering if they somehow modified the trigger group, or are they just saying you can shoot the mini's and arent being completely honest on the function aspect.
The Shockwave I have isnt 100% with them without the adapter, and with it in, you cant use standard shells.
I recently saw that Mossberg is advertising the 590's will handle the 1.75" through 3" interchangeably, so Im wondering if they somehow modified the trigger group, or are they just saying you can shoot the mini's and arent being completely honest on the function aspect.
forindooruseonly
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I have a Shockwave. It looks like all the other Shockwaves. I did put a Crimson Trace on it. It works pretty well, needs the adapter for minis. There is a learning curve to shooting a Shockwave, it's not as fast or intuitive as people may think, and recoil can be downright nasty depending on the load.
I also have this Winchester I cut down. Still holds 5 in the magazine, 14" barrel, points fast and handles well.
And I have this, more fun than useful. Ithaca sawed-off to 11".
I also have this Winchester I cut down. Still holds 5 in the magazine, 14" barrel, points fast and handles well.
And I have this, more fun than useful. Ithaca sawed-off to 11".
GunnyUSMC
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The mini shells feed pretty good. I did have some ejection problems, but found if I tilt the gun to the right when ejecting, everything works great.
trackskippy
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If Mossberg is just saying the gun will handle the mini shells, and hasnt modified the trigger group, I think it would behoove them to offer a trigger group specifically aimed at them. Id buy a couple. If they have it figured out that they all work reliably, even better.
I think the mini buck loads would be (actually are) the perfect thing for the Shockwaves (and even the standard length riot guns), and would work well for close range stuff, like indoors.
They are much easier on you to shoot with, carry a decent payload and seem to pattern well, and would be good for those who arent real hot on full power 12ga loads. The added extra rounds you get due to the shorter round isnt a bad thing either.
I think the mini buck loads would be (actually are) the perfect thing for the Shockwaves (and even the standard length riot guns), and would work well for close range stuff, like indoors.
They are much easier on you to shoot with, carry a decent payload and seem to pattern well, and would be good for those who arent real hot on full power 12ga loads. The added extra rounds you get due to the shorter round isnt a bad thing either.
My Remington TAC-14 Marine Magnum remains in stock condition, so, there is nothing to show. There is NO WAY that I would want to shoulder the brace of a Shockwave-ish
It occupies a small niche in our defense plan. It also fits into some legal niches, where a handgun would be legally problematic, but long guns are OK.
It occupies a small niche in our defense plan. It also fits into some legal niches, where a handgun would be legally problematic, but long guns are OK.
a_canadian
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Interesting to see that fellow hanging out near the UN yesterday, with his Shockwave or similar pointed at his chin. Apparently they talked him down after a while, so that's cool. But it left me wondering if it might have been a false flag effort, an excuse to start poking at the shorter shotguns as potentially a great threat considering concealment potential. I mean, the guy got within a few yards of a UN building! That's terrifying! I'm certainly not advocating for rules changes around this configuration of gun, but the ATF seems almost to be an extension of the UN small arms banning initiative, so I guess we'll see...
anothernewb
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I've always preferred the idea of a SB shotgun with #4 for a quick HD choice.
GunnyUSMC
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That reminds me. I have a SB Tactical arm brace for my Tac-14. I bought it shortly after getting the gun, but never put it on.
Hmm, I am not sure how that one sentence got chopped-off like that. I probably meant to type something like: There is NO WAY I would want to shoulder the brace of a Shockwave-ish “Other” firearm.
Notably, I do not like shotguns with short stocks, and did not like the Magpul stock that I installed on my duty 870P. My next step was to buy a Benelli M2, with a Comfort-Tech stock, to use as a duty shotgun, and I installed Benelli’s thickest recoil pad, to lengthen it as much as possible. (I have long arms.) i removed the Magpul stock from my 870P, and installed a Pachmayr Vindicator, which is a stockless grip, covered with that familiar Pachmayr rubber. My pump guns are now stock-less, while my stocked shotguns are autos; my usual pumping arm’s shoulder aged-out of wanting to work reliably, with the stocked pump shotgun being ‘way out in front of me. When running the stock-less pump gun, the whole thing is closer, so I am able to pump the action reliably, at least for now.
Carl N. Brown
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I had a 12ga pump bullpup that originally had a vertical grip added to the pump handle. I removed the vg and put a firearm strap like that on the old Ithaca 37 shakeout gun. If my hand can accidently slip in front of the muzzle I add a barrier.
a_canadian
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The MCS forend has a very large flange around the front edge, excellent for stopping forward movement of the hand. So long as I grip hard, recoil isn't making it slip in front of the muzzle, even if wet.
packetfire
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Here are our His & Hers shockwaves, and they are fun little toys, their purchased justified as being a fine choice for the near impossibility of some idiot not understanding that the lock on the door is for his safety, not ours. My wife is only 5' 6" and 118 lbs, so the shorter, lighter firearm ("Not A Shotgun!") combined with handloads similar to the Federal Shorty shells, used with the OpSol rubber-baby-buggy-bumper in the receiver, answers the question of how my wife might fire several loads of 00 buck in her nighty, on short notice.
We don't hunt, we only skeet shoot, and use over/under shotguns, of course, so these are my first pump-action firearms in many decades.
I bought a pair of the Knoxx Gen III recoil-reduction grips, and they certainly do work, but they prompt me to wonder if I could replace the standard shockwave trigger group with a Maverick 88 trigger group to get the safety moved off the top of the tang, and down where it is more easily reached with the "pistol grip".
The Knoxx does need a small amount ground off the inside surface of the top corner of its leading edge so that it will not impact the slight protrusion of the Crimson Trace LS-250G green laser from the receiver at full spring compression (test this clearance by removing the spring, and sliding the entire grip fully forward). Yes, the green dot shows up well, even in the beam of the 1000 candlepower Streamlight built into the forend. The heat shields are composite, not metal, and they took some precision gunsmithing to get them to fit properly on the Shockwave, including moving the little brass bead sight from the barrel to the heatshield.
The grip tape on the standard birds-head grip shown in the photo is the "Lizard Skin" brand of baseball bat tape. Very cushioned. The other birds-head grip (not shown) has the Vulcan baseball bat tape, as I was unsure which would be preferred by my wife. Swapping between grips is a 2-minute task, so the Knoxx Grips are likely something to use at the range to reduce wear and tear on us, with the "home configuration" being the less awkward birds-head grip.
You have to mind the Streamlight, unlike the CT-LS250G, it has no on/off switch, so grabbing the shotgun forend can turn on the flashlight, and "Ooops, here I am!" It takes some getting used to, as the switch is the entire area under the word "Streamlight" on either side of the forend.
We don't hunt, we only skeet shoot, and use over/under shotguns, of course, so these are my first pump-action firearms in many decades.
I bought a pair of the Knoxx Gen III recoil-reduction grips, and they certainly do work, but they prompt me to wonder if I could replace the standard shockwave trigger group with a Maverick 88 trigger group to get the safety moved off the top of the tang, and down where it is more easily reached with the "pistol grip".
The Knoxx does need a small amount ground off the inside surface of the top corner of its leading edge so that it will not impact the slight protrusion of the Crimson Trace LS-250G green laser from the receiver at full spring compression (test this clearance by removing the spring, and sliding the entire grip fully forward). Yes, the green dot shows up well, even in the beam of the 1000 candlepower Streamlight built into the forend. The heat shields are composite, not metal, and they took some precision gunsmithing to get them to fit properly on the Shockwave, including moving the little brass bead sight from the barrel to the heatshield.
The grip tape on the standard birds-head grip shown in the photo is the "Lizard Skin" brand of baseball bat tape. Very cushioned. The other birds-head grip (not shown) has the Vulcan baseball bat tape, as I was unsure which would be preferred by my wife. Swapping between grips is a 2-minute task, so the Knoxx Grips are likely something to use at the range to reduce wear and tear on us, with the "home configuration" being the less awkward birds-head grip.
You have to mind the Streamlight, unlike the CT-LS250G, it has no on/off switch, so grabbing the shotgun forend can turn on the flashlight, and "Ooops, here I am!" It takes some getting used to, as the switch is the entire area under the word "Streamlight" on either side of the forend.
a_canadian
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That aspect of the Streamlight bothered me a lot, when I set up 12ga for a friend. He picked up a Streamlight for it and I cut down his old Wingmaster and crowned it, swapped out his steel follower for a modern spring and plastic follower, mounted it in a Magpul tactical stock with maximum spacers as he's a tall guy, a sling plate under the mag cap. Every time I'd pick the thing up to tinker with it the bloody light would come on, I just couldn't seem to remember not to grab it by the switch plates. And to be fair, they're made that way intentionally, so it's not really practical to NOT turn on the flashlight. No, I just couldn't see myself using that. But he'd used one in the military so he's happy with it, knows to always grab it by the stock, not the forend, then get his left hand on the Streamlight forend more carefully.
Another option I looked at was the MK7 which replaces the magazine end cap. But I just couldn't find one anywhere. The manufacturer was threatening for over a year to sell them again but that never materialized. So I settled on an MCS Breacher forend with its two little cutouts for Photon lights. Kind of dim by comparison, really small lights, but in the dark they'll do just fine. And it takes a small but deliberate effort to turn them on, so no 'look, here I am!' moment is in play. And that forend is very compact, even with its huge flaring front hand stop, so it's more in keeping with a gun I'll be keeping in my backpack on every hike, not just an HD weapon.
Another option I looked at was the MK7 which replaces the magazine end cap. But I just couldn't find one anywhere. The manufacturer was threatening for over a year to sell them again but that never materialized. So I settled on an MCS Breacher forend with its two little cutouts for Photon lights. Kind of dim by comparison, really small lights, but in the dark they'll do just fine. And it takes a small but deliberate effort to turn them on, so no 'look, here I am!' moment is in play. And that forend is very compact, even with its huge flaring front hand stop, so it's more in keeping with a gun I'll be keeping in my backpack on every hike, not just an HD weapon.
BreechFace
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Now a Tac14 with internals replaced with police 870 internals, a pistol brace, WML, single point sling and a SilencerCo Salvo would be the ticket.
crestoncowboy
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I have a streamlight on a 500. If you have big enough hands you can pretty easily use the gun without hitting the light, but picking it up you can certainly hit it.
a_canadian
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Big enough hands weren't my problem in handling my friend's Wingmaster with Streamlight. I have to make custom grips for a few of my guns as these hands are rather large. But mileage varies, depends upon how one grabs the gun. With me it was mostly my left thumb, just tending to grab the switch plate at its front edge initially, then shifting forward of it once holding it properly. Not a thing I'd want to have to un-learn just for one gun.
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