The origins of shotguns can be traced back centuries to large-caliber short guns, shotguns, and smoothbore guns with multiple bullets. In the United States, the development of the combat shotgun was at least in part for economic reasons, two hundred years ago the colonists had a shotgun, mainly used to hunt prey for food, but also could be used against Indians or other enemies, crews on ships sailing to the New World often used this weapon to repel hostile boarders, used during the American Revolutionary War against the dense formation of the British army, and in battles with various Indian tribes, the shotgun was a powerful close-range weapon against Indian cavalry. In the mid-19th century, double-barreled shotguns were widely used, with Confederate cavalry often firing scattered shells at close range to blow up the Northern Confederate infantry defenses, and the shotgun proved to be a particularly terrifying weapon of combat, a terrifying close-range weapon in the hands of cavalry, western law enforcers, and outlaws, few melee weapons at the time could be as lethal as shotguns.
The development of the double-barrel shotgun marked the beginning of the modern American military shotgun, the earliest shotguns were the Winchester Type 1887 (M87), Winchester Type 1893 (M93) and 1897 (M97) smoothbore guns, which were first widely used in the western United States against trains, public carriages and bank robbers. Although the U.S. army used other shotguns throughout the 19th century, the weapon that really became the precursor of the American 20th century combat shotgun , the 1897 Winchester pump shotgun , was only developed at the end of the 19th century , and it soon gained iconic status in the Philippines , where revolvers and rifles proved insufficient to stop the crazy Moro attackers , the U.S. army bought hundreds of Winchester M97s for use in the Philippines , and U.S. troops operating along the Mexican border also acquired M97 shotguns. It really opened the history of the military combat shotgun as we know it today.
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, John Pershing was given command of the American Expeditionary Force, probably because he remembered the service of the American army in the Philippines, one of his early actions was to issue shotguns to the American army, his intuition told him that the M97 shotgun was developed for trench warfare, infantry could clear the trench by firing shotguns throughout the trenches quickly, and his insights on the shotgun in trench warfare proved to be quite accurate. Americans have a long tradition of using shotguns as melee weapons, and it is comfortable to use shotguns in the trenches.
The U.S. Marines found that the shotgun was also effective in clearing German positions, especially when the enemy was in bunkers or buildings, because some M97 shotguns were called "trench brooms" or "trench sweepers", and when fired at close range, shotguns were even more effective than machine guns, each lead bullet could shoot 9 feet high, 3 feet wide, and could penetrate a 2-inch board at 100 yards. Even from 150 yards away, it will hit at least one human-sized target, and more importantly, a shotgun can shoot up to 50 rounds in a minute.
On 19 September 1918, the Swiss government submitted a telegram to the United States Secretary of State Robert Lansing, including diplomatic protests by the German government against the use of shotguns by the United States military and drawing attention to the death penalty under the Laws of War for Any American prisoner of war found to possess such a firearm or ammunition. German newspapers were rather disturbed by the news received from Switzerland that a large number of U.S. troops were being offered shotguns for close combat. Commenting on the report, the Cologne Gazette condemned "American barbarism," and the German soldiers kept firmly in mind the fact that the sawn shotgun was a terrible weapon. The shotguns worked so well that Germany's argument that the use of shotguns was inconsistent with the Hague Convention had been set aside by the United States. After World War I, the U.S. military mainly used shotguns to suppress rebellions and guard prisoners, and one of the early triggers for the United States to start buying more shotguns was paratrooper attacks or saboteur attacks on naval and air bases.
After the Attacks on Pearl Harbor, shotguns were first used by U.S. Coast Guard personnel to patrol beaches to stop enemy vandals or spies, and then sent to supply depots or prisoner-of-war camp guards, and as the Pacific War progressed, the Marines quickly came in handy in an exchange of fire with the Japanese. U.S. Marines found shotguns in jungle battles in the Pacific to be effective in deterring a large-scale Japanese offensive. In particular, the Winchester M97 and M12 models with bayonets mounted, this shotgun was very useful at night because when they heard a sound, it was necessary to shoot quickly. They also found shotguns useful in protecting machine gun positions, which the Japanese often aimed at during "Hozai" attacks. It is also used to guard command posts at night.
By 1944, each Marine Corps regimental headquarters had 100 shotguns, and due to the dispersion, strike force, and non-aiming accuracy of the shotguns, the shotgun became an attractive weapon in jungle close combat, and in most cases, each shotgun was assigned 200 rounds of ammunition, and as a result, the bullet consumption of each gun increased again and again, and when the shotgun ran out of ammunition, some commandos had to use captured Japanese weapons. During the battle on Iwo Jima, the Marines had to stop using shotguns due to ammunition shortages.
After World War II, although various shotguns were still in stock, the three shotguns used standard after the war were the Winchester M12, the Stevens M520-30, and the Stevens M620A. Jungle warfare in Vietnam expanded the demand for shotguns, and like the Pacific Theater, jungle warfare in Vietnam made the close-range use of shotguns very effective, in addition to the Winchester M97 and M12 and Stevens M520-30 and M620A shotguns in the armory, the U.S. army also purchased a large number of other shotguns to supply to the South Vietnamese government for use by village defense militias, and in November 1962, about 22,000 Ithaca M37 shotguns were shipped to the South Vietnamese army.
The U.S. Navy SEALs particularly liked the M37, most U.S. infantry units had at least a few shotguns, performed armed patrols or designated perimeter guard duties, and also used to guard prisoners or defend ammunition depots, fuel depots, and other facilities that could cause explosions or damage to expensive equipment.
After the Vietnam War, the U.S. Department of Defense showed great interest in a new weapon system, the CAWS (Close Attack Weapon System), which can fire multiple bullets in fully automatic or semi-automatic mode. Despite various designs being tested, the U.S. Armed Forces continue to be equipped with the Remington M870 and Winchester M1200 cartridge shotguns. The barrel shotgun refers to the shotgun that is loaded by holding a guard in the left hand as a reciprocating motion, which first appeared in the United States in the late 19th century and is still the most common way to load the shotgun to this day.
Although semi-automatic shotguns have appeared in modern times, this has not affected the status of the barrel shotgun, which has higher reliability and low failure rate than the semi-automatic shotgun. Semi-automatic shotguns are easier to get higher burst rates, but for skilled shooters, the rate of fire advantage is not obvious. Cartridge shotguns can fire almost all types of shotgun ammunition, while semi-automatic shotguns have special requirements for ammunition. In addition, the structure and operation of the barrel shotgun is simple, and the price is almost half that of a semi-automatic shotgun.
In Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. military mainly used the Mossberg M500, M590 and M590A1 shotguns, the U.S. Marine Corps used the M1014 semi-automatic combat shotgun, the main purpose seemed to be to protect U.S. military positions and supply depots, the shotgun is a small squad weapon, each squad has a commando with a shotgun, this team member also needs to carry the M4 carbine, in order to make the soldiers do not need to carry additional weapons, the U.S. Army purchased 1900 M26 shotguns, This is a light shotgun system that can be installed under the barrel of the M4 or M16 like the M203 grenade launcher, the use seems to be limited at least, the traditional use in urban operations is to clear buildings and blow up door locks and hinges to break in, when loaded with non-lethal ammunition, the shotgun is very effective at controlling crowds, the intimidating effect of the shotgun is such that as soon as the unique sound of pumping and closing is heard, the crowd will disperse, and the use of shotguns can generally disperse hostile crowds or at least retreat ranges, can also be used to fire cs-gas bombs or other chemical weapons to disperse crowds,
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Shotguns have been an important part of U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps weapons for more than a century, and while the anti-terrorism forces of most countries' armed forces use shotguns, no country uses military shotguns as widely as the United States as a close-range interception weapon against dangerous and determined enemies, but under the influence of U.S. forces, Australian, Italian, Libyan, Irish, Malaysian, Maltese, Slovak, and Slovenian special forces all use M1014 shotguns. Shotguns are also suitable as weapons for guarding prisoners or sensitive facilities. U.S. Navy ships generally have shotguns in their arsenals, which are also useful when clearing decks or repelling enemies. The U.S. Air Force also uses the Remington M870 shotgun as a base security unit. The Marine Corps at the U.S. Embassy also found shotguns useful in missions to protect the area around the embassy from enemy intruders. The U.S. military has been using shotguns for so long that it has become a culture.
The US military cannot have a set of rules for the safe use and maintenance of shotguns
1. Steel targets must not be used as targets for shotgun close-range shooting training. The huge impact of the shotgun's single-warhead ammunition will deform the target, while the marbles will shatter and scatter on the steel target.
Second: Whether it is training or actual missions, as long as there is a need to use shotguns to fight, all team members involved in training or operations must wear goggles that can prevent fragments.
Three: Because there are many types of shotgun ammunition and similar appearance, it is necessary to clearly specify the carrying position of different ammunition to avoid errors when using.
Fourth: The safety mechanism of the shotgun is relatively simple, and there is a jam behind the trigger to avoid accidentally pulling the trigger. There is no insurance fixing mechanism for firing mechanisms such as hammers. Therefore, even if the mortise buckle is in a "safe" position, it does not mean that the shotgun is in a completely safe state, and once there is a violent collision, it may still cause accidental misfire. Bullets must not be loaded at any time except in combat. It is necessary to develop the habit of placing the index finger that pulls the trigger outside the trigger guard and the muzzle facing in a safe direction, while trying to keep the shotgun in a loading safe state.
Five: When storing the shotgun for a long time, the muzzle should be blocked with cotton, and the tension of the various spring mechanisms should be lifted to remove all ammunition.
Sixth: The ammunition of the barrel shotgun is loaded in the magazine in a tail-to-tail manner, and after the bullet is withdrawn, it should be probed with the finger to confirm that the ammunition has been withdrawn. In order to maintain the good condition of the shotgun, it should be strictly maintained according to the requirements.
Seven: Regular dismantling and inspection of the shotgun to facilitate the early detection of damaged parts.
Eight: Shotguns are more susceptible to dust, impurities, and gunpowder residues than other gun types, so they should be thoroughly cleaned after use.
Nine: The barrel and bolt should be smeared with a thin layer of grease.
Ten: No supportless shotgun will be used: The recoil of the shotgun is extremely large, and it is impossible to carry out stable shooting by the strength of the wrist alone. Folding the stock doesn't make much sense, except that it's easier to carry. According to the experience of actual combat, the stability of the folding stock is far less than that of the fixed stock, and the active part of the folding stock will have the problem of unstable locking after repeated use, which will affect the stability of the shooting.
Eleven: In order to reduce the loading time in combat, the spare ammunition sleeve is usually hung on the stock or gun to facilitate the rapid access of ammunition, and the spare ammunition sleeve can generally place 5-7 rounds of ammunition. The saddle ammunition sleeve hanging on the left side of the gun body is ideal, the ammunition loading port is next to the ammunition sleeve, when loading, only the left hand needs to be naturally retracted, and the muzzle and the shooter's eyes can still remain in the direction of the target. The cartridge that hangs from the stock is a common approach, but it can affect the firing position and may cause the ammo to fall during movement. The most irrational ammunition sleeve is hung on the back gun belt, and even loaded with dozens of rounds of ammunition, which will greatly affect the flexibility of the shooter, this kind of back ammunition set is common in film and television dramas and some untrained armed personnel.