Ken Perrotte covers the National Shooting Sports Foundation's SHOT Show in Las Vegas for Military Times to pick up on trends and pick out his favorite new firearms. Ken's yearly look at most interesting new shotguns and extensions of existing product lines:
Browning Cynergy Ultimate Turkey
Hunting loads for turkeys continue to evolve, with super-tight-patterning, high-velocity loads enabling kills at distances that were impossible a few years ago. The trouble is those loads are often too concentrated when you encounter a bird at close range. Browning attempts to solve this with its double-barrel Cynergy. One barrel can be set with the included Extended Ultimate Full Turkey choke tube and the other with the open Ultimate Spreader choke tube. The shooter can easily choose which barrel to fire with the top-tang selector/safety switch.
Two models are available. One is camouflaged in Mossy Oak Break Up Country and the other in A-TACS- FG (Foliage/Green). A Dura-Touch Armor Coating protects the gun. The stock comb is adjustable. The gun weighs 7 pounds, 6 ounces, has 26-inch barrels and accepts magnum 3.5-inch loads. It comes with Marbles Arms Bullseye rear sights with fiber optic front sights. A short 1913 rail suitable for small red-dot optics is also included. ($2,339)
Beretta A300 Outlander Turkey
Beretta A300 Outlander Turkey
Photo Credit: Beretta
The A300 Outlander now has a 24-inch barrel, woodland camo pattern and TruGlo fiber optic sights to help transform it into a turkey-killing machine. The receiver is milled for a Beretta optics mount should you want more than fiber optics on the rib. Comes with three interchangeable chokes. It's a nice gas-operated, semi-automatic turkey setup. Adjustable drop and cast. Comes in Realtree XTRA camo. (MSRP $900)
Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen
Browning A5 Sweet Sixteen
Photo Credit: Browning
The 16-gauge had so many fans 50 years ago it's a wonder the guns almost completely disappeared. But Browning brings it back to the A5 autoloading shotgun lineup. The new A5 Sweet Sixteen is built on a smaller, lighter receiver. The shotgun uses kinetic energy to power the recoil-operated Kinematic Drive System to cycle loads. It's chambered for 2 ¾-inch shotshells. The stock and fore-end are gloss finish walnut with a close radius pistol grip and 18 lines-per-inch checkering. The stock is shim adjustable for length of pull, cast and drop, and includes stock spacers for length-of-pull adjustments. Three Invector-DS chokes are supplied. Barrels come in 26- or 28-inch lengths. The gun weighs just 5 pounds, 12 ounces. Comes with a hard case. ($1,699.99)
CZ 712 Synthetic Camo G2
CZ 712 Synthetic Camo G2
Photo Credit: CZ
Designed to weather the elements and take a beating in the duck marsh, this gas-operated semi-automatic gun sports a Mossy Oak Shadow Grass Blades camo pattern. It has a polymer stock. It's available in 12-gauge, shoots 3-inch shells, has a 28-inch barrel and comes with three choke tubes. The rib atop the barrel is an 8mm flat vent design. It's 49 inches long and weighs 6.7 pounds. ($679)
Winchester Super X Pump Long Beard
Winchester Super X Pump Long Beard
Photo Credit: Winchester
This pump-action features a synthetic pistol grip stock with textured gripping surfaces and the Mossy Oak Break-Up Country camo pattern. Adjustable drop and cast, and length of pull. An Invector-Plus Extra-Full Long Beard turkey choke tube is included. The 24-inch, back-bored barrel has TruGlo fiber-optic sights. Choice of 3- or 3.5-inch chambering. ($530, 3-inch model; $560, 3.5-inch version)
Winchester Super X3 Ultimate Sporting Adjustable
Winchester Super X3 Ultimate Sporting Adjustable
Photo Credit: Winchester/Browning Advertising
The Super X3 Ultimate Sporting Adjustable features a matte nickel-plated receiver and satin oil grade II/III walnut stock with adjustable comb and cut checkering. A ported Perma-Cote gray barrel with vent rib comes with a TruGlo fiber-optic sight and white mid-bead. New features include Signature Red Briley bolt handle, bolt release button and magazine cap weight system. Available in 12-gauge, 2 ¾-inch chambering in 28-, 30- or 32-inch barrel lengths. Barrels are back-bored. ($1,869.99)
Merkel 40E Field-Grade Side-by-Side Shotgun
Merkel 40E Field-Grade Side-by-Side Shotgun
Photo Credit: Merkel
This is a lower-priced shotgun than usually produced by Merkel, but it's still a stretch for many buyers with an MSRP of $4,595. Merkel calls it the "working-man's version of the 47E but without the rich finish and hand engraving." The promotional literature notes it is designed "to spend its time in the hunting fields rather than stashed away as a safe queen." The 40E features selective automatic ejectors. The steel receiver is finished in silver nitrate with full-coverage Arabesque engraving. It weighs just 6.2 pounds and comes with a choice of English-Style straight or pistol-grip-style Turkish walnut stocks with fine checkering and a single oil-and-sand finish. The barrels are 28-inch, blued, cold-hammer-forged steel and accept 3-inch shotshells. It's available in 12- and 20-gauge with either double triggers or a single-selective trigger. A limited number of 28-gauge models are also available. ($4,595)
Mossberg SA-20 Turkey
Mossberg SA-20 Turkey
Photo Credit: Mossberg
Pointer Synthetic Over/Under
Pointer Synthetic Over/Under
Photo Credit: Pointer
These affordable double barrels are available in 12-gauge in either a 28-inch barrel field model or an 18-inch barrel home defense model. The guns come with five choke tubes. The field model features a full-length raised, ventilated rib to aid in target acquisition, while the home defense model comes with a Picatinny rail. Both models feature blued barrels and receivers, fiber optic front sights and synthetic stocks. They accept up to 3-inch shotshells. The shotguns use the same internal mechanisms as Pointers' Clay and Field 1000 models released last year, but are geared toward different markets. ($580)
Remington V3 Field Sport
Remington V3 Field Sport
Photo Credit: Remington
This autoloader shotgun has Remington's "VersaPort" gas system, touted for flawlessly cycling shells from the lightest 2 ¾-inch target loads to 3-inch magnums. Synthetic stock models are available in all black full-coverage Mossy Oak Break Up Country or Blades Camo. The gun also has an American walnut option with satin finish. Like most quality shotguns, it has adjustable shims to create a custom fit. It weighs 7.2 pounds. ($895 or $995 depending on options)
Benelli Ethos 28-Gauge
Benelli Ethos 28-Gauge
Photo Credit: Benelli
The autoloader should be a popular line extension for Benelli, and fans of this increasingly popular light bird-hunting gun will like the Benelli partnership with Fiocchi Ammunition to develop a 3-inch magnum 28-gauge shell. This shotshell has the same velocity as a standard load but with ¼ oz. more shot, which equates to 20 percent more pellets on target at 35 yards. The shotguns have nickel-plated receivers and 26- or 28-inch barrels. The stock is a AA grade walnut with satin finish. It comes with five Crio chokes and a custom-fit hard case. ($2,199)
Franchi Affinity Catalyst
Franchi Affinity Catalyst
Photo Credit: Franchi
This adaptation of the popular Affinity autoloader line has an A-grade satin-finish walnut stock that's cut to better fit the hands of female shooters. The Affinity Catalyst's drop, cast, pitch, and length-of-pull are tailored to a woman's build. The drop and cast are adjustable. The gun weighs 6.6 pounds, has a 28-inch blued barrel, and comes with three choke tubes. Accepts shells up to 3 inches. ($999)
A sister to the Affinity Catalyst is the Instinct Catalyst Over/Under, similarly adapted for female shooters. It also has a satin-finish walnut stock. The barrel has a red, fiber optic front sight. ($1,599)
Fabarm XLR5 Velocity FR
Fabarm XLR5 Velocity FR
Photo Credit: Fabarm
This sharp-looking, gas-operated shotgun is designed for sporting clays, with a tapered, flat rib atop either 30- or 32-inch barrels and a traditionally-shaped stock. The system is calibrated for 2 ¾-inch shells. The gun features a European walnut stock with a slim pistol grip, oversized bolt handle and bolt release, and a unique, adjustable trigger. Adjustable shims, five EXIS competition choke tubes, and a hard case are included; 5-year warranty. Weighs about 7.5 pounds. ($1,990 to $2,165 depending on model)
