Who doesn’t want a suppressed shotgun for home defense duty? Why would anyone risk permanent hearing loss and tactically-inadvisable muzzle flash blindness during a defensive gun use if they didn’t have to? Because money; this superb Iron Goat Guns “reflex design” suppressor will run you a grand, plus gun. Because weight; unless you commission a credit card-melting titanium version, the Mossberg 500’s six-pound snout makes the 12 gauge a tad nose heavy. Because paperwork; the ATF is currently in a race to see what’s faster: continental drift or a processed NFA application. Because pump action; I’m not so sure I’d trust the action to cycle on a semi, especially if we’re talking home defense. Other than that, my Benelli Super Nova’s about to get a nose job. Eventually.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

38 COMMENTS

  1. They sell these puppies at Sportsman’s Finest? Didn’t see one the last time I was in.

    Something to add to my X-mas list. Of course i’ll never get a tax stamp in this decade. I’m still waiting on my March ’13 submission.

      • He described it as a suppressor wrapped around a ported barrel, so I think the barrel by itself is long enough to be legal.

        You almost have to do it this way on a shotgun; if there was any freebore inside the suppressor, the wad might start to expand, and things would get ugly if it struck a baffle or the endcap.

  3. Let’s see here…

    – Screws up the balance,
    – Interrupts the line-of-sight, probably requiring an optical aiming device,
    – Slows the mount and swing,
    – $1000 cost,
    – Long wait.

    So, no, I don’t think so. Not even on a Benelli.

  5. Mount a laser and a light on that beast and call it good.

    To those who say “too front-heavy”… What, you think you’re going to spend 4 hours shooting clays with something like this?

    • I have owned an entire SHOTGUN that weighed less than that suppressor. Strap a 6 pound weight to the muzzle of your favorite riot-type shotgun and see how lively it mounts and swings.

      If there was ANY advantage to adding 6 pounds of weight to the muzzle of a shotgun, the 3-gunners (or other competitive shotgun shooters) would have done it years ago.

  6. right, that will be a good idea on your home defense gun right up until the time the prosecutor and jury sees it. All geared up for some vigilante killing of bad guys right?

    A gas-operated semi auto (the Bennelli is nice) will have 40% less recoil than a shoulder-bruising pump gun (but, a pump gun is more reliable). I have had bruises from a pump (slugs), but i can shoot a semi all day.

    There is also low-flash low-recoil 12 ga ammo for personal defense.

    If I want something with low recoil, low muzzle flash, and the sound level of a supersonic 22, as a personal defense gun – without the risk of looking like a mall ninja to a jury – then i’ll use 10/22 and load it with the most powerful .22lr i can find.

    a supressor on your home defense gun has bad idea written all over it. Most people form their opinions about suppressors from Hollywood, not Colion Nior or actual experience.

      • inertials have a bit more kick than gas, mostly verified by my shoulder so that’s not scientific, but still less than a pump. I was not dissing the Vinci or other inertials in the line, you would not be disappointed with any of them.

        • The only Benelli Id ever use is the M1014. Had plenty of time with them in Iraq. But otherwise, ill stick with my Beretta’s

        • the truth is i love shooting my Beretta more than Benelli. As a home defense shotgun, I am reluctant to suggest it because of its low magazine capacity, and no extender is available. Maybe you can squeeze a few more with minishells, but i have never tried. As a hunting or trap gun its fantastic.

        • The only Beretta semi-auto that Im aware of that has the ability to install an extended tube is the Xtrema 2. Lucky for me, I own two. Good to hear you enjoy the Beretta. The real Italian shotgun

        • Just about the ugliest shotgun ever. And what was with that folding girder, pirate hook looking doo hickey they tried to pass off as a stock?

  7. I want to see one of those Bullpup Unlimited 870s with a can. Planning to get an 870 express and one of those kits myself when I can muster the funds.

  8. I shot a night IDPA match last Friday night. It was dark. I suffered no muzzle flash blindness. Why do people insist they will be blinded by a gun shot in the dark?

    • Because they’ve probably done very little night time/low light shooting.

      I’ve taken training courses where I’ve shot in pitch, black dark and experienced little (if any) loss of night version.

      The rapid flash is too fast for your eyes to make an adjustment, it takes minutes to properly adjust, not fractions of second.

  9. Hearing protection that goes on your head is WAY cheaper. I lean more towards the practical and shy away from the tacti-cool.

  11. Nope.

    Sure, it would be nifty if we lived in the same consequence-free delusion as anti-gun Statists, but the other commenters have it pretty much wrapped it as to why — and that’s because we know better.

  13. I had no idea you could put a can on a shotgun til No Country For Old Men. I had never really thought of it before. In a little casual research I found suppressed shotguns in England. A pump Mossberg .410 with can. I think if I lived in a semi rural area that would be the bees knees for pest and vermin control.

    Other than that, I have no real desire for a suppressed shotgun.

  15. curious as to how it compares to say a centerfire rifle design. i applaud their efforts, but that is a fairly antequated baffle design (the mp5sd i have fired wasnt quiet at all. would have prefered a p5k with a modern take apart can), heavy, and the bore size is very large. interested in seeing how it does though. has to be better than the RJF cans…

  16. Meh, that is too much weight and the barrel plus suppressor is way too long for home defense.

    If you are willing to pay for ATF tax stamps and want a heavy duty man stopper, get a rifle in .45-70 Government, chop the barrel down to around 12 inches, and then add a suppressor on to that. Such a rifle would launch a huge bullet at the same velocities as a shotgun slug coming out of a shotgun. I cannot imagine any attacker who would be able to function after taking a hit. (A 300 grain, .45 caliber hollow point bullet hitting a human torso at 1600 fps or so would be devastating in every sense of the word.)

    • I wonder how comparable the recoil from Buffalo Bore 45Colt +P 325gr load is. I know cranking one through my Blackhawk is BRUTAL, and a couple pounds of suppressor might make it useable…

  17. Thanks for the report! I have also found the comments interesting.

    I built that suppressor and can give you a little more info about it. The barrel is about 26″ long after the choke was cut off. It is perforated with the baffles welded onto the outside of the barrel. The outer tube is aluminum and while the baffles and bushings add weight, it is only a little over one pound heavier than the ribbed barrel that I started with. The suppressor is integral to the barrel; only the outer tube can be removed for cleaning. Even with full power 12 gauge loads, the noise level to the shooter or anyone behind the muzzle “appears” to be hearing safe. I say “appears” to be, because that exact level of sound pressure has never been precisely determined and will likely always be in contention.

    When test firing it, I was using some really old odds and ends of shot shells. One load was a squib and while it propelled the shot out of the tube, all I heard was a kind of Hollywood “phutt.” Shotgun suppressors are really nothing new as the Brits and others have been using them for years.

    This design delivered typical open choke patterns. The prototype for this integrally barreled suppressor was a 20 gauge barrel for a HandiRifle SB2, which came from the factory in .500 S & W Magnum. The suppressed .500 is quieter with subsonic loads than is the shotgun, but that is to be expected with the huge wad of stuff discharged from a shot shell.
    Given a shorter magazine tube than is typical with most shotguns today, anyone willing to accept some loss of velocity could expect very little added weight and very comfortable shooting with such a suppressor. Recoil and muzzle flash is markedly reduced with almost any suppressor.

Comments are closed.