I have a basic (but hopefully not too ignorant) question about shotguns.
Is there a reason that I never see them come with a ammo clip (like the m-16) ? It seems that it would take a long time to reload a shotgun under pressure without the benefit of having a clip.
Thanks in advance.
look up the USAS-12
There are a few shotguns which take a detachable magazine for reloading. The Russian Saiga is one. Another was the old Mossberg which I mentioned in an earlier post.
I think the main reason is most shotguns are used for bird hunting where extremely quick reloads are not required plus it is pretty fast to reload most pumps and autoloaders anyway. Also since a 12 gauge shell is pretty large, the mags must also be a bit large and cumbersome.
Most shotgun hunters are traditionalists and like the way they look with the undertube magazine.
There really is no reason they couldn’t use the detachable system.
Actually, with a pump gun, you can reload quite quickly. You insert shells into the tube magazine during breaks in the action.
Here is a pic of a couple Saiga-12s.
Saiga-12 semi-auto shotgun
Aside from game hunting regulations, no reason.
There is a Russian made Saiga shotgun which feeds from a box magazine, but it's a semi-automatic not a pump action like the Mossberg.
The reason, just my opinion here, that more of that type aren't made is weight and cost. The Saiga design is basically a modified Kalishnikov sized up to accept 12 gauge rounds.
Also, once again strictly my opinion, putting the weight of the cartridges forward as in a tube fed design helps to control recoil.
It also makes the weapon more slim and improves handling over a magazine fed design.
L