Firearms Vs. Shotguns

I am a huge fan of the defensive shotgun as my “go-to” gun when the situation demands more than what my everyday carry pistol can handle. The firepower that 12 gauge 00 buckshot brings to the table is hard to argue with, and a shotgun can dominate any fight from bad breath distance out to 50 yards. 

However, shotguns are hard to manage without a stock, as all that recoil has to go somewhere and it’s usually into your shoulder. Proper technique, like the push-pull method, can help tame that recoil, and good ammo selection can keep all your pellets on-target out to the effective range of your scattergun. Shotguns are also large, with 18 inches or longer barrels, and while pistol-grip only shotguns exist, they suffer from the recoil control problems I just mentioned. 

Enter the “firearm,” a type of, well, firearm that benefits from the unique wording of the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA). Mossberg started the ball rolling with the Shockwave, and I will quote from our review of that gun why a “firearm” is not considered a short-barreled shotgun and therefore controlled by NFA permission slips: 

“[The Short Barrel DT] never had a stock, so it will not be a short-barrel shotgun … so it will never be an NFA item. It’s not an ‘Any Other Weapon’ because it’s over 26 inches long. And since it has a forward grip required by its design to function [and also lacks a rifled bore], it cannot be a pistol. Thus, if it’s not an SBS, not an AOW and not a pistol, it can only be a ‘firearm,’ and a firearm can be transferred to qualifying individuals in most states with a standard 4473 and background check.”

Got it? Let’s move on. 

Most, if not all of the “firearms” that have been introduced since the original Shockwave have not interested me. However, in 2019, Mossberg came out with the “Nightstick” version of the Shockwave, and well, to put it bluntly, I fell in love. All gun writers have guns they like more than others, and for me, one of those guns was the classic “Witness Protection” short-barreled shotgun used by the Federal Marshal Service in the 1980s. The deep hues of the wood furniture combined with an easy-to-carry form factor was my kryptonite, and I knew I would own one someday.

Well, now I do (sort of). The original gun was based on a Remington 870 action, but I’m cross-eye dominant and shoot long guns with my left hand. As a result, the tang-mounted safety on the Mossberg 500/590 series works better for me than the cross-bolt safety on Remington-pattern scatterguns. Either way, the Nightstick captures the spirit of the old Witness Protection shotgun and looks great in my gun safe. 

Testing Firearms Vs Shotguns

But how does the Nightstick firearm work compared to a full-sized shotgun? To find out, I headed to the range with my new Shockwave Nightstick and my tried and trusted Mossberg 590 home defense gun. I know that 8-pellet Federal FliteControl 00 will hold a 5-inch pattern in my 590 at 20 yards, and while I wasn’t expecting those results out of the shorter Nightstick barrel, I was curious to see what it would do with that ammo, as well as reduced-recoil Federal Power Shok Low Recoil 00 buck to use in the Nightstick. 

First Test: Recoil Control

Three aimed shots from low ready. 
Nightstick Firearm with low-recoil #00: 4.09 seconds
Mossberg 590 with FliteControl #00: 2.65 seconds

Not too surprising here. The Nightstick could really benefit from a red dot sight, as the sight radius for the bead sight is quite short. That would definitely improve my times on this test, as the discrepancy between the two times is largely due to the more-unpredictable recoil from the Nightstick 

Second Test: Shot Patterns

Nightstick Firearm with low-recoil 00 pattern size at 7 yards: 6 inches
Nightstick Firearm with low-recoil 00 pattern size  at 10 yards: 7.6 inches
Mossberg 590 with 8 pellet FliteControl 00 pattern size at 7 yards: 1.53 inches
Mossberg 590 with 8 pellet FliteControl 00 pattern size at 10 yards: 2.17 inches

FliteControl buckshot, especially the 8 pellet variety, has been my “go to” defensive rounds for years now, thanks to results like this. I shot a round of it through the Nightstick firearm, though, and it delivered very similar results at that distance to the full-sized shotgun. This means that if you’re willing to take an even bigger hit on recoil and use the full-power FliteControl round, your payoff will be nice, tight patterns on your target.

Is A “Firearm” Right For You?

On a typical day, if I’m out and about, I have a defensive pistol on me. These days, it’s a Tisas Stingray 1911, but I’ve also carried a Glock G19 and a CZ-USA P07. These all are compact 9mm pistols, but occasionally, they’re not compact enough for my environment, so I slip a Ruger LCP into a pocket holster and carry that instead. 

Now pick up everything I just said and drop it on the defensive shotgun. My home defense shotguns are just that: For defending my home. However, I am not always at home, and I like having a little more firepower with me than what my defensive pistol brings to the party. However, carrying around a full-sized gun is awkward, and doing it in a way that avoids screaming out “Hey, there is a big shotgun in this bag!” can be downright tough at times.

A firearm solves that problem, as it is much more discreet than a full-sized gun. However, just as pocket pistols run into recoil issues, so it is with firearms. Pretty much everyone I know who carries a small revolver rarely, if ever, fires full-power .357 Mag. rounds through it. After all, Force = Mass x Acceleration is not just a good idea, it’s the law.

Same thing with firearms. You’re trading off the slightly reduced force and reduced range of a low-recoil buckshot round for a faster followup shot and an easy-to-carry format. If you’re willing to make that trade, then practice with your gun and learn how far you can push things, both with your accuracy and your speed, which will give you the confidence that your firearm will perform like you expect it to when you need it the most.