History of Shotguns in U.S. Special Forces during GWOT. 

Best damn gun-related channel on RU-vid.

“I never used it against an enemy combatant, even though a tried.” Lol

Carried the 590 in the Army and as a Police Officer. I learned long ago to change the mag spring to a Wolf +power spring. You are 100% right. The mag spring is the achilles heel for the 590. I also changed the mag follower. The small stamped sheet metal was junk. Besides that, it ran fine.

I was law enforcement and we used Remington 870's exclusively. Mostly with 9 pellet 00 Buckshot, although we had slugs av available. I'm no longer in Law Enforcement due to injuries and my 870 would beat the hell out of my bad shoulder. I switched to a Remington 1100 Tactical. It holds 8 2 3/4" in the tube. I haven't shot slugs through it yet. The Winchester loads I've been shooting are still a little stout on my bad shoulder; but it's better than my 870. I'm planning on trying the Federal reduced recoil 00 buckshot loads. Oh, the ways we ways we have to compensate for old age.

Had 1200’s in Vietnam. Used to use them to shoot flèche rounds into the perimeter wire at nights. I was there 65, 66 and 67. I still have a 1200.

Wow, tactical shooting that ACTUALLY involves tactics. Best shotgun video I have seen. I’m a retired police officer from the days when we used shotguns on many many calls. The only things I can add is that i carried empty chamber with the hammer down (dry fired) much like your fired round carry. I actually developed that from dove hunting where I was shooting a lot and as hunters can tell you, when shooting a lot it is easy to forget the safety is on. That will cause you to miss a bird in the field but it will get you killed on the street. I loaded two buckshot in the tube, then a slug, then another buckshot. That way I could rack the gun and have buckshot going into the situation. If I needed to shoot further I just racked the gun again (sent him some buckshot first or hit the slide release) and I could switch to slug. To switch back to buckshot just repeat the process. With the last two buckshot in the magazine, if you want a slug there is room in the magazine to slip in a slug and rack the slide again. I also think all reloading should be done into the magazine to avoid a double feed by placing a shell into the ejection port and finding you still had a shell in the magazine. I don’t like shotgun shells in loops because they fall out especially when the elastic starts to get loose. I like the duck hunters neoprene belts and holders that are sewn closed at the bottom

Big future for shotguns in the military. #2 shot goes pretty far to reach out and say hello to a drone.

This was a question I had for the longest time. There's plenty of material on how the Marines used their Benellis during GWOT, but never as much on the Army, let alone Special Forces. Thanks for the video.

0:39 - Winchester 1200 1:30 - Remington 870 SBS w/Top-folder 1:54 - Mossberg 590 (#50694) 3:01 - 590 weak mag-tube spring 3:35 - 590 Traing at BLACKWATER 4:17 - Remington 870 SBS w/Pachmayr grip 6:09 - DIY Weapon catch for your belt 7:56 - Dry-hull technique 9:14 - Benelli M-2 11:49 - Benelli M-1014 12:06 - Keeping it fed 14:11 - M-2 vs M-1014 15:14 - Breachine rounds 17:31 - Running as a Primary 18:02 - Shell carriers 20:10 - Using shell strip carriers 20:43 - Alternatives to breaching shotguns . 16:59 - It's not brass, it's steel; or some other ferrous metal. Here in the tropical climates, so long as the black is intact, they don't rust.

Excellent video Jeff. I ran the M1014 in Ramadi in 2004 and never felt undergunned going without my rifle on patrols. As a civilian, I'm partial to my mag fed Saiga 12.

The Dry Hull technique is also known as Cruiser Ready. For those of you starting out taking shooting classes.

I rocked a 590 in Afghanistan through 2004-2005 about 50% of the time. Our armorers did something to increase spring tension if they didn’t completely replace the spring. Other than that all the 590 and 500 held up great. I saw lots of Marines using super short 870s. When I got into LE I worked a couple of places with 870s, and I even became an 870 armorer. Truthfully, I could toss a coin on an 870 over a Mossberg.

Great video! My Army infantry brigade purchased tons of off-the-shelf Mossberg 500s (from three states in all the Walmarts) on the way to Afghanistan (2006-8). There were few Mossberg 590s in the official supply system for infantry battalions that I saw. My gunner in our up-armored hummer had one of these Mossberg 500's and he used the pistol grip. As you know machine guns can't cover dead space along your own vehicle when people come up to you in small villages. He grabbed the Mossy for that duty. I saw a few gunners buy a few homemade shotguns made in Afghanistan/Pakistan out west.....not for me.🤦‍♂🤦‍♂

Some winchester 1200's were still in inventory into early GWOT. Our company got about a dozen for our OIF III deployment. They were in a trench gun configuration; we replaced the stocks with pistol grips, and removed the bayonet lug/heatshield. Used them for breaching and EOF from gun truck turrets.

These “History of [blank] in Special Forces” videos genuinely bring me so much happiness. I know you were a fantastic 18B by how professional and honest you are in these videos, too many loud clickbait videos around these kind of topics!

I feel outnumbered, all my friends are rifle guys, however I've always been more of a shotgun guy. I own more Shotguns than rifles. Idk maybe because my dad was a shotgun guy. My go- to home defense gun is my mossberg 590 Shockwave. Thank you for this video and for your service sir, god bless America 🇺🇸

U.S. Marines Infantry Active Duty. 1999 to 2003. Was trained in both The Benelli M4 Super 90 and the Mossberg 500. Everything in 12 Gauge. We used them mainly for security details. My main home defense shotgun is an old Ithaca M37.

Thank you for the outstanding vid. As a Canadian living remotely, I have my gear set up for my 870 . I've done some extensive training with the 870 and if I had to grab one firearm and run...it would be my 870.

Great video, Jeff. Really good info. When we went to Miami with 2/504 PIR after Hurricane Andrew, they'd found some old Ithaca and Mod. 12 Winchesters that had the trench gun heat shields and bayonet lugs. The coolest thing though, were the M1917 bayonets issued with those guns. You know, in case you had to founder a looter's horse.😂

Great info! I’ve always been fascinated with shotguns in the US military starting back in WW1

I did two gun training with my sidearm and shotgun. I carried a Winchester model 1300 with an 18" barrel and a Hogue LOP stock. I love the model 1300. It is smooth and you can slam fire it. I also have a Winchester model 12 trench gun from 1957. It was not military issue, but LE issue for riot control. The Mossberg 590A1 came later as well as the Benelli M4. Needless to say, I like shotguns for home defense.

One good thing about the 590 is the safety position. Nobody can not argue that safety is slower than any other. Fully ambi, and much easier to manipulate, quickly

I really like the idea of the dry hull technique. Similar to a cruiser ready style of carry and makes a lot of sense given the use

Slugs are lethal out of a 12 gauge, reliably, out to 400 yards. Buck out to 150 yards. In case anybody is curious. Great video!

TFB did a video on the "Elite Spanker" shotgun cards, they are pretty cheap and handy, velcro onto the left side of the shotgun and store extras like your custom ones in M4 mag pouches. Definitely seem like a must now and in my opinion make plastic and hard mounted ones 100% redundant. Thanks for the video.

I’ve been a Mossberg owner and user since I turned 18 in ‘98. A 590 Special Purpose was the first gun I ever bought, special ordered it from the Walmart gun counter if anyone can believe that. One of the first things I learned from old school pump shotgun guys was to replace the OEM magazine tube spring with a Wolff Xtra Power spring. I do this on any new shotgun I buy ever since and haven’t had any issues, but I also haven’t ran them in talcum powder sandy environments either. Other things I do is to replace the OEM plastic safety lever with a steel or aluminum one (590A1’s come with a OEM steel lever). Replace the magazine tube follower with a high visibility stainless steel follower, I like the ones from GG&G. Next I replace the trigger group housing with the OEM steel one.

I was so excited to see some real world experience and shotgun content. Thanks for sharing!

17 years - thank you for your service! Also - your videos are awesome, thanks for spending the time and effort to share.

Great video Jeff. I've been shooting 2 gun for 6 years now but only recently did my first 3 gun. I've experimented with DIY breaching rounds years ago by cutting down bird shot and refilling it with iron powder (bought cheap online) and then sealing with high melt beeswax (150 degree melt). I tested it on 3/8 inch plywood and it made great holes with little frang.

Well done Jeff. Back in the 80/90s 1/5th and 1/10th I was using the Win 1200s. When we stood up A/1/5 we had the shorty 870s. One other shotgun that was around was the Remington 870 MCS from 04'-12' in Iraq and Astan that had 10,14 and 18" bbls. Later in Afghanistan ODAs had Mossberg 500/590s, Benelli M1014 and one or two 1200s on TPE (17-21'). Only see Mossbergs in Iraq presently.

Part of my job is training working professionals in technical subjects. This video is a great example of how to do that at a Master level. Real-world examples to illustrate that the instructor has Been There/Done That, but always with the caveat and in the context of it being their own personal experience. Concise enough to keep interest levels high, yet thoroughly covering the essentials. Really, really nicely done. An awesome follow-up on the esoteric subject of military shotgun usage would be to talk to some of the vets who carried them in WW2 and Vietnam. I found Patches Watson's description of how/why he frequently carried an Ithaca 37 in preference to other options to be fascinating reading. Awesome stuff, thanks for sharing!

I remember going into an underground bunker range type set up. They gave us old wooden stock model 12's as part of some hokey urban warfare type training. As we got online.. they told us to "aim low".. at the legs of the advancing targets. Of course, we all shot them in the face multiple times. 11B 89-93

Just timely, I'm on a tactical shotgun binge! Thank you Sir

That's really interesting -- I've never seen anyone use the shockwave (or shockwave-type shotgun) primarily as a door breacher... but it makes total sense

awesome video again Jeff! at 10th group i helped the teams build doors for them to breach during sfauc every summer. really badass to see them employ the shotguns in the shoothouse. I've only ever had to repair 1 590 last year and it was the missing front sight. good times man keep the content going!!

Great video as always!Like to hear that the Shotgun still gets a professionals endorsement as a viable weapon in CQB.Great home defense weapon especially in restrictive states.Rock On!

Love hearing your experience with these guns, great information!

As always sir, excellent video. I too agree on the versatility of the shotgun in CQB. Buck Shot, slugs, breaching, and less-lethal bean bags rounds. Thank you for sharing your knowledge 👍🏽🇺🇸🦅. .. CW2

Love it anytime Jeff drops a new history video.

Love the system series. Please do one on the dip cans and belt feds. Keep them coming.

Outstanding Shotgun information!! Thanks for posting this video.

Most practical vid I’ve seen on this subject. Thanks!

As always, very informative and entertaining. Solid piece of knowledge without all the bells and whistles. Cheers!

Very Cool Video! I remember those outlaw 3 gun match days of the late 90s and early 2000s and the use of shotgun shell pouches like the ones you showed. I used a Mossberg 590 on heavy metal matches in the late 90s but during my time in the NAVY I remember bringing to the attention of the GM1 that was doing the Shotgun CQB course about why the armory was not using Wolff Extra Power Magazine Spring because during one of the evolutions I had a feeding issue that cost me the course record. The GM1 asked me how I knew about that and I told him about my background and he asked me what why I was not a GM instead of a Airedale and I answered with fate!

tons of fantastic info, pearls. thank you!

Great info, thanks for sharing 👍🏼

That was an excellent presentation, brother. Much appreciated! 😉

Thankyou for your service sir , God bless you !

Love this channel , it’s always like here is a pic of the type of gear and kit I used overseas and then it’s like here is the literal actual kit and gear I used overseas.

Thank You For Sharing The Dry Hull Technique. Excellent Presentation, As Usual !

Most useful firearm video i have seen on youtube in all these years thank you

Been waiting on this

Thanks for that comprehensive discussion. Your system of quick deploy reloads & storage retrieval of shotgun shells gave me some valued pointers. Thanks, stay safe & keep on keepin' on.

What an excellent video. I was recently wondering about how SF use shotguns and this basically was everything I wanted to know. Great channel.

I love this channel. Real guy, real info.

Great video. Great suggestion for the shotgun holster.

I loved this video. Thank you for the great information.

Thank you for your service!

Thank you for your experiences and insights.

That shotty retention rig is the most grunts and crafts thing I've seen in a while, and I love it. I would 100% pick this over the Army's M26 shotgun any day of the week.

I love this inisght to small arms related to special forces and the us military... it really shows you dont need much to be effective. Thank you!

Great info. Thank you and greetings from Finland.

Good vid, brother. Appreciate you.

Another great video on the channel.

Excellent video. very informative, learned a lot from it. Thanks. for your service.

Great video. Good info. Thanks 👍🏼

Excellent presentation , sir .

Thanks for another great video.

Phenomenal video. Don’t know how I haven’t seen this channel before

Great video . Clear and understandable for everyone. Excellent presentation

Thanks. Great video.

Great training video !!

Thank you for your service. I learned a lot about topping off the shotgun from your video! Thanks

Wow, I feel like I just got done watching the History Channel - thankyou so much and I wish you all the success.. I especially enjoyed hearing about the influence of competition shooting and how you developed equipment on the fly/in the field. I also thought it was very interesting in the early 2000's it was cops teaching techniques whereas now it's much more common for former military to be teaching the cops. Sincerely...

Thanks for your service, glad you got through it then. You are still serving these days with your good, experienced instruction. As a Fleet Marine Force Navy Corpsman my issued weapon in RVN 1970 was a Remington Rand 1911A1. Later I was assigned to a river patrol boat base in the delta area and also toted an Ithaca 12 ga USGI version of the model 37.

Just an awesome video

I always liked how the Benellis recoil felt.

Great video, great information. Thanks for your service sir! 🇺🇸

Nice, thanks for your service and the real world information. Myself, I am just a retired LEO and used a shotgun for various uses.

Another informative video Jeff! Never carried a shotgun as a Ranger, but carried a Remington 870P as a deputy back in the 1980s.

That was awesome! Thank you for sharing your experience and serving this country'$ protection! The dry hull method, with a shorty barrel seems very practical, Safety off! 👍

Extremely informative.👍

Really enjoyed, thanks

Subscribed because FINALLY I've been able to find something about how shotguns are carried in addition to a rifle and pistol. Thank you. I've been wondering this for awhile and it's been bugging the hell out of me.

That was a great video. I'm always glad to get a left hander's perspective on different techniques. (Most instructional videos just assume everyone is right handed.)

Empty hull deployment, excellent tactics! 👍 thanks Sir. Going to unload my M590A1!

I'm happy this channel was suggested, very valuable content

Great video. Good on the coat hanger retention.

Loved the M2 with some badass slugs.

Awesome video, and thank you for your service, Sir! Subbed!

Great work! Thank you sir

As a Mossberg master armorer, I'm shocked your armorer didn't drylube and replace your mag springs with wolf springs.

great video thank you so much

Outstanding video I had the same issues with the 590 and use the same technique with my shotgun. I use and old blousing band and sew two of them to my belt. It’s interesting the techniques we all use in country, great channel I subscribe.

I think that is a great breakdown of the shotgun system. I l Is love the mossberg 500 . I have not been able to find a good one around my area. So I adopted the mossberg 88 As well as added the.m4 stalk to it. As a home defense weapon but we do use it for hunting. As well and has proved out strong as heck . As well as most of the parts from the mosberg 500 are interchangeable.. Great breakdown of your experience thank you sir.

Great info and presentation….Thanks🙏

Thank you chief, nice video

Thanks for the great video.

Excellent video

As Infantry In the 1980's we still had the old Trench Guns in the arms room.