What’s S&W known for? Revolvers mostly, but the company has also had a fair bit of success with its semi-auto designs. The M&P 2.0 series is likely the second most issued police handgun on the market. Their M&P rifles are also popular, and the Sport series are great entry-level ARs. What S&W isn’t known for is shotguns. Sure, most people know S&W-made shotguns, but what do you know about S&W shotguns?
Today, we are going to dive deep into the world of S&W Shotguns, give a brief history of these guns and their features, and maybe see why S&W has seemingly never fully dived into the world of shotguns. Maybe there is room for some new S&W shotguns, and I’ll make my pitch to S&W at the end.
The First of the S&W Shotguns – the 916
S&W shotguns start with a gun called the 916. The Model 916 was produced in the 1970s, and roughly 10,000 were produced. S&W acquired a small firearms company called Noble Manufacturing Company. Noble produced rimfire rifles and shotguns. In 1973, S&W bought the company and its designs, which included the Noble Model 66.
S&W took this pump action design and turned it into the Model 916. They produced several models. The standard 916 was your classic sporting shotgun. The 916T was a takedown design, and the 916A was the tactical model. S&W’s first venture wasn’t that great.
The guns had reliability issues, specifically the takedown model, which had a tendency to rupture barrels. The guns were discontinued, but S&W shotguns would continue.
The Model 1000
The Model 1000 was S&W’s first semi-auto shotgun. Well, it’s not their shotgun. It’s built by Howa Machinery in Japan and imported and branded by S&W. The Model 1000 was a simple gas-operated semi-auto shotgun built for sport shooters.
These guns came in both skeet and trap models and came in both 20 and 12-gauge variants. These are fine guns. Nothing special, but nothing terrible either. S&W imported and sold the guns from 1973 to 1985. After that, Mossberg sold them for a brief period of time.
The Model 3000
It’s time for deja vu when it comes to S&W Shotguns. The Model 3000 was also a Howa-produced shotgun from Japan. This one was a pump action design and available in both 12 and 20-gauge. S&W sold sporting variants and tactical variants that were adopted by a few American police forces.
S&W also produced a slug version with open sights. These guns were branded and sold from 1979 to 1986. After that, much like the Model 1000, Mossberg sold them. The model 3000 seems to be the S&W shotgun I run into most often.
The 1000 Series
The 1000 series is different than the Model 1000; it just turns out that S&W isn’t all that creative. This Series consists of two models, the 12 gauge model 1012 and the 20 gauge 1020. The 1000 Series were Turkish imports. I don’t remember a whole lot of Turkish guns in 2006, so maybe S&W was ahead of the curve.
These were basic gas-operated, semi-auto sporting shotguns. They weren’t all that revolutionary but were apparently competent and well-made. In 2006, S&W wanted $650 to $900 for these guns, which must have been a tough sell for the period. These guns were only imported from 2006 to 2010.
The Elite Series
The Elite Series followed the 1000 Series. These were double-barrel shotguns produced in Turkey from 2007 to 2010. The Elite series came in both 20 and 12-gauge models. The Elite Gold was a 20 gauge side-by-side shotgun. The 12 gauge was the Elite Silver and was an over-under gun.
There were various barrel lengths available. These, again, weren’t revolutionary or fancy but competent guns. The problem? An MSRP of $2,350. Who pays that much for a Turkish gun that an Ottoman emperor didn’t own? Seriously, I don’t see a lot of people spending $2,350 on Turkish-made S&W Shotguns.
The AS
The AS, or Assault Shotgun, never made it past the prototype stage and was never intended for the civilian market. The Assault Shotgun came in three models, the AS-1 being a semi-auto-only mode. The AS-2 was a selective fire model with a burst feature, and the AS-3 was a selective fire with a full-auto mode.
The AS competed with the HK CAWS for the CAWS contract, but it went nowhere. It looked a bit like an M16 and fed from 10-round magazines. The AS was produced in minimal numbers, and it is unclear how many were made. This is the rarest of the S&W Shotguns.
The M&P 12
The latest and only current shotgun produced by S&W is the M&P12. The M&P12 is a radical design idea that admittedly borrows a bit from KelTec’s KSG series. It’s a bullpup, dual tube, pump action shotgun. It holds 14 rounds and looks like you should be fighting the bugs on Klendathu.
It’s a fairly capable gun. I was doubtful but surprised. It’s very modern and easy to accessorize. The gun is also surprisingly ergonomic and easy to operate. It looks a bit clunky and heavy, but I applaud S&W for diving into the deep end.
My Pitch for S&W Shotguns
What would I like to see? S&W should build a shotgun like the Kriger 12. It’s a semi-automatic shotgun with extremely modern ergonomics. The charging handle is on the left side; the stock gives you an inline design for less muzzle rise and more controllable recoil. It’s optics-ready, light-ready, takes AR stocks, etc.
I would love to see someone create an extremely modern semi-auto shotgun that takes cues from modern rifles. I think that makes for a more controllable, more ergonomic, and more modular platform. There is plenty of room for modern S&W shotguns, and I’d love to see them take their quality to a semi-auto shotgun.
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