Safes & Locks

Specific-use firearms such as tactical shotguns that are designed for self-defense situations are held to a higher standard than other shooting tools. If a self-defense shotgun fails to function or inadequately performs at the wrong time, there is no such thing as a do-over. Admittedly, most of these shotguns will never be fired in a life-or-death situation and generally don't see a lot of time on the shooting range. That does not mean the tactical shotgun owner does not demand the shooting tool, when it is necessary, handle its duties in an efficient and effective manner.

This is the first of two tactical pump-action shotgun evaluations. The next head-to-head match will feature a Tristar TEC-12 Pump/Auto 12 gauge listing for $689 against a Mossberg Model 590 Magpul Pump 12 gauge listing for $773. In that review, we will also name Our Pick of the four shotguns put through exactly the same test drills.

For this test, we selected a couple moderately priced pumps to see how they fared on the shooting range and whether they met the high standards of a firearm that might mean the difference between life and death. The two 12-gauge pump-action shotguns, both available for less than $500, that we put through their paces are the Weatherby PA-459 TR with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $499 and the CZ-USA Model 612 HC-P 12 gauge (last reviewed in October 2013) listing for $366.

When a shooter absolutely, positively, without-a-doubt has to stop a threat, he or she can't have doubts about whether a firearm will function in a proper and effective manner. Not only does the self-defense firearm have to perform well, a shooter must have confidence the pattern will be placed on target in an effective manner. Also, a key element in any self-defense training is that the shooter is responsible for any lead that comes down the barrel in a shooting situation. Wounding or killing an innocent bystander with an errant pellet or slug is simply unacceptable on both moral and legal levels.

Spending time on the range to know how well a shotgun performs is a necessary factor with self-defense shotguns. Understanding that a typical tactical firearm packs quite a punch on both ends, we endured quite a bit of shoulder shock in conducting evaluations on these firearms. We encourage individuals who purchase these firearms do the same so they will become familiar with their specific self-defense tool.

Our ammunition for putting the two close-quarter shotguns into play included Rio Royal Buck 2.75-inch loads moving nine pellets of No. 00 buckshot at an average muzzle velocity of 1,345 fps; and Winchester Reduced Recoil Winlite 2.75-inch loads pushing 0.9-ounce 400-grain Sabot Slugs with an average muzzle velocity of 1,450 fps. In addition, our repeated function-fire and cycling rounds as part of the testing sequence were Remington ShurShot Heavy Dove 2.75-inch loads with 11⁄8 ounces of No. 6 shot moving at an average of 1,255 fps.

Rather than the standard patterning board used for our other shotgun testing, we utilized Birchwood Casey Eze-Scorer 23-inch by 35-inch Bad Guy and the same size Targets Online paper images of potential threats for our shots in home-defense simulations; and Champion VisiColor Zombies 12-inch by 18-inch Slasher Tusks targets for slug shots at 25 yards. On the zombies, only head shots were counted as acceptable results with the slug ammo. Here are our findings:

Many concealed-carry customers pooh-pooh pistols chambered in 380 ACP as being underpowered for self defense, but they may well be in the vocal minority, because sales of 380-chambered handguns and ammunition continues apace, with more of the smallish sidearms finding their way into pockets and purses than ever before. It can be argued, in fact, that Glock kept seeing its rivals sell so many inexpensive-to-make pocket pistols that the Austrians were forced into the U.S. 380 ACP market with the G42 just so they could grab a slice of the ever-growing pocket-pistol pie.

At Gun Tests, we have mined this lode plenty ourselves, finding quite a few worthy pocketguns and pocketguns-plus over the years. We have previously given A grades to a new CZ USA Model 83 No. 91302, a Bersa Firestorm, a Colt Mustang Pocketlite, and a Kel-Tec P3AT. A half-grade down at A- grades have been the Ruger LCP-CT, a used Beretta Model 84 and CZ Model 83, a Ruger LC380 No. 3219, and a Taurus 738B No. 1-73803. Our new e-book on 380s, available on the Gun-Tests.com website, recaps those guns and six more B+ or B pistols, or you can search for "380 ACP" in the archives and pull up the entire list of such firearms we've evaluated over the years.

We think many consumers like these pistols because most of them are easy to carry and conceal, and they're willing to trade off the "carry everywhere" portability for slightly less power than some 38 Specials, for example. Our tests of several 380 ACP self-defense loads had three (Federal 90-gr. Hydra-Shok JHP, Speer 90-gr. Gold Dot JHP, and Fiocchi 95-gr. FMJ) that penetrated at least 13.5+ inches in water, very close to what a Remington 125-gr. JHP 38 Sp. +P did as a control — and not too many experts say the 38 Special is "too little" gun.

This round, we tested three brand-new models and one variation of a previously tested model as a reference point. The first of the new models was the Colt Mustang XSP Pocketlite Polymer O6790, MSRP $649, but which we found at ImpactGuns.com for $565 and $572 at BudsGunShop.com. Or Bud's would sell it for a cash price of $555. Next up was the Glock 42 Subcompact Slimline, MSRP $480, which SlickGuns.com had for sale at $490 plus free shipping. Bud's listed it for $437 or $424 cash. Kahr's CW 380 No. 3833, $419 MSRP, comes in at a $322 retail price at Bud's or a $313 cash discount price. At GeorgiaGunStore.com, the price was $312. The fourth entry was a P238 from SIG Sauer, No. 238-380-NBS12, with a hefty MSRP of $710 and a retail price of $498 from Bud's Gun Shop (but listed as out of stock the last time we checked), or $583 from TombstoneTactical.com or $520 from JoeBobOutfitters.com.

In more detail, the polymer Colt XSP is one of two Mustangs in the company's 380 line. Colt ceased production of the Mustangs in 2000 then reintroduced the line in 2011. The new guns are designed to accept original parts. Both have stainless-steel slides, measure 5.5 inches in length, have 2.75-inch barrels, and operate with short single-action trigger function, or like miniature 1911s. The Mustang Pocketlite has an aluminum frame, while the XSP, introduced in 2013, has a lightweight polymer skin. According to company specs, the polymer XSP is about an ounce lighter than the Pocketlite.

The new Glock 42, made in Georgia, is a slimline subcompact pistol and is the smallest pistol Glock has ever introduced, but it's not the company's first 380 Auto. The Glock 25 was introduced in 1995 in Germany as a small-dimension firearm for markets where civilian personnel are not allowed to possess handguns featuring military calibers. In the USA, the G25 is reserved for law-enforcement agencies only. Like the G25, the Glock 28 is reserved for LE. The G25 is 7.36 inches long, 5 inches tall, and has a capacity of 15+1. The G28 is 6.41 inches long, 4.7 inches tall, and has a capacity of 10+1. Both are noticeably larger than our tested G42, which was 5.94 inches long, 4.13 inches tall, and has a capacity of 6+1. Marketed for pocket carry and to shooters with smaller hands, the single-stack G42 lacks the interchangeable backstraps of other Glocks, but field-strips the same way as other larger Glocks.

After reading the test of .410-bore shotshells adjacent, shooters may wonder what guns are good choices to shoot the small-gauge self-defense rounds. While we can't attest to how a given gun will work with a given shell, we can recommend some firearms that generally suit the .410 shotshell in home-defense situations.

About a year ago, Ray Ordorica compared two handguns chambered for the .410 shotshell, the S&W Governor 45 ACP, 45 LC, 410/2.5-inch, $679; and the Taurus Judge Model 4510TKR-3BUL 45 LC/410 2.5-inch, $620. We learned back then that these handguns performed better with smaller shot. Ray first patterned the Gov at 3 yards, which gave a pattern with Winchester Super-X No. 7.5 shot that fit onto a sheet of 8.5-inch x 11-inch paper. At 5 yards from the muzzle, the pattern with the Governor spread to about 18 inches. This was far superior to what we got with shot loads from the Judge, he reported, which would spread to about a foot at only 3 feet. The same held true with the #4 shot. The Governor's pattern slightly overlapped a sheet of paper with a spotty pattern fired from 9 feet, but at that same range the Judge barely struck the paper. At 15 feet, the pattern differences were astounding. The Smith Governor put all its shot into a 17-inch circle. The Judge put its shot into a 34-inch circle, twice the diameter. The Judge's pattern had many holes, but the Governor's pattern was even, and quite impressive. The shotshell results very much favored the Smith & Wesson.

With 000 buck from 20 feet, the results from both guns were spotty. He concluded the maximum range for 000 buck is about 20 feet.

Owning a gun under the United States Constitution is a right, a privilege, and ultimately, a responsibility. Gun Tests® believes a gun’s owner must see to it that a firearm is used without negligence or carelessness, and whenever possible, that it not be used illegally either. However, in addition to this moral position—like it or not—recent events will surely drive the debate about legal gun use toward some sort of mandated locking or storage system, to be provided by gun manufacturers or as an aftermarket dictate. Responsible gun owners have long stored guns and ammunition separately to prevent misuse by children. Also, shooters have employed lockable cases or safes that denied access to c...