Military Armament Corporation MAC 2 3-Gun 21000156 12 Gauge

Custom shotguns with competitive go-fast features aren’t affordable for many shooters, but there are some off-the-shelf guns that are designed to offer quick shooting in defense situations. Naturally, semi-automatic shotguns designed for 3-Gun competition quickly rose to the top of the list, as well as compact bullpup-style shotguns. We didn’t want to melt our credit card, so we found three scatterguns in an affordable price range from about $300 to $650. The criteria for this match up was the ability to shoot fast, engage multiple targets with speed, pattern well, offer fast reloads, and be absolutely reliable with any ammo loaded. Bonus points were given to guns that could be modified with aftermarket parts like extended magazine tubes, vertical grips, sights, and so on. 

• The Stoeger M3K 3-Gun is tricked out for 3-Gun competition and is at the high end of the price spectrum at about $650.

• Next in order of cost is the Benelli M2 clone from Military Armament Corporation (MAC), the MAC 2 3-Gun at about $350.

• Finally, investing at the low end of the budget for about $279, got us the Tokarev TBP (Tokarev Bull Pup), a magazine-fed bullpup, which is not suited for 3-Gun, but is tailor-made for close-quarters defense.

All three shotguns are 3-inch 12-gauge semi-automatics compatible with Benelli Mobil choke tubes. Triggers ranged from okay to awful. The MAC and Stoeger are inertia-driven guns, and the Tokarev is gas-operated. 

How We Tested

Inertia shotguns have a reputation that precedes them; namely, they jam when light target loads are used. Both the Stoeger and MAC recommend a break-in period of about 100 rounds with shells having a 1350-fps muzzle velocity, which will then allow use of light loads. The Stoeger suggests a minimum of 1-ounce 3-dram loads to be used. Dram is the archaic way of referring to the unit of measure in a black-powder charge. Not sure why the term is still printed on boxes of modern smokeless powder shells. A 3-dram load pushes a 11⁄8-ounce load of shot at about 1200 fps. The Tokarev uses a piston system and two pistons are supplied; one for standard loads and one for heavy loads, which they define as 11⁄4 ounce and heavier. We used the standard piston for testing because all the ammo was loaded with 11⁄8-ounce loads or lighter. We fired a combination of slugs, 00 buck, and No. 8 bird shot. Hornady Critical Defense 00 Buck with eight pellets has a factory muzzle velocity of 1600 fps; Sellier & Bellot 00 Buck with nine pellets has a factory velocity of 1214 fps. The birdshot loads used 11⁄8 ounces and consisted of Winchester Universal, an economy shotshell with a 3-dram load at 1200 fps. Remington Premier STS Light Target has a factory velocity of 1145 fps. We wondered if the light Remington loads would choke the inertia-driven guns. We also fired a Federal Hydra-Shok 1-ounce rifled slug with a factory muzzle velocity of 1300 fps. Each load was fired separately to see how it functioned. We also loaded a mix of shells in the same magazine. It was easy to tell what shells were what after the shot due to the difference in recoil. 

We ran a form of the Casino Drill with two tombstone cardboard targets, one at 10 yards and one at 15 yards. The idea behind the Casino Drill is to test the shooter’s ability to think through a problem while still shooting for speed and accuracy and executing a reload. Typically in the Casino Drill, the user fires 10 rounds of birdshot or buckshot on four targets; one round on target one, two rounds on target two, etc. Targets are numbered 1, 3, 2, 4, to force the user to think about number of rounds required, while throwing in a reload. The drill is timed. We fired six rounds total per run, with one round on target one, two rounds target two, then repeated with reloads in between as required. We also fired the shotguns from the hip to see if that would cause a jam, especially with the inertia guns. It didn’t, but we did have jams. Finally, at 15 yards we patterned the guns on IDPA-style targets with birdshot, buckshot, and slug groups. 

We reloaded the MAC and Stoeger using a J&L Dynamics Johnny Clip 2×4 12-gauge caddy (Amazon.com; $32) mounted to a Blade-Tech Tek-Lok belt-clip attachment (Amazon.com; $13). The Tek-Lok allows the user to rotate the position of the shells for economy of motion and easy access. Using the Johnny Clip offers a lot of speed, especially with bi- and quad-reloads, two rounds at a time and four rounds at a time, respectively. You pull up and out on the shells to remove them from the Johnny clip. We tried loading using our support hand to grasp the shells and reload with stock under our armpit, and reloading using our firing hand to grasp shells and reload with the stock resting on our shoulder. For the Tokarev bullpup, it was a simple magazine swap, or so we thought.

What guns had failures to feed (FTF) and failures to eject (FTE) jams? Read on to find out.

Military Armament Corporation MAC 2 3-Gun 21000156 12 Gauge

$351

Gun Tests grade: A-

The MAC 2 ran well on all types of ammo, with no issues. Recoil was more noticeable due to the weight, but tolerable. The beveled loading port made reloading doubles and quads fast. We would have liked a larger magazine release.

The MAC 2 is a clone of the Benelli M2 at a fraction of the price of the Italian original. Knowing that, we had high expectations for the MAC 2, and we also tempered our expectations knowing we might get a fraction of the performance. We were wrong. 

Our sample MAC was equipped with a 21-inch barrel, so it was light and more maneuverable than the Stoeger. The inertia-driven mechanism is similar to a Benelli due to the recoil spring being housed in the stock. This makes the fore end thinner, gives the gun better balance, and we thought it cycled more smoothly. We tried to produce the dreaded “Benelli Click,” which happens when the rotary bolt comes out of battery and the hammer hits the back of the bolt, producing a click instead of a bang. With the MAC 2 unloaded and thoroughly verified to be so, we slammed the butt on the floor, but we couldn’t get the bolt to come out of battery. The MAC 2 is a lot like an AR-15; you do not want to ride the bolt and ease it closed. Let the bolt slam forward. 

The glare-free matte-black finish was well executed on all the metal surfaces. The polymer stock had a nice sweeping pistol grip, and the fore end was tapered and felt thin in the hand. Textured surfaces were exactly where they needed to be, so hanging onto the MAC 2 was easy and comfortable. The length of pull was 14 inches, and that could have been shorter. The recoil pad was rubber and was nicely rounded so the gun didn’t snag when shouldering it. It comes with shims so the cast and drop can be adjusted. There are sling studs in the buttstock and magazine cap.

The 21-inch barrel had a serrated ventilated rib that reduced sun glare, and perched on the rib was a single red-fiber-optic bead. The bead made getting on target fast and easy. It comes with three flush-fit choke tubes: Full, Modified, and Cylinder. 

The 3-Gun features built into the MAC 2 include an oversized charging handle that is round, knurled, and rotates as you operate it. It is easy and comfortable to manipulate fast. The second 3-Gun feature is the gouged-out loading port that dramatically helps the user quickly load two or four shells into the magazine. We liked this modification a lot. We didn’t like the standard-size bolt release, however, because it was stiff to press. We’ll give the MAC 2 a pass on that, however, because it is compatible with Benelli aftermarket parts that would allow the release to be changed. The bolt is also lightened with relief cuts so the bolt cycles more smoothly.

In hand, the MAC 2 is balanced with the weight of the gun between the firing hand and support hand, which made it easy to swing and get on targets fast. The MAC 2 felt lively and willing to do what we wanted it to do. Loaded weight was more than 7 pounds, but it felt lighter.

The trigger broke at 7.2 pounds, which was too much for our liking, but it was serviceable. The manual safety is a push-button type behind the trigger that blocks the trigger. It is set up for right-handed shooters.

The hammer needs to cocked to load the MAC 2, and the magazine-release lever will show a red dot to indicate the hammer is cocked. Bi-loading the MAC 2 was super fast once we got the hang of it. The enlarged port provided plenty of access and ease to load two rounds in one fluid motion and retain them with the magazine latch. Our thumbs did not get pinched on the carrier.

Going hot on our Casino Drill, the MAC 2 proved to be a performer. No issues with any ammo — wow! Out of the box, we ran it hard without any issues. The shotgun was smooth cycling, but we did notice more felt recoil due to weight of the MAC 2. The trigger was okay to fair at 7.2 pounds. It was very fast to bi-load with the oversized port. No pinched thumbs, and shells seemed to catch faster on the shell latch. Double taps were fast, the trigger reset is short. This gun handled nicely. The bolt-release button was stiff to press, and we would change it to an oversized bolt catch.

Recoil was very tolerable. At 15 yards, the Hornady Critical Defense 00 Buck load averaged 4.5-inch patterns, while the Sellier & Bellot was two times larger, averaging 9 inches. Birdshot from both Winchester and Remington patterned at 26 inches. Swapping the Cylinder choke tube to a Full choke tube would definitely tighten shot patterns. The Federal Hydra-Shok slugs grouped 1.7 inches on average, which we thought was excellent for only having a bead front sight and not rifle sights.

Our Team Said: We were impressed with the MAC 2. We liked how it performed and balanced in hand. The oversized loading port is easy and fast to use. The trigger was stodgy. The ability to use Benelli aftermarket parts is a plus. Opt for the MAC 2 if you have always wanted a Benelli M2. We think this shotgun would do fine as a dedicated defense gun, even with the 21-inch barrel. It needs an oversized bolt release and extended magazine to be competition ready. We’d also hunt with the MAC 2 and show those doves how fast we can reload.

Written and photographed by Robert Sadowski, using evaluations from Gun Tests Team members. GT