It usually takes something special to get one of our writers on the site truly excited and that is exactly what happened this year during Industry Day at the Range . One of the things in the long list of great new ideas that we got excited about that came out during SHOT Show 2017 was the release of the American Tactical AR-15 Shotgun, chambered in .410. The rifle has been in the works for a few years and was rumored to be very close to being released, well for once a rumor was in fact true.

Travis Pike and I were walking the isles when he spotted the rifle/shotgun and from his response upon seeing it I would have to say he had been waiting for this rifle for a quite a while. Semi automatic shotguns that look like military sporting rifles are nothing new, the Saiga 12 gauge has been out for years, but to our knowledge this is one of the first in .410 and in the AR-15 pattern. Once we started talking to the folks from American Tactical Imports we began to figure out the details of the new shotgun/ rifle

 

Specifications:

Name: Omni Hybrid Maxx

Manufacturer: American Tactical Imports

Caliber: .410 Gauge

Chambering: 2 1/2″

Barrel Length: 18.5″

Magazine Capacity: 5 round and 15 round variants

Choke Type: Remington pattern

Stock: 6 position adjustable

Weight: 6.5 lbs

MSRP: $650.00

Misc Specs:

  • Uses proprietary magazines
  • Uses proprietary bolt and gas system
  • 10″ quad rail available
  • Can be used with slugs or shot
Image Courtesy: TheFirearmsBlog.Com

A quick once over of the shotgun showed that it was build to be light weight but felt solid, and had a good balance point. The rail that was on the demo gun featured small sections of KeyMod on it as apposed to the outdated quad rail system that was originally suppose to be on the rifle. To me this isn’t a real issue because most people are not looking to hang attachments on a .410 shotgun.

I didn’t actually shoot the gun, Travis Pike performed the test shoots for us so I can’t speak directly to how it felt to put rounds through it. The one major draw back to this range session was that someone at American Tactical Imports claimed they forgot the magazines back at the factory in South Carolina. Now maybe I’m just a naturally skeptical person but how do you pack up for THE gun show of guns shows, the Super Bowl of our industry, and forget magazines for a rifle ? I took it as a simple mistake until the next day I see the shotgun with magazines on the display at the American Tactical Imports booth.

Image Courtesy:www.weaponsandgear.com

The magazine issue aside the American Tactical Imports AR-15 shotgun functioned flawlessly and could be a very nice addition to anyones collection. It’s a simple and lightweight rifle that weighs slightly less than a traditional AR-15 at around the same price point. The shotgun should appeal to both shotgun and AR-15 fans alike and I can see this as being a fun range toy or snake gun for people living in the southern states. My only complains or minor draw backs I could see with the American Tactical Imports AR-15 shotgun are the price and availability of magazines, and the company not fully promoting the shotgun. I consider myself to be fairly knowledgeable about the world of firearms and this was the first time I had heard about this shotgun.

What do you think of the American Tactical Imports AR-15 shotgun ? Is it a fan or a legitimate shotgun that offers the known controls of an AR-15 and the versatility of a .410 shotgun ? Either way we want to know what our readers are thinking about our latest series of articles from SHOT Show 2017. Drop us a line in the comments section below, someone from the site will get back with you, remember no opinion is stupid, we want to hear them all.

Rick