The riot gun was made for civilian troubles and the trench gun for war. The 16-inch M1917 Enfield bayonet could be fitted to the muzzle, and the heat shield on the barrel was added to allow the soldier to safely grip the hot barrel during bayonet fighting. WHAT DISTINGUISHED THE military trench gun, with its 20-inch barrel and cylinder bore, from the era’s civilian riot gun (what we would today call a tactical shotgun) was the military’s addition of a barrel heat shield, bayonet lug and sling swivels. Records suggest that fewer than 40,000 were procured during the war, compared to more than 2,500,000 service rifles. While it distinguished itself in battle, the trench gun was by no means a common frontline weapon. The Germans hated facing shotguns, and even filed a formal complaint that using shotguns was a violation of the rules of civilized warfare – to no avail. Today we would regard this as a safety flaw, but to the doughboy standing in an enemy trench in 1918, that extra bit of speed was regarded as an edge. This allowed them to fire with every pump of the action as long as the trigger was held back continuously. WWI trench guns could shoot exceptionally fast because they lacked a trigger dis-connector. 33 caliber pellets, increasing the chances of a lethal hit on the enemy.

Close combat in the trenches, and especially night fighting, favored the massive firepower of fast-shooting pump shotguns.Įach 00 buckshot round blasted out nine. It was, after all, the biggest war they had fought to date. It was during World War I that you might say the Army got serious about shotguns. Militiamen employed fowling pieces in battle during the Revolutionary War, and the Confederate Cavalry wielded sawed-off shotguns in the Civil War. The American martial tradition is no stranger to shotguns.

The latter is best known for their excellent reproductions of World War II M1 carbines. This retro military model is made by the Upper Sandusky-based Ithaca Gun Company for their Dayton neighbor, Inland Manufacturing. Two top-shelf Ohio-based firearms manufacturers have partnered to bring collectors and shooters a fine reissue – I hesitate to call it a replica – of the vintage U.S. The Army’s best combat pump shotgun is back: Inland’s reissue of Ithaca’s M37 Trench Gun.

Ithaca 37 shotgun value