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Truly new shotgun introductions at SHOT Show have always been a boom-or-bust proposition, with new guns everywhere one year and scarcely a semi-auto the next. At SHOT Show 2024, companies seem to be responding to customer feedback with increasingly niche products. So far noteworthy shotgun introductions include fun subgauges for sporting clays, lightweight upland guns, optic-ready autoloaders for waterfowlers, and a centuries-old company’s first crack at a snow goose gun. Here are the new shotguns of SHOT Show 2024 that have caught my eye, in no particular order.
Stevens 555 Sporting
Highlights
- Gauge: 12, 20, .410
- Barrel length: 30- and 28-inch ported barrels (20 gauge and .410, respectively)
- Stock: Turkish walnut
- Receiver: Lightweight aluminum alloy
- Extractors: Manual
- Adjustable cheek piece
- Sights: Fiber-optic, mid-bead
- Choke tubes: 5 included
- MSRP: $989
Savage introduced the Stevens 555 Sporting in 12 gauge last year, and now the company is adding a 20 gauge and .410 bore. I shot clays with the .410 and found it hard to miss, in part because the little gun was so nimble. The Stevens 555 Sporting has an adjustable cheek piece and is available in a compact model for smaller-frame and younger shooters. Savage reps reported their customers particularly enjoyed dove hunting with this model, which they credit, in part, to the ported barrels taking the sting out of high-volume opening days. These Turkish-made over/unders should be available at the end of February.
Browning A5 Hunter 20
Highlights
- Gauge: 20
- Chamber: 3 inch
- Capacity: 4
- Action: Semi-automatic (inertia-driven)
- Weight: 5 pounds, 11 ounces
- Barrel length: 26- and 28-inch
- Stock: High-gloss Turkish walnut
- Receiver: Anodized black
- Choke tubes: 3 included; Invector-DS Flush system
- Smaller frame size than the A5 12-gauge
- Made in Portugal
- MSRP: $1,980
After lugging my 12-gauge duck gun around all pheasant season, I found the new A5 Hunter in 20 gauge from Browning particularly appealing. At under six pounds and with a frame scaled-down from the larger A5 gauges, the A5 Hunter 20 is certainly handy. The model I shot this week cycled target loads without a hitch or any noticeable recoil, although I’ll be curious to see how it handles heavier field loads. The 20 gauge has a high-gloss finish on both the Turkish walnut and black anodized receiver. At nearly $2,000 it’s not a cheap shotgun, but the price is likely worth it if you’re one of the hunters who’s been waiting years to get your hands on this subgauge.
Beretta A300 Ultima Snow Goose Arctic Fox
Highlights
- Gauge: 12
- Action: Semi-automatic (gas)
- Sights: Fiber optic, receiver cut for a red-dot
- Special gloved-finger groove cut in the receiver
- Pic rail for mounting a camera
- Extended magazine tube
- Weight: Not yet available
- MSRP: Estimated at $1,350
Although Beretta has previously offered its A400 Xtreme Plus in a snow camo, this Snow Goose Arctic Fox is the Italian shotgun maker’s first true snow goose gun. Beretta chose the A300 Ultima platform for the job, a model known for its Kick-Off recoil reduction system, oversized controls, and enlarged loading port. Apart from the obvious white finish and extended magazine tube, this shotgun is purpose-built with a specially grooved grip for bulky gloved fingers, a Pic rail under the fore-end for mounting a camera, and a receiver cut for an optic. Additional details are thin since the gun is new for 2024, and it won’t be ready in time for this spring conservation order, either; Beretta expects it to be available for order by mid-summer.
Beretta made additional cosmetic updates to the A300 Ultima, including an A300 Ultima Upland with an engraved receiver and bronze Cerakote finish (not pictured). To meet the growing demand for solid-colored duck guns, Beretta added two flat finishes for waterfowlers in Marsh (a coyote bronze) and Timber (which one Beretta rep called gray, but appears almost black).
Beretta Ultraleggero KO
Highlights
- Gauge: 12
- Recoil-reduction additions
- Shim kit included
- Weight: Not yet available
- MSRP: Estimated about $3,000
In 2023 Beretta delivered on the eponymous promise of Ultraleggero (which means “ultralight” in Italian) with a trim 12-gauge designed for all-day upland hunting. Our 2023 shotgun test team panel was unanimous in our appreciation for its aesthetics and its innovation; Beretta managed to carefully strip weight from its 690 action without hindering handling. Those modifications came at a cost, however, since the recoil from the 6.4-pound 12-gauge made shooting even light target loads less than pleasant.
That’s exactly why, says Beretta shotgun product manager Logan Killam, they introduced the Ultraleggero KO for 2024. This version of the Ultraleggero is designed to honor the purpose of the gun and maintain its lightweight profile, but also mitigate felt recoil. Those wiggly lines snaking through the stock are part of the company’s Kick-Off system, which incorporates three shock absorbers inside the stock. Shooting editor John B. Snow spent some time shooting this gun on 5-stand this week and was impressed by how well the system seems to work.
Beretta took the Ultraleggero KO’s post-modern look a bit further by incorporating a shim system; the idea, it seems, is that a properly fitted gun results in a smoother shooting experience. This is, Killam confirmed, the first time Beretta has ever shimmed one of its break-action shotguns.
The MSRP is not yet finalized but Killiam says customers should expect to pay about $100 more for the Ultraleggero KO than its predecessor; any weight gain from the recoil adjustments is similarly unavailable. You could certainly argue the final product detracts from the sleek black-velvet effect of the original Ultraleggero, but it may not matter to loyal Beretta fans who want a lightweight pheasant gun without the bruises to go with it.
Benelli Montefeltro Ultra Light
Highlights
- Blued barrel, anodized receiver
- A-grade satin walnut
- Weight: 6.3 pounds (12 gauge); 5.3 pounds (20 gauge)
- MSRP: $1,599
Speaking of lightweight bird guns, Benelli has introduced the Montefeltro Ultra Light by shaving the 6.6-pound Montefeltro down to 6.3 pounds in the 12 gauge and just 5.3 pounds in the 20 gauge. Benelli managed the weight savings with a carbon-fiber rib, shortened magazine tube, and by cutting the barrels from 28 inches to 26 inches (12 gauge), and 24 inches (20 gauge). Our testers enjoyed shooting the Montefeltro at our shotgun test this past summer, noting reasonable recoil management for the already lightweight 12-gauge. I’ll be interested to shoot this updated model and see how much the weight reduction affects the experience.
Benelli has also announced additions to its other popular shotgun lines, including compact Super Black Eagle 3 models designed for shooters with a shorter length of pull, as well as a steel receiver in the company’s 828U over/under to help manage recoil.
Benelli Performance Shop ETHOS Advanced Impact (A.I.)
Highlights
- New contoured barrels reportedly increase shot velocity, energy, and pattern density
- The technology is currently only available in Performance Shop ETHOS models
- Only available in 12 gauge to start
- Should arrive in stores in March or April
- MSRP: Starting at $3,649 for the Cordoba
For 2024 Benelli is introducing a barrel innovation its calling Advanced Impact technology, or A.I., in select ETHOS models. While it sounds like ChatGPT hijacked your autoloader, the name actually refers to a bore design that’s been nearly a decade in development. New contours in the barrel bore complement an extra-long A.I. Crio choke tube to increase shot velocity and energy. In testing, Benelli reports the A.I. contouring results in a 4 percent increase in velocity and a 6 percent increase in energy at one meter past the muzzle. That sounds negligible, but at 65 yards, the shot velocity has increased by 42 percent and the energy to 77 percent. In other words, the farther the shot travels from a barrel with A.I., the faster and harder the shot hits compared to a standard barrel. Benelli also says the A.I. helps deliver tighter and more uniform shot columns. Between the choke tube and the barrel adjustments, the barrel diameter is larger than most 12-gauge barrels; it looks closer to a 10-gauge barrel.
“We’re starting in the clays format because of the way we saw the performance of the distance of shot strings holding together and performing in trap and skeet, but it’s eventually going to roll out in the hunting market,” says senior marketing manager Cristie Gates. “One goal is to make average ammunition so much more effective.”
Even though hunting models have yet to be introduced, Gates reports that field testing the A.I. has been “phenomenal,” often with pellets passing completely through birds without tearing them up. The A.I. offering will initially be available in 12 gauge in just three Performance Shop ETHOS models: the Supersport A.I. (pictured above; top), the Sport A.I. (middle), and the Cordoba A.I. BE.S.T., with models becoming shipping this spring. Gates expects A.I. to expand into hunting models in 2025, starting with the rest of the ETHOS family and ultimately the Super Black Eagle line. It’s not too far fetched to expect this innovation to eventually become standard on all of Benelli’s shotguns. Gates estimates the current A.I. models will be available in March or April.
Mossberg 940 Pro Optic-Ready Models
Highlights
- Gauge: 12
- Action: Semi-automatic (gas)
- Receiver cut for Shield RMSc-pattern micro dot sights
- Available in waterfowl, snow goose models
- Capacity: 4+1; snow goose model also available in 12+1
- Turkey model comes with a Holosun Micro-Dot Combo
- MSRP: Starts at $1,246
Mossberg has taken its 940 Pro, which was designed with input from pro shooter Jerry Miculek for multi-gun competition, and added optic-ready versions for duck and snow goose hunters. There’s also a model for turkey hunters that includes a Holosun red-dot already mounted to the pre-cut receiver. Our shotgun test team gave mixed reviews to the 940 Pro Field, a model designed for wingshooting that we tested last summer. Personally, I shot the 940 Pro Field well but other testers found it clunky; ultimately we all agreed the price felt steep for the performance. Still, these updated configurations may deliver better results for their niche customers.
Spandau Arms S2
Highlights
- Gauge: 12
- Action: Semi-automatic (inertia-driven)
- Front sight: Fiber optic
- Barrel length: 24 and 28 inches
- Weight: 6.2 pounds and 6.5 pounds
- MSRP: $400 (black); $500 (Realtree APX and MAX)
This Tennessee-based shotgun company is a relatively new division of SDS Imports, and we first got a chance to shoot one of its Turkish imports at last year’s SHOT Show: the Premiere Target. After that $2,000-plus walnut over/under introduction, Spandau is widening its appeal with a budget semi-auto geared toward waterfowl and turkey hunters. The S2 is shipping in April, according to senior product manager Geoff Jackson, so it should be available in time for most turkey seasons.
More Shotgun Introductions
Remington 870 FieldMaster Synthetic
Photo courtesy of RemArms
Highlights
- Action: Pump
- Stock: Synthetic
- Gauge: 12 and 20
- Chamber: 3 inches
- Capacity: 3+1
- MSRP: Not yet available
RemArms is not exhibiting at SHOT Show 2024, but the company has announced an update to its popular pump. The company is now offering a Model 870 FieldMaster in a synthetic finish, which should boost the durability of the already-versatile walnut-stocked model that we awarded a Great Buy to in our pump shotgun test last year. You can read more about the FieldMaster line here.
Weatherby 18i Limited
Highlights
- Gauge: 12 and 20
- Action: Semi-auto (inertia-driven)
- Stock: Exhibiton-grade walnut, shim adjustable
- Full length ventilated top rib
- Sights: LPA Fiber
- Capacity: 4+1
- Chamber: 3-inch
- 5 Crio-plus choke tubes
- Machined aluminum trigger guard assembly
- 24-karat gold inlay, nickel receiver
- MSRP: $3,099
Weatherby was also absent from SHOT Show, but the Wyoming-based company acknowledged the season of new gun introductions by adding a high-end offering to its 18i lineup. As its name indicates, the shotgun is a limited edition (though Weatherby did not mention how many models it will be making) made of exhibition walnut and a brushed-nickel receiver with custom engraving and 24K gold inlays.
Read Next: Best Shotguns of 2023, Tested and Reviewed
Stay tuned for updates to this story as we review new products. In the meantime, check out our other SHOT Show coverage of new rifles, new handguns, and new knives.
