AR Shotguns

Tristar had some new shotguns at SHOT Show this year. If you are not familiar with Tristar they are making some very nicely built shotguns that won’t break the bank. They may not have the fanciest fit and finish, or every bell and whistle, but they flat out run.
There were two standouts in the new guns Tristar had at SHOT this year. One is a tactical AR styled shotgun and the other is their new trap gun.

The KRX 12 gauge. Mag fed, gas operated.

The AR pattern shotgun is appealing becasue of the simple cross-platform operational familiarity. But they’re a challenge to get right.

The old school carry handle comes off.

The new Tristar KRX Tactical is an AR styled semi-auto shotgun. The obvious selling point here is the AR platform familiarity. The white-whale of the industry for the last few years has been the ideal tactical shotgun. There are traditional pump overhauls, bull-pups, two loading tubes, two tubes and two barrels–just abotu every combination imaginable. Yet everyone is pushing toward a shotgun that works like an AR platform rifle. Here’s Tristar’s.
The KRX feels solid. These types of guns typically have issues with either feeding or ejection, or both. We’ll be back here with a full-on function test just as soon as the gun is out in the wild, so stay tuned. From what we saw at the show, it looks like a promising design. The gun should sell for less than $500, too.

The three new sporting guns that caught our eye.

The stock is adjustable for a precise fit.

The ribs are high and sturdy.

My favorite of the three new sporting guns is, well, a bit different. Different in a good way though. It is a single barrel that looks, feels and shoulders like an over/under. They call it the Unsingle and it is a new addition to the TT-15 series of trap guns. It has the under barrel of the O/U only. As over/under shooters know, the bottom barrel is the one that is more inline with your shoulder for better felt and controlled recoil.  Tristar is also making a Top Single and I bet you can figure out where the barrel is on that.  However, it is the Unsingle that has our attention as a great practice trap shotgun. Tristar is also offering these in a combo form that includes a standard set of O/U barrels.
All of the TT-15 shotguns come with adjustable comb stocks and Beretta type extended choke tubes. They are all 12 gauge with 2 3/4″ chambers. These are shipping now and have an MSRP between $1,190 and $1,350. The combo comes in at $1,725.

The over. The under is available, too, as is the over/under.