The M1014 COMBAT SHOTGUN

Guns Magazine, Nov, 2001 by Robert Bruce

U.S. Marines see the first deployment of Uncle Sam's new and advanced self-loading shotgun

Marine Corps Systems Command recently received the first batches of the brand-new M1014 Joint Service Combat Shotgun. MCSC is leading the formidable task of smoothly introducing the M1014 throughout the U.S. Armed Forces. The M1014 is a compact and fast-firing 12-gauge semiautomatic scattergun manufactured by the Italian firm of Benelli Armi, and marketed in partnership with Heckler & Koch's American operation. The new 12-gauge will replace a hodgepodge of older, less effective models, which have become increasingly difficult to sustain in first-line service.

Maj. Tracy J. Tafolla, MCSC's lead project officer for the M1014, points out that the Marines have long been the driving force behind the Joint Service Small Arms Program's efforts to find and field a suitable replacement for the Corps' existing inventories of Remingtons, Winchesters and Mossbergs - some of which have been around for 40 years.

"We decided early on that our guns are old and pretty well shot out. We just need to replace them from the life cycle standpoint and also to ease our maintenance program - so we're not stocking parts and trying to train to several different weapons," Tafolla told GUNS in a recent interview at his office in Quantico, Va.

Semper Fidelis

The United States Marines Corps - known for their insistence on providing amphibious warriors with tough, simple and highly lethal small arms - continued that well-deserved reputation by fielding the M1014.

This is the first large-scale procurement of anything other than slide-action scatterguns since the U.S. military was pulled out of Vietnam more than 25 years ago. What's interesting is not just that the Corps has what promises to be a damn-good new tool for specific situations, but that this new gun is so conventional. Conspicuously absent are computer fire control, smart projectiles, backpack ammo chute, or pop-out lipstick tube, which could have been loaded on by clueless bureaucrats along the way.

Semiautomatic function has been a design requirement from early on. While there has been much heated debate about the wisdom of this stipulation, the fact remains that it has been an essential element in JSSAP specifications. The challenge has been to find a more or less off-the-shelf, self-loading shotgun that would meet stringent standards for effectiveness, reliability and maintainability at a reasonable price.

Agonizingly, this process has taken nearly a decade before the dust cleared to reveal the Benelli M4 Super 90 as the winner in February 1999 of the Joint Service Combat Shotgun XM1014 trials. Then, after 15 more months of preproduction tests and other wrangling, Benelli's American partner, Heckler & Koch, got a $2.8 million production contract to deliver nearly 4,000 guns to the Marine Corps. The first of these were put into the hands of a deploying Marine unit, MSSG 24, on April 5, 2001. This milestone event took place at Camp Lejune.

Theory Of Evolution

Aside from its distinctive pistol grip and sliding skeletonized buttstock, the M1014's appearance and weight is very similar to those tubular-magazine, pump-action shotguns that have been in Marine service for more than 80 years. There is no provision for full-auto fire, so each pull of the trigger results in firing one conventional 12-gauge shell containing a slug or a load of buckshot. Finally, despite advances in metal finishes and use of synthetics, regular cleaning and lubrication continue to he needed for reliability. So, what's the big deal?

There are a number of reasons why the M1014 looks much like its predecessors. Mostly because it's hard to beat the efficient layout of a seven-round capacity tubular magazine slung directly underneath the 18.5-inch barrel. This is, of course, open to debate. But there is an official justification based on trials of both tube and box or drum-type magazines. Unlike a detachable box mag that has to be removed in order to top it off, the fixed tube can be replenished at will. And it doesn't protrude downward to get in the way when moving or taking a prone position.

The alloy receiver also offers no surprises. It is cast, then machined, in the traditional manner for strength, durability and reliable operation of internal parts. This gives the weapon a satisfying heft and rigidity that can't be matched by "new generation" receivers formed from sheet metal or polymer. A long, horizontal, fixed forearm made from tough synthetic material accommodates shooters of widely varying arm length and hand size and can be instinctively found and grasped in the dark or under high stress.

Change Is Good

Yes, the striking profile of the new gun with its sliding buttstock and pistol grip is a departure from previous military classics like the Winchester Model 1897 trench gun and the sleek Remington 870. But this is more than just eye. candy. The science and art of ergonomics dictates the use of the pistol grip for assault-style shooting, and closing the stock reduces its carrying length in tight places. In keeping with the gun's modular component design, other types of buttstocks and grips can he attached if desired.