Panzer Arms AR12 G5 12 GA FDE Short Handguard Shotgun

Color is the first thing anyone notices about this AR12 G5. Flat dark earth covers the gun instead of black, which reads better in daylight and hides the handling marks that show up on a dark finish. Underneath the color sits the same self loading 12 gauge Panzer Arms sells across the line, a shotgun laid out on AR-15 lines with a pistol grip, a familiar safety and a stock that puts the eye where a carbine shooter expects it.

The short handguard version keeps the support hand closer to the receiver. That suits shooters working in confined spaces, anyone running the gun with a barricade or a door frame in the way, and shooters who simply do not care to reach far out to a forward grip. A self loading 12 gauge is a serious tool: the shell does the work, the action absorbs part of the recoil, and follow up shots come faster than any pump gun allows. Buckshot, slugs and birdshot all run through the same gun, which is why AR pattern shotguns have found homes in defensive and sporting roles alike.