Earlier in the year, I attended a firearms trade show and was introduced to a new line of shotguns by Legacy Sports International’s Director of Marketing, Rick Homme. Made by Hatsan Arms Company of Turkey, the Escort series includes a number of semi-automatic, slide-action and over/under shotguns that are suitable for hunting, trap and skeet, law enforcement or home defense. As my stock in trade for the last 35 years or so has been law enforcement, I was most interested in the shotguns more appropriate for “social purposes.” Rick showed me his wares and I came away most impressed by a tactical semi-auto called the Escort MP-S/A TacStock2.
The Escort MP-S/A 12 ga is a rather mean looking “black gun” in the form of a 12 gauge shotgun rather than a rifle or carbine. It is a combination of steel, aluminum alloy, and synthetic plastic made with the features tactical users are most likely to specify. It comes in either slide-action (pump) or semi-automatic versions, and I opted to try the self-loader. Factory specifications say this model has an 18-inch barrel, but if you include the threaded removable muzzle brake, it’s 20 inches long. It has a cylinder bore choke and a raised front sight housing with ears to protect the red fiber optic Hi-Viz front sight. This sight is also adjustable for elevation via a hex-head screw on the sloping front surface of the housing. The steel barrel has a non-reflective matte blue/black finish. The chamber will accept both 2¾-inch or 3-inch magnum shells and the bore and chamber are chrome-moly lined.
The Escort’s gas-operated, semi-automatic action is packaged in an aircraft-grade, CNC-machined, aluminum alloy receiver that is anodized a matte black to closely match the barrel. The trigger/action group is contained in a synthetic unit that includes the triggerguard and crossbolt safety. A large, easy-to-engage operating handle is used to retract the bolt, which locks open after the last shell is fired. The bolt release is combined with the shell carrier in the bottom port of the receiver where shells are fed into the magazine tube. Magazine tube capacity is 5 rounds (be sure and take the plug out). There is also a release latch on the right side of the receiver, by the loading port, that allows unused shells to be removed from the magazine when it is disengaged.
