Hands On The High-Capacity UTS-15 12-Gauge Shotgun

Watch Dennis Adler’s review of the UTAS UTS-15 below!

One of the most recognized tactical shotguns in the world, the high-capacity UTS-15, is a high-tech, polymer/alloy design with two seven-round magazines. With one in the chamber, its total capacity is 15 rounds with the capability of selectively setting which magazine is being used. In other words, you can load two very different types of shells in this shotgun and select which shells you’ll fired by moving a switch on top of the receiver. The UTS-15 also offers a built-in tactical light and either a red or green laser, easily operated by the trigger finger and a single selector switch above the triggerguard. On the left, the AR-style pistol grip places an AR-style safety within easy reach of the thumb. This example is fitted with an EOTech holographic weapon sight to make this a truly all-purpose tactical shotgun for indoor or outdoor operations. But there is a whole lot more to this pump-action shotgun than meets the eye.

Weighing just 8.5 pounds empty, the UTS-15 is a bullpup design, which simply means the action is located behind the pistol grip, providing better balance with the dual seven-round magazines positioned above the 18.5-inch barrel and action. The bullpup configuration permits a shorter overall length of just 29 inches with the standard choke tube for quick maneuverability in close quarters. Combined with the use of fiber-reinforced, injection-molded polymers for the receiver and main components, and aluminum alloy magazines, the lighter overall weight makes it easier to carry in the field.

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The 18.5-inch barrel is threaded to accept Beretta thread pattern chokes and comes with a standard cylinder-bore choke. There is also an optional cylinder-bore tactical breaching choke, but there’s one additional advantage to the threaded barrel. Being able to adapt the gun to different chokes and shotshells makes it possible to use the UTS-15 as a hunting gun. Hunting with an 18.5-inch barrel you ask? Not necessarily so, and that’s where the threaded barrel becomes so important. There is an optional threaded-barrel extension available that increases the length by additional 7.5 inches for an overall barrel length of 26 inches. Ideal for turkey hunting and even deer (as a slug gun), the extended barrel is also an excellent option for increasing accuracy with rifled slugs from a defensive position. I know what you’re thinking: In what state can you go turkey or deer hunting with a 15-round shotgun? In order to comply with hunting laws, which vary from state to state, regarding shotgun capacity, the UTS-15 can be equipped with factory-made magazine capacity restrictors that limit the capacity from three to five rounds. The restrictors are easily inserted into the magazines to make your UST-15 state-legal for migratory birds and other game.

Once you have your restrictors inserted, thread on the barrel extension and a choke, and you are ready to get sighted in for putting dinner on the table. With the EOTech mounted on the top rail, the UTS-15 had already been sighted in with slugs at 50 yards, which is 10 yards over the recommended 40 yards for turkey hunting using game loads like #6 or #8. With the gun a full choke, you first need to get the UTS-15 patterned. The ideal pattern for turkey hunting is 100 pellets in a 10-inch circle at 40 yards. This density means that there should be plenty of pellets in the small vital area of the turkey’s head and neck to kill it ethically. If you prefer #6 turkey loads, then a 2-ounce load of #6s should pattern about 25 percent of its shot in the 10-inch circle. Why 40 yards? Turkey guns are patterned out to 40 yards because that is the maximum distance promoted by the Turkey Hunting Safety Task Force as the proper range to ethically and cleanly kill turkey with a shotgun.

With your UTS-15 set up for hunting wild turkey, the true nature of this remarkable shotgun can be fully understood. Since their creation, shotguns have been one of the best options for putting food on the table and fending of predators, for home defense and for law enforcement. The UTS-15 has refined every aspect of that heritage.