S&W M&P Line Enters The Shotgun Arena With Bullpup 12ga

Most of us are familiar with Smith & Wesson’s Military and Police (M&P) line of handguns and carbines. Ultra-dependable, they are used all over the world by men and women who deploy their weapons when lives are on the line. But until now, the M&P line has never had a single shotgun. Enter the S&W M&P12 Bullpup Shotgun.

S&W M&P12 Bullpup Shotgun Details

When I got the call that an M&P12 was debuting I’ll admit I was excited. I am a huge fan of the shotgun for law enforcement as well as home and personal defense. When they told me it was a bullpup-style shotgun with dual magazine tubes, I was almost speechless. The M&P line represents the pinnacle of reliability and a non-traditional platform for this shotgun means they are thinking outside the box, and they are putting their reputation on the line.

The M&P12 has an 18.5-inch barrel but measures under 28 inches overall. Dual-magazine tubes hold six 3-inch shells or seven 2 ¾-inch shells for a total of 14+1. The controls are completely ambidextrous. The Action Lock Lever Button (the button that releases the pump) sits at the front of the trigger guard and is easily actuated by the trigger finger on either hand. The safety is AR-15 style and has a shorter throw lever, which doesn’t dig into your hand on the support side. Finally, it ejects straight out of the bottom, so there are no empty hulls flying across the shooter’s face.

Shots Fired

I received the gun late on a Friday, but I was on the range Saturday despite it being Phoenix in mid-August. The gun ran flawlessly with every type of shotshell, slug, buckshot and 3-inch magnum shell that I threw in it. No sights are included, so I put a Crimson Trace CTS-1100 on the Picatinny rail, and the large aperture worked perfectly. Reloading got a lot easier when I learned to plant the barrel down on something solid and depress the Load Assist Button each time I pushed in a shell.

The innovative package packs up to 7 2 3/4-inch shells.

Details aside, how did it run? I loved the pistol grip on the pump, and I racked that gun like it owed me money. The M&P12 feels super solid and loves abuse. I kept trying to count my rounds so I knew when to push the lever to switch magazine tubes, but apparently, I cannot count past four when I try to walk and shoot at the same time. This shotgun has a ton of other features like M-Lok mounts, interchangeable palm swells, changeable choke tubes and quick-detach sling-mounts, but it would take volumes to describe them all. Suffice to say, 2021 just got its iconic gun for the year. You are going to be hearing about this one for a while.

In fact, our sister publication, Personal Defense World, will run a full review in a coming issue. Visit OutdoorGroupStore.com to subscribe now. The S&W M&P12 retails for $1,165. For even more info, please visit smith-wesson.com.