Take a look at current offerings from a half-dozen manufacturers, and you’ll find it’s possible to drop $500 or more on a home-defense shotgun without even trying.
By Adam Heggenstaller, Shooting Illustrated
Many of us will agree $500 is not a bad price in exchange for protecting ourselves and our families, particularly when compared to the cost of a carbine. But just as many will consider it too steep a price to pay for a tool that (hopefully) won’t see much use outside of the occasional trip to the range.
Thankfully, just as a home-defense shotgun need not be fancy, it need not cost $500 either. American Tactical Imports (ATI) of Rochester, NY, proves that with the Sultan P1, a basic semi-automatic with a very reasonable suggested retail price of about $300.
A pump gun for $300 would be a pretty good value, but a semi-auto in that price range is a real bargain. How does ATI do it? For one, the Sultan P1 is made in Turkey, where the cost of labor is a real bargain, too. The savings at the manufacturing end are reflected at the retail end. Second, the Sultan is a bare-bones shotgun, with no frills that add to the bottom line.
Neither of these are indictments against the Sultan. Several big-name shotgun companies outsource manufacturing to the Turks because they do quality work at a low price. Just as sensible, a simple home-defense shotgun is better than none at all.
Built with a CNC-machined aluminum receiver, the Sultan uses a traditional gas-piston operating system. The bolt rides on two sturdy action bars, and the recoil spring is located beneath the barrel. There are no high-tech coatings on the internals, and the gun comes with just one piston that works perfectly fine with suitable defensive loads. It’s a straightforward, utterly reliable setup.
A sturdy set of action bars drive the bolt in the Sultan’s conventional gas-piston operating system.
The 18.25-inch barrel is chambered for 2 3⁄4- and 3-inch shotshells and, like the receiver, has a matte-black finish. Sticking with value-priced simplicity, the barrel does not have a choke. I doubt anyone would argue that a fixed, straight cylinder bore won’t suffice for delivering payloads at across-the-room distances. Who changes choke tubes on a home-defense shotgun anyway?
A robust post sits atop a ramp near the muzzle and serves as the Sultan’s front, and only, sight. It’s plain, black and hard to miss—as long as there is enough light to see the end of the barrel. In dark conditions you’re going to need to hold a flashlight in your support hand to get a sight picture, which is a good idea to properly identify a threat in the first place.
Although there is no rear sight, serrations on the top of the receiver reduce glare that may shift your focus from the front post. Instead of being drilled and tapped for a base to allow mounting an optic, the receiver is milled to accept a claw-type mount. It will work, but a drilled and tapped receiver would make things easier.
Shoving four, 2 3⁄4-inch shotshells into the magazine tube will fill it to capacity. While two or three more rounds in a gun are never a bad thing, an extended tube would likely add to the cost of the Sultan. Besides, by the time you’ve exhausted five rounds, hopefully either the threat is no more or you’ve made it to cover where you can reload. Adding a sleeve-type shotshell carrier to the buttstock would keep a handful of rounds at the ready, just in case.
A rubber-overmolded pistol grip is the only thing fancy about the Sultan, adding a degree of comfort when firing buckshot and slug loads.
The polymer buttstock ends in a well designed, rubber recoil pad that is radiused at the heel and scalloped along the edges to prevent it from hanging up during the mount. Finger grooves and ridges on the rubber-overmolded pistol grip almost look out of place on the spartan Sultan, but they make for a comfortable and secure hold. If you prefer a high grip, you’ll appreciate the rubber that extends into the wrist area of the buttstock, as it pads the web of your hand against recoil. The fore-end has a panel of molded checkering on each side, as well as a finger groove along the top. There are no sling-swivel studs, but it would be a simple project to add them.
Controls on the Sultan are conventional and include a crossbolt safety located at the rear of the polymer trigger guard, a bolt-release button on the right side of the receiver beneath the ejection port and a carrier latch on the left side of the receiver near the top of the trigger guard. The safety and carrier latch are small but adequate; practice will go a long way in learning to access them instinctively. On the other hand, the enlarged bolt handle is made for quick manipulation. Like the bolt, it is left in the white and polished.
A simple semi-automatic like the Sultan makes a fine home-defense shotgun, as long as it is absolutely reliable and reasonably accurate. The Sultan exhibited both of these characteristics on the range. After cleaning and assembling the shotgun, I gathered 250 rounds of mixed birdshot, buckshot and slug loads, and proceeded to reduce paper targets to shreds. Included in the two-day celebration of 12-gauge devastation were 2 3⁄4-inch Federal Game-Shok Heavy Field loads, Federal Premium Personal Defense 00 buckshot, Remington HD Ultimate Home Defense, Remington Slugger 1-ounce slugs and Winchester PDX1 Defender, as well as 3-inch Remington Express Magnum No. 4 buckshot and Winchester Supreme 00 buckshot. The solid little Sultan cycled and fired each one with no issues.
At 5 and 7 yards, pattern centers from birdshot and buckshot loads impacted at point of aim. Stepping back to 10 and 15 yards with buckshot and slugs, I found point of impact was about 3 inches low—no doubt because of the high front sight and nothing at the rear to use as a reference. I could keep slugs in 6- to 10-inch groups at 25 yards; with no rear sight, the Sultan isn’t meant for surgical precision at distances beyond those encountered in home-defense situations.
The extended bolt handle protrudes from the receiver by about 1 inch for quick manipulation under stress.
Our budgets shouldn’t get in the way of protecting ourselves and our loved ones, but the bank account often has the final say. With a street price likely to be closer to $250 than $300, the Sultan P1 from ATI gives you a way to keep your household safe and in the black. That’s the best kind of bargain.
Manufacturer: Ottomanguns; Istanbul, Turkey
Importer: American Tactical Imports; (800) 290-0065, americantactical.us
Action Type: Gas-operated, semi-automatic
Gauge: 12, 3-inch chamber
Capacity: 4+1
Receiver: CNC-machined aluminum
Barrel Length: 18.25 inches
Constriction: Cylinder
Finish: Matte black
Trigger Pull Weight: 6 pounds, 3 ounces
Sights: Ramped, post front; no rear
Stock: Polymer with rubber-overmolded pistol grip
Length: 39 inches
Weight: 6 pounds, 10 ounces
Accessories: None
MSRP: $307.95
Thanks to NRA’s Shooting Illustrated for this great article. Be sure to visit http://www.shootingillustrated.com.