It’s not every day you get to shoot or review a magazine-fed and a Bullpup 12-gauge shotgun, let alone built by the same brand. HatsanUSA Inc. is the U.S. division of Hatsan Arms Company and the importer of Escort Shotguns. I learned about the brand at the Annual NRA Meeting this year in Texas and first saw the Escort DF12 and BTS shotguns there. The Hatsan Arms Company is a Turkish company that has existed since 1976. Anyone familiar with firearms manufactured in Turkey can probably agree that Turkish guns are built well at a price that’s hard to beat. Of course, you can’t compare apples to oranges, so reviewing these shotguns wasn’t about comparing them. It was an opportunity to learn about the Escort brand and the quality of the brand’s shotguns.
Escort DF12
The DF12 intrigued me as a 3 Gun shooter because there are incredibly few magazine-fed shotgun options for us shooters to choose from. Plus, most of them are in the thousands of dollars price range. Now, while my interests were from a competition standpoint, the Escort line of shotguns is designed for self-defense. Carbines and 12-gauge shotguns that are easily maneuverable make for the perfect home defense guns and travel companions. With that said, the DF12 shotgun is one I could see being adopted by the 3 Gun competition community and how it made for a reliable defensive gun.
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Here’s Why
A shotgun built for home defense shouldn’t have a barrel length of 21+ inches. It needs to be as short as possible, reliable, and easily maneuverable. The DF12 makes sense to me more than pump-action shotguns do these days. Semi-automatic shotguns have come a long way in terms of reliability, and under duress, you might short-stroke or forget to pump the gun to load a follow-up round. Not only is the DF12 gas-operated instead of inertia-driven, but it is also outfitted with Escort’s SMART Valve Piston. The SMART Valve Piston is an essential feature of the DF12 that allows this gun to cycle 7/8 ounce to two-ounce magnum loads in either 2¾-inch or 3-inch magnum rounds.
For a home defense shotgun, you might want to have buckshot and slug ammunition loaded in a mixed way in the magazine, so you must rely on the gun to cycle various kinds of ammo. The same is true of a competition shotgun. Many 3 Gun matches these days call for slug ammunition and birdshot, with many stages requiring you to mix these rounds in a magazine for proper target engagement order. The 18-inch barrel is typical for a magazine-fed shotgun in the Open Division, so you will have competitive equity with the DF12.
Picatinny Rails Everywhere
The DF12 is kitted out with Picatinny rails, so you can go nuts mounting optics, backup iron sights, lights, lasers, and whatever else you might care to attach. The main Picatinny rail for optics is located on the upper receiver, with a full rail under the handguard, two rails on the side of the forend, and one on top of the end of the handguard. Once again, this gun is ready for defensive use and checks the compatibility box for mounting aftermarket accessories.
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As far as competing with this shotgun, all you need is an EOTech red dot optic, and you’re ready to roll. I highly recommend using an EOTech optic on this style of shotgun because of how durable these optics are. They absorb a lot of recoil abuse from 12-gauge and must maintain a proper zero even after being discarded into dump barrels repeatedly. I have yet to have an EOTech failure of any kind after transporting my shotguns all over the country and shooting hundreds of rounds of slugs, buckshot, and birdshot.
Magazine Fed
Whether a shotgun has a tube or magazine doesn’t affect the purpose of using it for self-defense. If this were a duty weapon, magazines would be much faster to reload under stress than their tube counterparts. For IPSC or 3 Gun competitions, you rarely see a pump action shotgun (unless it’s a retro-style match or a new shooter running what they have at home), so the two main options are tube-fed or magazine-fed. To be competitive in the Open Division (less gun and gear restrictions, more capacity permitted, etc.), you pretty much need to use a magazine-fed shotgun. There are a literal handful of people on earth that I know can quad load faster or as fast as high-level shooters can change magazines.
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In IPSC shotgun competitions, you are allowed 10-round magazines, while in 3 Gun Open Division, you can have as much capacity as you can find in magazines. I didn’t have anyAR-12 style magazines to test, but the design looks similar to that of VR60 and VR80 style magazines. While the gun ships with two 5-round magazines, it must be compatible with higher-capacity magazines to be a competitive shotgun.
Reversible Charging Handle
The DF12 allows for the use of the charging handle on either side of the bolt, with the switch over taking mere seconds to change out. I believe more shotguns should adopt the reversible charging handle design. As a right-handed shooter, it makes much more sense for the charging handle (or bolt handle) to be located on the left side of the gun rather than the right for faster manipulation. It allows you to keep a strong hand grip on the gun and keep the firearm tightly tucked into your body while working the action with your support hand. And once the gun is back in action, you’re ready for the next trigger pull much sooner.
Escort BTS12
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The Bullpup design was made for close-quarter action, better maneuverability, and easier to conceal in a vehicle or bag. Bullpup guns, in general, are also fun to shoot because they aren’t common guns you see at ranges or that many people own. Like the DF12, the BTS12 is gas-operated and features the SMART Valve Piston that allows the gun to cycle lightweight to heavy ammunition, even when loads are mixed in the same magazine. While these guns are similar in being magazine-fed, gas-operated, and using the same piston design, they are entirely different shotgun designs.
Controls in the Rear
A Bullpup’s controls are towards the rear of the gun, close to the stock, and far from the grip and trigger. This is the most significant learning curve for shooters who rarely shoot these types of guns to remember. The BTS12 has an ambidextrous magazine release. There is a standard push button on the right-hand side and a lever near the magwell on the left-hand side. Like the DF12, there is also a reversible charging handle slot on this shotgun.
ThermoDefend Technology
The BTS12 is outfitted with a synthetic barrel cover built with Hatsan’s patented ThermoDefendtechnology. This technology absorbs and dissipates heat. Bullpup guns are used by law enforcement, military, and civilians alike specifically for defensive purposes. Most often, these guns are slung and will rest against a person’s body. If this gun is used for heavy fire or shooting faster velocity ammunition that heats a barrel quicker, this technology is critical to keep the barrel at a temperature where it can still be slung.
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Shell Deflector
The most unique design on the BTS12 is the shell deflector. This simple yet effective design acts as a hood to divert spent shells downward. With shells ejecting that close to your face with a proper cheek weld, the shell deflector is an added protection for your eyes.
Forend Grip Design
The lower receiver doubles as the forend grip, a natural transition for those who run this kind of design on a rifle. Soft rubber inlays on each side assist with grip, especially while wearing gloves. With the forend and pistol grip so close together, you have more control over the end of the shotgun. Since the Bullpup is tucked into your body, with only the end of the barrel beyond your support hand grip, this gun is easy to maneuver or swing from one target to the next.
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Range Test
Fiocchi sent a variety of 12-gauge ammunition designed for law enforcement, for 3 Gun competitions, and from their Defense Dynamics line. The 3 Gun birdshot ammo is 7.5 shot, 1-ounce loads, running 1,170 feet per second. Many magazine-fed shotguns will only cycle 1,250 feet per second or greater velocity ammunition. This can be tiring for 8-10 stages, so having a gun that can run lighter loads is a bonus. Both shotguns reliably cycled this ammo. These guns allow you to change chokes and come with a Full, Improved Cylinder, and Cylinder with muzzle brake chokes. Be sure to pattern your shotgun through each choke with the same ammunition so you know how the chokes affect the patterns.
The Defense Dynamics line from Fiocchi is a must-have for home or self-defense use. The AERO slug had more felt recoil than the Breaching slug did out of both guns, which was expected. These two rounds are what I would mix in a magazine if I were setting up a shotgun for home defense. I tested both guns with a mix of ammunition, starting with a Breaching Slug and then ramping up to an AERO Slug shotshell, and the gun kept cycling without any hiccups.
The Rubber Baton and Buckshot are less-than-lethal cartridges used to neutralize a threat quickly without major bodily harm. Neither gun wanted to eject the spent shell because of how light these loads were, but it was great to see that these rounds would stop a threat quickly.
Wrap Up
Overall, these guns were fun to shoot. I want to spend more time with the DF12 and see how it performs with various ammunition running at varying velocities. For those wishing to get into 3 Gun on a budget, this would be a great shotgun to start with. The Bullpup was one I could see being used by law enforcement over a tube shotgun just for its size, capacity, and ease of reloading. The future is magazine-fed shotguns, especially ones that can be set up similarly to a defensive carbine.
DF12 Specifications
- Action: Gas Operated Semi-Automatic
- Caliber: 12 Gauge
- Chamber: 2 ¾ – 3 inches Magnum
- Barrel: 18-inches Chrome-Plated Steel
- Receiver: Alloy Upper Receiver, Synthetic Lower Receiver
- Stock & Forend: Alloy Handguard, Synthetic Stock
- Sights: Adjustable Front Sight, Detachable Carry Handle with Rear Sight, Optional Flip-Up Front & Rear
- Overall Length: 37.6 inches
- Weight: 8.9 pounds
- Included Chokes: Cylinder (brake), Full, Improved Cylinder
Features:
- Two 5-Round Magazines
- Elevation Adjustable Cheek Rest
- Reversible Charging Handle
- SMART Valve Piston
- Picatinny Rail
BTS Specifications
- Action: Semi-Automatic Gas Operated
- Caliber: 12 Gauge
- Chamber: 2 ¾ – 3 inches Magnum
- Barrel: 18-inches Chrome-Plated Steel
- Receiver: Alloy Upper Receiver, Synthetic Lower Receiver
- Stock & Forend: Synthetic Stock, ThermoDefend Synthetic Forend
- Sights: Optional Flip-Up Front & Rear
- Included Chokes: Cylinder (Brake)
- Overall Length: 28.8 inches
- Weight: 8.1 Pounds
Features:
- One 5-Round Magazine
- Elevation Adjustable Cheek Rest
- Reversible Charging Handle
- SMART Valve Piston
- Picatinny Rail
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