The M26-MASS (Modular Accessory Shotgun System) is a shotgun configured as an underbarrel

ancillary weapon An ancillary weapon is a weapon used for secondary or auxiliary purpose, such as a sidearm. Until the early 20th century, an officer's side arm was typically a sword, with the inclusion of a revolver or pistol between the mid-19th century to Wor ...

attachment mounted onto the

handguard A barrel shroud is an external covering that envelops (either partially or full-length) the barrel of a firearm, to prevent unwanted direct contact with the barrel (e.g. accidental collision with surrounding objects, or the user accidentally tou ...

of a

service rifle A service rifle (or standard-issue rifle) is a rifle a military issues to regular infantry. In modern militaries, this is typically a versatile and rugged battle rifle, assault rifle, or carbine suitable for use in nearly all environments. Mos ...

, usually the M16/ M4 family of

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is th ...

, essentially making the host weapon a combination gun. It can also be operated as a stand-alone shotgun by attachment to a

pistol grip On a firearm or other tools, a pistol grip is a distinctly protruded handle underneath the main mechanism, to be held by the user's hand at a more vertical (and thus more ergonomic) angle, similar to the how one would hold a conventional pis ...

/collapsible

buttstock A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attache ...

module. Rollout commenced in 2013, replacing the M500 shotguns in service.

Development

The M26-MASS is a lightweight underbarrel shotgun configured to be secured to a main rifle, developed by

C-More Systems Vertu Corporation, d/b/a C-MORE Systems, is an American manufacturer of firearms and firearm accessories. Vertu was established in Manassas, Virginia in 1993 and the C-MORE Competition name was established in 1999. Its primary products are red dot ...

and manufactured by Vertu Corporation and originally marketed toward

special operations forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

. It attracted the interest of soldiers being deployed to Afghanistan who wanted a lightweight system that could eliminate the need to carry additional weapons. The M26-MASS had been in development at the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

's Soldier Battle Lab since the late 1990s. The idea was to provide soldiers with lightweight accessory weapons which could be mounted underbarrel of the standard issue

M16 rifle The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-ro ...

M4 carbine The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively ...

. These would provide soldiers with additional capabilities, such as: door breaching using special slugs, very short-range increased

lethality Lethality (also called deadliness or perniciousness) is how capable something is of causing death. Most often it is used when referring to diseases, chemical weapons, biological weapons, or their toxic chemical components. The use of this ter ...

using 00

buckshot A shotgun shell, shotshell or simply shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) cartridges used specifically in shotguns, and is typically loaded with numerous small, pellet-like spherical sub-projectiles called shot, fired thro ...

, and

less-lethal Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than conventional ...

capabilities using

teargas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...

shells, rubber slugs, rubber pellets, or other non-lethal rounds. The original idea was based on the

Knight's Armament Company Masterkey The Masterkey is a door breaching shotgun system manufactured by Knight's Armament Company. The Masterkey project was initiated during the 1980s to provide assault rifles with a potent built-in door breaching tool. Individual soldiers were oft ...

system, which dates back to the 1980s and originally comprised a shortened, tube-fed

Remington 870 The Remington Model 870 is a pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, LLC. It is widely used by the public for shooting sports, hunting and self-defense, as well as by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide. D ...

shotgun mounted under an M16 rifle or M4 carbine. The M26-MASS improved upon the original Masterkey concept with a detachable magazine option and more comfortable handling, thanks to a bolt-operated system which is manually cycled for reloading and is characterized by a bolt which must be moved backward to remove a spent case and forward to chamber a new cartridge. The relatively large bolt handle is located closer to the rear rather than the slide on the Masterkey pump shotgun, and thus is easier to cycle in combat. The handle can be easily attached on either side of the bolt. The detachable magazine offers quicker reloading and change of ammunition types. The M26-MASS was chosen by the U.S. Military over the Masterkey as a breaching tool. Small numbers of M26-MASS shotguns were issued to U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The current contract calls for the delivery of 9,000 shotguns. In February 2012, the first unit was fully equipped with M26-MASS. At the same time the U.S. Army is in the process of replacing the M500s with the M26s.

War in Afghanistan

In May 2008, the Army announced it would procure 35,000 units. The first M26-MASS shotguns were procured and fielded to military police and engineer units in 2010. However, some units in both Iraq and Afghanistan were issued the M26-MASS in small quantities as early as 2003. Full initial fielding began in 2011.

Specifications

*Caliber: 12 gauge *Operation: Manual Straight pull

bolt-action Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed). Most bolt-action ...

. *Capacity: 3 or 5 round detachable magazine. *Ammunition: 2.75 (70mm) and 3 in (76mm) lethal, non-lethal and

breaching round A breaching round or slug-shot is a shotgun shell specially made for door breaching. It is typically fired at a range of 6 inches (15 cm) or less, aimed at the hinges or the area between the doorknob and lock and doorjamb, and is designed to d ...

s. *Barrel length: 7.75 in (197 mm) with integral breaching stand-off adapter. *Under-barrel configuration: **Overall length: 16.5 in (419 mm) **Weight: 2 lb 11 oz (1.22 kg) *Stand-alone configuration: **Overall length: 24 in (610 mm) (stock collapsed) **Weight: 4 lb 3 oz (1.90 kg)

References

External links

C-More Competition websiteM26-MASS 12 Gauge Modular Accessory Shotgun System (MASS)
Fact sheet
patent
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Bolt-action shotguns Shotguns of the United States

Development

War in Afghanistan

Specifications

See also

References

External links