Over 40% of adults in the United States live in a household with at least one firearm, and, according to a recent Pew Research Center study, the vast majority of them have a gun for at least one of the following reasons: protection, hunting, and sport shooting. Widely considered the most versatile firearm available, shotguns are well-suited to each of these purposes.
The shotgun’s utility is partially due to its tolerance for a variety of different ammunition loads, including shells that fire a spray or a single slug. Certain shot loads are best-suited for fast moving targets, such as birds and small mammals, while other, heavier shot loads, are capable of taking much larger game. When loaded with slugs, shotguns can also fire a single projectile, functioning much like a rifle.
The United States is the world’s largest consumer market for firearms, and not surprisingly, many major gunmakers — including those headquartered in a foreign country — have U.S. based production facilities. Partially as a result, the vast majority of guns sold in the U.S. every year were also manufactured domestically. Shotguns, however, are a notable exception.
As of 2020, the most recent year of available firearm import data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, over 80% of the nearly 2.4 million shotguns sold in the U.S. were imported from abroad. According to the ATF, many of the best-selling shotguns in the U.S. were manufactured in Turkey, Italy, China, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.
Despite the dominance of foreign-made shotguns in the U.S. market, hundreds of thousands of shotguns are still manufactured and sold in the United States every year. (Here is a look at the states with the most firearm retailers.)
Using data from the ATF, 24/7 Wall St. identified the 15 companies making the best-selling American-made shotguns. We reviewed manufacturing figures for thousands of federally licensed gunmakers in the United States, and ranked them on total shotgun production in 2022.
Among the companies on this list, annual shotgun production ranges from about 1,250, to over 266,000. These 15 companies alone dominate the industry, accounting for nearly 99% of all domestic shotgun manufacturing. These companies include some of the largest arms manufacturers in the world, and for most, shotguns account for less than one-fifth of all firearms they produce. (Here is a look at America’s best selling guns of 2023.)
Why It Matters
Source: 2018 Getty Images / Getty Images News via Getty Images
Firearm sales in the U.S. hit historic highs during and after the pandemic. Both directly and indirectly, the U.S. arms and ammunition industry generated over $90 billion in economic output in 2023, and employed over 384,000 Americans, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry advocacy group. In recent years, surging demand for firearms has been a boon for American gunmakers.
15. Devil Dog Armaments
Source: Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 1,251 (0.2% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): N/A
- Devil Dog shotgun production location(s): Florida
- Devil Dog 2022 total domestic firearm production: 8,484 (14.7% shotguns)
14. RWC Group
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 2,643 (0.4% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): KALI-12
- RWC shotgun production location(s): Florida
- RWC 2022 total domestic firearm production: 23,837 (11.1% shotguns)
13. Standard Manufacturing Co.
Source: Mitch Barrie / Wikimedia Commons
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 3,925 (0.6% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): SP-12, SKO, DP-12
- Standard Manufacturing shotgun production location(s): Connecticut
- Standard Manufacturing 2022 total domestic firearm production: 14,585 (26.9% shotguns)
12. Keystone Sporting Arms
Source: Artem Popov / Wikimedia Commons
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 4,391 (0.7% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): Walnut Break Action, Walnut Pump Action
- Keystone Sporting Arms shotgun production location(s): Pennsylvania
- Keystone Sporting Arms 2022 total domestic firearm production: 60,269 (7.3% shotguns)
11. Israel Weapon Industries
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 5,595 (0.8% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): Tavor TS12
- IWI shotgun production location(s): Pennsylvania
- IWI 2022 total domestic firearm production: 49,122 (11.4% shotguns)
10. Accord Manufacturing
Source: ESOlex / iStock via Getty Images
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 7,078 (1.1% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): N/A
- Accord Manufacturing shotgun production location(s): Wisconsin
- Accord Manufacturing 2022 total domestic firearm production: 7,358 (96.2% shotguns)
9. Smith & Wesson
Source: Smith & Wesson / Wikimedia Commons
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 7,389 (1.1% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): M&P 12
- Smith & Wesson shotgun production location(s): Massachusetts and Missouri
- Smith & Wesson 2022 total domestic firearm production: 973,994 (0.8% shotguns)
8. Henry Repeating Arms Company
Source: splendens / iStock via Getty Images
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 20,039 (3.0% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): X Model, Single Shot Shotgun, Side Gate Lever Action
- Henry RAC shotgun production location(s): New Jersey and Wisconsin
- Henry RAC 2022 total domestic firearm production: 365,867 (5.5% shotguns)
7. Outdoor Colors
Source: Arthit Pornpikanet / iStock via Getty Images
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 21,163 (3.2% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): N/A
- Outdoor Colors shotgun production location(s): North Carolina
- Outdoor Colors 2022 total domestic firearm production: 51,527 (41.1% shotguns)
6. Legacy Sports International
Source: Anadolu Agency / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 31,626 (4.8% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): Acrius, Sport Tek 5, Field Tek 5
- Legacy Sports shotgun production location(s): Nevada
- Legacy Sports 2022 total domestic firearm production: 75,310 (42.0% shotguns)
5. Kel Tec CNC Industries
Source: westtexasfish / iStock via Getty Images
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 41,093 (6.2% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): KSG, KS7
- Kel Tec shotgun production location(s): Florida
- Kel Tec 2022 total domestic firearm production: 196,118 (21.0% shotguns)
4. Beretta USA
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 54,859 (8.3% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): A300, A400, 687 Silver Pigeon
- Beretta shotgun production location(s): Tennessee
- Beretta 2022 total domestic firearm production: 180,447 (30.4% shotguns)
3. RemArms
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 83,781 (12.6% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): 1100, 870, V3
- RemArms shotgun production location(s): New York
- RemArms 2022 total domestic firearm production: 155,999 (53.7% shotguns)
2. Savage Arms
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 102,288 (15.4% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): 320, Renegauge, 555
- Savage Arms shotgun production location(s): Massachusetts
- Savage Arms 2022 total domestic firearm production: 719,641 (14.2% shotguns)
1. Maverick Arms (Mossberg)
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Shotguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 266,382 (40.2% of all U.S.-made shotguns)
- Popular shotgun model(s): 590, 940, Gold Reserve
- Maverick Arms shotgun production location(s): Connecticut and Texas
- Maverick Arms 2022 total domestic firearm production: 1,404,697 (19.0% shotguns)
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