Emerging products for the year come as great surprises to both NRA staff and patrons alike, and every year American Rifleman staff, including field editors, work tirelessly to report on these up-and-coming products. And ‘the eds’ often spot a few trends in the process. For 2025, the industry has presented several new shotguns, some comprised of partnership products and redesigns that offer-up performance updates to already existing designs, while others are completely new. Here are four new shotguns for 2025:
Benelli Nova 3 Tactical
Benelli now offers three defensive shotguns based on the upgraded 12-ga. Nova 3 series pump-action design. Available with 3" chambers in Black or MultiCam Black finishes, options include two Tactical configurations and the Defense model built around Benelli’s new Poly-Mod platform. This system integrates the receiver and the buttstock into a one-piece, corrosion-resistant framework to provide a rigid foundation ideal for a defensive firearm. The Nova 3 exhibits a 14 percent shorter cycling stroke compared to the original Nova. The sighting system consists of a protected, adjustable, ghost-ring rear sight paired with an impact-resistant post front sight. The magazine provides a four-plus-one shell capacity with a fore-end magazine cut-off button for clearing the chamber. Other features include a drilled-and-tapped receiver, beveled loading port, an M4 bolt face and Ergo-Evolved Diamond Grip texturing. —B. Gil Horman, Field Editor
Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol with Chisel Stock
Beretta has teamed up with Chisel Machining to offer another variant on its popular A300 Ultima Patrol, which will be available with Chisel’s new A300 & Ultima Patrol billet aluminum stock. The company re-designed its popular Beretta-compatible shotgun stock to accommodate the A300’s recoil buffer-spring system in a move spurred by consumer demand. The innovative stock design is equipped with a built-in mounting interface for a Trijicon RMR red-dot, which is sited just to the rear of the receiver for quick alignment, as well as an enlarged field of view. The stock also uses a Kick-Eez buttpad to soften recoil, and the pad height, comb height and length of pull are all adjustable. The stock is also compatible with AR-15-style pistol grips and features four QD mounting points. —Evan Brune, Executive Editor
Browning Citori 825 Field
Browning’s Superposed wrote the script for a high-quality, yet affordable, over-under shotgun. The follow-up Citori took on that mantle half a century ago, with the updated Citori 825 offering improvements in the ergonomics, handling, trigger pull and durability categories. The 825’s everyman offering is the Field, a work of art that you’ll be willing to use. As its name implies, the shotgun is designed for the field, be it hunting or sporting clays. Features include a gloss-finished Grade II/III walnut stock, light engraving on the receiver, a ventilated top rib and solid side rib on the barrels and an ivory bead sight—along with all the upgrades of the 825 series, including the Fire Lite 2 mechanical trigger. The 825 Field is offered in a 12-ga. 3" chambering with either 26" or 28" barrels. —Jeremiah Knupp, Field Editor
Mossberg 590R
Mossberg’s tang-safety 590 model has long been a staple of law enforcement and even the U.S. military. The newest innovation to the trusted platform is the six-plus-one-capacity 590R, which features an 18.5" phosphated barrel chambered for 3" 12-ga. shells and fitted with the Accu-Choke system. But the most notable differences are the gun’s bilateral, AR-style rotary safety selector levers. Along with a Magpul MOE pistol grip, five-position buttstock (12" to 15.25" LOP) with interchangeable pads, sculpted fore-end and integrated heat shield, they serve to make the new 590R one of the most ergonomically adaptable tactical models the company has ever offered. Sights consist of Magpul MBUS 3 adjustable units, and a Picatinny rail allows for the mounting of optics. Other features include an enlarged, beveled loading port with exposed follower and a flat-face trigger. The 36"-long gun weighs in at just more than 7 lbs. — Brian C. Sheetz, Editor In Chief
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