What Is 'Tactical'

[Jaylordofwaargh]

What makes a shotgun 'tactical'? The pistol grip?

The rail?

Being stockless and in the 870 style? 
Looking for a secondary and for 'reasons' don't want to go pistol (yet)

 

The shotgun has many variants but the main three seem to be: 

'Normal' or standard, with a stock

 

Pistol grip

 

Sawn off/shorty

Which is tactical? Its a mine field and google is no help, it just pulls up every 'home defence' article ever written.

So what is tactical?

[Adolf Hamster]

i assume tactical means any difference that is aimed to make it more usable in a combat situation/military environment.

 

note "aimed to"=/="actually helps"

[38super]

 

Adding a box mag automatically makes it a 'tactical' shotgun

[Skara]

I guess "tactical" refers to the ability to mount accessories like grips, sights and torches.

 

In airsoft, using tactical to name something implies that it'll give you +150 fps, +30 rps and will get you a lot more bitches on Instagram other than making your wallet lighter than it should be.

[Tommikka]

 

 

 

What the word means and what it gets used for a very different things.

 

What the word means:

 

 

1. ADJECTIVE [usually ADJECTIVE noun]

You use tactical to describe an action or plan which is intended to help someone achieve what they want in a particular situation.

2. ADJECTIVE [ADJECTIVE noun]

Tactical weapons or forces are those which a military leader can decide for themselves to use in a battle, rather than waiting for a decision by a political leader.

 

Definition 2 relates to the difference between tactical & strategic. I work in an environment where the place I work and my management are at the strategic level, but I am also in long term development to provide capability to the tactical level.

My day to day business and primary role is to support and respond to long term strategic planning & decision making, but I regularly talk with those down the chain who support the day to day on the ground in accordance with the strategy.

 

 

What the word is used for:

 

When you see anything in airsoft called ‘tactical’ they usually mean either ‘tacticool’ or ‘all the gear no idea’

 

 

A tactical shotgun is a shotgun designed for ‘tactical’ needs of a combat task.  The first would be WW1 trench shotguns - to give a good short range wide blast in a confined area and still function with rapid fire.  Probably a pump action with a short barrel and a heat shield (so the user doesn’t get burned by the barrel in repeated rapid fire)

 

Fitting rails to anything tactical is intended to give the option to modify it as required for the task in use.  
 

But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.  The ‘tactical’ thing to do is very often to not fit anything, unless it adds to the role it is used for, otherwise you are adding extra weight, slowing you down and reducing your capacity to carry something else you may need.

 

There is a conflict between strategy and tactical:

The ancient soldier had heavy equipment but was relatively light, with no or basic armour, their personal weapon, some food & drink and perhaps their bedding.  The rest was carried behind on wagons or obtained along the way.

A modern soldier has better/lighter materials, but carries more of them.

They have a form of armour, personal weapon, ammunition (and ammunition/equipment to support team weapons), some food & drink and bedding/shelter depending on mission.

Leaders on a strategic basis can see that soldiers are carrying too much weight slowing them down and in the long term destroying their bodies.  

They set doctrine on what should be carried for the type of mission:

Whether full, partial or no armour should be worn - the balance between soldiers being injured or killed because the body armour affects their movement & slows them down vs the fact that they will be hit anyway and the level of protection it gives them

High tech body armour is developed so that the same protection is provided for less weight - but then weapons and ammunition are developed requiring stronger body armour

What weapon mix should be in each type / size of unit & it’s mission, and how much ammunition should be carried

The strategic view and doctrine seek to lighten the load for the soldier.

But as the load is lightened, at the tactical level the commander and the soldiers carry more up to the same weight again

 

[Sema Dragun]

16 hours ago, Jaylordofwaargh said:

What makes a shotgun 'tactical'? The pistol grip?

The rail?Being stockless and in the 870 style? 

I was like...yeah what is tactical, but you pretty much nailed, maybe it's a combination of a few key things.

I would call the M870 tactical for sure, not big, not heavy, can conceal it, easily manourable.

[Druid799]

I’ve always taken the term ‘tactical’ to mean something that’s been designed or modified to be used purely in an aggressive or combative environment , wether it’s a shortened shotgun with no sights and folding/no stock and the ability to have things ‘bolted on’ or even just a pair of trousers with stretch panels and integral knee pads . There not really much use in ‘normal’ use but exactly what you’d want in a combative environment .

[Jaylordofwaargh]

Thank you for those responses. In my work i figure i switch out tactical for  operational. 

 

With regards to shotguns - everything is tactical! which means i'll just go for what i like the look of within my budget contrants  

 

It is, i guess different tools for each situation. 

[kasaran]

tactical, polymer stock/pump and a rail such as: https://www.fire-support.co.uk/product/tokyo-marui-m870-tactical-gas-shotgun

 

not tactical, wooden, aiming for more civilian market or a classical look: https://www.fire-support.co.uk/product/tokyo-marui-m870-gas-shotgun-wood-effect

 

the guns, basically the same, theough the wooden styled one lacks a rear sight

[TheFull9]

In firearm terms, it stems from the differences between guns that hunters and sport shooters would traditionally buy vs military and police configurations.  The lines are blurred with a lot of civilian firearms these days, but if you look back to around the 1980s and look at police/military models of the most prolific shotguns like the Remington 870 and Mossberg 500 series by comparison to the general sale models with no name suffix you'll see some key differences.

 

Generally the civvie/hunting ones had wooden stocks and handguards, very basic sights and a mag tube that stopped at the end of the pump handle.  Mil/LE guns would likely have ghost ring/aperture sights for greater accuracy and precision, maybe plastic furniture or even a pistol grip vs traditional stock depending on era and a magazine tube with greater capacity.  If you're just blasting the odd clay or real bird you don't need any of that stuff, whereas if your life is on the line you want the best you can get.

 

Similar thing; imagine a hunting rifle vs a police sniper rifle.  Hunting will have maybe a 3-5 round internal fixed magazine, wooden stock, no back-up sights, sling points setup for carrying only etc.  The police one might have the synthetic furniture, folding stock, detachable box magazine, more precise sighting options, a sling that's not so good for carrying but helps a lot with maintaining a steady hold etc.

 

Nowadays the plastic furniture, bigger/detachable mags, pic rail/better aiming systems etc are all made in such quantity they're not special upgrades anymore they've become pretty normalised, but you'll still see these differences if you look at common guns in the US that are prolific enough to be offered in both hunting and police/defensive usage variants.  I've seen similar parallels with airsoft nomenclature, but airsoft brands and stores rarely have a clue so there's infinitely less consistency.

[Lozart]

Just to illustrate the point @TheFull9 made:

 

Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 civilian shotgun:

 

 

Benelli M4 "tactical" shotgun for LE/Mil use

 

[Cannonfodder]

9/10 times it's used to try and justify a massive price increase

[shadowfacex]

5 hours ago, Lozart said:

Just to illustrate the point @TheFull9 made:

 

Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 civilian shotgun:

 

 

Benelli M4 "tactical" shotgun for LE/Mil use

 

 

This is probably the best depiction here. "Tactical", most often than not, is a configuration that adds stuff like rails, furniture, sights that are more mil-spec/LE oriented, giving you more configuration options as a result for different types of work. Improved hardware/furniture comes at an increased cost.

 

Benelli M4 Standard 👇

 

Benelli M4 Tactical 👇

[Albiscuit]

Poh-tay-to

 

Pot-ah-toe

 

  

[Adolf Hamster]

32 minutes ago, Albiscuit said:

Poh-tay-to

 

Pot-ah-toe

 

  

 

whats's "taters"?

[Stratton Oakmont]

Tactical is anything my blessed hand touches. 
 

what’s “taters” precious? 

[Lozart]

8 minutes ago, Adolf Hamster said:

 

whats's "taters"?

 

Slang for cold.

[Stratton Oakmont]

Whenever I see ridiculous cockney slang, rather than envisioning some ‘cockney gangster’ film it’s always mr Cholmondly-Warner’s working class sketch that pops in my head.

[Adolf Hamster]

2 minutes ago, Stratton Oakmont said:

Whenever I see ridiculous cockney slang, rather than envisioning some ‘cockney gangster’ film it’s always mr Cholmondly-Warner’s working class sketch that pops in my head.

 

for some reason cockney rhyming slang really annoys me, it seems to serve no purpose than to make the speaker sound stupid.

 

i mean i'm sure there's a rich history as to it's origins and cultural development etc. but it still annoys me.

 

but then i'm sure the cockneys say the same thing about the west country.....

[Lozart]

1 minute ago, Adolf Hamster said:

 

for some reason cockney rhyming slang really annoys me, it seems to serve no purpose than to make the speaker sound stupid.

 

i mean i'm sure there's a rich history as to it's origins and cultural development etc. but it still annoys me.

 

but then i'm sure the cockneys say the same thing about the west country.....

 

Both my parents are from the East End of London. I'm more annoyed when people from other parts of London say they're Cockneys when they've never been further east than Fulham. Or when people from other parts of the country try and use the same phrases.

 

As for where the slang started, it was just a way of keeping people from outside the Cockney bubble from understanding what they were saying, just like many other dialects and forms of slang. Innit bruv. Ya get me fam?

[Adolf Hamster]

1 minute ago, Lozart said:

Both my parents are from the East End of London. I'm more annoyed when people from other parts of London say they're Cockneys when they've never been further east than Fulham. Or when people from other parts of the country try and use the same phrases.

 

you're talking to someone to whom london is this big grey blob on a map that i never want to go to again

 

2 minutes ago, Lozart said:

As for where the slang started, it was just a way of keeping people from outside the Cockney bubble from understanding what they were saying, just like many other dialects and forms of slang. Innit bruv. Ya get me fam?

 

yeah, figured it's be something alone those lines as you say tends to be the case with a lot of them when it's not evolved from a previously distinct language.

[Lozart]

2 minutes ago, Adolf Hamster said:

 

you're talking to someone to whom london is this big grey blob on a map that i never want to go to again

 

You and me both. The place is (mostly) an expensive shithole.

 

 

[Guest DrAlexanderTobacco]

17 minutes ago, Adolf Hamster said:

but then i'm sure the cockneys say the same thing about the west country.....

I don't think cockneys know The North exists tbh

[Tommikka]

4 minutes ago, DrAlexanderTobacco said:

I don't think cockneys know The North exists tbh

Cockney is North.

What isn’t North is that place below the river 

[Adolf Hamster]

11 minutes ago, Lozart said:

You and me both. The place is (mostly) an expensive shithole.

 

 

i'm just not a fan of cities (well to be more correct densely populated areas) in general.