 the m26 modular accessory shotgun system (mass) is a developmental under-barrel shotgun attachment for the m16/m4 family of united states military firearms. it can also be fitted with a pistol grip and collapsible stock to act as a stand-alone weapon. it is replacing the current m500 shotguns in service.dan parsons (january 2013) army, marine corps succeed in rapidly fielding specialized individual weapons (updated). national defense magazine == development == thumb|left|soldier with m26 mass. thumb|left|left side of m26 showing bolt handle. the m26 mass is a militarized version of the lightweight shotgun system, developed by c-more systems and manufactured by vertu corporationus armyâs m26 mass 12 gauge. tactical-life.com. retrieved on 2013-01-22. and originally marketed toward special operations forces. it attracted the interest of soldiers being deployed to afghanistan who wanted to reduce the number of individual weapons they had to carry by using a shotgun as a rifle attachment instead of a discrete weapon. the m26 has been in development at the u.s. army's soldier battle lab since the late 1990s. the idea was to provide soldiers with lightweight accessory weapons which could be mounted under the standard issue m16 rifle or m4 carbine. these would provide soldiers with additional capabilities, such as: door breaching using special slugs, very short-range increased lethality using 00 buckshot, and less-lethal capabilities using [[riot control agent|tearga
Bolt-action_shotguns Shotguns_of_the_United_States