Colt Defender Mark I
Encyclopedia
Colt Defender Mark I was an American
8-barrel shotgun
intended for law enforcement or military use, completed in 1967.
The shotgun had a semi-automatic like fire without the complexity of being a semi-automatic weapon. Each barrel was chambered for the 20 gauge
3 inch magnum shell
. The barrels were joined together around a central axis with a pistol grip double action revolver mechanism and a second forward pistol grip for instinctive shooting. The shotgun was extremely simple to operate and very robust. The designer, Robert Hillberg
, thoroughly tested the weapon before seeking out a manufacturer. The design proved to be so correct, that only a couple of minor changes were made for manufacturing. When Colt Industries
was contacted, they showed considerable interest in producing the weapon, but before committing to full production they insisted on a market survey to see if there was an adequate market for the gun. Colt demonstrated the weapon to a number of departments, and all who saw it were impressed with its compactness, volume of fire and reliability. However, the national recession at that time did not allow any adoption of the weapon and by 1971 the project was over.
The weapon was composed of an aluminum alloy receiver with steel inserts and was covered in an epoxy paint finish. The final version of the weapon was available in 4 variants. The first variant was a simplified one, with no special features. The second variant incorporated a barrel selector on the rotating striker on the hammer. This allowed the shooter to select any one of the eight barrels. This meant that the weapon could be loaded with a variety of ammunition and the shooter could select the most appropriate round for the given situation. The third variant contained a receptacle for a canister of tear gas between the barrels. Pressing the trigger on the foregrip allowed the shooter to spray the target with tear gas, giving him a non-lethal option. The final, fourth variant had both the barrel selector and the tear gas canister.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
8-barrel shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
intended for law enforcement or military use, completed in 1967.
The shotgun had a semi-automatic like fire without the complexity of being a semi-automatic weapon. Each barrel was chambered for the 20 gauge
Gauge (bore diameter)
The gauge of a firearm is a unit of measurement used to express the diameter of the barrel. Gauge is determined from the weight of a solid sphere of lead that will fit the bore of the firearm, and is expressed as the multiplicative inverse of the sphere's weight as a fraction of a pound . Thus...
3 inch magnum shell
Shotgun shell
A shotgun shell is a self-contained cartridge loaded with lead shot or shotgun slug designed to be fired from a shotgun....
. The barrels were joined together around a central axis with a pistol grip double action revolver mechanism and a second forward pistol grip for instinctive shooting. The shotgun was extremely simple to operate and very robust. The designer, Robert Hillberg
Robert Hillberg
Robert Hillberg is a firearm designer. He was the former head of High Standard Manufacturing Company. His designs included the folding shotgun stock, the Whitney Wolverine, the Wildey .45 gas-operated pistol, and the four-shot COP 357 Derringer...
, thoroughly tested the weapon before seeking out a manufacturer. The design proved to be so correct, that only a couple of minor changes were made for manufacturing. When Colt Industries
Colt's Manufacturing Company
Colt's Manufacturing Company is a United States firearms manufacturer, whose first predecessor corporation was founded in 1836 by Sam Colt. Colt is best known for the engineering, production, and marketing of firearms over the later half of the 19th and the 20th century...
was contacted, they showed considerable interest in producing the weapon, but before committing to full production they insisted on a market survey to see if there was an adequate market for the gun. Colt demonstrated the weapon to a number of departments, and all who saw it were impressed with its compactness, volume of fire and reliability. However, the national recession at that time did not allow any adoption of the weapon and by 1971 the project was over.
The weapon was composed of an aluminum alloy receiver with steel inserts and was covered in an epoxy paint finish. The final version of the weapon was available in 4 variants. The first variant was a simplified one, with no special features. The second variant incorporated a barrel selector on the rotating striker on the hammer. This allowed the shooter to select any one of the eight barrels. This meant that the weapon could be loaded with a variety of ammunition and the shooter could select the most appropriate round for the given situation. The third variant contained a receptacle for a canister of tear gas between the barrels. Pressing the trigger on the foregrip allowed the shooter to spray the target with tear gas, giving him a non-lethal option. The final, fourth variant had both the barrel selector and the tear gas canister.