Civet 12 Box Magazine Pump-Action Shotgun – Video Review

USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Box-magazine-fed, pump-action shotguns gained a lot of attention when Remington and Mossberg released their respective versions of the 870 and 590.  Ironically the tube remains under the barrel to help guide the pump, but there’s something about the speed and simplicity of box magazines that people can’t resist.  A few highly-skilled professionals aside, most of us can’t reload a traditional pump through the bottom of the gun faster than we can change a magazine.  The wet blanket for many however was the cost.

Both Mossberg and Remington increased the price tag of their pump guns by about $200 for the ability to use box magazines.

Civet 12 Box Magazine Pump-Action Shotgun

Even worse is the cost of those magazines themselves.  After all what’s the value of using box magazines if you only have one or two? The lowest price I could find at the time of composing this piece was $35 for a Remington 6-round and $55 for the Mossberg.  Buy the shotgun and a magazine or two and you’re paying nearly double the going rate for a conventional 870 or 590.  SDS Imports, known for their Lynx 12 and Cheetah 12 Saiga-pattern shotguns saw the problem and created a solution with the Civet 12.

Instead of proprietary magazines the Civet 12 uses common and affordable Saiga 12 pattern magazines.  Yes, this does mean AK-style rock-and-lock insertion, but if you can’t learn to master that you’re welcome to simply pay double for an alternative shotgun and magazine combination.  Thanks to the pre-ban popularity of the Saiga 12 a wide variety of magazines can be readily found from several manufacturers including SDS Imports’ own house brand or even steel options from CSSpecs.  Making the Civet 12 even more attractive is the ability to use Remington 870 furniture.  As seen in our photos and Shooting Impressions video we were able to easily install a set from Adaptive Tactical.  We chose Adaptive Tactical for ours as model and GBGuns co-hostess @Maddy_A.R is normally not a fan of 12 gauge.  To see if the Civet 12 and Adaptive Tactical could change her mind check out Shooting Impressions video.

Shooting Impressions video:

As expected malfunctions don’t happen with a pump gun unless they are user-induced.  We had no issues with ours aside from the occasional short stroke as Maddy learned her way around the gun.  It is worthy to note that the Adaptive tactical stock and lighted forend shifted the weight balance forward on the gun which made it a little more tiring for Maddy, but the recoil-absorbing qualities of the stock meant she handled even slugs with relative ease.

Are there any drawbacks?

After a day of shooting in the Oregon rain and letting the gun sit for a couple of days some surface rust had appeared on the receiver.  While some consider this abuse others might consider it appropriate for an affordable shotgun.  I’m pleased to report that the rust wiped off easily, and most definitely could be prevented with better care or a simple Oregon paint job that I’ve used in the past to protect firearms I intend to get wet often.  Even after a couple of cans of spray paint and a handful of magazines the Civet 12 still costs less than the alternatives.  The first shipment of Civet 12 appears to have sold out, but at last listing, Atlantic Firearms had them for just $239.00.

About Graham Baates

“Graham Baates” is a pen name used by a 15-year active Army veteran who spent most of his time in the tactical side of the Intelligence community including tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Post-Army Graham spent some time in the local 3-Gun circuit before becoming a full-time NRA Certified defensive handgun instructor and now works as an industry writer while curating a YouTube channel on the side. Visit Graham on Youtube .