By David Crane
david (at) defensereview (dot) com
April 15, 2017
After DefenseReview (DR) got done checking out the Arsenal Firearms AF Stryk B compacct 9mm combat/tactical pistol and AF Switch 7.62x39mm and 5.45x39mm Russian piston/op-rod tactical AR carbines, we were shown the latest and greatest Salient Arms International (SAI) combat/tactical and competition shotguns, the newest and most interesting being the SAI GLD (“Gold”) custom 12-gauge semi-auto shotgun, which has a lot of interesting and utilitarian features.
The Salient SAI GLD 12ga combat/competition shotgun is based on a Breda semi-auto shotgun design, and offers ghost-loading capabilities, i.e., loading an extra round onto the carrier, similar to that found on the Benelli M2 shotgun series, which SAI also builds. The SAI GLD also sports a 21-inch (21″) barrel, two-piece aluminum receiver, a oversized bolt release, custom large-knob charging handle mounted to a custom lightened “full light-pull” TiN (Titanium Nitrided) bolt carrier group (BCG), SAI-tuned Breda (extended) lifter/shell carrier, tuned and polished shell catch and carrier latch, Nordic extended magazine tube, clamp, and tuned spring (bringing capacity to 8+1+1 rounds), Salient upgraded safety to “improve engagement from Safe to Fire positions”, Hi Viz green fiber optic front sight, and a bunch of other cool features. All in all, it’s a balls-to-the-wall custom shotgun that’s essentially been feature-maxed out for optimal competition performance. While a 21-inch barrel is a bit long for urban combat and home-defense applications, it can still pull double duty, and, hopefully, Salient will offer an 18-18.5″-barreled combat/tactical-specific varient of the GLD shotgun at some point.
The Salient SAI Benelli M2 customized shotgun packages already offer an 18.5″-barreled combat/tactical option, as well as a 21″ (competition-length) barreled option, and you get the same ghost-loading capability. In addition to the aforementioned ghost-loading feature, the Benelli’s main claim to fame is its ultra-reliable Inertia Driven System (IDS) and ComforTech recoil reduction system, which make for some extremely fast competition or combat shooting when engaging multiple targets. There’s really nothing faster in trained hands. You can check out all the custom M2 features here. At a current MSRP of $3,250, the SAI Benelli M2 shotgun packages are no joke, but you’re getting a full-custom shotgun ready to go for competition or combat at the highest level.
If you decide to go pump-action, the 18.5″ vent-rib SAI Remington 870 Tactical Package 12ga combat/tactical shotgun is essentially a maxed-out Remington 870 that brings this platform to the highest performance level possible. It’s designed to be ultra-reliable/”bulletproof” and durable under extreme combat conditions. You can check out all its features here.
The SAI custom shotgun packages look really good, and Defense Review looks forward to running them at the range when we can. Speaking of running them at the range, if you want to get trained up in combat shotgunning skills, DR highly recommends Steve Fisher of Sentinel Concepts, who, in the immortal words of Denzel Washington’s character in Training Day, will make you “surgical with that bitch”. True dat. DR trained with Steve (Fisher) at the Beretta Tactical Summit in 2015, and learned a lot. Great class.
Company Contact Info:
Salient Arms International (SAI)
6713 South Eastern Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Phone: 702.444.4458
Sales Email: sales@salientarms.com
Website: https://www.salientarmsinternational.com
Sentinel Concepts
Email: sentinelconcepts@gmail.com
Website: http://sentinelconcepts.com
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