The Trench Shotgun: America’s Close Quarters Combat Legend

Background Image (Edited) from Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons – Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic

U.S. military shotguns have rapidly become some of the most sought-after firearms among collectors today. As values continue to climb, so do the number of spurious put-togethers. Poulin Auctions is proud to offer a wide variety of authentic, high condition, original U.S. Military shotguns in our Fall 2025 Premier Firearms Auction.

The Winchester 1897 riot gun first proved its worth during the Philippine Insurrection of 1900. Defense against close quarter attacks by Moro warriors using 38 Colt revolvers and 30-40 Krag rifles was proving quite ineffective. In the search for an up close “man stopper” the 1897 proved it’s worth.

The brutal, close-quarters fighting of World War I’s trench warfare created demand for compact, devastating weapons. Shotguns proved effective at short range in clearing trenches and bunkers, so the U.S. military adopted modified commercial shotguns for this role. These close quarters devastation devices inflicted such a toll on German forces that in September of 1918 Secretary of State, Robert Lansing received a message from Imperial Germany stating the Following: “The German government protests against the use of shotguns by the American Army and calls attention to the fact that, according to the laws of war, every prisoner found to have in his possession such guns or ammunition belonging thereto forfeits his life.”

The Secretary of State soon responded “The Government of the United States has to say that the provision of the Hague convention, cited in the protest, does not in its opinion forbid the use of this kind of weapon. Moreover, in view of the history of the shotgun as a weapon of warfare, and in view of the well-known effects of its present use, and in the light of a comparison of it with other weapons approved in warfare, the shotgun now in use by the American Army cannot be the subject of legitimate or reasonable protest … If the German government should carry out its threat in a single instance, it will be the right and duty of the Government of the United States to make such reprisals as will best protect American forces, and notice is hereby given of the intention of the Government of the United States to make such reprisals.” It is evident that the German Government received the message loud and clear as they never executed a soldier in possession of a trench gun or its ammunition.

From the muddy trenches of the First World War to the jungles and deserts of modern battlefields, U.S. military shotguns have proven their worth as reliable, close-range companions to American service members. More than a tool of war, each carries the marks of the men who shouldered it and the history it helped shape. Today, they stand as enduring symbols of American ingenuity and battlefield grit. Whether preserved in a collection or displayed as a testament to American craftsmanship, these shotguns continue to tell the story of the soldiers who carried them and the nation that built them.