The shotgun heat shield started with the Winchester 1897 and Model 12 trench guns, and like all Winchester patents, they protected it fiercely. It was patented, and other companies producing trench guns had to use a variety of different wood designs to accomplish the same effect. Ever since Winchester introduced heat shields to shotguns, they’ve been a constant in the firearm world.
As someone who does a lot of navel gazing when it comes to shotguns, I have some thoughts on heat shields, their necessity, and where they fall in the realm of defensive shotguns.
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Do You Need a Heat Shield?
Short answer: no. Long answer: it’s complicated. You don’t need a heat shield for modern defensive shotgun applications. Heat shields were assigned to trench guns for a specific reason. On a bayonet-equipped trench gun, the user was expected to be in close combat, and the shotgun would be used as a club and impromptu spear.
Holding the shotgun by just the pump and thrusting the bayonet into anything but air would guarantee your shotgun slipped. To bayonet thrust with a shotgun, you position your thumb over the barrel, and a portion of your palm will contact that barrel as well.
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Modern defensive shotguns aren’t integrating bayonets anymore in a civilian or police context. You aren’t going to fire enough shots with a shotgun to heat the barrel enough to need a heat shield.
That’s great for defensive use, but as you train, guess what happens? That barrel gets hot, and when we’re training, it’s not all that uncommon to graze the barrel with a thumb or finger. You get tired, you get a little sloppy, and things happen.
In some cases, you might be practicing CQB techniques, retention techniques, and reloads, and it’s easy to graze the barrel. For training purposes, a heat shield can be a handy thing to have. It’s no different than wearing gloves when shooting a rifle.
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The Modern Heat Shield
A lot of modern heat shields are just crap. They are often extremely cheap, made from polymer like Zytel and sold in ‘universal’ configurations. To be generous, Zytel does do a pretty good job of absorbing heat. It’s fine as a material in most cases. It doesn’t rust, doesn’t scratch up barrels, and is quite light.
The problem is the supposed universal fit. That just means it doesn’t fit any shotgun all that well. It’s likely to ride up and down the barrel, come loose, and potentially interrupt your ability to fire a pump shotgun. While Zytel could be fine for a heat shield, the simple fact that most are not well made holds them back.
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This type of heat shield firmly fits in the mall ninja category of accessories. Avoid these universal, cheap heat shields.
There are some good models. Mossberg produces dedicated heat shields for a variety of their shotguns. Aridus makes a fantastic handguard that comes with an integrated heat shield for the 1301 and A300 series called the Imperium.
RX Arms makes one of the more interesting models that integrates M-LOK slots. This allows you to protect your thumbs while mounting accessories far enough forward to avoid barrel shadow.
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I think the M-LOK option might be the best because it offers the same utility as an AR handguard and protects your hands from a hot, exposed barrel. Plus, it’s metal so accessories can be torqued down to deal with shotgun recoil.
The Future of Heat Shields
Between the Aridus Industries and the RX Arms heat shields, I think we have something that will be the future of shotgun heat shields. The Aridus handguard is short, lightweight, and only covers the portion of the barrel and is integrated into a handguard.
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The RX Arms gives you more length, but also introduces M-LOK to push accessories out there. The old ventilated heat shields still work, but I think there can be a future where you’re not only protected from the heat, but able to easily mount accessories.
With that said, we don’t need them; they’re just nice to have when you actually shoot your shotgun.
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