Border Patrol to Get Newly Designed Shotguns

The Border Patrol will soon be outfitted with a new generation of versatile pump shotguns specifically designed to aid agents in stemming illegal drug trafficking.

The weapons have been purchased by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service for use throughout the country, including the busy U.S.-Mexican border area, where illegal immigration is surging to near-record levels.

The new shotguns are retrofitted versions of a standard Remington 12-gauge model that the INS has used for years. The refitted guns are particularly useful in “close-quarter encounters with violent drug smugglers,” Duke Austin, senior spokesman for the INS in Washington, said.

The primary advantage of the new model is its versatility, said Roger Small, a spokesman for the supplier, Scattergun Technologies in Nashville, Tenn.

“When most people think of shotguns, they think of pellets,” Small said Friday. “But, with different ammunition configurations, this weapon can open windows, close doors and clear out a room (with tear gas).” One feature is specially designed to blast off door locks.

Also, according to Small, the INS was particularly interested in an advanced sighting system on the new shotguns that increases their accuracy.

The INS has purchased nearly 1,300 of the weapons, at a cost of $335 each, said Austin.

The guns are undergoing field testing at the Federal Law Enforcement Academy in Brunswick, Ga., Austin said, and will be deployed early this year.