"In the 1980s, U.S. Troops Almost Got a Killer New Shotgun" Topic

In the early 1980s, the U.S. military wanted a new combat shotgun. The Close Assault Weapon System program aimed to produce an automatic shotgun with greater range and more firepower than a conventional shotgun possessed — and which could engage targets between 100 meters and 150 meters with a variety of specialized loads…

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Interesting article

CAWS combat shotgun – didn't this make an appearance in the original Twilight 2000 rules, which were written in the 1980's and featured a number of weapon systems that were at the time under development?

IIRC it also received quite wild stats due to some design practice. Not sure how it was handled in the second edition.

The 80's were a big time for new equipment for the US Army, especially for the infantry. There were a lot of almosts, including a needle rifle.

My personal favorite was the Gortex rain jacket. It was good down to about 20 below. Colder and a sleep-shirt who take up the slack. A very welcome piece of gear at Fort Drum.

Yes, before I went into the navy my buddies and I played Twilight 2000 and this was the gun my characters always took. I didn't understand the limitations back then but it sure sounded badass.

Sounds good.

A pity they couldn't/wouldn't continue to test and field the really high tech, XM25 grenade launcher weapon, with the dial-in/laser designated proximity fuse.

I know a couple of guys were injured or killed by it, but that happens with some new weapons designs, so it shouldn't have halted such a promising program.

The weapon was a bit heavy too, but perhaps that could have been improved over time, especially with the many new, advanced materials now available for use.

Ok as for the goretex, I never once wore my field jacket at Ft. Hood from 1994-1997. It was awesome. Not as awesome as a full auto shotgun but still…

I remember the CAWS debate and the Advanced Combat Rifle competition in Combat and Survival Mag..