Remington's Versa Max Tactical Part 2

Backtracking a bit before moving forward as a few details were not addressed in Part 1. There are four barrel lengths available for Versa Max shotguns 12/22″, 12/24″, 12/26″, and 12/28″ and, with the exception of the Tactical model, they are chambered for all shotshells up to and including 3 1/2″.

In Part 1 there was mention that there are fifteen ProBore chokes available for Versa Max products and two, improved cylinder and extended tactical are included with the Versa Max Tactical, however, bore diameters were omitted. They are, at their smallest diameter, respectively 0.726″ and 0.734″, the latter about barrel bore diameter.

With a magazine tube that holds eight rounds, and a manufacture’s claim the Versa Max could adjust to and fire any combination of ammo in sequence and reliably, this seemed a good place to start Part 2. Several magazines full of the mix indicated below was cycled through, each set in different order, and the Versa Max never skipped a beat – ejecting empties, chambering a fresh round and locking open on empty.

Burrrrup… The Versaport gas system

While I am sure arriving at port size, count and placement and gas piston and cylinder volume took a good deal of engineering noodling, the result was simplicity of design – the most work accomplished with the fewest parts count and least amount of motion. Within the Versaport scheme of things, the physical length of a shotshell obstructs or exposes a combination of gas ports to meter the proper gas volume required to reliably cycle the action, regardless ammo type selected.

I spent the better part of a day theorizing about the seven hole unbalanced port count and running soft copper thread through ports to see if they were through-holes or routed and balanced channels, only to conclude that… I needed to get back to work. So rather than pretend I am offering substantial technical insight, I suggest you check out an excellent Remington animation on You Tube for the best operational illustration.

As a physical assembly…

The red arrows in the picture below identify the locations of the gas pistons assembled into the gas cylinders and where they make contact on the shotgun’s bolt body to cycle the action when the shotgun is discharged.

The Remington Versa Max is an easy gun to maintain. The gas cylinder plugs are removed with an Allen wrench and the pistons are pushed out with finger pressure. No action bars and related complex actuation assemblies found under the forearms of other gas operated shotguns, the Versa Max’s short stroke piston design improves reliability.

Overall, the Versa Max Tactical is easy to take down and clean. In fact, it is about the same required for a conventional autoloader, however, the extended magazine version adds the 20 second removal of the tactical rail and barrel clamp assembly before the rest of the steps and the removal of the magazine tube extension.

The trigger assembly is removed by pressing out one pin. The bolt is removed, once the barrel is off, by pulling the bolt operating handle out and allowing the bolt to move forward.

Sighting devices and mounts and rings…

The Versa Max tactical has a 22″ barrel, so the interest was in its performance with 15 pellet count 00 Buck and slugs. A sight that could get precisely on target without getting in the way was a natural choice.

The Aimpoint Hunter, specifically the red dot H34S fit well into the scheme of things; large light gathering optics, no parallax, point and shoot with both eyes open for an unrestricted field of view, 50,000 hours of power-on battery life, and a rugged mechanical assembly.

Initially, the Aimpoint was mounted with Millet Tactical rings, but they were changed back to the rings Aimpoint supplies with the Hunter for the best fit on a Picatinny rail.

The photos below are a good illustration of the reasoning behind that decision. The Millet rings are the lowest version of the product. On an AR flat top, or other type of firearm with a straight comb, they would be useable, but on a shotgun or rifle with even a shallow drop, the sight is located too high above line of sight.

The Aimpoint supplied rings, lower image, brought the Hunter right down into the center groove of the Picatinny rail without making contact. Excellent line of sight, fast target acquisition with good cheek support. The Aimpoint rings are easy to install and remove using the Aimpoint multi-tool included with the sight. The adjustable drop features of the Versa Max was utilized by setting the heel to 2″ and inserting the high comb insert which reduced comb drop to approximately an inch.

How’s it shoot, Joe? Glad you asked…

The Remington Versa Max Tactical was shot with both improved cylinder and extended tactical chokes, both at clays tossed from a trap and at static paper targets. Could just be me, but it seemed the tactical choke patterned better so it was left in place. For folks who have not had the opportunity to shoot with a quality red dot sight like the Aimpoint Hunter, they are fast. I was able to track a moving clay pigeon as easily as tracking it with the shotgun’s ramp and fiber optic front sight, however, with greater accuracy.

I like to use these turkey patterning targets. At 15″ square, 13″ in the round” they are the right size for self defense practice and they are a good substitute for the twenty or thirty wild turkeys that are usually sitting outside the shop taunting me. My coworkers have named them all so it would be bad form for me to dispatch “Bob” or “Gwen” and attempt to put them on the Thanksgiving table. That hole through paper Bob’s vertebrae is actually, with the paper flap pulled back, a 1.7″ three shot 50 yard group shot with  Remington Copper Solid 3″ 1 Oz Sabot Slugs cruising along at 1,550 fps. Excellent performance considering they were shot through an open choke and they are sabot slugs intended for rifled shotgun barrels.

Externally rifled slugs are more properly used in shotguns with a smoothbore, sabot slugs are for rifled barrels. Shooting Remington Slugger High Velocity 3″ 7/8 Oz rifled slugs at 1,875 fps yielded groups sizes of 1.4″. Switching momentarily to the modified cylinder choke made no appreciable difference. Recoil was mild. Usually, slugs really pound away at a shooter’s shoulder.

Winchester Double X Magnum 3″ 00 Buck @ 1,210 fps. At twenty-five yards, a long distance for tactical or home defense work, the Versa Max put ten of fifteen 0.330″ pellets in the 13″ inner circle.

Federal Vital-Shok 3″ 4 Buck @ 1,210 fps. The Versa Max put 32 of 41 0.230″ pellets into the 13″ inner circle.

Remington HyperSonic 3″ 1 1/4 Oz #2 shot @ 1,700 fps put 86 0.150″ pellets, about half of the load, into the 13″ inner circle. Again, this is at twenty-five yards and utilizing the tactical choke. A little more choke and the Versa Max would be a heck of a turkey gun.

Final Impressions

It was nice to open a firearm box and find not only the firearm, but the essential accessories that would normally have to be chased down to use the shotgun as intended. The Remington Versa Max is a quality shotgun and the Tactical model is excellent for home defense and perhaps turkey hunting with the right choke installed. No trick collapsing stocks, no military pistol grips, just a solid, accurate and easy to shoot shotgun.

Missing is the finicky cycling of most gas operated shotguns, a lack of sensitivity to ammo types and, with a good red dot sight like the Aimpoint installed, it is a very accurate and fast sighting slug or heavy 00 buck gun. The Versaport operating systems allows for a relatively light shotgun to have reasonably soft recoil in comparison to other twelve gauge autoloaders. The Versa Max isn’t cheap, but then nothing good ever is and there is a lot to be said for owning at least one good shotgun.

Remington’s Versa Max Tactical Part 1
Remington’s Versa Max Tactical Part 2