CADIS Shotgun Patterning Drone Targets

If you’re like me, you have watched the countless drone videos coming from Ukraine and Gaza. These devices range from high tech first world surveillance drones, FPV ordinance dropping drones, to some of the most frightening FPV explosive suicide drones.  Whether you are following these attacks or not, we are faced with drones becoming an increasing threat to the modern-day battlefield.  

So how do we counter this potential and inevitable threat? There are software jamming devices and laser targeting systems that can quickly knock out a drone; but what can civilians and civilian police departments do until these systems become affordable and easily accessible.  Over the past few months, I have conducted testing and research on how to tackle this problem with a simple and off the shelf solution – the 12-gauge shotgun!

Drones are relatively fragile, so if you are able to take out or disrupt a single blade, the operator will no longer be able to control the drone and it will ultimately go down. I have found various shotguns, ammo, and choke combinations are better than others. Initially I approached this problem using a defensive combat shotgun, the type one would use in a self-defense scenario.  Typically, these shotguns have an improved cylinder choke or no choke at all, which led me to test how they would fare against the threat of a drone at distance.  I first explored how my patrol Shotgun, a Remington 870 Police Magnum circa late 90’s early 2000’s with a surefire light, side saddle spare carrier and ghost ring sights would perform; I have typically carried it with a combination of 00 buck with extra 00 buck and some slugs in the side saddle. I was pleased to learn that it performed well against this threat. More about that to follow.

I took this experience and knowledge and set out to build what I envisioned a personal defense anti-drone shotgun should look like. First, I upgraded from the Remington 870 pump action to the semi-auto Beretta A300 Ultimate Patrol Shotgun. I felt that the ability to quickly put maximum lead on target was paramount. I wanted this set up to be equipped with an RDS for patterning and to quickly track drones in flight. I mounted an Aimpoint ACRO on a Reptilian co-witness low mount, along with a Surefire dual fuel pro turbo scout light, Esstac Velcro side saddle and a Match-Saverz single round carrier just forward of the chamber. If you don’t have a semi-auto shotgun, I found that the iron-sighted pump action did very well against this airborne threat. The key is to make sure you have properly patterned your shotgun at all practical distances and have selected the proper ammo for your set up.