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I recently tested Weatherby's PA 459, a sub 7-pound tactical shotgun with a 19-inch barrel and a synthetic pistol grip stock. This is not a usual offering from the Weatherby, known for building eye-candy rifles around a game specific wildcat cartridge. Still, it does fall into the category of a purpose-built firearm.
I also tested the Konus Sight Pro Atomic Red/ Gre en dot sight, a compact optic with great flexibility and Spec- Ops LoneStar Rig, a single point tactical sling. Not only did this combination work well together, the shotgun and the hardware cost less than many tactical shotguns alone.
I understand that the PA 459 was named after the California Penal Code for burglary. (The number 459 is often used to indicate a burglary in progress.) It is not clear to me if the name is appropriate for a civilian victim defending his roost or the responding officers. Either way, the tests on this shotgun prove it is an appropriate instrument.
The PA 459 pump gun is a popular choice for general law enforcement use. Its 7075 T6 CNC machined receiver has a fine matte finish. Under the hood, parts fit together with above average tolerance. There are no spurious tool marks, and the finish is cleanly applied. The picatinny rail atop the receiver has enough mounting space for all kinds of accessories. Weatherby mounted a removable adjustable ghost ring sight here, a nice compliment to the fiber optic front sight. Another picatinny rail on the forend allowed me to try out several types of hardware, until I settled on a Streamlight TLR3.
The PA 459 is about 1 to 2 pounds lighter than similar pump guns. Sometimes this is a disadvantage, especially with 3 -foot slugs. Less inertia in the gun means more recoil in the shoulder. Fortunately, this gun came with a forgiving recoil pad that mitigated the kick quite a bit.
With slugs, it felt like I was shooting light trap loads. (I did shoot trap loads in it, by the way.) This sounds like cheating when using an improved cylinder choke, but it's a great way to test an optic: One puts an optic on a tactical shotgun, then mows down pepper poppers with buckshot at 10 to...