https://www.neco.navy.mil/synopsis_file/08N0007JA_Shotguns.pdf
“To replace combat losses” is one element of this purchase. Wonder how many have been lost in Iraq?
“Combat loss” is a synonym for “thrown away”.
What are they using all of those bird guns for? 
That’s what I’d do if some bone head tried to stick me in combat with a bird gun. :mad:
My unit began fielding these to Marines (lower than the Co. Gunny) shortly after I got hurt and sent back to the states. My buddy got one and he loved it. Used a mixture of slugs and breaching rounds for entry work then used the same rounds against any resistence within the structure once they made entry. To say if worked effectively would be an understatement.
To say that 5.56 in the same conditions are effective are just as much of an understatement, and I get 20 more chances of success. And I get another 28 chances as quickly as you get 1 (reload speed). And I can effectively engage past 25 yards. 
that is interesting. the only people i ever saw w/ these were sergeant majors. I haven’t heard anything spectacular about these, but it’s not like i was everywhere in Iraq. I hope they are reliable, duarble, are breaching doors and killing the odd bad guy. I think breaching is a big deal and this thing is a good tool in the tool box, but I would take a rifle or carbine any day. The shotgun is just not versatile enough.
Maybe someone thinks that having some shotguns around for use, depending on the situation, would be a good idea. It would help keep the options open. Having one in each patrol vehicle wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Double.
There are no options expanded by the M1014, the gas system does not allow it to cycle non-lethal ammo.
It sucks at breaching because you must have shoulder contact for it to reliably cycle- anyone that has actually conducted ballistic breaching understands why this sucks.
The old 590s and 870s were just fine, the M1014 is just another example of the wrong people writing the requirement.
The duty of a shotgun for a warfighter is not engagement of personnel unless as a secondary. There are other duties of an autoloading shotgun, but they lie with support units- MPs and the like.
We used the 870 MCS over there, they worked great for breaching and room clearing. At first we only used them to breach, but after one of our guys caught Johnny Hadji in the chest using buckshot, some guys would use it when we would have to do house to house searches.