Description
The Adler HT-104 12 Gauge is a short barrelled semi-automatic scattergun built to a price, and it is worth being straight about what that means. You get an 18.5 inch barrel, a 3 inch chamber, 4+1 on board and a 7075-T6 aluminum receiver, brought into the country by Four Peaks Imports under part number 12044, UPC 810065120441. It is not a Beretta and it is not pretending to be. What it is, is a lot of shotgun for the money.
What the Adler HT-104 12 Gauge is actually for
An 18.5 inch 12 gauge shotgun with a bead sight and a four round magazine is a defensive and utility configuration, whatever the marketing copy on the box says about field use. It is short enough to turn inside a hallway, light enough at 7.5 pounds to hold up for a while, and it patterns fine at the distances that matter indoors. It is not a clays gun and it is not a waterfowl gun.
The Adler HT-104 12 Gauge feeds from a tube and runs semi-automatically, which means faster follow up shots than a pump and no risk of short stroking under stress. A HT-104 semi-auto shotgun gives you that, and it is the single biggest argument for this action type in this role, and it applies just as much to a budget gun as an expensive one.
The receiver on the Adler HT-104 12 Gauge is 7075-T6 aluminum, the same alloy used on AR-15 receivers, which keeps the weight down without giving up much strength. Overall length is 38.5 inches and length of pull is 14.25 inches, which is on the longer side; if you shoot in a heavy coat or a plate carrier, try it shouldered before you commit.
The honest limitations, and a real advantage
Budget gas operated semi-autos are more particular about ammunition than expensive ones. Light 2.75 inch target loads are the usual culprit, and mini shells are a reliable way to make almost any semi-auto shotgun choke. Buy a box of whatever you intend to keep it loaded with, run it through the gun, and confirm it cycles before you trust it. That advice applies to every Adler HT-104 12 Gauge and to every other semi-auto at this price.
The sighting system on the Adler HT-104 12 Gauge is a bead. There is no rail and no ghost ring, so adding a red dot means a clamp on mount or a trip to a gunsmith. If you want an optic from day one, budget for that or look at a shotgun that ships with a rail.
The advantage worth knowing about is the choke system. The Adler HT-104 12 Gauge uses Mobile pattern chokes, the same thread as Beretta and Benelli, which means tubes are cheap, common and available everywhere rather than being a proprietary part you have to chase through one importer.
Adler HT-104 12 Gauge specifications
- Gauge: 12
- Chamber: 3 in
- Barrel: 18.5 in, black
- Capacity: 4+1
- Action: semi-automatic
- Receiver: 7075-T6 aluminum
- Stock: black synthetic
- Chokes: Mobile pattern, Beretta and Benelli compatible
- Sights: front bead
- Overall length: 38.5 in
- Length of pull: 14.25 in
- Weight: 7.5 lb
- Importer part number: 12044
- UPC: 810065120441
A note on how the Adler HT-104 12 Gauge is catalogued. The gun is an Adler, and Four Peaks Imports is the company that brings it into the United States, so you will see it listed under both names depending on where you shop. Four Peaks Imports 12044 is the part number to quote when you order so there is no confusion with the other Adler models. We stock it alongside the rest of our shotguns, and the wider in stock firearms list is here if you are comparing. Choke tubes in the Mobile thread are widely available from Beretta and others.
Semi-automatic operation at a price most people expect to pay for a pump.
Mobile pattern chokes, so replacement tubes are cheap and easy to find.
A 7075-T6 aluminum receiver keeps it to 7.5 pounds.
Eighteen and a half inches and 4+1 is the right shape for a defensive gun.
This suits someone who wants a home defense semi-auto shotgun or a truck gun and does not want to spend four figures to get one. Go in understanding the trade: you are buying the action type rather than the refinement, and you owe it a box of your chosen load through the gun to confirm it cycles. If you want a defensive shotgun that is proven out of the box and you can afford three times the money, buy the Beretta 1301 instead and do not look back.
If the budget is the constraint, the Adler HT-104 12 Gauge is an honest answer.
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