Tokarev TBP 12 OD Green 12 Gauge 18.5 in. – Proven 5+1 Bullpup Shotgun

Description

Most writing about bullpup shotguns tells you what you gain. The Tokarev TBP 12 OD Green gains you eight inches: an 18.5 inch barrel inside a gun 28.5 inches long. That part is not in dispute. What is worth reading before you buy is the other side of the ledger, because the layout costs you things too, and whether those costs matter depends entirely on what you want the gun for.

The Tokarev TBP 12 OD Green is Tokarev USA part number 21000129. Gas operated semi-automatic, 12 gauge with a 3 inch chamber, five rounds in a detachable magazine plus one in the chamber, 7.8 pounds, and a cheek riser compatible stock with folding polymer sights.

We are holding 197. The Tokarev TBP 12 OD Green is the same gun as the black and FDE versions we stock, in the finish that hides best in anything that is not a suburb.

Tokarev TBP 12 OD Green at a glance

• Gas operated semi-automatic 12 gauge, 3 inch chamber, 5+1 from a detachable box magazine.
• 18.5 inch proof tested 4140 barrel in a bullpup layout, 28.5 inches overall.
• OD green polymer furniture with a black barrel and receiver cover, rubber recoil pad, cheek riser compatible stock.
• Folding polymer front and rear sights on a full length Picatinny top rail, with further rail sections for a light.
• Benelli and Beretta Mobil choke pattern. Cylinder, Modified and Full chokes plus a wrench are in the box.
• 7.8 pounds, thumb safety, right hand ejection, MSRP $266.

The honest trade-offs of the Tokarev TBP 12 OD Green layout

• The trigger is at the end of a linkage bar rather than directly on the sear. Bullpup triggers are heavier and less crisp than the same maker’s conventional guns, and the Tokarev TBP 12 OD Green is no exception. On a home defense shotgun this matters much less than it would on a rifle.
• The magazine well is behind your firing hand, so reloads are done blind, by feel, with the gun still shouldered. That takes practice. It is also why a magazine fed bullpup is a fast gun once you have practiced and a slow one if you have not.
• Ejection is to the right. Shooting left handed means brass across your face. Treat it as a right handed gun.
• Balance sits well to the rear, which makes the gun feel lighter than 7.8 pounds in the hands and swing slower than a conventional shotgun of the same weight.
• Length of pull is fixed by the layout. A bullpup cannot be shortened for a smaller shooter the way an adjustable stock can.

Tokarev TBP 12 OD Green specifications

• Manufacturer part number: 21000129
• Gauge: 12, 3 inch chamber
• Capacity: 5+1, detachable box magazine
• Action: gas operated semi-automatic
• Barrel: 18.5 inches, proof tested 4140 steel, black finish
• Overall length: 28.5 inches
• Weight: 7.8 pounds
• Stock: OD green polymer bullpup, cheek riser compatible, rubber recoil pad
• Sights: folding polymer front and rear
• Rails: full length Picatinny top rail plus accessory rail sections
• Choke pattern: Benelli and Beretta Mobil
• Chokes included: Cylinder, Modified, Full, plus a choke wrench
• Safety: thumb safety
• Also in the box: owner’s manual, one magazine, sling
• Warranty: one year limited plus a lifetime service plan
• MSRP: $266

Chokes, sights and ammunition for the Tokarev TBP 12 OD Green

The choke threads on the Tokarev TBP 12 OD Green are the Benelli and Beretta Mobil pattern, which is the most widely made pattern in the world. That is a genuine advantage over shotguns with proprietary threads: aftermarket tubes are cheap and available everywhere. Cylinder, Modified and Full come in the box with a wrench, and Cylinder is the one to leave in for defensive buckshot.

The sights on the Tokarev TBP 12 OD Green fold flat and sit on a rail that runs the length of the receiver cover, so a red dot mounts without an adapter and the irons stay underneath as a backup. On a gun this short, a dot is worth more than on almost any other shotgun, because the sight radius is inherently poor.

Gas guns need enough gas. Light target loads will not reliably cycle a semi-automatic shotgun, so plan on full power ammunition. For defense, Barnes Defense 12 gauge #4 buck, 21 pellets is the load we would keep in it. For practice and pattern work, Fiocchi 3-Gun Match 00 buckshot is built specifically to run semi-automatics, which makes it a safer choice than a cheap promotional load.

Magazines, and a gap we will not pretend about

Tokarev states that the Tokarev TBP 12 OD Green takes T-1919 pattern magazines and that capacities up to twenty rounds exist. One magazine ships with the gun.

We do not stock T-1919 magazines. Not one, in any capacity, despite selling a good number of Tokarev shotguns, and we are not going to sell you a magazine from another platform and hope. Shotgun magazines are not interchangeable across makers even when they look alike, and a magazine that almost fits a 12 gauge is a malfunction waiting for a bad moment. If you want spares, tell us and we will order them in.

How it compares with the rest of our Tokarev rack

• The Tokarev TBP 12 in black is the identical shotgun in the standard finish, and we hold two hundred of it.
• The Tokarev TBP 12 in FDE is the same gun again in flat dark earth, at 275 units our deepest holding of the model.
• If the bullpup trade-offs above put you off, our conventional Tokarev semi-autos and pumps do the same job in a longer package, usually with a better trigger.
• Across finishes we hold well over six hundred TBP bullpups, so color is not a reason to wait.

The Tokarev TBP 12 OD Green is a lot of shotgun for the money and an unusually sensible one for a short gun in a house, a truck or a boat. It is not a clay gun and it is not a bird gun, and anyone telling you a bullpup handles like a conventional shotgun has not shot both. Specifications here come from the distributor record and from Tokarev USA’s own product page.

This is a serialized firearm and ships to a licensed dealer for transfer. Availability on the Tokarev TBP 12 OD Green is 197 units and Sports South has it in stock as well, so this one is not a race.