If you can, put yourself into the mind of a police officer in the 1970s. You’re likely carrying a six-shot revolver from Colt or Smith & Wesson. Your patrol car likely has a shotgun with wood furniture. It’s a simpler time. Suddenly, some guys from Connecticut are whipping out a gun that looks like it belongs in an episode of Flash Gordon or in one of those Planet of the Apes movies. They are telling you that this is the future of the police shotgun; they called it the High Standard Model 10.
The concept of a bullpup shotgun was radical in the 1970s. These days, Turkish Arms companies are importing massive amounts of bullpup shotguns under dozens of different labels. However, in 1967, when the Model 10 hit the markets, bullpups were rare. They had existed before but were reserved mostly for military prototypes. Guns like the AUG wouldn’t come to be until 1977.
The High Standard Model 10 started as a project by a police officer who wanted to design the ultimate entry-level gun. High Standard liked what he was doing and purchased the concept. They then took their own C1200 Supermatic shotgun and adapted it to become the Model 10.
The Model 10 – The Future Was 56 Years Ago
At its core, the Model 10 is a gas-operated, semi-automatic 12 gauge shotgun. The shotgun is encased in a plastic shell with a trigger linkage that positions the grip in front of the action. It features an 18-inch barrel with an overall length of just a hair over 26 inches.
An entry gun is designed to go into homes and buildings, so the smaller the gun, the better. However, a stock Remington 870 Tactical with an 18.5-inch barrel measures 38.5 inches long. The Model 10 chopped a foot of length off the gun, which was all too valuable to police officers.
Despite the shortened overall profile, the High Standard Model 10 didn’t cut weight, weighing in at a beefy 10 pounds. I can’t tell you exactly where all that weight went, but it doesn’t seem like they were scared to produce a beefy barrel, carry handle, and sight system.
High Standard produced two models: Model A and Model B. I have the Model B. The Model A features a built-in flashlight, which was another radical departure at the time of its release. Weapon-mounted lights weren’t common, and having an integral light was a huge deal.
The B Model ditched the light but left a mounting system for a Kel-Lite flashlight that could be attached if desired. The Model B also got a carry handle, a flip-up front sight, and dual cocking handles for an ambidextrous design.
If I had to pick one, it would be the Model B, which seems to be the better model overall. However, the build in light of the Model 10 gives it an even more radical appearance.
Finding a Customer
High Standard aimed to sell the Model 10 to police agencies. It doesn’t seem like they even tried to sell to the civilian market. I doubt they had an objection to civilians owning the guns, but there probably was no market for the guns on the civilian market. The tactical-type weapons weren’t popular at the time, and the High Standard likely wanted to focus entirely on the police market instead of splitting its efforts.
The Model 10 saw some limited sales to police. I can’t find a ton of information on who purchased it or not, but models with department markings have found their way to the used market. Another interesting factoid is that High Standard produced three shotgun manuals for police use. These thinly veiled advertisements aimed to be practical shotgun advice.
The third edition featured the Model 10 and showed various shooting positions and methods to use the Model 10, advertising its overall usefulness and describing it as the “New Way.” The advice in the manuals isn’t bad, but it’s dated with lots of hip fire. It’s interesting to me, and I’m happy it was preserved.
High Standard produced the Model 10 from 1967 to 1977. Ten years is quite a long time, but I don’t think they were rolling off assembly lines eight hours a day. There doesn’t seem to be a ton for sale currently, and they seem to be collectible these days.
Testing the Model 10
The Model 10 has two huge warnings on the polymer frame. The first screams, DO NOT SHOOT FROM LEFT SHOULDER. Bullpups are famously not lefty-friendly, but the reciprocating charging handle on the right side will pop you in the mouth if you fire it from the left shoulder. The second warning states, “12 GA. 2 ¾ Inch Shells Only Magnum or High Brass.”
With that in mind, I grabbed some high brass ammo and a mix of standard buckshot, cheap birdshot, and slugs. One of the big reasons the Model 10 never took off was its spotty reliability. Even with the correct ammo, it wasn’t always that reliable. In my shooting, I can attest to some reliability issues.
Premium rounds seem to work well, even with reduced recoil loadings. Slugs worked well in terms of reliability, but accuracy wasn’t great. Cheap, low-powered birdshot worked about half the time. High brass rounds worked pretty well, with the occasional failure. Hornady Black is the closest I have to Magnum Buckshot with its 1,600 FPS rating, and it worked perfectly. The gun itself qualifies as ammo picky, and if I were a police officer, I wouldn’t choose the gun.
Accuracy with buckshot is fine, but with slugs, the fixed rear sight makes it tough to shoot slugs accurately. My point of aim and impact were substantially different at almost a foot off.
The Barking Bullpup
The Model 10 has mostly terrible ergonomics. The only thing I liked was the non-reciprocating charging handle on the left side. The safety isn’t bad either, and I’ll give them credit for making the gun sling-ready.
Everything else is nicely described as interesting. The butt pad swivels 360 degrees. The idea is that a police officer could position it against their bicep to shoot from the hip or with one hand from inside a police cruiser. In reality, it’s very uncomfortable and annoying because it just rotates freely. The carry handle also moves freely and is perfectly placed to get in the way of your sight picture.
The gun was designed before Push/Pull was popular for mitigating shotgun recoil, and there isn’t much room up front to push with, and boy, you wish there was. The recoil on this gun is rough. It’s straight back into your shoulder. There isn’t much room between the point where the action moves and your shoulder, so you feel it all.
Loading the gun is a hassle. You have to hold a tiny bolt release button to unlock the loading gate. If you let the button go, it will relock and won’t unlock again until the gun is empty. This means it is impossible to reload the gun on the fly or with a firing grip.
The Future Of Shotguns
I do think there is a lot of room for a bullpup shotgun. Shotguns excel at close range, and bullpups excel at close range. It’s just tough to find someone who’s done it right. So far, the KelTec KS7 has won, but a competent semi-auto would be preferred. Sadly, it wasn’t the Model 10, and there hasn’t been a ton of movement in this direction. I’ll hold out hope for the future of shotguns and bullpups.
