The Citadel Boss-25 is an advanced AR-style autoloading 12-gauge shotgun that takes the 18th century shotgun into the 2020s as fast as George Jetson after drinking a case of Red Bull.
Featuring familiar controls, a removable five-round magazine, and some new additions, the Boss-25 looks as good as it runs. The Boss-25 can not only blast that home intruder through the front door, it can also supremely take out that pesky deer trotting around like it owns the forest.
Devastating Details
At its core, the Boss-25 is an efficient gas-operated autoloading semiautomatic magazine-fed shotgun. The gun comes with five interchangeable chokes as well as a choke wrench all in a handy carrying case. The magazine release and safety are both standard M4 fare. There is a manual bolt hold open in the same spot as that of an M4 as well. The charging handle is a rigid post that reciprocates with the bolt on the right side.
It’s adorned with M-Lok slots for accessories out the wazoo. And while the M-Lok occupies the sides, the bottom slots are Keymod. There is a generous optics rail up top, and the gun comes with a nice set of polymer flip-up sights.
The chamber and bore are hard chrome plated, and the mystical melding of polymer and aluminum keeps the weight down. The buttstock is fixed but includes an adjustable comb to optimize the cheek weld. The forward portion of the barrel shroud is outfitted with an intriguing set of spiral cuts. I’m not sure what this does exactly, but it looks undeniably awesome. The soft rubber pistol grip is as comfortable as a cotton hammock on a pleasant spring day.
The box magazine packs five rounds, and the gun comes with a spare. There are also aftermarket ten round clips if you want to go all out. The chamber is cut to accept three-inch shells, so the gun runs a wide variety of hunting and defensive loads well. There are interchangeable piston rings for light and heavy loads.
Shooting the Beast
Recoil with the Boss-25 is fairly low thanks to the well-reasoned gas-operated mechanism, soft rubber pistol grip, and recoil pad. The pistol grip allows a good amount of the recoil to be transferred to the firing hand. While the in-line design puts the primary recoil force directly into the shoulder to reduce muzzle climb.
The trigger allows follow-up shots are near instantaneous. On the last round fired the bolt locks to the rear automatically. Slam in a fresh clip, slap the bolt catch, and you are ready to roll.
This is a gas-operated autoloading shotgun, so it prefers full-power rounds. When fed high-brass, full-power loads it runs flawlessly. As with any weapon, be sure to test it on the range before using in the field.