I would never have guessed that in late 2026 I would be inspired to write an article extolling the many virtues of the 1¾-inch 12 gauge shotgun shells known as: Minishells, Shorties, and Shortshells. However, I just read a defensive shotgun review by another author on a different platform and he didn’t just dismiss mini shells, he was downright hateful toward them. That led me to another review where the same author stated about them, “Just don’t.”
No, I’m not saying the 1¾-inch mini is going to or should replace standard 2¾-inch and 3-inch 12 gauge shells. But I do believe there’s room for all of the different sizes. Considering some of the pontification regarding the shorties, it’s easy to see why the term “Hater Tots” was coined.
Some History
Lots of folks still act as if the mini shells are a new thing. Aguila Ammunition actually developed and first released them in 1998. The mini shell market was admittedly limited during the aughts and into the teens, then Mossberg dropped their Shockwave not-a-shotgun on America and the mini shell market exploded. All of the sudden American gun owners could purchase a 12 gauge “firearm” in a compact configuration and stuff it with 8+1 rounds of ammunition if they used the Aguila Minishells. Just as importantly, holding the birdshead grip of the Shockwave while firing the 1¾ inch shells was considerably more comfortable than with 2¾ inch shells.
Almost as if overnight, sales of mini shells outpaced production as Americans scrambled to purchase the Mossberg Shockwaves. This market inspired a Canadian ammo maker, Challenger, to produce what they call their 1¾-inch Super Shortshells around the 2017/2018 timeframe. So we had a Mexican ammo maker and a Canadian ammo maker producing hater tots. Hats off to Federal for introducing what they call the Shorty shells in 2019.
Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s admit that hater tots won’t cycle reliably in all 12 gauge shotguns. Naturally, they don’t have enough juice for gas-operated/semi-auto guns. Also, due to the shell elevator configuration, they won’t run in the Remington 870 design at all. Of course, single and double-barreled breechloaders aren’t an issue.
While the original shell elevator on the Mossberg 500/590 series fed the mini shells most reliably, it was possible, particularly when running the action rapidly, to get a mini shell to invert or “stand up” in the action.
Enter OPSol of Texas and their Mini-Clip 2.0 Flex device. This uniquely designed block of rubber fits snuggly in the back of the receiver base negating the chance of a mini shell going nose up or flipping. I’ve used the OPSol Mini-Clip in a Mossberg 590, 500A, and the 12 gauge Shockwave and never experienced a loading issue shooting hater tots.
Fast forward to 2021. Mossberg, realizing that their customers wanted to shoot mini shells out of their 500 series guns and were using the OPSol adapter to do so, did something American shotgun makers rarely do anymore…they innovated.
Their engineers redesigned the 100-year-old shell elevator to one that would reliably feed 1¾, 2¾, and 3-inch shells. They call this series the 590S and guns are available in numerous barrel lengths and configurations. I picked up an 18-inch barreled 590S the first year they were available.
Hater Tot Loads
Between Aguila, Challenger, and Federal, there are numerous loads available. Birdshot tends to be 7½ shot. Federal makes theirs in #8 birdshot. For more serious applications, Aguila makes a mixed shotshell combining #4 and #1 buckshot. They also make a ⅞-ounce slug that’s moving out of the muzzle at 1300 FPS. Federal has a 438 grain (1 ounce) slug in their “Shorty” and they make #4 buckshot shells. Federal also produced a Personal Defense “Shorty” with six of their X2 “pre-segmented” 00 buckshot pellets. The segmented 00 buck flies as a single piece, but it breaks in half when it encounters resistance. Ouch.
Field Work
Out here in the wide open American West, we have pest/varmint species aplenty. Jack rabbits, prairie dogs, and ground squirrels all plague the cattle ranches and grazing land. One of my many companions while driving through the ranch land and adjacent BLM land is a Mossberg Shockwave with an OPSol Mini-Clip and a magazine tube loaded with 7.5 birdshot hater tots.
I shouldn’t have to tell you how conveniently maneuverable it is to grab the 14-inch barreled Shockwave and rapidly exit the truck. Suffice it to say, I have long since lost count of the number of pests and varmints that have fallen to the Mossberg and the hater tots.
Self-Defense
With the reliability issue taken care of, we need to address the haters and their assertion that the mini shells are “not powerful enough.” The 18-inch Mossberg 590S will hold nine hater tots in the tube and one in the chamber.
So, you could start with 10 rounds of the Federal 00 buckshot Shortys; that’s 60 pieces of 00 buckshot exiting the muzzle at 1245 FPS. They break in two so that’s 120 potential wound channels. Again, super ouch!
The 438 grain/1 ounce slug from Federal is traveling at 1200 FPS for a kinetic energy of 1400 foot pounds. The Aguila ⅞ ounce slug is moving at 1300 FPS for a kinetic energy dump of 1430 foot pounds. Both of those eclipse the vaunted 240 grain .44 Magnum.
For patterning, I decided to go with the 7 yards / 21 foot distance for a home defense scenario. While seven yards doesn’t seem that far outside, inside of your house, that a full hallway or across the living room to the front door.
We have several photos included to show the spreads. Your results will likely vary, so test them out in your scattergun. From ten yards, I put three slugs (wad holes shown too) into a cloverleaf of a couple inches. Again, test these out in your personal fowling piece.
The Wrap
Again, I don’t see mini shells replacing standard 2¾-inch shells. However, that being said, I have about 20 years of successful experience with them now. We didn’t even get into the obvious benefits of having smaller adults and young folks learn to run a 12 gauge without the shoulder thumping recoil.
With the NFA currently on life-support and the 5th Circuit Court striking down a short-barreled shotgun registry for the plaintiffs, we can expect that the 14-inch barreled shotgun will become even more popular and in common use than ever before. The hater tots will be right there filling a useful and practical role.
Paul G. Markel is a combat decorated United States Marine veteran. He is also the founder of Student of the Gun University and has been teaching Small Arms & Tactics to military personnel, police officers, and citizens for over three decades.