I recently stumbled across the American Tactical Imports (ATI) break-action, single-shot Nomad shotgun while scrounging around for budget multi-caliber guns. This extremely simple scattergun comes in a host of chamberings and barrel lengths, but I think the 12-gauge option with an 18.5-inch barrel shines the brightest.

As far as all-purpose survival/zombie apocalypse guns go, there’s not much you can’t do with a 12-gauge shotgun. The simplicity of the Nomad also turns it into the perfect host for multi-caliber/gauge chamber adapters. 

Add some Short Lane adapters, and you suddenly have an ultra-affordable scavenger gun that can feed off everything from .22 LR and 9mm to .45 Long Colt, .410 bore, and 12 gauge. 

I just had to give it a try. Here’s how it turned out.

Table of Contents

First Impressions
Specs & Features
Short Lane Adapters
Range Testing
Pros & Cons
Final Thoughts 

First Impressions

First, a disclaimer. I already bought this gun and added it to my personal collection. At the price I paid, I consider it a bargain well worth the cost, which was very low. Not to beat a dead horse, but I love shopping around for budget-friendly firearms. The weirder they are, the better. 

After all, who said impulse shopping had to be expensive? 
 

On that note, the affordable ATI Nomad is indeed a weird gun in many ways. I opted for the 18.5-inch 12-gauge model, because it seemed like the handiest choice for me. When I picked the Nomad up from my local FFL, I was immediately struck by the gun’s lightweight feel. 

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That weight combines with an extremely short length to make this gun feel like a classic hammer-fired coach gun from the Old West. The furniture is all synthetic, and there’s not a lot of refinement in the metalwork. The bluing and paint are just alright and in line with a budget gun.

In short, the Nomad is nimble but not particularly sexy in any way. It doesn’t belong on a wall or mantel. However, it would be right at home in a truck, trunk, boat, backpack, or survival kit. 
 

Specs & Features

Manufactured in Torun, Turkey, for American Tactical Imports, the Nomad is a break-action, single-shot shotgun with a fixed choke and a manual hammer. Pulling back on the trigger guard releases the barrel for loading, and the hammer must be manually cocked before each shot. 

There’s no manual safety or auto ejector. A simple shell extractor makes it easy enough to pluck out spent shells, and the hammer cannot move forward to strike the firing pin until the trigger is pulled.
 

ATI doesn’t specify what the fixed choke is on the Nomad. Since the bore diameter is 0.7165 inches on my gauge, which would be a constriction of around 0.0125 inches, I’d place this somewhere between a light modified/skeet II and modified choke. 

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At 25 yards, my shotgun patterned well enough that I would consider it capable of hunting close-range waterfowl, small game, and mid-sized game. I would be comfortable reaching out to at least 50 yards for rifle slugs and only really poking at birds around 30 yards. Regardless, the 18.5-inch barrel doesn’t lend itself to long-range shooting anyway. 
 

Here’s a quick breakdown of the basic specs:

• Weight: 4.7 pounds
• Length: 34.25 inches
• Folded Length: 20.6 inches
• Barrel Length: 18.5 inches (technically 18.62 to the breech face)
• Sight Radius: 18.3 inches
• Length of Pull: 14.25 inches
• Chamber: 3 inches
• Trigger Pull: >11 pounds
• Choke: Fixed (unspecified)
   

There are only two things I really dislike about this gun, and both are forgivable to me for the price of the firearm. First, the trigger is terrible for a hammer-fired gun. It’s stiff, heavy at somewhere above 11 pounds, and impossible to stage or achieve a smooth trigger pull. 

It doesn’t feel that heavy. Yet, my gauge proved it was well outside normal ranges because it couldn’t read it reliably past 11 pounds.

Here’s a closer look at that trigger pull:

It’s clear that the trigger mechanism was made as simply and cheaply as possible, which leaves you with a trigger that is a lot like snapping a small stick. It works fine for point shooting. I could see it being tough to swing this gun on fast-flying birds moving at an angle.

Secondly, I greatly dislike the fit between the trigger guard and the stock. I don’t expect much for fit and finish on a shotgun that’s well under $200. However, it’s annoying to constantly pinch your middle finger when pulling back on the trigger guard to reload. 
 

The gap behind the trigger guard is poorly shaped. I solved this by trimming some material away to create a less pinchy angle. It’s best to shift your grip when reloading to avoid it altogether.

Thankfully, there’s a decent grip texture to the forend and semi-pistol grip. That’s complemented by the dense, rubber-like butt plate that also offers texturing. Other features include a brass front bead, rear sight notch, and two sling swivels.
 

Perhaps my favorite feature, outside of the price, is the fact that you can fold the ATI Nomad in half into a small 20.6-inch package and stuff it inside a hiking pack, trunk, safe, etc.
 

Additional stock options include an OD green and tan color. You can also select between models offering a 26-inch and 28-inch barrel. Or, for a bit more money, you can select a camouflaged option complete with a 23-inch barrel, optics rail, and fiber-optic front sight. All of these would be better options for designated hunting guns given the longer barrel lengths.
 

Short Lane Adapters

I enjoy a break-action shotgun that ejects spent shells when you crack open the breech. That feature has some limits, such as supporting my steel shotgun chamber adapters from Short Lane. My set includes 12-gauge converters for 9mm, .410 bore/.45 Long Colt, and 20 gauge. Unfortunately, the steel adapters can damage extractor claws and auto ejectors.

Short Lane even offers options for things like .22 LR, which would be a great scavenger/plinking round, but attaining any real accuracy for small game hunting requires an adapter with its own rifled barrel. Otherwise, the bullets will almost certainly start to tumble, making your accuracy sporadic at best. 

Short Lane makes rifled adapters as well. They’re just heavier, longer, and more expensive.
 

I’m able to predictably squeeze out self-defense accurate shooting on man-sized targets out to 25 yards with my non-barreled 9mm and .45 Long Colt adapters. You can see those groups below in the range testing section. 
 

I recommend carrying something to punch out any stuck casings or shells. Plucking the 9mm and .45 Long Colt casings out with my fingers was easy. The 3-inch .410-bore and 20-gauge shells tended to expand inside the adapter and needed some ramming to clear them out. 

The quality of Short Lane’s adapters is fantastic. These are well-machined chunks of steel, and you can feel it. 
 

Range Testing
 

Lightweight 12-gauge shotguns are great to carry around and a pain to shoot. Well, it’s not that bad. I rather enjoy the punch I get from this Nomad if I keep my shooting to just a handful of hunting loads. 

I’ve put a mix of 100 shotgun shells through the Nomad so far without any issues. Half of those were my personal 12-gauge 3-inch hunting loads. They pack a punch, but it’s tolerable. The rest were a combo of nine-pellet 00 buckshot, Federal Power-Shok slugs, and target loads. 
 

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Focusing on the heavy trigger didn’t leave much time to anticipate the substantial recoil. Overall, I would not recommend the 12-gauge Nomad to small-framed shooters. Recoil-sensitive people should look at the Nomad shotguns chambered for .410 bore or .20 gauge. 

Here’s a look at my 25-yard shot patterns after firing three consecutive shells filled with #7.5 birdshot into each target:
 

I also put 50 rounds of 250-grain Remington Performance WheelGun .45 Long Colt and 50 rounds of 124-grain ZSR 9mm through my chamber adapters with no issues. 

Here’s what I got at 25 yards with 10-shot groups:
 

Using the adapters makes reloading very slow. Nevertheless, I’d say the accuracy was self-defense effective considering these adapters lack rifling. They barely have barrels. Reloading the handgun calibers didn’t require any tools, and the recoil was barely noticeable.

I would not hunt with the handgun calibers unless I had an adapter with a rifled barrel. I would certainly use the shell adapters for shotgun hunting things like small game at close quarters.
 

Pros & Cons

Here are my top five pros and cons for the ATI Nomad shotgun:

Pros:

• Very budget friendly
• Simple and reliable
• Lightweight
• Accepts various chamber adapters
• Folds for easy carry/storage

Cons:

• Heavy trigger pull
• Hefty recoil
• Trigger guard can pinch fingers when loading
• Crude sights
• Slow to reload
   

Final Thoughts

The ATI Nomad fits a bit of a fantasy/fun niche for me. I don’t actually think I’ll need this thing for the zombie apocalypse, and I have better guns for that anyway. Still, it’s a bargain buy that scratched my itch to add a break-action scattergun to my collection.

As a tool, it would be a fine backpack gun, truck gun, or minimalist hunting firearm. It’s fun to shoot, easy to store, and the adapters transform it into a multi-caliber firearm. 

You get all that for less than two bills. I’ve been known to drop more than that on ammo costs for a single range visit.