In the past few years, quite a lot of the most refreshingly new and interesting guns to have debuted globally on the international commercial and professional firearms market have been the brainchild of the Turkish arms industry. Particularly when it comes to shotguns, Turkey is currently on the cutting edge.

Even when it isn't leading the way, however, the Turkish gun industry has proven itself to be particularly apt at following the most recent trends and align to them; such is the case of the Escort Bull Tac bull-pup pump-action shotgun, manufactured by the Hatsan gun company, debuted at the 2023 edition of IWA in Nuremberg (Germany), back in March, and currently available for purchase in Turkey and on some selected civilian markets, such as in Poland.

Manufactured in 12-gauge, 20-gauge and .410-gauge, the Hatsan Escort Bull Tac is clearly inspired by – and conceived to compete with – Kel-Tec's KSG and KS7 shotguns.

And when compared with its American counterparts, this Turkish underdog may have the edge of a lower retail price, as well as a few slightly more standard technical solutions adapted to it.

While the KSG and KS7 both feed and eject to the bottom, via a single port, the Escort Bull Tac features a separate ejection window to the right side, protected by a bolt-on empty shell deflector.

Sure, this means that the Hatsan Escort Bull Tac isn't as fully ambidextrous as the Kel-Tec shotguns are; on the other hand, however, such a solution allows for a more prompt access to the chamber, be it to load a specialty round manually or to clear a malfunction.

Both aesthetically and ergonomically speaking, the Hatsan Escort Bull Tac is almost completely reminiscent of the KSG and KS7. The handguard, grip assembly and stock are manufactured out of polymer, while the receiver, magazine tube and barrel are made of Ni-Cr-Mo steel.

The Escort Bull Tac features two twin QD sling swivel cups on both sides of the buttstock, and a raised polymer carry handle over the handguard which integrates the sights – more specifically, a fixed front post with a red fiber-optic high-visibility insert and a fully adjustable rear sight with two selectable apertures.

An additional Picatinny rail interface can be installed on the carry handle, providing mounting space for optics while still allowing the use of the iron sights via a see-through tunnel. Two shorter Picatinny rail segments for tactical accessories are located on both sides of the handle, right up front.

Just like the Kel-Tec KSG and KS7, the Hatsan Escort Bull Tac shotgun features a cross-bolt safety button located right over the pistol grip, at quick and convenient thumb reach, and a manual ambidextrous disconnector lever located just in front of the trigger guard, which the shooter can activate with his or her trigger finger.

The overall capacity for all variants is six shots – five in the magazine plus one in chamber. All models feature a 76mm / 3" Magnum chamber, providing extensive versatility in the use of a wide array of loads for all purposes, from hunting to sport shooting, down to home and property defense and tactical or Police applications.