Firearm designers have often faced the same practical problem: how can one gun handle different situations without forcing its user to carry two separate weapons? The answer has produced some fascinating combination firearms. From unusual revolvers and hunting guns to military survival weapons, these designs paired rifle and shotgun functions, or combined a firearm with another essential survival role. Their solutions were often clever, compact, and shaped by the environment in which they were expected to work.
1. LeMat Revolver
The LeMat Revolver packed two jobs into one Civil War sidearm. Its 9-shot percussion cylinder handled conventional pistol fire, while a separate smoothbore barrel beneath it accepted a 16- to 20-gauge shot charge. Designed by Jean Alexandre LeMat in the 1850s, the roughly 13.25-inch revolver weighed about 4.1 pounds loaded. Its unusual layout let the shooter choose between the cylinder and the lower barrel, giving one handgun two distinct capabilities. About 2,900 were produced from 1856 to 1865, making the LeMat one of the era’s most distinctive dual-purpose arms.
2. Savage Model 24
The Savage Model 24 made the two-purpose field gun practical for generations of American shooters. Its classic setup placed a .22 rimfire rifle barrel above a .410-bore shotgun barrel, letting one break-action gun cover rifle and shotgun work. The basic version had 24-inch barrels, measured about 41 inches overall, and weighed roughly 7 pounds. Stevens introduced the design in 1938 as the Model 22-410, and Savage later sold it as the Model 24. Over its long production run, the family expanded into many rifle and shotgun combinations before ending in 2010.
3. M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon
The M6 Aircrew Survival Weapon was designed around two urgent survival jobs: obtaining food and dealing with dangerous animals after a crash. Its upper barrel fired .22 Hornet ammunition, while the lower barrel used .410-bore shells. The break-action weapon had 14-inch barrels and folded to about 15 inches for compact storage in an aircrew survival kit. Issued by the U.S. Air Force from 1952 into the 1970s, it also carried 9 .22 Hornet rounds and 4 shotgun shells in the stock. Its mitten-friendly trigger bar reflected the Arctic conditions it was built to face.
4. Marble’s Game Getter
Marble’s Game Getter was a remarkably compact American combination gun built for two different kinds of small-game work. The first Model 1908 used a .22 rimfire barrel above a smoothbore .44 barrel, while later versions commonly paired .22 LR with .44 shotshell or .410 bore. It used a break-action design, folding stock, and a single hammer to select either barrel. Early guns used 12-inch barrels, with 15- and 18-inch options appearing later. About 9,981 first-generation examples were produced before World War I, proving the appeal of a lightweight gun built around two useful roles.
5. Baikal MP-94
The Baikal MP-94 carries the combination-gun idea into modern sporting use. Its break-action design mates one rifled barrel with one smoothbore shotgun barrel, allowing a hunter to switch between rifle and shotgun duties without carrying two long guns. The platform grew from the IZh-94 and entered production in 1993, later becoming the MP-94 in 2008. Depending on configuration, it has been offered with rifle chamberings such as .223 Remington, 7.62x39mm, and .308 Winchester alongside 12- or 20-gauge shotgun barrels. A typical version is about 40.5 inches long with a 23.6-inch barrel.
6. M30 Luftwaffe Drilling
The M30 Luftwaffe Drilling was a three-barrel survival gun built to cover two major jobs: hunting and self-defense for downed aircrew. Made by J.P. Sauer & Sohn in 1941 and 1942, it combined two 12-gauge shotgun barrels with a 9.3x74mmR rifle barrel. One shotgun barrel was intended for birdshot, and the other could handle slugs, while the rifle barrel offered a powerful hunting option. About 2,456 were produced. At roughly 42 inches long and 7.5 pounds, the M30 was far larger than the M6, but its three barrels gave stranded crews unusually broad capability.
7. TP-82 Cosmonaut Survival Gun
The TP-82 was built for a survival problem that demanded more than ordinary firearm capability. Soviet cosmonauts carried this compact three-barrel gun for emergency defense and hunting after landing in remote territory. It combined two 40-gauge smoothbore barrels with a 5.45x39mm rifle barrel, giving the user both shotgun and rifle functions. The detachable shoulder stock also doubled as a machete, adding a separate survival tool. Entering service in 1986, the TP-82 remained in use until 2006, when its specialized ammunition had degraded enough to make the system unreliable.
8. Cape Gun
The Cape gun is a classic side-by-side combination firearm built to handle two hunting roles. One barrel is rifled for deliberate shots, while the other is smoothbore for shotgun ammunition. The design became especially associated with southern Africa, where hunters could encounter different game during one outing. Examples varied in caliber and gauge, so there was no single standard specification. A documented 1862 example used a 12-bore barrel for shot and a 16-bore barrel for ball. Its appeal was simple: one gun could cover two hunting needs without requiring two separate firearms.
