Every year, Shooting Illustrated staff members gather to review the firearms, optics, gear and ammunition launched in the past year. Out of this group, they choose the best of each category, which become the recipients of the next year’s Golden Bullseye awards. For 2020, SI staffers chose the Legacy Sports Citadel RSS1 as the Shotgun of the Year. Here’s what SI Associate Editor Evan Brune had to say about the gun:

The Citadel RSS1 isn’t perfect, but for the price, it’s a semi-automatic, mag-fed shotgun that runs. Stocks can be replaced, the bolt-catch mechanism issues are relatively minor, and the safety lever is what it is. Ultimately, the highest priority is to have a gun that runs, and the setup of the RSS1 ensures that it’ll chew up and spit out most standard shotshells on the market, and it’ll handle the heavy stuff, too.

The shotgun is compatible with Molot Vepr mags and accessories, so you can load this shotgun up with 10-round stick magazines and 25-round drums to your heart’s content. If you like the idea of an AK-style, semi-automatic shotgun, the Citadel RSS1 gives you what you’re looking for without emptying your wallet.

For the full review of the Citadel RSS1, click here.

To qualify for consideration for a Golden Bullseye Award, the product must have been recently introduced and available to consumers prior to the selection of the Golden Bullseye Awards. Each potential product has to have been used/tested by a staff member or regular contributor to the magazine and/or affiliated media. In that testing, the product must be reliable in the field, meeting or exceeding the evaluator’s expectations. It must be innovative in design and function, readily perceived as a value to the purchaser and styled in a manner befitting the shooting and hunting industry and, perhaps more importantly, its enthusiasts.