Made by ATIS of Ponte San Marco, near Brescia, Italy, in the second half of the 1980s, the Trusty shotgun was born at a time when home defence was scarcely mentioned, but high hopes were placed on dual-mode shotguns with pump/semi-automatic action. The Italia '90 World Cup was imminent and Italian law enforcement agencies planned to adopt a shotgun that would allow the use of lethal and especially non-lethal ammunition for use in the unfortunate event of clashes with hooligans and public disorders. In 1986, Franchi presented its 12-gauge SPAS 15, which was fed from box magazines and operated in pump/semi-auto dual mode, allowing the type of ammunition to be quickly changed in case of need. The SPAS 15 had some success and was officially adopted by the Guardia di Finanza (the Italian Financial Police). But Franchi was not the only company to go down this road: Beretta in those years launched the M3-P model on the market with dual operation and detachable magazine. The Brescia-based Valtro company had also presented its MP-5 model in the early 1980s, a fairly traditional-looking shotgun fed from box magazines with a capacity of no less than seven 12-gauge rounds. The Valtro MP-5 was distinguished by the fact that it still had a tubular magazine, which, however, only served as a guide for the sliding handguard; therefore it made pump action possible but contained no cartridges.
ATIS Trusty, a forgotten shotgun? Let's hope not...
The ATIS Trusty PM4 was in fact a version of Valtro's shotgun manufactured by the Ponte San Marco-based company, with which it shared almost all the fundamental features. The Trusty was presented as a gun suitable for home and territorial defence, and indeed had decidedly deterrent aesthetics, with its barrel covered by a ventilated shroud and with a conspicuous muzzle brake. Another very distinctive feature, in common with the Valtro model, was the rectangular-section sliding forend with raised edges. There was a pistol grip and the stock was a crutch type, folding on the left side, but the ATIS Trusty was also available with a fixed stock. We spoke to a shooting instructor who remembers shooting the Trusty in the version we photographed, and he told us that it was a rather taxing experience as the crutch stock was not very comfortable. The seven-round magazine provided a reassuring supply of rounds, but it was also very cumbersome and partly reduced the advantage of having a folding stock. Production of the ATIS Trusty lasted only a few years and the shotgun was apparently adopted in an unknown number by the Brazilian police. The Trusty also appears, heavily equipped and modified, in the 2001 action horror film Ghosts of Mars.
We photographed this specimen at the Gun Store Bunker gun shop in Milan, where we often find rare and interesting collector's items. There is very little literature on the ATIS Trusty and we too have struggled to find information: we invite readers who may know more (there certainly are) to provide more information in the comments below the video. We thank you in advance.
Let us conclude with a little nitpicking. We often hear that the Valtro/ATIS was the first shotgun to adopt a box magazine, but this is incorrect. The first such gun to be industrially produced was the 12ga Mossberg 200K, back in 1957. It was the first shotgun manufactured by the American company that would later become synonymous with pump-actions and, as is often the case with overly revolutionary ideas, it was a resounding failure and its production lasted only a year. Today, like the Trust, it is a coveted collector's item.
We would like to thank the Gun Store Bunker gun shop in Milan for its valuable collaboration.
