Shotgun with magazine loading system

1. A shotgun, comprising:

a barrel including a breech end at which a chamber is provided;

a magazine tube mounted beneath the barrel;

a receiver having a forward end coupled to the breech end of the barrel, and a port defined in a bottom surface of the receiver through which rounds of ammunition are received for feeding into the chamber;

a bolt movable along the receiver and configured to direct the rounds of ammunition towards the chamber;

a magazine well releasably mounted along the bottom surface of the receiver, the magazine well including a body having forward, rear and side portions, with a cavity defined therethrough;

a removable magazine configured to be at least partially received with the magazine well, the removable magazine containing a supply of ammunition and comprising a guide portion configured to direct the rounds of ammunition upwardly through the port of the receiver;

a feed ramp removably mounted within the magazine tube at a position forward of the magazine well and adjacent the chamber, the feed ramp configured to guide the rounds of ammunition from the magazine and toward the chamber, and comprising a body that is at least partially received within the magazine tube; and

a fastener passing through the magazine tube and the body of the feed ramp to locate and removably mount the feed ramp in the magazine tube.

2. The shotgun of claim 1 , the removable magazine further comprising a body with a series of protrusions extending from an upper end of the body, wherein the protrusions are configured to engage the rounds of ammunition so as to substantially locate the rounds of ammunition adjacent to a center-line axis of the barrel to facilitate consistent feeding of the rounds of ammunition into chamber.

3. The shotgun of claim 1 , wherein the bolt further comprises a stripping lug configured to engage a rear end of the rounds of ammunition and urge each round of ammunition along the guide portion of the removable magazine and out of the magazine as the bolt is cycled through the receiver.

4. The shotgun of claim 3 , wherein the guide portion of the magazine further comprises a notch defined in a top portion in one or more side walls of the magazine, the notch configured to guide the rounds of ammunition towards the chamber as they are engaged by the stripping lug.

5. The shotgun of claim 1 , wherein the body of the feed ramp comprises a center portion; at least one side portion projecting forwardly therefrom; and an upper portion configured for directing the rounds of ammunition into the chamber.

6. The shotgun of claim 5 , wherein the upper portion of the body of the feed ramp includes a pair of sloped protrusions defining angled guide surfaces for guiding the rounds of ammunition towards the chamber of the firearm.

7. The shotgun of claim 1 , further comprising:

a feed ramp offset defined along the removable magazine, the feed ramp offset being configured to contact a rim of the rounds of ammunition so as to guide a nose portion of each of the rounds of ammunition upwardly in a direction substantially towards the chamber.

8. The shotgun of claim 1 , wherein the removable magazine comprises a box or drum magazine.

9. The shotgun of claim 1 , wherein the guide portion of the removable magazine includes one or more protruding portions projecting inwardly from a side wall of the magazine so as to engage a rim of the rounds of ammunition and direct a nose of each round of ammunition towards the chamber.

10. The shotgun of claim 1 , wherein the magazine well further comprises attachment portion having a saddle configuration in which the bottom surface of the receiver is sealed, and with mounting apertures defined in front and rear portions thereof; wherein at least one of the mounting apertures aligns with an existing mounting hole of the receiver to enable mounting of the magazine well to the receiver using the existing mounting hole and a fastener thereof.

11. The shotgun of claim 1 , further comprising:

a magazine release assembly including a locking portion configured to fix the removable magazine within the magazine well.

12. A shotgun, comprising:

a barrel including a breech end at which a chamber is provided;

a magazine tube mounted beneath the barrel;

a receiver having a forward end coupled to the breech end of the barrel, and a port defined in a bottom surface of the receiver through which rounds of ammunition are received for feeding into the chamber;

a bolt movable along the receiver and configured to direct the rounds of ammunition towards the chamber;

a magazine well releasably mounted along the bottom surface of the receiver, the magazine well including a body having forward, rear and side portions, with a cavity defined therethrough;

a removable magazine configured to be at least partially received with the magazine well, the removable magazine containing a supply of ammunition and comprising a guide portion configured to direct the rounds of ammunition upwardly through the port of the receiver;

a feed ramp removably mounted within the magazine tube at a position forward of the magazine well and adjacent the chamber, the feed ramp configured to guide the rounds of ammunition from the magazine and toward the chamber, and comprising a body that is at least partially received within the magazine tube, wherein the feed ramp is made of a first material and the receiver is made of a second material, the first material having a higher impact toughness and/or strength in comparison to the second material; and

a fastener passing through the magazine tube and the body of the feed ramp to locate and removably mount the feed ramp in the magazine tube.