shotgun - Definition, History

A smooth-bore weapon firing cartridges filled with small lead or steel pellets (shot), which spread in flight to broaden their destructive effects; widely used by farmers and sportsmen. Single-barrelled, pump-action, multiple-round shotguns have a military application for close-in defence.

Compared to many bullets, the energy of any one ball of shot is fairly low, comparable to that of an .22LR, making shotguns useful primarily for hunting birds and other small game. However, the large number of projectiles makes the shotgun, with larger shot, useful as a close-combat weapon or defensive weapon, where the short range ensures that many of the projectiles of shot will hit the target (see riot shotgun and combat shotgun). Ammunition for shotguns is referred to as shotgun shells, shotshells, or just shells (when it is not likely to be confused with artillery shells). Single projectile loads are generally called shotgun slugs or just slugs.

Aside from the most common use against small, fast moving targets, the shotgun has several advantages when used against still targets.

Definition

The United States legal code (18 USC 921) defines the shotgun as "a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder, and designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the trigger." Some shotguns have rifled barrels and are designed to be used with a "saboted" bullet. These shotguns, although they have rifled barrels, still use a shotgun-style shell instead of a rifle cartridge and may in fact still fire regular multipellet shotgun shells, but the rifling in the barrel will affect the shot pattern.

Also, many people would likely call a fully automatic shotgun a shotgun, even though legally it would fall into a different category. Amongst the general populace, any gun that fires shotgun shells could be considered a shotgun. This might include the rare shot-pistol (a pistol designed to fire a standard shotgun shell).

Riot gun has long been a synonym for a shotgun, especially a short-barrelled shotgun. During the 19th and early 20th century, short-barreled shotguns were used to disperse rioters and revolutionaries. To this day specialized police and defensive shotguns are called riot shotguns. The introduction of rubber bullets and bean bag rounds ended the practice of using shot for the most part, but riot shotguns are still used to fire a variety of less than lethal rounds for riot control.

A sawed-off shotgun refers to a shotgun whose barrel has been shortened, leaving it more maneuverable, easier to use at short range and more readily concealed.

According to US law, a shotgun can be any weapon which fires a shotgun shell.

History

Shotguns have also been referred to as "scatterguns", "fowling pieces" or "two-shoot guns" historically, and were used as a replacement for the blunderbuss.

Essentially, early muzzle-loading shotguns were identical to muskets, in that they were both smoothbore weapons that were often used to fire multiple projectiles (see "buck and ball").

The shotgun has fallen in and out of favor with military forces several times in its long history. Shotguns and similar weapons are simpler than long-range rifles, and were developed earlier. The development of more accurate and deadlier long-range rifles minimized the usefulness of the shotgun on the open battlefields of European wars.

19th century

During the 1800s, shotguns were mainly employed by cavalry units. Cavalry units on both sides of the American Civil War employed shotguns. The shotgun was used in the defense of The Alamo during Texas' War of Independence with Mexico.

With the exception of cavalry units, the shotgun saw less and less use throughout the 19th century on the battlefield. As a defense weapon it remained popular with guards and lawmen, however, and the shotgun became one of many symbols of the American Old West. These guards, called express messengers became known as shotgun messengers, since they rode with the weapon (loaded with buckshot) for defense against bandits.

Daniel Myron LeFever

Daniel Myron LeFever is credited with the invention of the hammerless shotgun. went on to make some of the finest double barrel shotguns in America until they were bought by The Ithaca Gun Co.

John Moses Browning

One of the men most responsible for the modern development of the shotgun was prolific gun designer John Browning. In 1887, Browning introduced the Model 1887 Lever Action Repeating Shotgun, which loaded a fresh cartridge from its internal magazine by the operation of the action lever. In 1893, Browning produced the Model 1893 Pump Action Shotgun, introducing the now familiar pump action to the market.

World Wars

The decline in military use of shotguns reversed in World War I. American forces under General Pershing employed 12-gauge pump action shotguns when they were deployed to the Western front in 1917. These shotguns were fitted with bayonets and a heat shield so the barrel could be gripped while the bayonet was deployed. Shotguns fitted in this fashion became known as trench guns by the United States Army. After World War I, the United States military began referring to all shotguns as riot guns.

Due to the cramped conditions of trench warfare, the American shotguns were extremely effective.

Two "doughboys" used shotguns in Medal of Honor actions in 1918: Sgt.

During World War II, the shotgun was not heavily used in the war in Europe by official military forces. By contrast, in the Pacific theater, thick jungles and heavily-fortified positions made the shotgun a favourite weapon of the United States Marines. Similarly, the United States Navy used pump shotguns as well to guard ships when in port in Chinese harbors (e.g., Shanghai.) The United States Army Air Forces similarly used pump shotguns to guard bombers and other aircraft against saboteurs when parked on airbases across the Pacific and on the West Coast of the United States. The most common pump shotguns used for these duties were the 12 gauge Winchester Model 97 and Winchester Model 12.

Late 20th century to present

Since the end of World War II, the shotgun has remained a specialty weapon for modern armies. It was used to defend machine gun emplacements during the Korean War, and American and French jungle patrols used shotguns during the Vietnam War. Many modern navies make extensive use of shotguns by personnel engaged in boarding hostile ships, as any shots fired will almost certainly be over a short range. Shotguns are far from being as common amongst military forces as rifles, carbines or submachineguns.

On the other hand, the shotgun has become a standard in American law enforcement use. Shotguns are standard equipment in most United States police patrol cars, and almost all police officers are trained in their use and must re-qualify at least annually through demonstrating proficiency. A variety of specialty less-lethal or non-lethal ammunitions, such as tear gas shells, bean bags, flares, explosive sonic stun rounds, and rubber projectiles, all packaged into 12 Gauge shotgun shells, are produced specifically for the law enforcement market.

The shotgun remains a standard weapon for hunting throughout the world, for all sorts of game from birds and small game to large game such as deer. The versatility of the shotgun as a hunting weapon has steadily increased, as slug rounds and more advanced rifled barrels have given shotguns longer range and killing power. The shotgun has become a ubiquitous weapon in the hunting community. The prevalence of the shotgun's use in hunting can be easily shown by the number of hunting incidents reported to wildlife and game officials. Of the thirty-four hunting accidents reported in Wisconsin in 2005, sixteen involved shotguns, making them the most common weapon. (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 2005 )

In 1994, shotguns made up 9.7% of gun traces relating to criminal investigations in the United States, and were the weapon of choice in 5% of homicides, according to United States Justice Department statistics. Shotguns are not the preferred weapons for criminal activity, since criminals prefer weapons which are more easily concealed, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey. However, the comparatively easy availability of double-barrelled shotguns compared to pistols in the United Kingdom and Australia, coupled with the ease with which their barrels and stocks can be unlawfully shortened, has made the sawed-off shotgun a popular weapon of armed robbers in these countries. There are many types of shotguns, typically categorized by the number of barrels or the way the gun is reloaded. For most of the history of the shotgun, the breech loading double barreled shotgun, with two barrels, was the most common type. In this case there are several "subtypes", the "over and under" shotgun puts the two barrels one on top of the other, while the "side by side" shotgun puts them beside each other. Another class of break open shotgun is the combination gun, which is an over and under design with one shotgun barrel and one rifle barrel (more often rifle on top, but rifle on bottom was not uncommon). There is also a class of break action guns called drillings, which contain three barrels, usually 2 shotgun barrels of the same gauge and a rifle barrel, though the only common theme is that at least one barrel be a shotgun barrel. The most common arrangement was essentially a side by side shotgun with the rifle barrel below and centered. Although very rare, there were some three shotgun barrel drillings made. In pump-action shotguns, a sliding forearm handle, the pump, works the action to reload the single barrel. Lever-action shotguns, while less common, were popular in the late 1800s with the Winchester Model 1887 and Model 1901 series lever-action shotguns being prime examples. Lever-action shotguns have seen a return to the gun market in recent years with Winchester Repeating Arms producing the Model 9410 series lever-action shotgun (The Model 9410 shotgun utilises the .410 bore shotgun round and the action of the Winchester Model 94 series lever-action rifle) as well as a few other gun companies re-producing and making modern versions of the Winchester Model 1887 and Model 1901 shotguns.

Some of the more interesting advances in shotgun technology include the versatile NeoStead 2000 and fully automatics such as the Pancor Jackhammer or Auto-Assault 12 . These combat shotguns, while popular in movies and computer games due to their exotic nature, have yet to make a noticeable impression in the real world.

Gauge

The caliber of shotguns is measured in terms of gauge or bore (the British English term). So a 10 gauge shotgun has an inside diameter equal to that of a sphere made from one-tenth of a pound of lead. These are not generally considered "shot shells" by shotgun users, and the patterning performance is questionable since they are fired through rifled barrels. Although relatively rare, single-shot and two-shot derringers have also been produced that are capable of firing both .45 Colt (also known as 45 Long Colt) and .410 shotgun shells in the same chamber; Inexpensive bolt-action .410 shotguns are a very common first hunting shotgun among young pre-teen hunters, as they are used mostly for hunting squirrels, while additionally teaching bolt-action manipulation skills that will transfer easily later to adult-sized hunting rifles. Most of these young hunters move up to the 20-gauge shotgun within a few years, and move up to 12 gauge shotguns and full-size hunting rifles by their late teenage years. Still, many who are particularly recoil-adverse choose to stay with 20-gauge shotguns all their adult life, as it is a very suitable gauge for many popular hunting uses.

Shot

Most shotguns are used to fire "a number of ball shot", in addition to slugs and sabots.

Table of Birdshot Size

Size	Diameter	Pellets/oz Lead	Pellets/oz Steel
BBB	.190" (4.83 mm)		62
BB	.180" (4.57 mm)	50	72
1	.160" (4.06 mm)		103
2	.150" (3.81 mm)	87	125
3	.140" (3.56 mm)		158
4	.130" (3.30 mm)	135	192
5	.120" (3.05 mm)	170	243
6	.110" (2.79 mm)	225	315
7 1/2	.100" (2.41 mm)	350
8	.090" (2.29 mm)	410
9	.080" (2.03 mm)	585

Table of Buckshot Size

Size	Diameter	Pellets/oz
000 ("triple-aught")	.36" (9.1 mm)	6
00 ("double-aught")	.33" (8.4 mm)	8
0 ("one-aught")	.32" (8.1 mm)	9
1	.30" (7.6 mm)	10
2	.27" (6.9 mm)	15
3	.25" (6.4 mm)	18
4	.24" (6.0 mm)	21

Pattern and choke

Shot, small and round and delivered without spin, is ballistically inefficient. Briley Manufacturing, a top maker of interchangeable shotgun chokes, uses a conical portion about 3 times the bore diameter in length, so the shot is gradually squeezed down with minimal deformation. The use of interchangeable chokes has made it easy to tune the performance of a given combination of shotgun and shotshell to achieve the desired performance. See also: Slug barrel

Table of shotgun chokes
for a 12 gauge shotgun using lead shot

Constriction (inches)	Constriction (micrometres)	American Name	percentage of shot in a 30 in (76 cm) circle at 40 yd (37 m)	Total spread at 40 yds (in)	Total spread at 37 m (cm)	Effective range (yd)	Effective range (m)
0.000	0	Cylinder	40	59	150	20	18
0.005	127	Skeet	45	52	132	23	21
0.010	254	Improved Cylinder	50	49	124	25	23
0.015	381	Light Modified
0.020	508	Modified	60	46	117	35	32
0.025	635	Improved Modified
0.030	762	Light Full		43	109
0.035	889	Full	70		40	37
0.045	1143	Extra Full
0.050	1270	Super Full	Oval chokes are designed to provide a shot pattern wider than it is tall, are sometimes found on combat shotguns, primarily those of the Vietnam War era. For instance, an offset choke can be used to make a double barrelled shotgun with poorly aligned barrels hit the same spot with both barrels. Barrel length Shotguns generally have longer barrels than modern rifles. Unlike rifles, however, the long shotgun barrel is not for ballistic purposes; shotgun shells use small powder charges in large diameter bores, and this leads to very low muzzle pressures (see internal ballistics) and very little velocity change with increasing barrel length. According to Remington, modern powder in a shotgun burns completely in 10-14-inch barrels. Since shotguns are generally used for shooting at small, fast moving targets, it is important to lead the target by firing slightly ahead of the target, so that when the shot reaches the range of the target, the target will have moved into the pattern. Shotguns made for close ranges, where the angular speed of the targets is great (such as skeet shooting, or upland bird hunting) tend to have shorter barrels, around 24 to 28 inches (610 to 710 mm). Shotguns for longer range shooting, where angular speeds are less (trap shooting; Barrels for shotguns have been getting longer as modern steels and production methods make the barrels stronger and lighter; Shotguns for use against larger, slower targets generally have even shorter barrels. Small game shotguns, for hunting game like rabbits and squirrels, or shotguns for use with buckshot for deer, are often 22 to 24 inches (560 to 610 mm). Shotguns intended for all-round hunting are a compromise, of course, but a 28-29 inch barrel pump-action 12-gauge shotgun with a modified choke can serve admirably for use as one-gun intended for general all-round hunting of small-game such as quails, rabbits, pheasants, doves, and squirrels in semi-open wooded or farmland areas in many parts of the eastern US (Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee) where dense brush is less of a hindrance and the ability to have more reach is important. Shotguns intended for defensive use are as short as 18 inches (457 mm) for private use (the minimum shotgun barrel length allowed by law in the United States without special permits). Shotguns used by military, police, and other government agencies are exempted from regulation under the National Firearms Act of 1934, and often have barrels as short as 12 to 14 inches (305 to 356 mm), so that they are easier to handle in confined spaces. Common uses Some of the most common uses of shotguns are the sports of skeet, trap, and sporting clays. The shotgun is used for bird hunting, although it is also increasingly used in deer hunting in semi-populated areas where the range of the rifle bullet may pose too great a hazard. Many modern smooth bore shotguns using rifled slugs are extremely accurate out to 75 yards (70 m) or more, while the rifled barrel shotgun with the use of sabot slugs are typically accurate to 100 yards (90 m) and beyond -- well within the range of the majority of kill shots by experienced deer hunters using shotguns. Shotguns are normally used to hunt whitetail deer in the thick brush and briars of the south-eastern and upper midwestern US, where, due to the dense cover, ranges tend to be very close--25 meters or less. At any reasonable range, shotgun slugs make effective lethal wounds due to their tremendous mass, reducing the length of time that an animal might suffer. A typical 12 gauge shotgun slug is a blunt one-ounce hunk of metal that could be described as a .729 caliber (19 mm) that weighs 432 grains (28 grams); In the US, law enforcement agencies often use riot shotguns, especially for crowd and riot control where they may be loaded with nonlethal rounds such as rubber bullets or bean bags. The shotgun is also commonly used for home defense in the United States. When loaded with smaller shot, a shotgun will not penetrate walls as readily as bullets or slugs, making it safer for non-combatants when fired in or around populated structures. Ammunition The extremely large caliber of shotgun shells has led to a wide variety of different ammunition. New "tactical" buckshot rounds, designed specifically for defensive use, use slightly fewer shot at lower velocity to reduce recoil and increase controlability of the shotgun. Specialty ammunition The unique properties of the shotgun, such as large case capacity, large bore, and the lack of rifling, has led to the development of a large variety of specialty shells, ranging from novelties to high tech military rounds. American troops during the Vietnam War packed their own flechette shotgun rounds, called beehive rounds, after the similar artillery rounds. Legal issues United Kingdom law requires that a shotgun not be capable of holding more than three rounds; In the United States, federal law prohibits shotguns from being capable of holding more than three shells including the round in the chamber when used for hunting migratory waterfowl such as ducks and geese. Most magazine-fed shotguns come with a removable magazine plug to limit capacity to 2, plus one in the chamber, for hunting migratory waterfowl. Additionally in the United States, shotguns which have barrel lengths of less than 18 inches (457 mm) as measured from the breechface to the muzzle when the weapon is in battery with its action closed and ready to fire, or have an overall length of less than 26 inches (660 mm) are classified as short barreled shotguns (AKA "sawed-off shotguns") under the 1934 National Firearms Act and are heavily regulated. Within Australia, all shotguns manufactured after January 1st, 1901 are considered firearms and are subject to registration and licensing.