shotgun

Also known as scattergun, peppergun, fowling piece, shotguns

thumb|right|300px|A Pump-action shotgun|pump-action [[Remington 870, two semi-automatic Remington 1100 shotguns, 20 boxes of shotgun shells, a clay trap, and three boxes of clay pigeons]]

AI overview

A shotgun is a firearm that fires multiple pellets (called shot) in a spread pattern, rather than a single bullet, making it effective at closer ranges. Shotguns are commonly used for hunting, sport shooting (like clay pigeon shooting), and self-defense, and they come in different action types such as pump-action and semi-automatic designs.

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Commons gallery: Shotgun
Commons category: Shotguns

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~73 min read

Article

39 sections

Contents

History
19th century
Hammerless shotguns
John Moses Browning
World wars
Late 20th century to present
Design factors
Action
Break-action
Pump-action
Lever-action
Bolt-action
Revolver
Semi-automatic
Automatic
Other
Shot
Barrel length
Caliber conversion sleeves
Ammunition
Specialty ammunition
Hunting, defensive, and military
Less-lethal rounds, for riot and animal control
Novelty and other
Uses
Sporting
Hunting
Industrial
Law enforcement
Military
Home and personal defense
Legal issues
Australia
Canada
United Kingdom
United States
See also
References
External links

thumb|right|300px|A Pump-action shotgun|pump-action [[Remington 870, two semi-automatic Remington 1100 shotguns, 20 boxes of shotgun shells, a clay trap, and three boxes of clay pigeons]]

A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small spherical projectiles called shot, or a single solid projectile called a slug. Shotguns are most commonly used as smoothbore firearms, meaning that their gun barrels have no rifling on the inner wall, but rifled barrels for shooting sabot slugs (slug barrels) are also available.