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A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, [1] 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.
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- The 3 Most Common Types of Shotguns
- Types of Shotguns: Break Action
- Types of Shotguns: Pump Action
- Types of Shotguns: Semiautomatic
- Types of Shotguns: Oddball Actions
- Different Types of Shotgun Gauges
- FAQs
Break-actionsPump-actionsSemiautomaticsHow Break-Action Shotguns Work
A break-action shotgun opens at the breech, usually by means of a thumb-activated lever on top of the gun. The barrel or barrels pivot on a hinge pin or on trunnions, swinging opening at an angle so you can drop a shell into the chamber(s) and then close it to shoot. Break-action guns are typically two-barreled over/under or side-by-side guns, but there are many break-action single shots. Some break actions with three or even four barrels have been built, including guns that with shotgun and...
Break-Action Shotgun History
The invention of pinfire cartridges in the 1840s made breechloading shotguns possible. Pinfires were named for the firing pin projecting from the rim of each cartridge, and they required the downward blow of a hammer to ignite them. From the 1840s to 1875, until the invention of the hammerless Anson and Deeley boxlock in England, all guns had external hammers and were side-by-side or single-shots. Over-Unders appeared in the early 20th century, first as built-to-order high-grade guns from Eng...
What Break-Action Shotguns Do Best
Break actions are very popular among clay target shooters and upland bird hunters. Target shooters like the dependability of a break-action gun, and the fact they will chamber and shoot poorly-sized reloaded shells that might jam a semiauto. Upland hunters choose them because they can be light and compact. Typically a break-action gun is about three inches shorter than a pump or semiauto of the same barrel length. Also, a gun with two barrels can have two different chokesto shoot a tighter or...
How Pump-Action Shotguns Work
A pump- or slide-action has a forearm that slides up and down the magazine tube to eject the fired shell and load a fresh one. Pumps have tubular magazines below the barrel that hold up to four shells, or more if the gun has a magazine extension. Some tactical models hold up to 15 rounds. Most pumps have an ejection port on one side of the receiver and a loading port on the bottom. A few, like the Browning BPS, load and eject through a single port in the bottom of the receiver.
Pump-Action Shotgun History
Sylvester Roper and his former business partner Christopher Spencer, of Spencer repeating rifle fame, got back together to introduce the first pump shotgun in 1884. While it was a good and fairly popular gun, John Browning’s Winchester Model 1897 became the first classic pump. Although it remained in production into the 50s, the 97 had an exposed hammer. Hammerless models like Winchester Model 1912 and Remington Model 17 appeared in the early 20th century and lasted through the post-war era,...
What Pump-Action Shotguns Do Best
Because a slide-action is hand-powered, pump shotguns work in almost any condition. The tubular magazine affords more firepower than a break-action, and pumps are easy guns to maintain and shoot for a long time between cleanings. Pump guns are largely American guns. The rest of the world prefers semiautos and break-actions. Of the three main action types, pumps are the least expensive. They are often the first guns, or guns for hunters on a budget. Their foul-weather reliability makes them po...
How Semiauto Shotguns Work
Semiauto shotgunsfire with each pull of the trigger. The gun accomplishes all the functions of ejecting spent shells and feeding new ones from the magazine either by means of the gun’s recoil or by harnessing expanding gases bled from the barrel to drive the action. An action spring, found in the stock of most semiautos, pushes the bolt back into battery, picking up a fresh shell lifted from the magazine by the carrier on its way forward.
Semiauto Shotgun History
John Browning invented the famous Auto 5 semiautomaticaround 1900. It was a recoil-operated gun, and so far ahead of its time, as well as so well patent-protected, that it had no serious competition until after World War II. In 1963, Remington introduced the gas-operated Model 11, which had the twin advantages of functioning more reliably than other gas designs and of greatly reducing felt recoil, a trait common to all gas designs. It was an immediate success, and other good gas guns followed...
What Semiauto Shotguns Do Best
Semiautos have become increasingly reliable and versatile, making them the most popular type of hunting gun. Gas-operated semiautos are popular with hunters and target shooters who dislike the recoil of break-action guns or pumps. Inertia guns have a large following among waterfowl hunters, who prize the way they keep working in wet, dirty conditions. Likewise, there are lightweight semiauto models for upland hunting. The Marine Corps uses the Benelli M4 semiauto, and semiautos are very popul...
Although the break-actions, pump actions, and semiautomatics are the most popular shotgun types, shotguns have been built around other actions as well. One of the first repeating shotguns was the 1887 Winchester, a lever-action gun designed by John Browning at Winchester’s request, as the company felt lever-actions defined its brand identity, and t...
With the exception of the .410, which is measured by the caliber of its barrel in inches, shotguns are measured by the number of lead balls of bore diameter that weigh a pound. A 16-gauge is the diameter of a one-ounce lead ball, for example. Shotgun shells in each gauge come in various lengths, from 2 ½-inches up to 3 ½-inches in some 12s and 10s....
Q: What’s the best type of shotgun for hunting? There is no one best type of shotgun for hunting. Some shotguns perform better than others at certain types of hunting. For example, rifled-barreled bolt-action shotguns are better for deer hunting than smooth-bore break-action shotguns. Both semiautomatics and pump-actions have interchangeable barrel...
Likely the most common type of shotgun seen in the UK today is the doubled barrelled shotgun in the Over and Under configuration. These are used for almost all forms of shooting in the UK including game shooting and clay target shooting.
Shotguns are a type of gun that fire multiple pellets (shot) that spread out as they exit the gun barrel. A shotgun is a versatile firearm because one gun can shoot projectiles of varying sizes. For example, a single shotgun can shoot small sized birdshot, larger sized buckshot, or single projectile slugs.
Shotguns in particular have a reputation as ideal home-defense guns, and they certainly can be — but they aren't quite as perfect and easy to use as they're sometimes portrayed to be. In this guide, we'll lay out the major pros and cons of shotguns as home-defense weapons and compare them to pistols and rifles used for the same purpose.
Feb 17, 2024 · Shotguns are primarily used for hunting and sport shooting. They are commonly employed for shooting birds, small game, and clay targets. Additionally, shotguns can also be used for home defense purposes due to their ability to quickly deliver a large amount of shot at close range.
