TTv2
Member
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2016
- Messages
- 4,998
I think you hit the nail on the head here, there's two factors at play as to why shotgun popularity is waning: 1. hunting isn't the main reason for gun ownership anymore and 2. the video games don't help, nor does the focus on rifles in movies like John Wick.
In the early days of games the shotgun was the most powerful gun you could get because moving enemies were easier to hit and in games like Doom it was extremely powerful. Things started to change in the late 90s, hit boxes in 3D games got better, controls more accurate, and distances in the game grew. As distance grew, the shotgun became more a liability than an asset and once Call of Duty came about it was done. Kids playing the games and then going out to buy their first guns when they come of age will look at a shotgun and consider it near useless.
But there's other factors involved with shotguns and the biggest one is the recoil is unpleasant for many and the operation of a pump too prone to failure with a person under stress. Training can improve that, but people either lack the time or interest in training around a combat of arms that is decreasing in use among professionals in police and military for obvious reasons. Combine high ammo prices and the size and weight of the ammo where more 9mm or 5.56 can be stored and cost less and that one, two punch is a KO for the shotgun.
Decades ago when hunting was the #1 reason for gun ownership, the shotgun was everywhere and when at the time bolt actions and lever actions and a revolver were what were popular, the shotgun was probably the most superior firearm to have for home defense. Today, when the #1 reason for gun ownership is self defense and where home invasions are often done by teams, the capacity and slow firing nature of the shotgun compared to a semi auto is not advantageous.
Personally, I only own one, maybe two shotguns, a "tactical" over/under 12ga and a .410/.22 combination gun. Break actions appeal to me for their simplicity, but I do have plans to buy the .410 KSG coming out this year and it would be my first pump action. I had thought about getting the .410 Shockwave, but recent ATF ambivalence around pistol braces has me thinking long and hard about stockless smoothbore "firearms" and their future legality. The KSG would take up no more space than the Shockwave, have a stock and a longer barrel, and of course double the capacity while probably weighing less as well.
As you can tell I like .410, so what would it take to get me interested in a pump or semi auto 12ga? Probably hunting. Pump 12's are cheap, so it's not a cost thing, it's a lack of interest or need. All my 12ga needs are met by the over/under and my home defense needs are met by one of those "weapons of war" the anti's are all screaming about now.
When all the gangbangers in their TikTok videos are flashing their Glocks with the giggle switch disconnectors made in China that they bought turning them into full auto machine guns, I think everyone should have a semi auto "weapon of war", not some coach gun that "Bribe 'em" Joe Biden says to run out onto their porch and blast into the air.
Last edited:
