Editing Firearm (section)

==== Shotguns ====
{{main|Shotgun}}
[[File:Mossberg 500a 1.jpg|thumb|The [[Mossberg 500]], a shotgun chambered in [[12-gauge]]]]

A shotgun is a long gun that has a predominantly [[smoothbore]] barrel—meaning it lacks rifling—designed to fire a number of [[Shot (pellet)|shot pellets]] in each discharge. These shot pellet sizes commonly range between 2&nbsp;mm #9 birdshot and 8.4&nbsp;mm #00 (double-aught) buckshot, and produce a cluster of impact points with considerably less range and accuracy, since [[Shotgun shell#Spread|shot spreads]] during flight. Shotguns are also capable of firing single solid projectiles called [[Shotgun slug|slugs]], or specialty (often "[[Non-lethal weapon|less lethal]]") munitions such as [[Bean bag round|bean bags]] or [[tear gas]] to function as a [[riot gun]] or [[breaching round]]s to function as a [[door breaching]] shotgun. Shotgun munitions, regardless of type, are packed into [[shotgun shell]]s (cartridges designed specifically for shotguns) that are loaded into the shotgun for use; these shells are commonly loose and manually loaded one-by-one, though some shotguns accept magazines.

Shotguns share many qualities with rifles, such as both being descendants of early long guns such as the musket; both having [[single-shot]], [[break-action]], [[bolt-action]], [[lever-action]], [[pump-action]], [[semi-automatic shotgun|semi-automatic]], and [[automatic shotgun|automatic]] variants; and both being popular with militaries, police, and civilians for largely the same reasons. However, unlike rifles, shotguns are less favored in combat roles due to their low accuracy and limited effectiveness in [[modern warfare]], with [[combat shotgun]]s often only used for breaching or [[close-quarters combat]] and sometimes limited to underbarrel attachments such as the [[M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System]]. Shotguns are still popular with civilians for the suitability of their shot spread in hunting, [[clay pigeon shooting]], and home defense.

[[Double-barreled shotgun]]s are break-action shotguns with two parallel barrels (horizontal side-by-side or vertical over-and-under), allowing two single shots that can be loaded and fired in quick succession.

Examples of shotguns include the [[Winchester Model 1897]], [[Browning Auto-5]], [[Ithaca 37]], [[Remington Model 870]], [[Mossberg 500]], [[Benelli M4]], [[Franchi SPAS-12]], [[Atchisson AA-12]], and [[Knight's Armament Company Masterkey]].