Shotguns
Shotguns in H3 are split into four categories, based primarily on their feeding/reloading system; there are break-actions, tube-fed shotguns, and shotguns that feed from detachable magazines. The exception to this is the Winchester Model 1887 in all its forms; this is instead placed in its own category of lever-action shotguns.
Baikal MP-155K
Added in the firearms drop in Update #59's ninth alpha build, the Baikal MP-155K (a semi-automatic, magazine-fed sporting shotgun of Russian origin) makes its first documented media appearance in H3VR.
Baikal MP-155K - 12 gauge
An MP-155K sits on a table, while its magazine stands alone.
"
Reunited, and it feels so good..."
Pulling back the charging handle...
...and letting it slam back into battery, taking a fresh buckshot shell with it.
Pausing to admire the shotgun's black, shiny polymer components.
The other side of the MP-155K; the markings simply read "MP-155K" in the segment closer to this text, and "12x76" in the segment closer to the ejection port (the latter is a caliber designation; it denotes shells 12 gauge in diameter and 76 millimeters in length, or 3" for those on the other side of the anywhere).
Aiming; the small, high-mounted rear aperture seems more at home on a rifle than a shotgun. At least it's good for slugs.
Benelli M2 Super 90
The Benelli M2 Super 90 was added in Update #90. Two variants are available: a "Tactical" version with a fixed stock/pistol grip, a 7-round magazine tube, and an M-LOK handguard with rails attached, and a "Threegun" version with a straight stock, a 28" barrel, and a 10-round magazine tube (the highest capacity of any single shotgun magazine tube in the game); both have aftermarket bolt release buttons, bolts, and charging handles.
Benelli M2 Super 90 with pistol grip stock - 12 gauge
Out at the range with the M2 Tactical; note that, unlike the reference image, the in-game M2 has a top rail for optics.
It also has, as mentioned, an aftermarket extended bolt release...
...which makes it considerably more convenient to release the bolt after chamber loading a round, as is not being done here.
Loading some additional shells into the magazine tube; one of the other improvements of Update #90 was to the behavior of loading gates, which now only move when pushed in on instead of wobbling around freely like they did before.
Looking through the M2's illuminated ghost-ring sights.
Blasting the newer paper target with some 00 buck.
In case you were doubting that for some reason, here's an image of the ejected shell from a couple frames later. If you were doubting that, I'd also suggest you see a therapist, because you clearly have some deep-seated trust issues likely stemming from some sort of childhood trauma. Oh, and remember: no matter what your older cousin tells you, blue fire is not cold.
Benelli M2 Super 90 in synthetic straight stock configuration, ghost ring sights - 12 gauge
The other M2 Super 90 variant, called the "M2 ThreeGun". And it is loooong.
So long, that we needed a separate screenshot for Benelli's patented ComforTech stock. The chevron arrows are actually made from synthetic gel, which in addition to the cheek comb and butt plate, are engineered to reduce felt recoil.
Like the M2 Tactical, this shotgun has the same aftermarket bolt release for easy grabbing.
Opening the chamber for some tactical loading.
Inserting shells into the loading gate.
10+1 shells later, the bolt is closed, and we're ready to go.
Taking aim at some IPSC targets in the breaching house. The lack of a rear sight isn't much of an issue when using buckshot at point-blank range.
One target down, as the emptied shell goes flying.
Benelli M4 Super 90
The Benelli M4 Super 90 is one of the available shotguns in-game; it was added in Update #6, along with the FABARM Martial.
Benelli M4 Super 90 with 4-shot tube - 12 gauge
Out on a woods walk, Hick-not45 loads up his M4 Super 90.
Aiming through the attached EOTech holosight; the in-game sight is marked "NAVTech", for copyright reasons.
Satisfied, Hick-not45 lowers his Benelli, giving the viewers at home a good look at the 4-shot magazine tube; this is at odds with its in-game 7+1 capacity.
Meanwhile, in a far less inviting-looking shooting range, another M4 sits on a table.
Locking back the shotgun's bolt...
...chamberloading a shell...
...and letting the bolt slam into battery.
Admiring the now-smaller shotgun - or, at least, attempting to, as the weapon's eye-searingly reflective finish makes looking at it with this lighting for any substantial period of time a rather painful endeavor.
Blasting away a blue circle. This is the older version of the Modular Range, which would later evolve into the M.E.A.T.S. range; the former was far simpler than the latter, having only 2 types of targets (at this stage of development): blue point targets, and red penalty targets.
Beretta DT11
The Beretta DT11 is one of the 4 shotguns added in Update #15. Following Update #46, 2 new variants were added - one with a shortened set of barrels, and one with further-shortened barrels and a cut-down stock.
It was at this moment that he realized that an indoor range is not a good place to bring a trap shooting shotgun.
Deciding to just roll with it, he opens up the DT11...
...and further fails to understand its intended purpose.
Having given his DT11 two shells full of buckshot, he then closes it up.
Aiming; this being a competition skeet gun, it has nothing but a front bead sight.
Firing off a shot; the red lines in the air are the game's optional bullet trails.
He then admires his DT11, whilst trying to ignore the ricochet that has seemingly lodged itself in his leg.
Dropping the spent shells out of the DT11.
A table full of (almost) all of Update #46's shortened weapon variants.
Finding the full-length version too long and awkward for indoor use, he tries out a shorter version. Note that, despite the barrels being ostensibly sawn down, they still have choke tubes installed.
Loading the shortened DT11 up with some shells.
Sawing off a beautiful shotgun like this should be a crime. And it is. No, seriously.
Fortunately, since nobody knows who "He" is, He can't get arrested by the BATFS (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Sausages).
Crye Precision SIX12
The Crye Precision SIX12 was added in Update #90. It is the second revolver shotgun (not including the MTs 255 sawn-off) added in the game, and the first with a detachable cylinder. It is referred to in-game as the "P6Twelve".
Crye Precision SIX12 with wooden furniture - 12 gauge
What better place to shoot a gun with wood furniture than in the woods? Still, it feels like something's missing.
From the rear, you can see the base of the barrel lined up with the top chamber of the cylinder.
The front view of a full magazine. To accommodate the SIX12, the magazine behaves in-game like a speedloader for revolvers. This only effects the player if they want to manually replace spent shells.
Inserting the magazine into the shotgun.
Aiming down the SIX12's very crisp sights. While a top rail for optics is available, the default sights are more than adequate.
And just like that, the flowerpot was no more.
Examining the spent shells inside of the SIX12 magazine, which have flared open after firing.
And with the shells removed entirely, you can see straight through to the other side.
Daewoo USAS-12
Added in the 2019 Meatmas update, the Daewoo USAS-12 is H3's fourth fully-automatic shotgun, though only its second non-fictional one (and the second one with a stock).
Daewoo USAS-12 - 12 gauge
"Have you seen M16 lately?" 
"Yeah, it looks like he's been hitting the gym." 
Loading a magazine into the shotgun, its receiver helpfully indicating that it is a "USAS-12", and that said magazine is full of "12GA 2 3/4 INCH".
Pulling the charging handle (the opposite side of which is visible in the slot on the forend) flips up the aforementionedly M16-esque dustcover.
The lower receiver is also M16-like, with a seemingly interchangeable trigger guard and pistol grip.
As well as a near-identical safety.
Taking aim at a snowflake; while a bit more rifle-like than most are used to, the aperture/post setup works quite well on the USAS.
This screenshot would be captioned "Case in point" if the shotgun wasn't blocking the destroyed snowflake. You'll just have to take our word for it.
Loading some extra shells into the a drum magazine; due to a bug, the 20-round drums were originally only spawned with 10 rounds in them (like the box magazines), though this issue was later corrected.
Of course, if you have more shells, it only makes sense to send them out faster, right?
Certainly not hearing any objections from them.
Derya MK-12
The Derya MK-12 was added on day 15 of the Meatmas 2020 Advent Calendar event.
Derya MK-12 AS-100S - 12 gauge
The Derya in its crate. Like most magazine-fed,
AR-15-esque shotguns, it hails from Turkey.
Examining the shotgun; it's a near-perfect match for the reference image, bar the slightly different handguard rail arrangement and the different pistol grip.
The distinctive spiral-fluted barrel shroud is also worth noting.
Extending the MK-12's stock; this goes from "too short" to "too long", so "just right" is probably in there somewhere.
Loading in a 10-round magazine.
Chambering the first of these 10 rounds; while AR-esque in most aspects, these sorts of shotguns generally have side-mounted charging handles instead of rear-mounted ones.
Aiming at a guard-filled S-COM tower; the EG1 reflex sight seen here comes in the box, since the MK-12 doesn't have any sights by default.
Remembering to turn off the safety. Better late than never, but not by much.
Resuming the tower assault; this doesn't wind up doing much, though this is more due to the poor effectiveness of buckshot against Junkbots in general than it is to the shotgun's effective range (since unlike many games,
H3 actually depicts shotguns as having a longer effective range than a sneeze).
Flechettes tend to work better, though getting up close and personal also certainly helps.
"Four-Letter Word"
Added with the Return of the Rotweiners gamemode (on October 31st, 2018), the "Four-Letter Word" is a gamemode-exclusive weapon, serving as a reward for a quest involving clearing out a Zosig-infested mine. It is a custom (seemingly homemade) quadruple-barreled break-action shotgun, chambered in 12 gauge.
Screenshots courtesy of Reddit user Shubishu.
After a long day of Zosig-killing, a reward is finally at hand.
Admiring the prize, while pointedly ignoring an NPC's invitation to talk. Note the small lever on the side; this is a fire selector, allowing the weapon to switch between firing one barrel at a time and firing them all at once (along the same lines as an
M202 FLASH).
Taking a close look at the barrel hinge, which shows off the weapon's home-built nature. It's not exactly clear how one is supposed to remove the hex nuts holding the forearm in place.
Taking a look down the barrels, simultaneously showing that they're all fully-modeled inside, and that there's nothing in the center of the cluster.
Loading in some buckshot shells, after getting kicked out of the NPC's house. No four-letter words allowed in his good Christian Minecraft server.
Giving the shotgun's tall, pointy notch-and-post iron sights a try, being sure to hold it at an invisible arm's length. Hey, can't be too careful with non-proofed barrels, especially this many.
Fortunately, in spite of the visible corrosion and tool marks, this barrel works just fine.
"
Eat this."
Hey, what better way to celebrate one barrel working than to confidently deliver a cliché one-liner to a not-yet-dead enemy while firing out of a
different un-tested barrel?
Luckily, all 4 barrels are apparently perfectly safe to use, so there's nothing to worry about. Probably.
Franchi SPAS-12
The Franchi SPAS-12 is one of the available firearms in-game, added in Update #24. 2 variants are available - a standard model with a folding stock, and a stockless model with a rail system and spare shell holder. Highly unusually for a video game, the SPAS-12's dual-mode semi-auto/pump-action functionality is depicted in H3, even more unusually with its intended purpose being exploitable (i.e. switching between semi-auto for high-pressure shells and pump-action for low-pressure ones). Unfortunately, however, the switching is performed by a simple touchpad button press on the forward hand's controller, with the pump not ever visibly moving to reflect the change in mode (always being shown in the correct position for pump-action fire, and never moving forward to switch to semi-auto); furthermore, the weapon's loading procedure is simplified, with the real weapon's requirement to hold down the bolt release in order to load shells into the magazine tube being omitted in-game.
Franchi SPAS-12 with stock folded and butt-hook removed - 12 gauge
Nope, not under there either.
She sure is good at hiding. Well, such is to be expected. After all, Sarah is quite a
clever girl.
So clever, in fact, that she managed to escape to another scene altogether, hide in a bush, and finally figure out how to fully unfold the stock (thanks to the guidance of Update #87).
Tactical
Franchi SPAS-12 with stock removed – 12 gauge
The tactical version, with all the latest modern, advanced features. Stock and
second barrel sold separately.
Loading in some shells, the loading gate being unusually cooperative considering the non-depressed bolt release.
Racking the charging handle, and sending a shell into the chamber.
Putting some extra shells into the side-mounted shell holder. Just in case.
Taking a look through the SPAS's distinctive ghost-ring sights...
...and blasting the target with buckshot.
Loading another shell, straight into the chamber...
...and then ejecting it, manually this time. Not shown: the shell actually being fired.
You might ask why someone would shove a magnifier on a shotgun. The answer? Because we can. And because we can, we have to.
Heckler & Koch CAWS
The Heckler & Koch CAWS was added in Update #93. The gun fires its proprietary 12 gauge belted ammo, which according to the developer, was amplified to the degree that the designers had intended, making it one of the most powerful shotguns in the game. Like the earlier-added Heckler & Koch G11, this gun has two different variants; the original prototype, and a "TacMod" version that replaces the integrated optic with picatinny rails.
Heckler & Koch CAWS - 12 gauge.
The HK CAWS, the close-range counterpart to the German Space Magic rifle.
Looking inside the 10 round magazine, you can see that the 12 gauge belted shells are completely made of metal, and that the projectiles themselves also look pretty unique.
Unlike the G11, the CAWS charging handle is much simpler to operate.
Flipping the safety to semi-auto, and we're ready to go hunting for snowflakes.
Taking aim through the integrated sight, which is basically identical to the G11.
And despite being a shotgun, the range on this gun is not to be underestimated.
The 20 round magazine, for when you absolutely have to turn the room into swiss cheese.
The "TacMod" version of the CAWS, ready to be tacticooled from head to toe.
Which gives us an excellent opportunity to use the concurrently-added G36 Scope rail attachment; given that both the CAWS and G36 were made by the same manufacturer, it only felt appropriate.
Because of the top rail placement, the charging handle was modified to come out of the side.
Taking aim through the G36 red dot...
And through the G36 scope located underneath.
Heckler & Koch FABARM Martial Pro Forces
The Heckler & Koch FABARM Martial Pro Forces is one of the available firearms in-game. It was the game's first pump-action shotgun, and is tied with the Benelli M4 Super 90 for the game's first 12-gauge shotgun, both having been added in Update #6.
Fabarm Martial Pro Forces 14" - 12 gauge
Feeling a need to prove itself, the FABARM shoves itself center-stage.
Loading the first shell into the chamber...
...and the other 5 into the magazine tube.
Aiming the shotgun, not that it's particularly necessary at this distance.
Blasting the target with a full load of buckshot.
Working the shotgun's action, and ejecting a spent shell.
A closeup of the receiver, which shows off the markings.
It also provides a good view of the old shell being extracted from the chamber...
...and the new one being chambered. Note the green color of the shell; the only green 12 gauge shells in the current build of
H3 are slugs, but these screenshots predate the addition of multiple types of shotgun ammunition in Update #15.
Henry Single Shot Shotgun
Update #93 added a Henry Repeating Arms Single Barreled Shotgun called the "Throwback Singleshot", available in both 12 gauge and 20 gauge.
Henry Repeating Arms Single Shot Shotgun - 12 gauge
The two Throwback Singleshots on a table in the Arizona range. After all, what better for Throwback Thursday than a pair of Throwbacks on one of the game's oldest ranges?
"But isn't it Monday?" "...what are you doing in my house?"
"Whoah, calm down man, I'll leave. Jeez." *Ahem* ANYWAYS, the two shotguns look more or less identical to each other, save for the bore diameter and wall thickness of their barrels.
Cracking one of the shotguns open, and loading in... wait, dammit, other gun...
...there we go, loading in a 12-gauge Triple Hit shell.
Cocking the shotgun's hammer.
Taking aim at a duelling tree; not exactly the sort of gun that's normally meant for this kind of target, but what're you gonna do? Come out all the way to Arizona and beat me up? I'm the one with a shotgun.
Firing; if the hammer doesn't obscure your simple bead front sight when you do this, the recoil of a light, slim 12-gauge shotgun will.
Ejecting the now-spent shell. And no, the fact that it has an automatic ejector is not the reason that it's called the "throwback".
Shoving a 20-gauge shell into the other variant; there is no 20-gauge Triple Hit shell in-game, so this is just ordinary buckshot.
Blasting a trespassing watermelon; you don't need to worry about the hammer blocking your sight picture if you don't aim.
Amusingly enough, the shotgun's ejection system can be triggered before it opens all the way, so gripping the forend, pressing the unlocking lever, and giving the gun a quick shake can eject the shell without any apparent cause. Perfect for dealing with those RSOs that want you to unload whenever you move but don't let you point the muzzle at anything but the target.
Izhmekh IZh-18
The 12 gauge version of the Izhmekh IZh-18 was added on day 2 of the Meatmas 2020 Advent Calendar event. A short-barreled 12 gauge and a 20 gauge version were later made available as well.
Izhmekh IZh-18EM-M - 12 gauge
The IZh-18's weapon case; the later cases would skimp out on the perceivedly-unnecessary expense of an antigravity field generator that makes the gun float into the air and (while not shown here) spin in circles like one of the weapon platforms from
Unreal Tournament.
Examining the shotgun; the nicely-finished wooden furniture gives this hunting shotgun a very pleasing appearance.
Opening the IZh-18's barrel.
Loading a 12 gauge flechette shell, which will come in handy against the Winter Wasteland's many autonomous enemies.
Speak of the devil - just outside the bunker, a static drone is inching its way towards the player; they're attracted to sound, and will violently explode if they touch anything other than level geometry while moving.
Shooting at the drone's red spots causes it to explode, which does some collateral damage at this short of a distance. Still, the IZh-18 gets the job done.
Emptying out the spent shell.
The two additional variants of the IZh added later that week: the 20-gauge on top, and the shorty 12-gauge below.
While the short-barreled 12-gauge variant is easy to distinguish from the original, the only way to tell whether a long-barreled IZh-18 is in 20 gauge or 12 gauge (apart from looking at the wrist menu) is to look at the thickness of the barrel walls, as seen here.
Aiming at a wall with the long 20; between its self-cocking, hammerless action, and its clear notch-and-post irons, the IZh is essentially a straight upgrade over the earlier-added "Throwback" single-shot shotgun.
Loading a 20-gauge slug shell into the longer IZh-18...
...and ejecting a 12-gauge buckshot shell from the shorter one. Note the different position of the spur behind the trigger guard; this is the IZh-18's hinge lock, which is pushed in to break the weapon open.
Kel-Tec KSG
The Kel-Tec KSG was added in Update #90, to the great joy and surprise of the many who'd requested it (and heard that, due to its dual magazine tube system, it would be impossible to implement); notably, H3VR is the first known shooter to correctly depict this system (i.e. depicting the two separate tubes as separate, rather than just treating them both as a single tube with no switching required like most games do), even allowing the user to load individual shells into the chamber by setting the selector to the middle position.
Kel-Tec KSG Gen 1 with Magpul RVG foregrip and MBUS sights - 12 gauge
And he said it couldn't be done.
A cinematic shot of the muzzle, showing off the distinctive triangular front end with two magazine tubes. The furniture's gray color is a factory option; somewhat disappointingly, it is called "Tungsten Gray", and not "Dev-Texture Gray".
Loading up the left-hand tube with some slugs; each tube holds 7 2 3/4" shells, as it should.
For the impatient among you, the ammo spawning panel has an option to simply auto-fill the held object; due to the way that the KSG is coded in-game, this only fills the active tube (which is rather convenient, for this exact reason).
To top it all off, you can flip the selector over to the middle position...
...and, with the action open, load whatever specialty shell you please directly into the chamber.
Disengaging the weapon's crossbolt safety, after setting it up to match the reference image; notably, the KSG is the first shotgun in the game with a rail attached directly to the pump. While rails on moving components had been a mechanic for a while (ever since Update #52's
M249 and its railed top cover), actually using them can be quite hardware-intensive, so players are generally advised against putting more than one attachment on them.
Aiming at an idle Sosig through the attached MBUS; the engagement distance doesn't really necessitate it, but you might as well.
Hey, remember that specialty shell from the chamberloading screenshot? Yeah, that was a "cannonball" shell. Essentially a firework flashbang.
Switching over to the right-hand tube; with the selector switch in the middle position, neither magazine tube will be used, effectively turning the weapon into a single-shot breechloader.
Blasting another Sosig with some 00 buckshot (bullet trails enabled, for your viewing pleasure)...
...and, following a quick tube switch, a slug.
Ejecting a spent shell. You really have to go rather impractically out of your way to see this happen, since shells come out of the same port that you load them into, but that's showbiz, baby.
KS-23M
Day 7 of 2018's Meatmas update added a Russian KS-23 shotgun-carbine, more specifically the pistol-gripped KS-23M variant.
Day 7's present; for a shotgun this big, you need something a little bit bigger than
a rosebox. Note the supposed period of manufacture; while the KS-23 was initially developed (or perhaps began development; sources are a bit inconsistent) in 1975, it wasn't adopted for service until the eighties, and the KS-23M variant wasn't produced until 1990.
Examining the shotgun. The slightly off-color piece on the side is a Soviet-standard dovetail rail, used for mounting sights. This is because
AK-pattern rifles and their derivations have detachable upper receiver covers, making them impractical for mounting sights or rails onto. The resulting Eastern-bloc standardization of sight mounting then led to weapons like this with solid receivers also using the same side-mounted rail.
The other side. Come to think of it, this could make a nice backup for someone fighting for the Imperium of Man. Wonder if anyone makes 2-stage rocket slugs...
The in-game KS-23M can use 4 different types of shells, based on some of the real weapon's options; this is a "
Баррикада" ("
Barrikada", Russian for "Barricade") shell, an armor-piercing slug meant for cracking the engine blocks of cars.
So, what better to use it on than a fragile wooden board in the shape of a hot dog?
Ejecting a shell, after sending the hot dog target's head to the Shadow Realm. And by "the Shadow Realm", we mean an empty Home Depot parking lot at 3:32 in the morning. Either way, it's a different plane of existence.
Another shell type, the "
Шрапнель-25" ("Shrapnel-25"), which consists of buckshot; the "25" denotes a 25-meter effective range.
So, of course, the ideal target must be...
...a crystal snowflake somewhere way the hell up in the sky. Note the rifle-type sights; while these might seem out of place on a pump-action shotgun, the KS-23 is somewhat unique in that its barrel is completely rifled (being made out of spare
ZU-23 anti-aircraft cannon barrels), which gives it good enough accuracy with slugs to justify such a design choice. This also explains its odd designation as a "shotgun-carbine" (being a shotgun for all practical purposes, but a carbine under Russian law due to its rifled barrel), and why a 23mm shell full of buckshot has the effective range of a golf ball.
The two other shells are a bit more unique; this shell, the "
Сирень-7" ("
Siren-7", or "Lilac-7"), is a riot-control round...
...which, in practical terms, means that it creates a cloud of CS gas on impact.
And then there's the "
Звезда" ("
Zvezda") round.
This one's name, which translates to "Star", is a bit more apt...
...as the effects of looking directly at either from up close are roughly the same. Another round meant for crowd control (the gun itself being initially developed for prison guards), the Star is effectively an impact-detonating flashbang grenade. Mix a few of these round types together, and you've got quite the effective CQB breaching tool. It'd be even better if its capacity wasn't a whopping 3+1.
"KWG1"
The "KWG1" is one of the available firearms in-game, added through Update #15. It is a fictional magazine-fed full-auto shotgun, rather reminiscent of the "Bolter" weapons from the Warhammer 40K universe. It is based on an image of what seems to be some sort of stage or cosplay prop, which was then adapted into a 3D model by artist Pavel Kutejnikov.
The prop that the "KWG1" was based upon, which seems to have an
MP5 S-E-F trigger pack. Also note the shells in the magazine; the length of the brass, the plastic-like gloss across them, and the manner in which they are stacked (parallel to each other, which wouldn't be possible with actual shotgun shells due to their rims) all point towards this being a prop, rather than an actual live-firing shotgun.
After several hours of cutting, welding, and riveting, the work finally bears fruit.
Loading some "SWAG-12" high-explosive shells (an obvious play on the real-world FRAG-12 explosive shells) into one of the KWG1's distinctive windowed magazines. Said magazines seem to be suffering from a critical lack of springs.
Several shells later, it's time to load in the magazine...
...and purge the realm of heretics in the name of the Emperor.
After a change of place, and a change of time, the KWG1's well-worn finish shines in the light of the (earlier version of the) item spawner.
Loading in another magazine, this time filled with a suitably patriotic handload: "Freedomfetti" shells.
These do exactly what you'd expect. While it's sadly not something that can be expressed through the medium of an image, firing one of these shells produces a sound like that of a paper party horn.
Back in the indoor range, our discount Space Marine prepares to screw a suppressor onto his KWG1, which demonstrates one of
H3's interesting gameplay-oriented features:
Universal suppressor compatibility. A suppressor can shrink or expand to fit any weapon, from the diminutive
Beretta Jetfire to the colossal
Barrett M107A1.
Mossberg 590A1
The Mossberg 590A1 is one of the four shotguns added in Update #15, and the second pump-action shotgun added to H3 on the whole.
Mossberg 590 with ghost ring sights, bayonet lug, and Speedfeed stock - 12 gauge
The 590A1 attempts to back away from the horror that is the KWG1; being an inanimate object, this proves somewhat futile.
Examining the right side of the still-shaken shotgun...
...and the left side, which shows off the rather straightforward receiver markings.
...chamberloading a "SWAG-12" HE shell...
...and firing, with suitably explosive results.
Ejecting the spent-but-apparently-not-actually-fired shell.
On a sidenote, the 590A1 in-game is modeled with a Speedfeed stock.
Said stock is actually fully-functional; here, the wielder has decided to drop in a flechette shell.
What's that old saying? "If you love something, let it go"?
"You got all the shots I asked for, right?" "Well whaddaya mean ya didn't get a shot of you loading it?" "I don't care
if it breaks the flow of the page, just get me a damn loading shot already!" 
Looking past the ghost-ring rear sight (which is a rail-mounted attachment, not a part of the 590A1 itself) at a truly unholy sight, and preparing to put the abomination out of its misery. After all, in the words of a certain hot-blooded cliff-diver...
And hey, since we're here in the Proving Grounds, why not show off how the 590A1 can take an M9 bayonet?
Perfect for skewering Sosigs. Now all we need is a campfire...
"MP-203"
Day 17's gift in the Meatmas 2020 Advent Calendar event was the "MP-203", a fictional shotgun that uses the same belted 12 gauge ammunition as the Heckler & Koch CAWS, feeding from a detachable tube cluster reminiscent of the SRM Arms Model 1216 (albeit without the manual indexing capability). It has a 4-position fire selector, making it the game's first shotgun with a burst-fire setting.
The MP-203 in its case, proudly hailing from the sovereign republic of Fictional; unlike the previous Advent Calendar event, most of 2020's gifts didn't include the name of the modeler (this one being a notable exception). The magazines have a tendency to fly out of the box when it's opened.
Examining the MP-203; the boxy upper forend with rectangular vent holes is somewhat reminiscent of the
UTAS UTS-15.
However, as the other side shows, the receiver is more or less that of a typical autoloading shotgun, albeit rather angular (and, of course, adapted to fit the weapon's somewhat unusual layout).
Tossing a magazine onto the underside of the shotgun; these have a rather large loading-detection region, causing them to "snap" into place over a longer distance than most mags, as shown here.
Chambering a belted 12-gauge 000 buckshot round; at full size, the serial number ("1768909627") can be seen on the sloped portion of the upper receiver (with the last four digits repeated upside-down on the bolt), and "Cal. 12x76/12x70"/"24 SHELLS OVERALL"/"6 SHELLS EACH TUBE" on the back end of the magazine. The original model also featured a Baikal trademark on the side of the receiver, but this was removed in
H3's version, for obvious reasons.
Stepping out of the bunker, and setting the fire selector to semi-auto; its four positions aren't marked, likely because the original model had markings for a 3-position selector instead.
Firing the MP-203 at a Swarm drone; this angle isn't terribly practical, but it makes for great screenshots.
Pushing the selector forward into its next mode...
...which comprises a devastatingly fast 3-round burst, capable of shredding almost anything in close quarters. Especially with flechette ammo.
Chambering a slug shell; given that the pointed nose of said slug comes awfully close to the end of the case, one couldn't help but worry about the possibility of chain-detonations in a tube magazine like the MP-203's. Then again, the fact that the magazines are marked as holding exactly 24 shells regardless of whether they're 2 3/4" or 3" long may suggest that the tubes have some sort of controlled-feed arrangement, which could help alleviate such issues.
Flicking the selector over to full-auto; they're barely visible here, but the markings on the left side of the receiver's upper face read "MP-203-24" (implying the existence of other variants, presumably with different-sized tube clusters), "Cal. 12x76" (implying that the weapon can chamber standard 12-gauge 3" magnums in addition to its specialty belted shells (an idea backed up by the markings on the magazines), or possibly that these sorts of belted shells have become the industry standard in whatever future year this thing hails from), and "Made in Russia", implying that the MP-203 is sold on the export market.
Finally giving in and aiming properly (the Leupold LCO red-dot sight comes in the weapon's case, since it lacks irons), and letting some slugs fly at a distant Recursive encryption; the relatively low cyclic rate of the full-auto mode makes long-range use less idiotic than it may initially sound (especially given the sheer size of the target in question).
MPS AA-12 CQB
Update #55 added the much-demanded MPS AA-12 shotgun, specifically the short-barreled "CQB" model.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you have all been waiting for..."
Loading in a magazine at an angle that, if nothing else, can at least be excused by temporary blindness.
Taking aim; the sights aren't terribly precise, but then again, it
is a fully-automatic shotgun. "Precise" isn't a word that would be used to describe it.
Blasting a target with 8 shells' worth of buckshot.
Of course, if 8 shells isn't enough...
...then 20 shells should be.
MTs255
The MTs255 revolving shotgun was added to the game in the first Meatmas update, interestingly categorized amongst the break-action shotguns (presumably on the basis that it pivots its chambers open for direct loading and extraction, in addition to the lack of a better place for it). 2 variants are available - a standard full-length version, and a version with a sawn-off barrel and stock.
Admiring the MTs255 in the indoor range.
...and loading in some shells.
Shutting the shotgun with a rather ill-advised flick of the wrist. Or rather, a flick of both wrists, considering the weapon's 2-handed nature.
Taking aim at a target through the MTs's rather simple notch-and-post sights.
Ejecting a set of spent shells from the shotgun. And with that, we say goodbye to MTs255 Senior...
...and hello to his lovely son MTs255 Junior.
Loading the cut-down shotgun with an interesting assortment of shells: from top to bottom, there's a buckshot shell, a Dragon's Breath shell, a "Triple Hit" shell, a slug shell, and a "SWAG-12" fragmenting shell.
Making the same mistake as with the full-length MTs, and snapping the cylinder back into place.
Firing; this is the result of the Dragon's Breath shell, which is rather underwhelming in broad daylight.
Pancor Jackhammer
The Pancor Jackhammer was added in Update #93. According to the developer, the mechanics were "gameified" for simplicity, given that the model is based on a toolroom prototype that had to be disassembled in order to reload. This means that the cylinder magazine is simply inserted into the magwell, and the firing mechanism is closer to a double action revolver; the charging handle isn't used, and the fire selector is limited to semi-auto fire.
Pancor Jackhammer (toolroom prototype) - 12 gauge
Examining the Jackhammer in the aesthetically-fitting hallways of Take & Hold: Containment.
The resultant image harkens back to a bygone era of shooters, where the whole game took up less disk space than the sum of all this article's images - and we thought that was a lot.
Taking a look at one of the Jackhammer's "cassettes" (not to be confused with the actual cassettes that were used back in the aforementioned era of games); from a mechanical standpoint, this is a detachable revolver cylinder (which means that, in-game, it re-uses a fair chunk of the
SIX12's code).
Stuffing the cylinder into the Jackhammer; this is a fairly finnicky process, even when you aren't pulling the gun off the bottom of the screen to reload.
Aiming through the weapon's simple v-notch/post irons while skulking around the obligatory vent/pipe area. Fun fact: the first FPS game to feature usable iron sights was
Operation Flashpoint, back in 2001. Which will only make you feel older the longer this caption stays up.
Paying homage to an even older era of shooters and holding the gun at the bottom-center of the screen pointed up; this also reveals the top rail, something added to the model more for gameplay than to be authentic to the real deal.
(Look, in my defense, it looked like it was centered when I was looking through both eyes. It's not my fault that the recording software only uses your left eye's view.)
Abruptly remembering to turn off the safety (which can, as mentioned, only go to safe or semi-auto)...
...and getting back to business. Which, in this case, means having the gun take up most of the bottom-right corner of the screen with no hands on it, and blasting away some early-game enemies point-blank.
Honestly, this one doesn't really show off anything new; I just thought that the red light made it look cool. Let's see, is there any trivia I can put here... oh, right! That ribbed handguard wasn't actually an original part of the design; it's actually an
MP5SD forend that was put on by a movie prop house that bought the gun, because the original forend was too smooth to work easily. Which brings up another worthwhile point: the forend is actually a sort of forwards-working pump handle that can be used to cock the weapon (or cycle it when it jammed, which it did quite often), though this functionality isn't represented in-game.
Having
remembered to bring a cassette full of SWAG-12 shells found the special easter-egg version that fires grenades, the protagonist whose name is probably only in the manual quickly gets to work insta-gibbing some Weinerbots. They never stood a chance. Just like our youth.
Remington 870 Express Tactical Magpul
Added in Update #52, the "Express 870", as it's known in-game, is a Remington 870 Express Tactical Magpul with tan furniture.
Remington 870 Express Tactical Magpul - 12 gauge
Inspecting the Remington 870 Express Tactical Magpul. Note the curious addition of the number 11 on the side of the receiver; this is most likely meant as some sort of armory/rack number.
The other side of the... y'know what, I'm not going to type out that ridiculously long set of words again. If you still don't understand what it is after the fourth time, then you just aren't going to.
Chambering a Dragon's Breath shell. While shotguns are generally regarded as being good for room-clearing, it's usually understood that doing so requires actually firing the shotgun first.
The Sosigs having realized this and returned, one finds the player character engaging in the rather unorthodox practice of attempting the
"bandit shooting" technique with a pump-action shotgun, which completely defeats its point.
Having come to their senses, said player character is soon merrily blasting the Sosigs with the now-correctly-oriented shotgun. The Dragon's Breath round is rather interesting: it is filled with pieces of magnesium, which catch fire as they fly through the air, and start fires where they land, as seen here. Due to the round's low pressure and high cost, coupled with international regulations on the use of incendiary munitions on human beings (and the risk of setting things on fire by accident), these incendiary shells aren't used in any sort of martial capacity, and are largely a civilian novelty.
Aiming the shotgun at a couple of
Molotov cocktails bottles of Frank's Fantastic Festively Fragrant And Fiercely Flavorful Fancy Fire Fluid. These are an Update #59 addition, as is this scene (the Proving Grounds), the Sosig, the beginnings of a fire system (which renders the Dragon's Breath rounds far more useful), and the rear sight on this shotgun and the TAC-14 DM below (both previously having a smooth, blank receiver).
Firing (heh), which has predictable consequences.
Ejecting the freshly-fired shell. While not seen here, the player character's expression of giddy satisfaction is somewhat dimmed by their newfound lack of eyebrows.
Remington 870 Field Gun
The Meatmas Update of 2016 added a Remington 870 Field Gun with a cut-down barrel, which heavily compromises the so-called "Field Gun's" effectiveness at its eponymous intended purpose. Update #46 added two additional variants, one with a sawn-off stock and one with a full-length barrel; it also made the latter one of the available weapons for SWBs. Rather strangely, all of the player-dedicated variants have Mossberg 500-style safeties along with the 870-styled ones (with the former taking priority, as it is the one that visually moves when the safety is toggled), which led to its item spawner designation of "MB500".
Remington 870 Field Gun with shortened barrel - 12 gauge
Examining the truncated 870.
While not the sawn-off Remington of
legend, it is still fairly cool.
Especially considering the presence of a stock.
Loading the 870; it can hold 4 shells in the tube, plus one in the chamber.
Aiming; this being a sawn-off shotgun, there aren't any sights to render this activity worthwhile.
Blasting the target to smithereens. Well, not really, but it's more fun to think so.
Reloading the now-empty shotgun, straight through the ejection port this time.
Sawn-off Remington 870 - 12 gauge
Taking a look at the even shorter Remington...
Remington 870 Field Gun (full-length) - 12 gauge
Remington 870 MCS
Update #92 added a Remington 870 MCS in Entry configuration, increasing the total number of 870 variants in the game to an impressive 5 (or 7, if the 3 different lengths of Field Gun are counted separately).
Remington 870 MCS Entry - 12 gauge
Preparing for some breach-and-clear action with the... hang on, excuse me for a moment...
"Hey, you. When I said "lights, camera, action", I meant it. Now get off your lazy rear and gimme some damn lighting or I'll have you on the street so fast your teeth will spin."
Ah, much better... right, as I was saying, preparing for some real, authentic, definitely-not-staged breach-and-clear action with the MCS.
...and tossing a single specialty shell into the chamber.
...shoving some buckshot into the tube...
Disengaging the familiar crossbolt safety...
"...huh? Whaddaya mean you're supposed to do that last? Eh, screw it, not worth wasting film for a retake. Just have the boys in Post put the shots in order.
...nah, you're overthinking it. I'm sure they'll make the dialogue work. And they'll edit all this stuff out, too, if they know what's good for 'em."
Checking
all the angles, just like the real SWAT guys do. ...because I am one. Yep, I'm acting like one because I am one. Just... felt that that was worth pointing out.
Rushing into the room, and BOOM, SURPRISE CANNONBALL FLASHBANG! Haha, bet you weren't expecting that that was what I chamberloaded earlier, huh?
"...derivative? What're you talking about? ...the KSG section did it first? They can't do that? Sue them, or something!"
Pumping the shotgun, blasting a Sosig with buckshot, and cycling it again. DISCLAIMER: No Sosigs were harmed in the making of this section. That mustard is fake. As are the chunks of the Sosig's head. And the absence of its head.
Remington 870 TAC-14
Update #90 added a Remington 870 TAC-14, a variant of the 870 with a 14" barrel and a Shockwave Industries Raptor grip, a configuration which allows it to evade NFA regulations regarding short-barreled shotguns by legally not being classified as anything other than a "firearm" (i.e. neither a rifle nor a shotgun nor a pistol). It is known as the "T14 Custom" in-game, alluding to it being modified with a non-standard magazine tube cap, an aftermarket set of sights, and the forend of a Weatherby PA 459.
Remington 870 TAC-14 - 12 gauge
Weatherby PA 459 Tactical - 12 gauge
Out at the range with the TAC-14; the marking on the receiver reads "12 GA 2 3/4" OR 3" SHELLS".
The sole marking on this side, meanwhile, is a serial number.
Running a different gun's forend back, and loading the first shell into the chamber. Note that the forend is long enough to cover the loading gate when pulled back, making it impossible to load the chamber and magazine tube simultaneously as with other tube-fed shotguns.
Shoving an additional 4 into the tube, through the now-not-floppy loading gate.
Taking a close look at the legally-not-a-shotgun's crossbolt safety.
Aiming at one of Update #90's improved indoor range targets, this one being a "splatter"-style bullseye target.
Firing; as one would expect of a short-barreled shotgun with no stock, it likes to jump around.
Cycling a shell out of the Remington; note that the holes in the target are marked by a "splatter" of the target's green base color, appropriate for a target of this type.
Remington 870 TAC-14 DM
The later detachable-magazine-fed variant of the Remington 870, the 870 DM, was added in Update #52 under the name "CQB 870"; as with the later-added-but-above "T14 Custom", it is in the TAC-14 configuration. The one in-game is also presumably either modified or broken, seeing as it is capable of slam-fire, unlike a normal 870.
Remington 870 TAC-14 DM - 12 gauge
The new kid on the block.
A closer look at the 870, giving a good look at the magazine well that takes the place of a normal 870's loading port.
The other side, which gives a view of the bolt and ejection port.
Loading a magazine into the 870 DM.
Taking advantage of the 870's seemingly broken trigger group, and letting loose with a barrage of 12 gauge shells.
A later update added a ghost-ring rear sight to the shotgun, much to the relief of anyone trying to use it past, say, 50 meters. Note the receiver markings; being made by the same artist who made the aforementioned Express model, it uses the same receiver, hence the "Pump Action - EXPRESS" marking that's partially covered by the magazine well. The hard-to-make-out marking to the right of that is "19019182", presumably a serial number.
Trying out the new sights. The blue/red contrast is an unusual, yet satisfying combination.
Celebrating this new discovery in the world of color palettes with the gratuitously dramatic ejection of a spent shell, and the simultaneous viewing of a new one getting chambered.
Remington Model 11
The Remington Model 11 was added in Update #52; its first introduction was in the Valentine's Day alpha build. It is referred to in-game as an Auto-5, but lacks a magazine cutoff.
Remington Model 11 - 12 gauge
The left side of the Model 11, which shows off the engravings (and the lack of a magazine cutoff, distinguishing it from the
Browning Auto-5 upon which the Model 11 is based)...
...and the right side, which shows off some of the working bits.
Locking the bolt to the rear.
Chamberloading the Model 11.
Loading the other 4 shells into the magazine tube.
Aiming the shotgun, showing off its simple bead sight.
Blasting the paper target with a 12 gauge shell.
Remington Model 1882
Update #52 added a Remington Model 1882 double-barreled shotgun.
Remington Model 1889 - 12 gauge. Similar to the Model 1882.
Modern indoor range, meet classic rabbit-ear shotgun.
Taking a look at the stock, which has a brass badge attached to the side.
Cocking the left hammer. The right was soon to follow.
Aiming the 1882. There's nothing but a simple bead sight available for this purpose.
2 shots later, and it's time to eject some shells.
Remington V3 TAC-13
The Remington V3 TAC-13 semi-auto shotgun was added in Update #90, under the name "VT13"; like the 870 TAC-14s above, the purpose of this specific configuration is to be legally considered a "firearm" in the US, and nothing more.
Remington V3 TAC-13 - 12 gauge
Examining the fancy new shotgun in the very,
very not-new Arcade Proto scene.
Those swooping lines don't do anything, by the way; they're just there to look cool.
Speaking of looking cool, turn the V3 over to look at the bottom, and watch as it becomes one with the gray futuristic minimalism.
Oh, and you can check whether or not the safety's on. That too.
Loading a shell into the TAC-13...
...and pulling the charging handle to chamber it. Note how the loading gate/carrier pivots upward to lift the shell into the chamber; this was another part of Update #90's improvements to loading gates.
Drawing a quick, less-than-stellar bead on an encroaching cube...
...and blasting it with some flechettes.
Quickly finding one 5+1 shotgun insufficient, our futurist cube-slayer turns to the age-old solution:
more gun.
Saiga 12
A Saiga 12 with a side-folding stock is one of the available firearms in-game, added through Update #40. It can use either factory 5-round magazines, aftermarket 12-round box magazines, or aftermarket 20-round drums.
A beautiful piece of Russian engineering.
The other side. Note that the safety is on; this is standard for weapons in
H3 when they are first spawned.
Fiddling with the folding stock, while trying to ignore the ever-invasive options panel.
Loading in a 5-round magazine.
Loading in a 12-round magazine...
...before performing a rather strange tactical reload.
Of course, if 12 rounds isn't enough for you...
Preparing to affix a somewhat undersized SilencerCo Osprey suppressor.
A suppressor which, of course, re-scales itself to match the Saiga's barrel, as seen in this demonstration of a complete and utter failure to understand the concept of a "target".
Sawn-off Double Barreled Shotgun
There are 5 main varieties of Sawed-off Double Barrel Shotgun in-game. The first (and also one of the first weapons added to the game, back when the game was just Anton Hand's experiment grounds and not even named H3VR yet) was the so-called "Cartoon 8 Gauge", which sounds downright painful, the second is a more reasonable 12-gauge version (seen below), and the 3rd is the same as the second, except sawn down to Killing Them Softly-level absurdity (albeit unlike that movie's shotgun, this one also has the grip sawn down even further than the standard version), which, predictably, makes the spread somewhere between hilarious and pitiful. The fourth, added with Update #52, is an 1864 Wells Fargo stagecoach shotgun with external hammers and shell loops on the forend. The fifth, added in the first major bug-fix patch of Update #98, is a Meat Fortress-styled sawn-off, rather appropriately called the "Big Boomer"; it is a classic video-gamey "super shotgun", with a massive spread, ludicrous power (due to it, in a display of one-upmanship over the OG, firing 2-gauge shells), and a single trigger that fires both barrels at once.
Remington Spartan Sawed Off shotgun - 12 gauge
While shooting at the range, the urge to rant to "
primitive screw heads" is differed by the lack of other range patrons.
Aiming the shotgun, using its complete lack of sights...
...before bringing the paper range target to its inevitable
Doom.
Two shots fired, 2 shells ejected.
Ultra-short sawed-off
A close look at the ultra-short version's muzzle.
Loading in some #4 Buckshot shells...
...which are precisely flush with the ends of the barrels.
The spread pattern of the shotgun. The radius of its spread is approximately half of the user's distance from the target.
Seeing as the shells are perfectly flush with the muzzle when unfired, when they're fired, the opened-up crimps of the shells actually extend past the barrels.
Ejecting the fired shells from one of the shotguns.
"The OG"
Originally identified as the "Cartoon 8 Gauge", before being removed in Update #52 and brought back in Update #98, "The OG" takes its name from its status as one of the first firearms implemented in the earliest prototype stages of what would later become H3VR. While 8-gauge break-action shotguns do exist, they were primarily used as hunting/field guns, and fell out of favor due to the development of more powerful smokeless powders in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; at any rate, nobody in their right mind would've produced a stockless sawn-off version like this one. The only current-production 8-gauge shotguns are used as industrial tools (and are legally regulated as such, rather than being considered firearms), such as Remington's Master Blaster; these used to blast away built-up material from the inside of various machines (e.g. coal ash or lime in rotary kilns, slag in blast furnaces, etc.).
Of course, all of the above becomes moot when you realize that, based on the size of the rounds, this is actually a 3 gauge shotgun. Accordingly, the renamed re-introduction as updated to better match this absurd caliber, with updated sound effects, tremendous damage output, and recoil strong enough to physically push the player character backwards.
The "Cartoon 8 Gauge", in all of its glory. The current location may be a nod to the Master Blaster's application, but the MB is mounted on a stand and fired by a cable for
very obvious reasons.
Loading some utterly massive shells into the weapon's breech...
...before annihilating everything in front of the weapon, along with the user's wrist.
The amount of smoke produced by this weapon (and the fact that our invisible protagonist is still standing) lends itself to the likelihood that the 8-gauge rounds are using weaker black powder rather than modern smokeless powder.
Removing the spent shells from the shotgun, vowing never to do that again.
Here it is, folks - back, and just as cartoony as ever. That hole in the frame was always there; don't worry about it.
Taking aim at a bench, with the shotgun a fair bit closer in than is strictly comfortable...
...before being saved from a broken face by the fact that the OG, like all of
H3's weaponry, spawns empty.
Emptying the weapon of its emptiness, and shoving in some 3-gauge shotgun shells. That's nearly 30 millimeters, and it's packed to the brim with about 1/3 of a pound (over 150 grams) of 00 buck.
Heeding absolutely none of the above warnings about possible facial damage, and blasting the bench with "some" (read: "lots of") conspicuously bright 00 buck pellets.
Of course, there is another use for the OG apart from bench-blasting:
One rather unsatisfying in-flight meal later, we're back on the ground to show off the other, other new feature of the OG: automatic ejectors. Convenient, isn't it?
1864 Wells Fargo
Sawn-off Rossi Overland SBS Shotgun - 12 gauge. Similar to the weapon in-game.
Putting some shells into the cloth loops on the forend. Just in case.
Loading in a pair of shells.
A close-up of the 1864's trigger group, showing off some of the wear and scratching. As to be expected for a firearm of this vintage.
Cocking the left hammer...
...before blowing away the
paper target charging bandit, vowing to defend this
range booth stagecoach to the very last.
Having dealt with the would-be stagecoach robber, the guard ejects the spent shells from his shotgun.
"Big Boomer"
Let's step it up a notch, shall we?
That shot doesn't really give a reference point for size; to remedy that, here it is next to the sawn-off 12 gauge above.
Comparing their muzzles drives the point home even further - this is, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a comically massive shotgun.
Cracking open the Big Boomer; it holds the honor of being the game's first shotgun with modeled ejectors.
Loading in a couple of the weapon's massive 2-gauge shells - that's over 33 and a half millimeters, putting it solidly into punt gun territory.
As one would expect, such a massive shotgun can do some impressive things, to the point that it borders on magical. See the entire top half of this Sniper?
With both shells now being spent, the automatic ejectors can be put to good use. Note that, like the other Meat Fortress rounds, the 2-gauge shells have struck primers.
Taking a trip over to the Proving Grounds to show just how absurd this weapon can be, in a game we like to call "Bowling for Sosigs"! The rules are simple: aim your old-school-FPS super-shotgun (like a proper old-school FPS - i.e. as centered as you can manage) at a triangularly-arranged group of 6 Sosigs...
...smack yourself in the face with the player-pushing recoil...
...and see how many you can hit - this shot was a strike, hitting every single one of the Sosigs, and killing all but one. What makes this more impressive is the relatively low pellet count; as the bullet trails show, each 2-gauge shell only contains 3 projectiles, so they managed to go 6 for 6 here.
"Scalpel-LE"
The 23rd gift added in the Meatmas 2018 event was a fictional shotgun known as the "Scalpel-LE". Created by 3D artist Patrick Sutton (who'd created several of H3's assets prior), it is a compact, stockless, magazine-fed fully-automatic shotgun reminiscent of the "Bolters" from the Warhammer 40K universe, similar to the earlier-added "KWG1"; unlike the KWG1, however, the Scalpel is a completely fictional creation (rather than being based on an image of unknown provenance), and fires from an open bolt. Visually, it appears to be primarily based on the Heckler & Koch UMP, with a full-hand trigger guard like that of rifles such as the Steyr AUG or the Tavor, a TDI Vector-esque folding charging handle, and an AR-15-like dustcover; it feeds from drum magazines that lock into a full-length guide rail on the front of the trigger guard, in a manner seemingly inspired by the AA-12.
On a sidenote, the name is somewhat bizarre; the word "Scalpel" implies precision, something that a fully-automatic shotgun about the size of a compact SMG doesn't exactly possess, and the suffix "LE" usually stands for "Law Enforcement", despite a stockless automatic shotgun hardly being standard fare for most police departments. Then again, the "LE" could also stand for something else entirely (e.g. "Limited-Edition"); the name may have also been chosen specifically for its nonsensical, ironic nature.
Heckler & Koch UMP45 - .45 ACP
Well, of course that's where it's from. Who else would create such a device?
Loading in a drum magazine; each one holds 15 rounds. These come loaded with the game's "SWAG-12" high-explosive shells, presumably to further their Bolter-like nature. Note the recoil spring, visible through the charging handle slot.
Fully inserting the drum causes a spring-loaded tab at the front to snap over it. This isn't the actual magazine catch (that role instead falling to the large, serrated paddle at the front of the trigger guard); based on its position, it seems to be there to stop the drum from indexing backwards (note how it sits in direct contact with the series of notches in the front of the drum).
Pausing for a moment to admire the quality of 'Murican engineering.
The shotgun's other side, which shows off the dustcover.
Pulling back the (reciprocating) folding charging handle...
...which causes the dustcover to pop up. Like the
Armalite designs it's based on, this dustcover opens whenever the bolt goes back sufficiently far, and stays open until the user manually closes it.
Of course, no open-bolt weapon would be complete without a safety.
In the Scalpel's case, this consists of a 2-position crossbolt large enough that it could probably be used as an actual crossbolt door lock. Not that that's a bad thing; after all, "subtle" isn't exactly the first word that comes to mind when looking at this gun.
Unloading at a hot dog standee. With it being 1. a shotgun, 2. fully-automatic, 3. open-bolt, 4. stockless, 5. short-barreled, 6. loaded with high-explosive ammunition, and 7. not equipped with sights of any sort whatsoever, there's basically no reason to even bother aiming.
"Scattergun"
One of two shotguns added in the Team Fortress 2-crossover update "Meat Fortress" was the "Scattergun", a recreation of that game's Scout's weapon of the same name; as in that game, it is a work of fiction, combining a pair of short, side-by-side barrels with rifle sights with a stockless lever-action receiver vaguely reminiscent of the Savage 99, with a 6-round drum magazine in the middle. Unlike its source material, however, the H3VR incarnation of the Scattergun is actually somewhat mechanically plausible, being treated as 2 separate actions operated by a common lever, rather than a semi-auto that could somehow be reloaded by working the action and ejecting spent shells without inserting any new ones.
In case you couldn't understand the written description, here's a visual one.
Doesn't really make much more sense, but that's just how it is.
Loading the Scattergun through a port on the bottom of the drum. This port is actually present on the original model, though it's never used for anything, and the in-game animations virtually never reveal its existence to the player; it had to be widened for
H3's model, since it was far too small to fit any meaningfully-sized shell on the original version. The shell being loaded is specific to this weapon, and is supposedly 13 gauge.
Working the Scattergun's action, revealing some shells in line for chambering; the ejection port was, like the loading port, widened for the sake of realism. Of note is that 2 shells can be loaded after doing this, giving the weapon a 6+2 capacity.
Firing off a couple of shots in quick succession.
2 shots makes 2 shells, both of which are ejected simultaneously.
Attempting to aim at an Engineer Sosig, which reveals a bit of a problem: the Scattergun's rifle-type iron sights are too short to see over its fixed drum magazine. To be fair, it's not like they were ever intended to be usable anyway.
As such, aiming the Scattergun is best accomplished by tilting it up slightly, and aiming with the front sight exclusively, in a
rather familiar manner.
When doing so, be sure to aim below your target; after all, you are pointing the thing upwards.
"Duckhunter"
A full-length version of the Scattergun, called the "Duckhunter," was added in Update #93. Besides adding a stock and longer barrel, the gun also features a tighter choke and functional iron sights. Both guns share the same ammo, including the new ammo types added in the same update.
The Duckhunter, a gun that would likely live up to its name, if only the game had any ducks to hunt.
On the flipside, you see the exact same ejection port as the scattergun.
Loading some 13 gauge Buckaroo, the equivalent of 00 Buckshot.
Racking the lever to load two shells into the two barrels.
Taking aim with the Duckhunter's thankfully useable iron sights.
And aiming with the iron sights is helped by the gun's chokes, as the grouping for the buckshot is a lot tighter than on the scattergun.
The other two "normal" 13 gauge shells are "Sluggers", which are slug shells...
...and "Bleeders", which are flechette shells.
Another shell is the "Blooper"...
...which creates a smoke cloud.
The last is the "Moonshot." At first glance, this appears to just be a slightly different buckshot.
However, this shell packs a special punch, as when aiming towards the ground...
...the player is launched into the air!
Serbu Super Shorty
A Remington 870-based Serbu Super Shorty is one of the weapons added in the first Meatmas update. 2 variants are available: a normal, clean version, and a "tacticool" version, complete with a door-breaching muzzle brake, a rail mount, and a set of spare shell holders that hold more shells than the gun itself does.
Serbu Super Shorty (Remington 870-based) - 12 gauge
A pair of Super Shorties lying on a table.
Taking a look at the clean, normal version...
...and the tacticool version.
Deciding that, since this version has a higher number written on the side, it obviously must be better, our handless friend loads in some shells. And by "some", we mean 2.
Plus an extra one, provided that there's one in the chamber.
Placing some shells in the shell holders. What's that old expression again? "A ten-gallon hat on a one-quart head"?
...and working the action...
...before remembering to actually make use of the top-mounted rail.
Celebrating this new development in actually-having-a-chance-of-hitting-your-target technology by loading a shell directly into the chamber.
After a long day of shooting, our friend decides to set the shotguns down, and go home to massage his aching nonexistent wrists.
"Shotgun"
The second of the two shotguns added with the release of "Meat Fortress" was a recreation of TF2's "Shotgun", loosely based on a sawn-off Ithaca 37 (albeit with a left-handed ejection port, instead of the Ithaca's combined loading/ejection port).
Airsoft Ithaca 37 with sawn-off stock and barrel - (fake) 12 gauge
The
TF2 shotgun, in all of its glory. It's simple, but that can be a good thing.
...and taking a peek inside. Unlike the original model, which had nothing but a black, featureless void inside, the
H3VR rework has a fully-modeled bolt, barrel, and various other internal bits.
Loading a slightly too-long shell into the action; this is the same 23x75mmR shell used by the
KS-23M in-game, serving as a placeholder for a proprietary shell added in a later build.
Stuffing a few more 23mm shells into the magazine tube. This was, incidentally, one of the few external parts of the original model that was modified; it was slightly too narrow on the original model, and was widened a tad for this version.
"Aiming" the Shotgun; there being no sights whatsoever on the weapon, this essentially amounts to point-shooting.
Not that that stops you from hitting things with it.
Cycling the Shotgun, while observing effect-on-target; yes, it did indeed reduce a Soldier Sosig's torso to a mess of meat chunks and mustard with a single shot. 23mm shotgun shells'll do that to ya...
Loading up the finalized version of the shotgun with its proprietary yellow 7 gauge shells. These are about the same diameter as the 23mm placeholders, but substantially shorter.
And yes, even the Shotgun can take suppressors; this one is a non-railed version of the
Brügger & Thomet MP9's special suppressor, expanded to fit the weapon's colossal bore.
Also like the other
TF2 weapons, the Shotgun's projectiles produce massive amounts of sparks upon hitting something. While this is noticeable with the rest of the weapons, the Shotgun's spread of pellets makes the effect a fair bit more impressive.
On the topic of impressive things, the Shotgun's special Update #83 suppressor certainly qualifies. From a visual standpoint, it seems to be based on the SilencerCo Salvo 12, albeit with a bit more of a toolroom aesthetic to it, somewhat reminiscent of
the other Anton's. Also note here that the bolt is now black like in
TF2, instead of matching the receiver's colour as in the other screenshots.
Side-By-Side Double-Barreled Shotgun
Update #85's 4th alpha build added the "Hammerless Long", a 12-gauge side-by-side break-action shotgun of unknown manufacture; this was partly in response to some user requests for a hammerless SxS shotgun, as the only side-by-sides available prior to this were either rabbit-eared, sawn-off, or both.
Stevens side-by-side shotgun (1960s-era) - 12 gauge
Out at the Friendly45 range once again, this time armed with something a bit more suitable for conventional skeet shooting.
It's not an exact match for the reference image, but that's just how things are sometimes.
Cracking open the shotgun.
Loading in some shells; seeing as this alpha build did not add birdshot (nor did any of the prior updates), #4 buck will have to do.
To compensate, regulation-sized clay pigeons are often replaced with non-regulation-sized clay pots.
Attempting to force regulatory compliance on said pots has thus far met with limited success.
Popping out a pair of shells in neat, orderly fashion.
If, on the other hand, you're prioritizing quick unloading over any sort of reloading, the PhysX engine's eternally-baffling hinge physics have got your back.
Sjögren
Added in the fifth alpha build of Update #85, the Sjögren inertia-operated shotgun expands H3's roster of semi-auto shotguns, and serves as a second option in the category for Cowweiner Calico. Two variants are available - there's the full-length "Sjogren Inertial", and the sawn-off "Sjogren Shorty".
Admiring the Sjögren. A bit odd-looking, but quite functional - so much so, in fact, that its inertia-operated action served as the basis for the
Heckler & Koch Model 512, and perhaps more notably, the subsequent
Benelli Super 90 series.
Oh, and here's the rest of it.
Loading in some flechette shells; aside from being an amusingly odd choice for such an old shotgun, these are here to point out that they got a damage buff in this update. Neat.
Racking the Sjögren's distinctive exposed bolt carrier to chamber a shell.
Aiming at a distant steel plate...
...and remembering to turn the safety off.
Shooting something else; it's a bit hard to say what exactly it is, since the shotgun's vertical recoil and aforementioned bolt carrier can make it a bit hard to see what you've just shot. Granted, this is not usually a problem, since you're really supposed to know what you're shooting at
before you shoot it.
Oh. It was a Slicer. Good to know.
Blasting a Sosig with a sawn-off Sjögren, presumably to stop him from pointing out how terrible of a choice it is to saw off a Sjögren.
Reloading the now-empty sawn-off; the open-sided receiver makes chamberloading rather easy. It also makes it possible to shove rounds into the magazine tube from the top (or into the chamber from the bottom), though attempting either of these things with a real Sjögren is probably not a very good idea.
Stevens Model 520
Update #85's first alpha build gave the Stevens Model 520 its first known video game appearance, going by the name "Hammerless520" (without a space, as is the case for many of the game's weapon names). Apart from the standard version (which appears to be a Riot model), a "Short" model with a sawn-off stock and barrel and a receiver-mounted shell holder is also available. Like the Remington 870 TAC-14 DM above and the Winchester Model 1897 below, the 520 is capable of slam-firing (though it wasn't initially; this feature was added in the following update); it was added in part to complement the latter, as the also-Update #85-added Take & Hold character Grumpy GI Grayson (who uses WWI/WWII-era equipment) previously had very little in the way of tube-fed shotguns.
Stevens Model 520 Riot Gun - 12 gauge
Here it is, a brand-new Model 520, complete with its gorgeous-looking polished finish.
Impressive for a shotgun that's been out of production for over 110 years, no?
Loading in some shells full of No. 2 buckshot - compared to the bog-standard 00 buck, the No. 2 has more pellets (18 instead of 10), but each one is correspondingly lighter, and thus less damaging.
Not that it really matters when you're punching holes in paper.
Racking the shotgun at a rather unusual angle. Would you believe me if I told you that this shot wasn't taken left-handed?
The sawn-off variant of the 520 looks about how you'd expect it to. But this isn't just any ordinary sawn-off shotgun...
...it's a rainbow sawn-off shotgun! Since, as we all know, rainbows go "pink-orange-yellow-green-blue-America".
Looking further back on the shotgun reveals another important bit.
Take a guess as to what it is. I'll give you a hint: it starts with an "S" and rhymes with "zafety".
Chambering another type of shell, flechette, since we all know that the seventh color of the rainbow is "light gray".
After teaching a couple of Sosigs just what these "little arrows" can do, another shell gets chamberloaded; the pink color denotes this as a flare.
The results are... a bit underwhelming.
There, that's more like it!
Techno Arms MAG-7
The Techno Arms MAG-7 was added on day 5 of the Meatmas 2020 Advent Calendar event. It is the second magazine-fed pump-action shotgun in the game, and the first to use 12 gauge 2.3622 shells (referred to as "12 gauge short" in-game).
MAG-7 - 12 gauge (2.3622 inch shell)
The MAG-7 in its case, along with a few spare mags, and plenty of spare lowercase "a"s.
Taking a good look at the shotgun, in all its stamped-steel glory. This one's clearly seen some use, as evidenced by the wear marks along the forend's path, though it's otherwise in rather good nick.
Loading in a mag full of its proprietary shells; these are (currently) only available in one variety, #1 buckshot.
...and chambering a shell. Note the "MAG-7 M1" markings; this indicates that the in-game MAG-7 is actually a civilian-market MAG-7M1 with a shortened barrel and no stock, rather than than a factory-produced MAG-7; the same goes for the gun in the reference image, coincidentally enough.
Disengaging the weapon's rather large safety lever.
Attempting to sight up a Sosig; while the large notch-and-post irons are easy enough to read for close-range shots, the lack of a stock makes holding a steady sight picture on a moving target rather tricky.
The fact that the front end of the gun jumps high enough to obscure said target whenever you fire doesn't help matters either.
Still, in the right situations, it can make short work of any enemy's head, mechanical or otherwise.
Ejecting a shell; note that, like some of the game's other rounds, the short 12-gauge shells correctly have struck primers.
As tempting as it is to use the MAG-7 one-handed, it's really not a great idea; apart from the heavy recoil...
...there's also the rather obvious fact that it's pump-action, forcing the user to do some rather creative one-handed gun-juggling to work the action. On the plus side, this does at least eliminate one of the main risks of using the MAG-7 properly; the fact that the pump slides all the way back to the trigger guard means that anyone who tries to exercise proper trigger discipline while cycling it will wind up whacking their trigger finger. Not that this is really an issue in VR, but still.
"The House Key" / "The Car Key"
The fourth alpha build of Update #76 introduced attachable underbarrel shotguns; however, as implementing magazine-fed underbarrel weapons such as the KAC Masterkey would apparently be borderline impossible on the game's standard code-base, the weapons added were a pair of fictional single-shot break-actions, the basis of which appears to have been a Magpul AFG. The two differ only in barrel and frame length; the longer variant is called "The House Key", and the shorter version is called "The Car Key".
Let's see... wallet, check. Cell phone, check. Watch, check. Shoes, check. Egg, check. Kitchen sink, check. House key, check. And car key...
Being a fictional device (and being built off of an aftermarket foregrip), The Car Key isn't paired with any specific weapon; instead, it can be mounted to any available Picatinny rails.
And by "any", we mean
any.
At least giving the
VP9 a suppressor makes the whole thing look a little less ridiculous.
Popping open The Car Key; in a nice touch, the small breech latch at the rear of the barrel actually moves back when this is done.
Loading in a 12-gauge "Freedomfetti" shell. Because, well, why not?
After all, what better way to celebrate an update than to use its own additions to launch some celebratory confetti?
TOZ-106
The 18th gift added in the 2018 Meatmas event was a TOZ-106; this marked two firsts for H3VR, being both its first 20-gauge shotgun, and its first bolt-action one. Bolt action is a fairly rare mechanism for a shotgun, although it is popular in both Russia and Britain to convert cheap bolt-action rifles to small-bore shotguns to make them easier to own legally.
The notorious Blunderbuss lies in wait. A thousand years it has sat, patiently awaiting the day it will be awakened once more, to reinstate its reign of terror over
well-equipped PMCs. And now, that day has come...
Anyway, all references aside, this is a TOZ-106. It's a shotgun. Neat, right?
Opening up the TOZ's stock...
...which doesn't really make it look any less weird.
Flipping the shotgun over only furthers the weapon's oddities, revealing another unusual detail:
The TOZ-106, unlike most shotguns, is bolt-action.
Testing out the rifle-like iron sights, another sign that this gun doesn't really know what it wants to be.
Ejecting a fired shell, and confirming that yes, it's still a bolt-action. No matter how many times you look away, it'll always be a bolt-action. No matter how much you don't want to accept it, no matter how much you try to deny it, no matter how long you wait on it, the TOZ-106 is, and will always be, a bolt-action.
Of note is that the in-game TOZ can be fired with its stock folded; this is at odds with the actual weapon, which has a specially-designed safety device meant to prevent this very thing. The reasoning behind this odd decision is legal in nature; Russian laws regulate a firearm's minimum length in a firing-capable configuration, so folding-stocked weapons must be set up to only be fireable at their legal length. This is also the case for the aforementioned
Saiga 12K, but only in its Russian civilian form.
Though, to be fair, any law-derived firearm feature only lasts as long as the patience of a man with a drill, a file, and nothing to lose.
TOZ-63
A sawn-off version of the TOZ-63 was added in Update #101 for Meatmas 2021. It is the first 16 gauge shotgun added to the game.
Winchester Model 1887
The Winchester Model 1887 was added to H3 with the Wurstworld update, and comes in both full length and sawn-off forms. And yes, it can be spin-cocked a la Terminator 2; in fact, one of Wurstworld's rewards is a T2-themed sawn-off 1887, complete with a darker finish, an extended lever loop with a metal handling plate, and a cut-back trigger guard.
Winchester 1887 - 12 gauge
Taking in the beauty of the Winchester M1887, whilst trying to ignore the work-in-progress nature of the surrounding environment.
A close look at the Winchester. Note the interesting addition of a grasping groove in the forearm, rather like some bolt-action rifles (such as the Mark 1 version of the
M1903 Springfield).
Opening the 1887's action...
...which gives a good look at the weapon's breech and magazine tube.
Loading in a handful of "Triple Hit" shells; these contain 3 miniature slugs, stacked end-to-end. The Winchester in-game correctly holds 5 rounds in the tube and a sixth in the chamber.
Taking aim at a decanter...
...and firing. Note the impressive ricochets; the slugs in the "Triple Hit" shells are apparently coded as being made of tempered steel, which makes them extremely prone to bouncing off of hard objects.
A close-up of the 1887 cycling. The weapon actually correctly shows spent shells being pulled from the chamber before being ejected, and fresh ones being pushed in; the latter is taking place here.
Sawn-off Winchester Model 1887 (Norinco Replica) - 12 gauge
The shortened variant. Note that, curiously, this variant lacks the grasping groove of the standard version.
...before blowing it to pieces. Once again, the ricochet-prone nature of the "Triple Hit" shells makes itself apparent.
Flip-cocking the 1887. This can be done either forwards or backwards, completely regardless of the standard, non-extended lever loop that would be liable to break the user's fingers were they to attempt to do such a thing. But this is a game with "Hot Dog" in the name, so we'll let it slide.
Another angle, showing a new shell being chambered.
Rather fitting that a weapon that comes at the end of a long series of tasks is found at the end of a table, wouldn't you say?
Loading in some slug shells, whilst reading the weapon's info board; aside from stating its (full) name, period of production, caliber, and capacity, it also includes this little tidbit of "information".
Aiming at a wooden wagon wheel. It's no truck tire, but it'll do.
Blowing the wheel to pieces...
...and, of course, performing the legendary flip-cock. In the words of many a Twitch stream commenter: "
ADMIN, HE'S DOING IT SIDEWAYS!"
Winchester Model 1897
Update #52's impressive list of new firearms includes the Winchester Model 1897, in its famous military "Trench Gun" configuration. It is correctly capable of slam-fire, and holds an appropriate 5 rounds in the tube plus one in the chamber.
Winchester Model 1897 "Trench Gun" - 12 gauge
Taking in the beauty of a century-old shotgun.
The other side, showing off the ejection port.
As above, but with the action open. Note the bolt protruding from the rear of the receiver, and the shell lifter coming out of the bottom; both of these are correct for the weapon.
Loading a 12 gauge buckshot round into the 1897's chamber...
...before putting another 5 in the tube magazine.
Practicing some trench-sweeping, and firing all 6 shots without letting go of the trigger.
Click here to return to the main index page, or click here to view the game's assault rifles.
Join our Discord!
.jpg)
