Shotguns As Anti-Zombie Weapons

[Wraith]

There are a lot of Sources that report that Shotguns are THE BEST anti-zombie weapons.  There is no reason to doubt the effectiveness of the shotguns in this role.  But let's take a further look at the pro's and con's of shotguns as anti-zombie weapons.

Pros: 
1.) Nothing says 'I'm a bad a**' more like the sound of a shotgun slide being racked.  It's great boost to the moral of any member of your survivor group. 
2.) It hits like a truck, and will knock down just about anything. 
3.) Ammo is cheap and/or easy to find.
4.) They are easy to use and do not require a lot of skill to hit anything. 
5.) It can take blow off legs it's not a kill shot but you can slow them down. At very close range you can almost be 100%sure of a headshot. 
6.) Pump shotguns and single shot (double or single barrel) are more reliable than most.

 Cons: 
1.) Unless you are close to your target the chances of getting a headshot are slim. 
2.) The range on a shotgun isn't great for headshot accuracy. Unless you are using specialized ammo then you run into another problem of availability (deer slugs, sabot rounds, ect).
3.) Noise, they make a lot of noise; everyone knows Zombies can be attracted to loud noises, drawing more of them to you. 
4.) Limited ammo, you are going to run out. Most shotguns are not quick to reload or have limited ammo capacity.

 Shotguns make good Anti-Zombie weapons and in certain situations they could be the best.  They might not work well in horde situations, but against small groups it should do fine. 

Blowing the legs off Zombies is pretty darn cool, but kill it off quick if you can.  Zombies without legs will still chase you, just very slowly. Being low to the ground means there is a less likely chance you see them creeping up on you (stealthy zombies).  Getting into or out of a vehicle becomes a risky situation when a hand reaches out to grab you from underneath it. 

 My Preference for shotgun types:  (all are 12 gauge)   

1.) Semi-Auto:  SPAS-12, Remington 11-87, Beretta 1201, and Benelli M4 are good examples of Semi-Auto shotguns.  You can get a good rate of fire
2.) Pump Actions: There are so many to choose from and you can’t go wrong with just about any of them.
3.) Full-Auto: There a few, but most are military only and are hard to get your hands on.  I know, I know, lots of firepower!  But goes through ammo fast, and additional recoil can really screw with your aim.
4.)  Double Barrel:  You have to reload too many times, but can be cut down short for a last ditch easy to carry weapon.

Good Hunting!
Some will disagree, but that's ok.  It makes for good debate. 

[Robin Holmes]

I assume you saw the thirty round auto shotgun? Also, this may be a touch off topic, but I was half considering the effectiveness of a pistol chambered for shotgun rounds. Not as an actual "I'm going to go find one" but as a "Would this work?

[Wraith]

Robin, I have seen a pistol chambered for .410 shotgun rounds.  I think it was 4 or 5 shot.  I'll look later and see if I can find some info on it.

[OVERKILL]

 That was probably a Taurus "Judge" you're thinking of and they are a 5 shot. They can fire a .410 Shotshell or a 45 (long) Colt. I suppose the new models that can accept a 3 inch shell would be the way to go if I were to get one. I'm pretty sure Winchester offers a 3" .410 with 5 pellets of 00, sounds like decent zombie medicine.
 Wraith, welcome to NOZOMBIES! Glad to have such an enthusiastic shotgunner aboard, I've been wondering - what loads does everyone consider minimum for zombies. I'm curious about shot size, ounces of shot, pellet count or anything else you may wish to share.

 Another couple of cons are the size of the cartridges and the weight of the cartridges. About 3 12 Gauge shells take up the same amount of space as an en bloc clip for an M1 Garand, I'll have to weigh them to see the weight difference (if any), but that's a choice you would have to make. Is it worth the decrease in the amount of ammo you can carry for the increase in headshot percentages?
 A couple more items could be addressed, but we'll do that later.

[Wraith]

Hi Overkill,

I think the selection of a 'choke' for the shotgun also could be important.  Open or closed.  It would have an impact on things like range and spread. 

Duckbill choke seems like it might not be a terrible idea.  It was desiged to have the pattern of the pellets spread out in the shape of a fan.  It really reduces the range, but in theory might give you a better chance of a headshot on several targets due to it's flat spread.  That is assuming that you and them are roughly the same height.

I would think buckshot would be the case as opposed to 'birdshot'.  I'm not sure if the pellet size would matter that much.  The smallest buckshot that I know of is No.4 which is about 6mm.  I would think that would be enough to penetrate the human skull.

[Carlos]

It seems like you aren't familiar with anything more than just the standard sized Mossberg 500. My brother has a Remington 870 sportsmans shotgun, and it's accurate to a block away, dead center mass. Some shotguns like the Streepsweeper are only for CQC, as they can tag half of a room with a single shot. The Saiga 12 isn't entirely inaccurate either, and depends on the size barrel.

Last but not least, accuracy and such depends more on how you handle a shotgun than people think. It's the same with most any midsized rifle or shotgun.