A shotgun (also known as a scattergun,[1] or historically as a fowling piece) is

a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the
energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a
solid projectile called a slug. Shotguns come in a wide variety of sizes, ranging from
5.5 mm (.22 inch) bore up to 5 cm (2.0 in) bore, and in a range of firearm operating
mechanisms, including breech loading, single-barreled, double or combination
gun, pump-action, bolt-, and lever-action, revolver, semi-automatic, and even fully
automatic variants.
A shotgun was originally a smoothbore firearm, which means that the inside of the
barrel is not rifled but later rifled shotgun barrels and slugs become available.
Preceding smoothbore firearms, such as the musket, were widely used by armies in
the 18th century. The direct ancestor to the shotgun, the blunderbuss, was also used
in a similar variety of roles from self-defense to riot control. It was often used
by cavalrytroops because of its generally shorter length and ease of use, as well as
by coachmen for its substantial power. In the 19th century, however, these weapons
were largely replaced on the battlefield with breechloading rifled firearms, which
were more accurate over longer ranges. The military value of shotguns was
rediscovered in the First World War, when American forces used 12-gauge pump
action shotgunsin close-quarters trench fighting to great effect. Since then, it has
been used in a variety of roles in civilian, law enforcement, and militaryapplications.
The shot pellets from a shotgun spread upon leaving the barrel, and the power of the
burning charge is divided among the pellets, which means that the energy of any one
ball of shot is fairly low. In a hunting context, this makes shotguns useful primarily for
hunting birds and other small game. However, in a military or law enforcement
context, the large number of projectiles makes the shotgun useful as a close
quarters combat weapon or a defensive weapon. Militants or insurgents may use
shotguns in asymmetric engagements, as shotguns are commonly owned civilian
weapons in many countries. Shotguns are also used for target shooting sports such
as skeet, trap, and sporting clays. These involve shooting clay disks, known as clay
pigeons, thrown in various ways