Strengths and Weaknesses
A standard shotgun shot fires multiple small projectiles at once, increasing the chances of hitting the target. Shotguns have a short effective range of about 50–70 metres (160–230 ft), but provide a lot of firepower at close range. Automatic fire enhances these effects, due to the increase in the rate of fire.
Automatics typically have much shorter barrels than pump-action shotguns (especially hunting shotguns). Barrel length contributes to tighter shot spread, so automatics have relatively wide spread. Short-barreled automatic shotguns have a very high chance of hitting close range targets, and can even hit multiple targets in one area, which is ideal for combat situations. Long-barreled pump action shotguns are more accurate and have increased range, which is ideal for hunting and sporting purposes.
Automatic shotguns are generally viewed as less reliable than manual operation shotguns, because there are more moving parts and increased chances of error. If any one piece fails, it will most likely halt the operation and cause damage to the weapon and/or user. Automatic weapons are also more susceptible to jamming and negative effects from dirtiness.
Read more about this topic: Selective-fire Shotguns
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