Shotgun

A shotgun is a two-handed firearm. Unless you're a real bad-ass, in which case you can sling it around and reload it with one arm. It is a short range weapon that packs a lot of firepower and is ideal for blasting the crap out of those who have pissed you off. It is not recommended as a long range weapon. In such cases where targeting from a distance is required, a high powered rifle makes for a more efficient weapon.

On the CW Network television series Supernatural, the Winchester brothers, Sam and Dean employ shotguns as part of their arsenal of weapons to use against demons, ghosts, vampires and other creatures. Shotguns are particularly useful against ghosts, but only when firing shells filled with rock salt. The Winchesters keep their shotguns in the trunk of their father's 1967 Chevy Impala. Sometimes, they even use one of the guns as a prop rod.

Shotguns make frequent appearances on AMC's The Walking Dead. Although the main character, Rick Grimes, prefers the awesome firepower of his trusty Colt Python, his former partner and friend Shane Walsh was known to use a riot shotgun to annihilate walkers that got too close for comfort.

Notes & Trivia

 * "Shotgun" is also a turn of phrase referring to whomever is sitting in the front passenger seat of a vehicle. The phrase likely originated with the idea of a getaway car, in which one individual would be the driver, leaving the passenger armed with a shotgun so he can lean out the window and fend off pursuing police officers. "Calling shotgun" is a phrase used when one expresses interest in sitting in the front passenger seat.