what is the difference between a regular full barrel shotgun and a sawed-off or short barrel shotgun And the changes in lethality with its shortening?
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A full size shotgun can mean a barrel length of 24-28″. Cutting it down to minimal length. Easier to hide, easier to move.
Hold a broomstick in front of your shoulder and try to navigate around walls and doors. Now do it with just your arm outstretched.
Shortening the barrel pirmarily makes the shotgun easier to conceal, such as under baggy clothing, or in a bag. This is also why you often see shortened shotguns with no stocks, either.
Shortening the barrel has the effect of reducing the shot velocity slightly, and widening the spread of the shot. These are further tradeoffs in favor of concealability and the ability to get close to your target before firing.
The longer the barrel, the straighter the pellets will go. A short barrel increases the spread of pellets. Shorter the barrel – wider the spread. This makes it easier to hit one or more targets.
A sawed-off shotgun is mostly about concealability and maneuverability, not lethality. It is basically a big pistol. A shorter barrel has a wider spread and lower velocity, so you will do less damage to a single target, but have a greater chance of hitting anything, even multiple targets.
“Sawed off shotgun” sounds more intimidating and badass than they actually are. As others have pointed out, in terms of ballistic effectiveness a shorter barrel actually means less projectile velocity and thus less effectiveness on target, plus if you actually “sawed off” the barrel you can expect really crappy pellet groupings. The main, and in my 30 years of experience handling guns and having worked in the industry I’m willing to say the only real, advantages of a short barreled shotgun are concealabilty and maneuverability in close quarters. They’re a good weapon for an ambush or a hitman, they’re a poor weapon for anything resembling an actual gunfight.
They’re awesome as wrist-breakers and thumb-dislocators, too. Most people think they’re safe to fire with a single-handed grip
A sawed off shotgun the pellets won’t be as grouped together so it will have a wide spread, but less lethality.
If you’re robbing a bank and want something you can wave around intimidatingly that will hurt anything in front of you without much consideration for aim then they’re ideal.
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