riot gun

A style of shotgun characterized by it's light weight, short barrel (18.5 - 20"), open-choke, pump-action feed/eject mechanism and is almost always 12-gauge in caliber. Such a gun is typically relatively cheap because there are a billion import brands that use this design and anyone who can scrape up a couple hundred bucks can acquire one. Due to it's design, a riot gun is easy to maneuver, maintain and operate. Loaded with buckshot, a riot gun (or any shotgun) will "remove flesh and bone" at close range. Very powerful. For increased range and/or penetration of thicker/tougher targets, a riot gun will fire any manner of slug no problem with impressive results. The drawbacks to a riot gun include heavy recoil (due to it's heavy payload and light weight), limited ammo capacity, short range and relatively weak armor penetration (with buckshot). Overall with proper ammo, a riot gun is excellent choice for close-range combat and even if you don't kill your target with the first shot, you'll probably slow/stun/knock them down enough to get the fuck out of there or hit them again.