Movie Madness is all about finding the truth behind tropes regarding guns, gear, knives, tactics, and more from the world of fiction. We explore tropes from video games, movies, tv, and whatever other media comes our way. In our first edition of the truth about tropes, we are going to look at an old video game shooter myth about shotguns. This one goes all the way back to Doom. It’s spread since then, and notably, landing multiple hits with one shotgun blast has been a popular enough trope to become an achievement in Doom 3, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and The Last of Us. 

We all know that shotguns work through the spread of the pellets from an individual shotshell. Pellet accountability is a big thing in home defense and the tactical use of shotguns. A single stray pellet can kill an innocent person, and that is why patterning, careful shot placement, and training are critical in shotgun deployment.

The question is, can you use a shotgun to purposefully hit two man-sized targets in a defensive situation? 

How practical is it, and what load and range is it effective at? 

If it is possible, is it practical? 

Our goal is to find out. 

Shotguns, Ammo, and Test Parameters 

For this experiment, I am using my favorite Benelli M4 shotgun. It’s loaded down with a cylinder bore choke, and the barrel is 18.5 inches long. The M4 is an all-around excellent shotgun for tactical use, and it typically finds its way into the hands of everyone from SWAT cops to SAS commandos. It’s a favorite of first-person shooters and an all-around sexy shotgun. 

Ammo wise, I am using nothing but buckshot, and I have a range backpack full of buckshot to experiment with. For this test, I’m using 00, 0, No 1, and No 4 buckshot loads from various brands. I’m using VTAC targets and placing them side by side. My plan is to measure each group after each shot to find out just how wide a spread you can get so we could see the effective range of spread each load has. This allows me to measure just how far the targets can be apart and still be affected by the blast. 

Science Time 

Science was not my favorite subject. To be fair, none of them were my favorite. That’s why I joined the Marines instead of the Air Force. However, I’m going to attempt an experiment that doesn’t involve crayons. I have my ammo, my gun, and my target. All that’s left to discuss is range. 

In video games, shotguns can hit two or three bad guys from all of two feet away. In real life, a shotgun doesn’t spread that far that fast. I’m going to start at 25 yards, and after firing one round of each load, I’ll move forward 5 yards. My point of aim will be sitting right between each target. This will be a single round elimination. 

The testing criteria is simple. Fire one shot, unload, show clear, then go downrange to mark and measure where the pellets land. If a load fails to spread far enough to hit each target, it will be eliminated and will not be tested at the next yard line. 

Let’s get to it.

The 25 Yard Line

Number 4 

Number 4 was an impressive load at 25 yards and landed pellets on both targets in an impressive way. This includes several shots to the head and torso. The spread was a mighty 23 inches from left to the right. 

Number 1 

The Number 1 buckshot load hit each target with authority but didn’t strike the vital zones nearly as much as the number 4 at this range. The total spread was 20 inches left to right. 

0

Single Aught or 0, buckshot loads worked at this range, but only four pellets hit the two targets, and none landed in the vital zone. The spread was 16 inches total. 

00

Double Aught or 00, buckshot failed and only hit the between the targets and the right target. 

The 20 Yard Line

Number 4

Number 4 again succeeded in hitting both targets with hits in the vital zones. The spread was 13 inches. 

Number 1

The number 1 load worked the best at twenty yards with two more pellets in the vital zones than number 4. The spread was 15 inches. 

0

The load failed to spread to both targets, with pellets hitting the left target and the center. 

The 15 Yard Line

Number 4

The Number 4 load at 15 yards spread to both targets but scored no vital hits and spread 10 inches. 

Number 1

The Number 1 load hit each target at 15 yards but scored no vital hits with a spread of 11 inches. 

The 10 Yard Line 

At ten yards, neither the Number 1 or Number 4 load spread between each target. 

Shotguns, Spread, and Tropes

The conclusion is simple, yes it works, but not to the effect that video games show. At 25 and 20 yards, shotguns could theoretically hit two bad guys with one load. The thing is, the bad guys have to be sitting close with little room between them. Your best bet is two guys down a 25-yard long hallway coming at you standing side by side which is an unlikely scenario. However, even if you have that scenario, is it more efficient than just firing twice? Is it practical? 

I think it’s evident that no, it’s not a practical technique worth training for. The only vital hits were scored at 20 and 25 yards, and when it worked at closer ranges, the shots were mostly in the arms and shoulders of the targets. 

Interestingly enough, the United States military experimented with an interesting choke during the Vietnam war. It’s known as a duckbill choke, and the idea is to change the spread from vertical to horizontal and increase the chance of landing an effective hit on moving targets or even multiple targets. 

It does spread the shot more horizontally, but practical use and testing showed the intended effect didn’t open the spread up enough to be useful. 

How Could It Work? 

We need bigger shotguns! Loaded with bigger shells! Something like a four gauge could be an efficient weapon at dispersing enough shot to hit multiple targets in an efficient way. However, that kind of weapon would need to be tripod-mounted and possibly crew-served. The more I talk about it, the more I like it. 

Oh Benelli you beautiful Minx – Courtesy Taran Tactical

Anyway, back on the subject. The tactic of scoring two or even more hits with a shotgun is far from practical, but it is possible with the right load and at the right range. 

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Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine Gunner, a lifelong firearms enthusiast, and now a regular guy who likes to shoot, write, and find ways to combine the two. He holds an NRA certification as a Basic Pistol Instructor and is the world’s Okayest firearm’s instructor.

The picture above is one of two posted by Matt Jacques of Victory First on his social media. Accompanying that image was the quote “Canopy lighting vs. direct lighting when discussed as a searching technique.” (The other image is below.) It goes on to address an aspect of high ready vs. low ready: one that has to do with the best use of a WML, i.e. a weapon-mounted light.

He made two main points:

• Opens up the “high gun vs. low gun” conversation. If you subscribe to “low gun”, when will you practice working rooms with light?

• You have to be proficient in a room with provided light and applied light. 

High ready vs. low ready when it comes to applying your weapon light. [This is Surefire Scout weapon light on an LWRCI ICA5 carbine, fed by a Magpul PMAG + MagPod, used to clear a residence after a bump in the night. Further details below.

Well…that limited explanation is the instructional equivalent of physical activities that lead to unfortunate shades of blue. In fact, it opens up more questions than it answers (which was probably the point). 

I reached out to MJ for some additional clarification. Read on to get your learn on.

Read more snap shots!

Q: What is canopy lighting?

A: “Canopy” lighting can be referred to as any of the following: Umbrella / Canopy / Bouncing.  Whatever you call it, it all basically uses the power of your white light against the white ceiling of the room you are in (when speaking specifically on residential structures that primarily have white ceilings).

This technique allows more blooming of your light and gives a better, more natural casting of the light, and allows you to see more. You take in more optical information more quickly instead of merely looking where the pointed light is. That’s what traditionally happens when folks use direct lighting.  

Q. What is direct lighting?

Direct lighting is where you are simply using all of the light and physically pointing it directly at an area or object. This is obviously what happens when you are addressing a threat or are deliberately searching a dark, specific area (outdoors, a basement stairwell, long unlit hallway, or the like).

Q. What is canopy lighting used for?

Canopy lighting is primarily used to take in as much information very quickly inside a room where you haven’t identified a specific threat that needs to be addressed.  It allows you to enter a room, bounce the light off of the ceiling and observe more of the general space and any obvious people who are in the room. 

You should be using a threat index of 1, bodies; 2, doors; and 3, hides. Canopy (or umbrella lighting) gives you the quickest optical advantage to identify those first two concerns very quickly. 

Q: What is direct lighting used for?

Direct lighting is to fill a void space to ensure you can see as much as possible when you cannot use canopy lighting (think outside searching, dark spaces/voids, etc.). It is also used to address a specific threat.

It’s accomplished when you use all of your light directly on a threat or a smaller area. It is also used by depressing the muzzle slightly towards the ground to see as much as possible without obstructing any of your ability to see (any weapons and both hands, plus the surrounding area).

Someone using the direct lighting method should be aware that they are not only potentially violating a cardinal rule of firearms safety (pointing a weapon at something you do not intend to kill), but could also be violating the law – in many states, at least – by brandishing a weapon.

There are all sorts of “What Ifs” and “What About” scenarios that are not in that category, but that’s for another discussion.

Q: Why are you going “high gun” (high ready) here in that first picture?

High gun gives me the ability to utilize the ceiling for canopy lighting, In the two pictures, it is apparent that using high gun to accomplish canopy lighting is giving me more immediate information about the room than would have directly entering the room and driving direct lighting into a corner.

Q: Does canopy and direct light, and high ready vs low light, apply to both rifles and pistols?

Both canopy and direct lighting can be sued with a handgun or a rifle. And with a light-equipped shotgun. If you use a scattergun for home defense, you still need to ID your target, just like you do with a long gun or handgun. 

With the handgun, the two lighting techniques apply to both a weapon-mounted flashlight and a handheld light for searching. This goes back to direct lighting for outdoors or hides, dark places, and addressing threats.

Also, the same principles apply to a handheld flashlight by itself if you’re not in a threat environment, i.e. just moving or searching. The canopy method is going to provide a greater ability to receive and process information than the direct method, but the direct method remains more effective when driving into deep places, corners, etc. 

Q: Isn’t high ready unsafe?

High gun is only “unsafe” if you’re not taught the pros and cons of both high and low gun. As long as I am aware of what or who is above or below me as I wield the carbine or handgun, they are safe. Both positions have valuable benefits, for both weapons.

Q: When would you not go high ready?

I would not go high ready if that position muzzled something or could potentially cause harm to something I did not want to threaten. For instance, if I am searching outside of my house and I am moving towards it, I may not want to work from high gun because there are bedrooms on a second floor.  I also may not want to work from the high gun if I the presence of any substrates on the ground could be used to assist in the lighting of an area.

Q: Is it okay to go “low gun” (low ready)?

It is ok to use low gun or high gun. When it comes to high ready vs. low ready, there are scenarios that can be laid out for either being efficient, safe, and effective.

Q: When would you not go low gun?

I may not use low gun if I need to drive the gun over a barrier/cover or another person. This could be team movement or working over/past a ballistic shield or another piece of cover or concealment. Similar situations could occur with “friendlies” in a home defense or other situations.

Q: Tell me about the rifle in that picture.

Suppressed LWRCI ICA5 carbine, equipped with Aimpoint CompM5, Surefire Scout light, Surefire SOCOM Mini suppressor, B.E. Meyers MAWL-DA laser, True North Concepts Gripstop, and Blue Force Gear sling. The weapon is using a Magpul PMAG with Magpod stabilizing base plate, loaded with Federal Premium 62gr bonded 5.56mm ammunition. Read more about or take a low light training class from Victory First: Victory-First.com. 

Find weapon lights at GunMag Warehouse.

David Reeder’s Wu Tang name is Lucky Prophet. He is a retired AF veteran, former Peace Officer, and current Tier 2.5 writer-operator. Over the course of his career, he has worked a variety of military and lE billets, served as an Observer-Controller at the National Homeland Security Training Center, a MOUT instructor, and an MTT tracking instructor – all of which sounds much cooler than it really was. Although he only updates his website once in a very great while, he can absolutely be relied upon to post to social media (@reederwrites) at least once a month. -Ish.