People are always whinging on the forums that Shotguns aren't what they should be in Modern UMP 3, so I thought I'd use all six for an entire Prestige, come accustomed to them, find out any if there was any trick or something I could impliment into my playstyle to allow me to do better with them, and ultimately decide whether or not they are actually as bad as they are made out to be. I'm not going to lie, I didn't spend equal amounts of time with each, some are utterly insufferable, but alas, here's what I came up with. (Get ready for a long as sh1t thread.) Bear in mind, this is a rough guide, which is more of a thread full of little tips I use when running a shotgun in MUMP3.

Let's start with something I have found very useful.

- Steady Aim Pro. Now, normally, I'd run Dead Silence Pro most of the time, but I've come to the realisation that Shotguns become very annoying, at least to me, when I don't have it on. Because it's very difficult to get a One shot without it at anything other than point blank, and even then, it isn't certain.

Well, at least in reference to the Pumps/Lever (KSG, SPAZ, Model 1887). I think you'll find it's a lot easier to survive encounters when using these when you don't have to repeatedly pop rounds into your enemy, after all, he'll probably just One shot you with a Type 95 or a UMP.

I'd also class the USAS 12 as somewhat of a Pump, well, it's not, but the firing cap on it makes it behave like one, it's technically semi, but it's not the AA-12, you have to wait quite a while between shots, I'd advise not running it with the ''Spray and Pray'' mentality. Still attempt the One Shot.

With the Striker and the AA-12, Steady Aim isn't so much of a necessity, but it's still advisable, but these guns are extremely spray friendly.

Regardless of SA, you always want to have as much of your enemy inside your four little crosshairs as possible, and if you can afford to get closer, do so, the further you are away, the more hitmarkers your gonna get before he goes down.

Flank as much as humanly possible, avoid 1 on 1 confrontations at all cost, remember that Shotguns are EXTREMELY underpowered in comparison to the usual guns you will come across (UMP, Type 95, SCAR-L, ACR etc.) and they are all very capable of beating you face to face. These Shotguns aren't what they were in Modern UMP 2. Be aware of what your class is capable of. Pick your battles. Being behind an enemy will give you the advantage, especially if you hitmarker him.

Which is why I recommend highly that you run Assassin Pro.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO RUN AWAY! Seriously, if you come across a player who has a range advantage on you, don't even bother, even if he's just in range. You will lose.

Use your intelligence, if you hitmarker someone, think about whether or not you've actually got time to pop a second round into him, if you don't, RUN AWAY, or if you don't have a chance to do that either, you don't have options, take the chance, try to hit him again.

You can and will get multiple hitmarkers, a second shot doesn't instantly mean a kill. Especially if he's behind some form of object. The closer you are, the better.

USAS 12:

This thing is ugly, it handles ugly, it feels ugly, it looks ugly, it reloads in an ugly fashion, it's just ugly. The other shotguns are far more preferable, but it doesn't have too bad of a damage output. It's semi, but treat it like a pump, the firing cap will not let you use it like a Striker.

The range is actually quite good on it, but remember, it's still a Shotgun, so it's effective range will still be significantly less, again, the closer you are, the better.

KSG 12:

Steady Aim needed. Simple. You won't get One Shots without it with this thing. But with SA, it's not bad at all, feels very similiar to how the SPAZ behaves with it. It holds a hell of a lot of rounds, Extended mags would be a complete waste of an attatchment. Recommend hip firing.

SPAZ 12:

I maxed this gun out, so much fun. Whack on SA Pro and Range and it's got the effective range of the Pre Patch Akimbo Model 1887's In MUMP2. Absolutely devastating. If you've got your enemy taking up all of the space inside the four crosshairs, you've got a One Shot most of the time, but there are exceptions. Always be prepared for hitmarkers.

AA-12:

In MUMP2, I had it with Extended Mags and ran around in FFA giving out Booster justice. It doesn't behave that differently now, except with a significant drop in Damage, but if you spray your enemy, the Churchill dog effect will come into place and your enemy won't be able to hit you, so no worries. Scavenger and Extended Mags highly recommended. You only get a couple of mags. This thing is quad feed heaven when you run into the enemy spawn.

Striker:

Impliment the ''Spray and Pray'' mentality with this and your going to have fun. Sleight of Hand recommended, it comes with a big magazine but it's a b1tch to reload when empty. Churchill Dog will help you a lot with this gun, even if your just in range, spray your enemy and his head will just bob up and down, he won't be able to hit anything. You can afford to be a little more aggressive with this, you don't have to pick your battles as much as you do with the Pumps.

Model 1887:

A slightly toned down version of the SPAZ, it feels like it has a little less damage, hitmarkers are more frequent, but again, SA and Range, absolutely brilliant. But flanking with this gun is most recommended, catch your enemies by suprise. The SPAZ is the better weapon, but the Model is still very usable, and I always like a Lever Action.

The Shotguns in this game are very usable, it's just that no one is even attempting to get a feel for them. Whinging that they aren't the same as MW2 isn't going to help.

This is just my look at the Shotguns in MW3, hope it helped, if not, sorry I wasted your time.

The best advice I can give is, use them, get a feel for them, learn what works and what doesn't for you.