Sawed-Off Shotgun (Fallout 3)

The Sawed-Off Shotgun is a small gun in Fallout 3.

This weapon is inferior to the Combat Shotgun, which holds 12 shotgun shells, compared to the 2 the Sawed-Off version holds. The Combat Shotgun also deals more damage. One advantage of the Sawed-Off Shotgun is that it is a one-handed weapon and reaps the benefits of the Gunslinger perk, making it more accurate in V.A.T.S..

The accuracy and effectiveness of the Sawed-Off Shotgun diminishes rapidly the further you are from your target. As such, it is best used in close-quarters. Its reload time is also very slow and the gun holds only two shells at a time, so it is best used on weakened targets that can be killed in one or two shots.

It can be found on random NPCs around Capital Wasteland, mainly Raiders. Another that is in almost pristine condition can be found in a locked cabinet inside the Megaton Armory. A word of caution: if you are caught breaking into the armory you will be attacked by everyone in Megaton.

It is overall a poor choice as a weapon, due to its ammo capacity of 2 rounds, and its constant need to reload, which can be a hazard during firefights. The best thing to do is to sell it, as one in good condition can give you quite a pretty penny. However, it is a good choice for killing ghouls in random encounter situations, or when only 2 or 3 ghouls are in an area. It can also easily take out mole rats or dogs.

Variants

 * The Kneecapper - Handled by Ronald Laren, The Kneecapper is far more powerful than a Sawed-Off Shotgun or even a Drum-Magazine Combat Shotgun. However, it cannot score a critical hit, and its 0 critical damage makes even sneak attack criticals rather pathetic.

Behind the scenes

 * Mel wields a Sawed-Off Shotgun in a random encounter in which he attempts to mug the Lone Wanderer, but the gun is not loaded. This is an homage to Mel Gibson, the actor who played Mad Max. In Mad Max 2, Gibson threatened the Gyro Captain using an unloaded sawed off shotgun.