Combat Shotgun (Fallout 3)

The Drum-Magazine Combat Shotgun is a common Fallout 3 weapon.

Characteristics
The weapon appears to be functionally identical to its predecessors while its design has changed significantly (see NOTES). The unique form of this gun is The Terrible Shotgun.

Strategy

 * The Combat Shotgun is a very effective choice for fighting in close-quarters, such as inside of buildings. It really shines in the metro tunnels, where the majority of enemies encountered rely upon melee attacks (such as Mirelurks and Feral Ghouls). Feral Ghouls are very easily snuck up on for shots to the back of the head; alternatively, when they notice you, they will growl before charging at you, giving you several seconds to allow them to come closer before shooting them.


 * Close sneak attack criticals with this weapon (outside of V.A.T.S., and especially with the Better Criticals perk) can effortlessly dispose of (or do serious damage to) high-level enemies such as Deathclaws and Sentry Bots. This is because outside of V.A.T.S., the critical damage bonus is applied to each pellet individually; the Combat Shotgun fires 9 pellets, each of which get the +27 critical bonus (40.5 with Better Criticals). So 9 x 27 = 243 (or 364.5 with Better Criticals) total critical damage. Add in the weapon's standard 55 damage, and then double the total because of the sneak attack bonus, and you have a pretty huge amount of damage dealt to your unfortunate, unsuspecting foe.

Companions
Charon wields an apparently unique shotgun that does not deteriorate, used to have infinite ammo, and very little spread. It cannot be interacted with. This makes it possible for Charon to "snipe" with the shotgun.

Trivia

 * Judging by its look, this shotgun's appearance was likely inspired by the Russian PPSh-41 Submachine Gun (Pistolet-Pulemyot Shpagina) - the overall appearance, fire selector switch located inside the trigger guard, the barrel's protruding muzzle-brake and the drum magazine. The way the reloading procedure is operated also points to the real PPSh-41. However there is the obvious difference in that the PPSh-41 was a Submachine Gun (loaded with 7.62x25mm Tokarev cartridges and a 71-round magazine).


 * The use of a drum-fed shotgun could also be a nod at id Software's First-Person Shooter Quake II which also features a similar weapon.

Weapons List
fusil de combat Strzelba bojowa Боевой дробовик