Sawed-Off Shotgun

"Somebody comes at me with a handgun, I'm gonna this take sawed-off shotgun, blow his head off. And have a nice day, it's real simple."

-Thomas Bonanno, Mafia Descendant/Historian.

The Sawed-off Shotgun is a modified double-barreled firearm that packs a one-two punch. It was the Mid-Range Weapon of the Mafia.

Description[]

Modified from a double-barrel shotgun, the Mafia's Sawed-Off Shotgun has the barrel and butt stock cut down with a hacksaw. The weapon has two triggers, one for each barrel, and no magazine, so the gun must be reloaded once both shots had been fired.

The model used in the show resembles a Winchester Model 21, however double barred shotguns existed for centuries before.

Stats[]

Range: 10 yards
Caliber: 12 gauge shells
Ammo: 2 rounds
Rds/min: 6
Break Action

Use[]

The shorter barrel gives the weapon a shorter effective range, but a greater shot dispersal. It also makes the weapon much easier to conceal and wield in confined spaces, where the disadvantage of a shorter firing range is nullified. Since the Mafia operate in densely packed cities and normally ambush their enemies, this shotgun is perfectly designed for mafia murders.

The term 'riding shotgun' has two origins; to refer to a bodyguard that assisted coaches and wagons on the Oregon Trail, or a hitman that would be assisted by a getaway driver. These gunmen were called 'shotgun messengers'. Shotguns were also frequently used by security guards for trains or banks.

Shotguns were rarely useful in largescale modern conflicts unless armies could engage at point range. This was the case in the Battle of Gate Pā; where the Maori used their shotguns to fight back against the British soldiers inside their Pa fort.

Shortening a barrel poses the risk of the user holding the gun inappropriately and dangerously. [1]

Gun control policies were introduced in the 1930s in the aftermath of Prohibition and its largescale use of firearm homicides. One infamous incident of the use of shotgun homicide was the St. Valentines Day massacre by the Al Capone Gang; where Tommy Guns and Shotguns were used to ambush the Bugs Moran North Side Gang. The 1939 Supreme Court case US vs Miller declared that sawed-off shotguns were not protected by the right to bear arms since it had no military utility, unlike a long barreled shotgun.

Test[]

"You can get shot five times with this gun, and make it. You get shot once with this, you're done." - Joe Ferrante, Mafia Weapons Expert, comparing the Sawed-Off Shotgun with the Yakuza's Walther P38

The shotgun was pitted against the Yakuza's Walther P38 in an indoor shooting range against single targets. The first shot from Joe Ferrante goes straight through the chest, blowing the heart out. The second shot leaves a huge cavity on a torso's head.

Trivia[]

The TP-82 was a shotgun for Russian Cosmonauts to protect them if they returned to Earth in the wild. [2]