Shotgun

The Shotgun is a recurring firearm in the Silent Hill series, being featured in most of the main games in the series in some form or another (with the exception of Silent Hill 4: The Room, in which firearms are exceedingly rare). It is usually found mid-way through the game and is predominantly powerful at short-range, while the rifle is more suited towards long-distance combat.

Because ammo is initially scarce, the shotgun should be reserved for bosses and tougher enemies. However, with the correct strategies and tactics, the shotgun can potentially supplant the rifle as the player's main firearm late game, accompanying the natural rise in enemy difficulty. While it typically inflicts significant damage to nearby enemies, it also suffers from short range, poor accuracy and sluggish reload times, making proper utilization essential to avoid potentially dire consequences. It is best used in houses or where the player is otherwise expecting to be ambushed at point-blank range.

Silent Hill


"Fires in a wide radius. Holds up to 6 rounds."

The shotgun in Silent Hill is found in the first floor boy's bathroom in the Otherworld Midwich Elementary School. Keep in mind that this weapon can easily be missed if not careful, try to make sure that the bathroom Otherworld is checked as it can be pretty difficult to fight the Split Head with the pistol.

If missed at the school, it can also be found at the police station on the table in the annex room.

It inflicts extreme damage compared to the handgun at close range and the player can still move while firing; however, it has a slower reload time. It's a double-barrel shotgun with the stock and barrels sawed off and as such should only be able to hold two shells at the most - rather than the 6 it is capable of in game. If ammunition is used only for bosses, the shotgun can be used as a primary weapon after defeating the Floatstinger, which can be useful considering that the handgun becomes less useful around this time. It was modeled after Ashley "Ash" Williams's shotgun from The Evil Dead, and like Ash, Harry Mason can run with it in one hand.

Silent Hill 2


"Maximum capacity 6 shots. Tough to use, but can attack opponents in a group."

The shotgun in Silent Hill 2 is found in the women's locker room on the second floor of Brookhaven Hospital. It is a potentially devastating weapon when used at point-blank range. It suffers a slower-than-average reload time and is restricted to a tubular magazine capacity of six shells, so it's wise to avoid quick-moving bosses with this gun unless cornered.

This shotgun resembles a Remington Model 870.

Silent Hill 3


"Holds 6 rounds of ammunition. It's hard to handle, but has great range."

The shotgun in Silent Hill 3 is found aboard a stationary train carriage on platform 2 in Hazel Street Station inside of a present box. As with the weapon in other games, it's most lethal at close-range, is slow to reload, and has a tubular magazine capacity of six shells. To compensate for these weaknesses, range is somewhat improved over previous iterations.

Like Silent Hill 2, this shotgun also resembles a Remington Model 870.

Silent Hill: Origins


"A wide-bore shotgun. This shotgun only takes two cartridges at a time, but at close range it's unstoppable."

The shotgun in Silent Hill: Origins is a destructive short-range firearm. It differs from previous shotguns in the series in that it is double-barreled and break-action. Travis Grady can find the shotgun in the Otherworld Cedar Grove Sanitarium, hanging on the door to that holds the patients' personal belongings on the first floor. The shotgun appears to be based on a Remington SPR 210.

The shotgun boasts fatal close range damage and can down numerous enemies in one shot, but, compared to previous games in the series, it has the smallest capacity of any firearm, limited to just two shells. It is also the only weapon whose acquisition is compulsory in order to proceed with the story. This type of shotgun is typically associated with hunting - a recurring motif in the game, also seen in monsters such as the Carrion.

Travis is seen holding a shotgun in the cut scene before the final boss fight, though it has a different model to the one used in-game, resembling a pump-action shotgun (suggesting that the gun was cut from the final game, perhaps due to the abundance of firearms in Origins). This shotgun appears to be based on the Winchester M1912 in Riot Configuration.

Silent Hill: Homecoming
Individually named, two shotgun-type weapons can be found in Silent Hill: Homecoming.

12 Gauge Shotgun


"Devastating at close range, but fires and reloads slowly."

The 12 Gauge Shotgun in Silent Hill: Homecoming is given to Alex Shepherd by Deputy Wheeler at Shepherd's Glen's police station, at which time it is necessary to fend off the invading Schisms. It is potent at close range, but (as with all previous iterations) fires and reloads slowly. It has a tubular magazine capacity of four shells on Normal difficulty and three shells on Hard. A large drawback of this gun is that it must be reloaded every time it is pulled out (as with all guns in game, save for the laser pistol) and must be pumped after every shot, meaning that Alex can be overrun very quickly if he is not careful enough.

It resembles a Winchester Model 1912.

Bluesteel 12 Gauge Shotgun


"Has increased damage and holds more ammunition over the regular shotgun."

The 12 Gauge Shotgun can be later replaced with the Bluesteel 12 Gauge Shotgun, found leaning on a cabinet in the hunting room within the basement of the Shepherd House. It is even more powerful than the 12 Gauge Shotgun and has a higher tubular magazine capacity, thus allowing increased damage output before a reload is required. The tubular magazine capacity is five shells on Normal difficulty and four shells on Hard difficulty.

It resembles a Franchi SPAS-12 combat shotgun and has (as its name implies) a blued finish.

Silent Hill: Downpour


"Firearm for close-quarters combat."

The shotgun appears in Silent Hill: Downpour. The player can carry it holstered on Murphy Pendleton's back. It holds five shells and has ruinous stopping power at close ranges. Ammo is extremely rare, so it is advised that the player use the shotgun for only the toughest enemies, such as the Juggernauts. There are only two locations in Silent Hill where a shotgun can be found during the course of the main game: In the back of an ambulance next to a painting and in a store where the light bulb is found. It can be found in Overlook Penitentiary, where ammo is much more plentiful and many shotguns can be found.

It resembles an Ithaca 37.

Silent Hill: The Arcade


The shotgun in Silent Hill: The Arcade is found on stage 1-2, near the elevator by the day room in the Otherworld Brookhaven Hospital. The players are given an optional route before to continue through the hospital or enter a door, and if the player chooses not to enter the door, they are rewarded with the shotgun. Another shotgun can be found at the Magic Ice Cream House in Lakeside Amusement Park.

This shotgun strongly resembles the one from Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3, carrying a total of 24 shells for both players. It is also pump-action, so the empty shell must be ejected after every shot.

Silent Hill: Book of Memories
In Silent Hill: Book of Memories, the shotgun is a powerful short range firearm. Like all other weapons in the game, it will break after extended use unless repaired with a tool kit.

Trivia

 * In Silent Hill 3, the description of the shotgun implies that the shotgun possesses a "great range". While it is true that the shotgun has improved range relative to the previous games, the spread of the pellets tends to be quite wide. As a result, the shotgun is, as in all previous and prior iterations, best used in close quarters.
 * In Silent Hill 4 there is a room in the Apartment World with a variety of fake, unusable weapons scattered around. One weapon resembles the shotgun from Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 3.

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