History Main / SawedOffShotgun

* Dante of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' has used, along with his trademark guns Ebony and Ivory, a double barreled sawed-off shotgun in every game, finally given the name Coyote-A in ''4''. And because he's a badass, Dante does not reload it at all, AND it's a break-action shotgun. If you upgrade your Gunslinger style enough, he can also use his shotgun like a lead-slinging nunchaku, or charge at an enemy and ram his sawn-off into them like a spear, before pulling the trigger, blasting them away. 'Tis great fun.

* One [=UnSub=] from ''Series/CriminalMinds'' used a pump shotgun to shoot at female pedestrians he pulled up next to at traffic lights. He attached a bracket to the fore-end so he could rest it on the edge of his lowered window for stability.

** ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'' has not only the returning Locomotive 12G, but played fully straight with the Mosconi 12G, a traditional double-barrel shotgun. The only modification options for it are to saw down the barrel and the majority of the stock, making the gun almost hilariously inaccurate and impossible to control even for its meager 2 shots, but making it incredibly easy to conceal. However, as it can't be silenced, it's rarely used in any capacity, especially since the aforementioned Locomotive does everything it does, with more ammo, higher concealment values, and the ability to be silenced... still as a secondary, while the Mosconi takes up your primary weapon slot. It's mostly good for players who want something with high power and high concealment for Dodge builds. Most other shotguns added later through patches or DLC include alternate barrel lengths as well, almost always including at least a shortened variation.

* Gallows, TheBigGuy (well, even if he looks like one, in fact he's more a [[BlackMagicianGirl Black Magician Amerindian]]) from ''VideoGame/WildArms3'' uses one, though he's the ''worst'' attacker of the party, the weapon itself is the ''weakest'' ARM of the game (stats-wise, his ARM is just ''awful''), and his aim is ''terrible''. On the other hand, when he manages to land a critical hit, it's going to hurt.

* ''VideoGame/PAYDAY2'' has not only the returning Locomotive 12G, but played fully straight with the Mosconi 12G, a traditional double-barrel shotgun. The only modification options for it are to saw down the barrel and the majority of the stock, making the gun almost hilariously inaccurate and impossible to control even for its meager 2 shots, but making it incredibly easy to conceal. However, as it can't be silenced, it's rarely used in any capacity, especially since the aforementioned Locomotive does everything it does, with more ammo, higher concealment values, and the ability to be silenced... still as a secondary, while the Mosconi takes up your primary weapon slot. It's mostly good for players who want something with high power and high concealment for Dodge builds. Most other shotguns added later through patches or DLC include alternate barrel lengths as well, almost always including at least a shortened variation.

* ''VideoGame/YouAreEmpty'' suffers from a similar problem: the sawn-off is damn useful - for the first enemy or two. Then, the slow reload causes everybody who ''hasn't'' croaked from the first two shots to demonstrate their extreme displeasure about the player's presence by severely increasing the amount of lead in his bloodstream. The game, however, has no other shotguns, so most players prefer to use the more universal machine gun or nailgun.

Some law enforcement agencies use compact shotguns for breaching -- that is, [[ShootOutTheLock shooting hinges and locks off doors for expedient entry]]. There are even shotguns designed for this that can be mounted underneath the barrel of an assault rifle, in the same way as an M203 GrenadeLauncher (one of the most well-known is even rather humorously called the "Masterkey"). A sawed-off shotgun is also more easily concealed than the full-sized variety, so they are often used by criminals ([[BankRobbery bank robbers]] are a common example), especially in countries where normal handguns may be difficult to procure but hunting shotguns are relatively easy to buy.

This trope is very prominent in British TV shows, where the sawed-off shotgun remains the weapon of choice for the LondonGangster, or the villains in any police procedural, particularly if it involves an ArmedBlag. This is mainly due to the difficulty of obtaining handguns in the UK, while shotguns are still legally available to get in the UK, they're just quite a lot harder to get a hold of compared to the US. Incidentally, British English speakers prefer saying "sawn-off" shotgun (the past participle), while American English speakers say "sawed-off" shotgun instead (the past preterite), since [[DidNotDoTheBloodyResearch while this sounds perfectly fine to American ears]], to British ones, it sounds quite a lot like [[DeadlyEuphemism something else]][[labelnote:*]]i.e. "Sod off!", a less-nice way of saying "go away" but a less-crude way of saying "fuck off", and occasionally used as a mild insult[[/labelnote]], though it still works pretty well, considering the context (who ''wouldn't'' want to get lost if one of these was pointed at them?).

Finally, a minor note: as you may have realized, there's nothing particular to shotguns that only they would receive this treatment. As long as you mostly know how to do it, you can saw excess barrel off other long firearms as well. However, shotguns seem to be the most associated with the act (presumably since they tend to be cheaper to acquire in the first place and require fewer considerations for the procedure beyond "put it in a vice and grab a hacksaw" to get a firearm that is both shortened and still functional), and while others, mostly rifles, do appear in fiction once in a while, they have apparently not earned the kind of notoriety that would separate them from shotguns trope-wise.

* Beelzemon from ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' wields two double-barreled versions before going Blast Mode.

* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': Wielded by Scrooge[= McDuck=] in some Italian stories of the late '60s/early '70s and called with the Italian moniker 'lupara'. Current Italian stories have replaced the lupara with a salt-loaded blunderbuss.

** ''VideoGame/DoomII'' introduces the super shotgun, which is a sawed-off shotgun with a big punch. It deals the damage of three regular shotgun shells while only consuming two, making it almost as powerful as a rocket when fired at extremely-close range, but is much less precise and takes twice as long to reload as the regular shotgun. ''VideoGame/Doom64'' does away with the reloading animation due to cartridge memory constraints and simply has Doomguy pump it like the standard shotgun, which means you can fire it gfaster. Interestingly, in contrast to many later sawed-off shotguns, going by the in-world sprite only the barrels are shortened, while the stock is left intact.

* ''VideoGame/AllianceOfValiantArms'' has the Winchester [=M1887S=] which has a sawed-off barrel and stock. The weapon is a clear ShoutOut to the one used in ''Film/Terminator2JudgementDay''; the PlayerCharacter even flip-cocks it between shots.

* ''VideoGame/AllianceOfValiantArms'' has the Winchester [=M1887S=] which has a sawed-off barrel and stock. The weapon is a clear ShoutOut to the one used in ''Terminator 2: Judgement Day''; the player-character even flip-cocks it between shots.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', Labyrinth Watcher carrying a [[CrowbarCombatant crowbar]] and a lantern has these, should you keep a distance from them, they switch the weapons into sawed-off shotgun and fire solid slugs towards you.
** In fact, prior to release, sawed off shotguns can actually be wielded by the player, as seen in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx8KTIeSnzs Project Beast]]. It was replaced by Hunter Blunderbuss, presumably to keep to the steampunk aesthetic.

** A further-sawed-down Sears Ranger returned in ''VideoGame/CallOfdutyModernWarfare2'', with the added bonus of allowing the player to [[GunsAkimbo carry two at once]] (that is, of course, if [[AwesomeButImpractical accuracy]] doesn't concern you much - the spread is so wide with dual Rangers that they stop being effective [[ShortRangeShotgun even before they disappear at their arbitrarily-short max range]]). ''Modern Warfare 2'' also sports a sawed-off Winchester 1887 made as a replication of the ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' model, complete with flip-to-reload if you dual wield. [[GameBreaker For the longest time, these sawed-off Model 1887s were horribly broken]], and they're still a surefire sign of an [[Webcomic/PennyArcade unrepentant puppy rapist.]] There's also the KAC "Masterkey" shotgun (see Real Life), which can be unlocked to attach to your assault rifles. [[AwesomeButImpractical Not that anyone ever uses the Masterkey.]]

* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' featured a sawed-off shotgun, which fired slowly but was slightly more powerful and took up less inventory space than the automatic shotgun. The way the game handled weapon skills also allowed you to completely avoid the "shorter barrels = shorter range" effect; indeed, if you got to Master level, all the pellets would hit in the same spot - making the sawed-off shotgun the ultimate precision rifle from hell.

* Dante of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' has used, along with his trademark guns Ebony and Ivory, a double barreled sawed-off shotgun in every game, finally given the name Coyote-A in 4. And because he's a badass, Dante does not reload it at all, AND it's a break-action shotgun.
** If you upgrade your Gunslinger style enough, he can also use his shotgun like a friggin' nunchaku!
** Dante also has another shotgun-centered move, wherein he charges at an enemy and rams his sawn-off into them like a spear, before pulling the trigger, blasting them away. 'Tis great fun.

** ''VideoGame/DoomII'' introduces the super shotgun, which is a sawed-off shotgun with a big punch. It deals the damage of three regular shotgun shells while only consuming two, making it almost as powerful as a rocket when fired at extremely-close range, but is much less precise and takes twice as long to reload as the regular shotgun. ''VideoGame/Doom64'' does away with the reloading animation and simply has Doomguy pump it like the standard shotgun, which means you can fire it much faster. Interestingly, in contrast to many later sawed-off shotguns, going by the in-world sprite only the barrels are shortened, while the stock is left intact.
** ''VideoGame/Doom3'' brings back the super shotgun in the ''Resurrection of Evil'' expansion. Unlike most examples of this trope in video games, it actually has better accuracy than the standard shotgun, which is practically useless outside of punching range.

* The sawed off shotgun in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' is quite weaker than any other shotgun in the game. It's also highly inaccurate, but as it's very very short, that may be why. The spread is all over the place, making it worthless except for large enemies, or being within kissing distance.
** It is, however, relatively easy to get the unique sawed-off, The Kneecapper, which, while suffering the same accuracy issues as other sawed-off shotguns, has over [[MoreDakka double the firepower]] and is uniquely suited for Small Guns-focused characters who are interested in cleaning out ghoul-infested tunnels, close-range ambushes, and/or ammo conservation.
*** When a super-mutant DOES get in your face, however, it's much more convenient than the long-barrel variety for blowing theirs clean off. And if you can get close enough for a sneak attack it will ruin their day rather thoroughly. Additionally, in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', it's a holdout weapon, which you can sneak into most casinos, just in case you really need to kill dudes in there.
*** Also in ''New Vegas'', the Big Boomer is the unique sawed-off shotgun that does the ''highest non-explosive, non-energy damage in the game''. And the kicker? It can be acquired as early as [[DiscOneNuke the fourth town.]] Provided you [[BlastingItOutOfTheirHands know how to get it]] without hurting its owner, it can be gotten very easily. And it's also right next to an important quest location that involves intense fighting at close quarters. Have fun!
** Played straight in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 1}}'' and [[VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}} 2]] as well. The first game even gives you a sawed-off ''rifle'' as a quest reward, although the sawing is just one of the modifications - the result is to all effects a revolver firing .223 cartridges, and is the most powerful small arm in the game, even more than the [[RareGuns Desert Eagle]]. Amusingly, it also appears completely unchanged in the sequel as a RandomDrop from raiders - meaning that you can accumulate several of these "One-of-a-kind weapon(s), obviously made with care and skill." The sequel also starts recruitable character [[spoiler: Cassidy]] off with a sawed-off double barrel shotgun. Played straight in that it somehow deals more damage than a regular shotgun, though the range is reduced.

* The ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' series has always involved [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome heavy abuse]] of its shotgun, and the third game has a new sawed-off, double-barreled variety.
** Played straight. The sawn-off is obscenely powerful but has an insane spread, abysmal range and a long reload, even when active reloading. It's effectively a melee weapon, hence its nickname the "Bad Touch".

* The ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series often includes a sawed-off shotgun, with the advantage of greater spread and no real reduction in power versus the basic shotgun. In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'', not only can sawed-off shotguns be wielded like pistols, but CJ can use ''[[GunsAkimbo two at once]]'' with enough practice. [[MST3KMantra Best not to think about how he reloads]].

** It returns in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' and is still bike-compatible. (And now bus-compatible as well, for some reason). A patch also added the Double-barreled shotgun, which works almost identically but shoots both barrels at once.
* Due to being a "Virtual Reality gun range simulator", naturally ''VideoGame/HotDogsHorseshoesAndHandGrenades'' has quite a lot of shotguns with short barrles on offer for the player to mess around with. Thanks to the game being VR the player also doesn't have to worry about personal safety nor the disadvantages of said shotguns.

* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', the asari-made Disciple shotgun serves such a purpose: It's easy on the pack load, but still performs adequately as a shotgun. It's useful for players that want to predominantly use powers instead of guns but still have a heavier small arms weapon (as pack weight affects cooldown rates of the special powers).

** In addition, the M-358 Talon is a pistol that fires shotgun spreads.

** The primary advantage of the sawed-off shotgun is that, by abusing the game mechanics, you can shoot-dodge into a group of enemies, blast one or two, then immediately shoot-dodge again to reload immediately. ''Max Payne 2'' "fixes" this by still requiring a reload animation, but you can still reload incredibly quickly by doing the [[RuleOfCool fancy-looking]] [[UnorthodoxReload bullet time reloads]].
** The ''[[Film/TheMatrix True Matrix]] Mod'' adds [[GunsAkimbo Sawed Off Shotgun Akimbo]] as a weapon option once you pick up a second one. It basically doubles the firepower of a normal one, making it a four-shot weapon.
* Even if he's prematurely aged into an old man, Solid Snake is capable of shooting a sawed-off one-handed in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''.
** Played more realistically in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', where the shotguns were shortened specifically for use in the jungle environments in which the game takes place.
** Played straight and subverted in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'', the double barrel starts off as a normal shotgun and gets the barrel shortened and the stock removed through research. However, the M37 starts as a sawed-off; research actually ''adds'' a longer barrel and a stock.
* The Duplet in ''Videogame/{{Metro 2033}}'' is a side-by-side break-action sawed off shotgun, built from [[ScavengerWorld pieces of metal piping and train parts]]. It does huge amounts of damage per shell - the most of all shotguns, in fact - and a double-barreled discharge is a devastating attack that nothing bar a boss can take and remain standing, but it generally gets dropped for the more easy-to-use Uboinik/Shambler revolving shotguns which have the advantage of a PistolWhip or BayonetYa attack (although a depth-of-vision glitch impedes you from checking the watch with it equipped). The Duplet returns in ''Videogame/MetroLastLight'' with [[GunAccessories customization]], such as extended barrels for longer range, or even ''two extra barrels!''
* ''VideoGame/PAYDAYTheHeist'' also features the Serbu Super-Shorty [[AKA47 as the Locomotive 12G.]] Compared to the game's other shotgun, it has paltry range but a very fast fire rate, and its puny magazine size (four shells) can be upgraded by two. Plus, being such a small weapon, it's treated by the game as a secondary, allowing you to take an assault rifle alongside it for other situations.

If you're a badass and you want your firearm to represent how awesome you are, there's only one choice for you - the Hillbilly Dueling Pistol, AKA the sawed-off shotgun. It is a standard weapon for anyone in the middle of a ZombieApocalypse. In the hands of a suitable badass, it can take out anyone in a single blast. The sound of chambering a round in a pump-action sawed-off is like a CatchPhrase showing how awesome you are -- for extra badassitude, you hold it by the slide and sort of [[OneHandedShotgunPump wave it in the air]], allowing the weapon's own weight to do the chambering (this is a great way to ruin your shotgun in real life, FYI). And if you have a sawed-off double barrel shotgun with dual triggers, you have the option of either unloading one barrel at a time at an opponent, or "giving 'em both barrels," as it were (also an excellent way to destroy both it and your shoulder).

* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'' referenced this trope in the "Sawn-off Schlockgun" arc, with Schlock sawing-down two multi-cannons and being told that they were now a danger to everyone around him, since he'd removed the regulators and cooling systems. When they were repaired, he kept the look for [[WeaponForIntimidation the sheer intimidation value, since just holding them made it obvious he was a maniac.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has a few instances where a character weilds a sawed-off shotgun.

* Sawed-off shotguns were used extensively in trench warfare during the first World War by the United States; according to the other wiki, one Sergeant in particular managed to [[OneManArmy single-handedly retake a French town from German control]] using only such a shotgun. The Germans, who deployed gas weapons and flamethrowers, considered the use of shotguns a war crime, even declaring that they'd execute any soldiers captured who used one. [[note]]Actually, German officers (who were mostly aristocrats) thought the shotgun to be a weapon suited only to hunt animals, so they took killing their soldiers with a shotgun as an act of equaling them to animals[[/note]]

* In Soviet times, both during WWII and some time after, sawn-off shotguns and Mosin-Nagant rifles were used by bandits, robbers and/or [[RedsWithRockets Red Army]] deserters for ease of concealment.
--> '' There was, however, official confirmation of the worst and most vicious kind of banditry. From time to time, a printed leaflet with a man's photograph would be pasted on the walls, stating that so and so, a deserter from the army, had been apprehended, found guilty of desertion and armed robbery, condemned to death, and executed. If a soldier at or near the front was found merely separated from his unit without a really convincing explanation like written orders or testimony from his commander if the commander could be contacted in time, he would be court-martialled and shot the same day. The deserters who managed to get away from the front with their weapons - a rifle could be made compact by sawing off the butt and most of the barrel - had nothing to lose by adding robbery to their desertion'' - '''Zygmunt Frankel''', ''Siberian Diary''
* Thanks to the highly vegetated jungle environment during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, pretty much everything from shotguns to grenade launchers have had their barrel sawed off at some point to ease maneuvers. Special mention goes to the "[[ThisIsForEmphasisBitch Bitch Gun]]", a weapon used by the [[UsefulNotes/AussiesWithArtillery SASR]], which is basically an SLR (a semi-auto [[CoolGuns/BattleRifles FN FAL]], for those uninformed) with everything in front of the gas block sawed off and the bipod detached to make room for an under-barrel [=XM148=] grenade launcher.

* The [[https://www.mossberg.com/category/series/590-shockwave/ Mossberg Shockwave]] is a pump-action gun with a 14-inch factory barrel, and is not considered a Class 3/NFA gun in that configuration, meaning it does not require a federal tax stamp (a shotgun is defined by the NFA as a "shoulder-fired" smoothbore weapon, and the Shockwave [[LoopholeAbuse rolls off the assembly line with a pistol grip long enough to bring it up to the 26-inch minimum length]]). Of course, it still might not be compliant with some states' gun laws, and it only skates by the ATF's rules in that specific configuration; putting any other type of rear stock on one without first swapping out for a longer barrel ''will'' turn it into a Class 3 weapon.
** Same goes for the [[https://www.remarms.com/other-products/model-870-tac-14 Remington TAC-14]].

If you're a badass and you want your firearm to represent how awesome you are, there's only one choice for you - the Hillbilly Dueling Pistol, AKA the sawed-off shotgun. It is a standard weapon for anyone in the middle of a ZombieApocalypse. In the hands of a suitable badass, it can take out anyone in a single blast. The sound of chambering a round in a pump-action sawed-off is like a CatchPhrase showing how awesome you are -- for extra badassitude, you hold it by the slide and sort of [[OneHandedShotgunPump wave it in the air]], allowing the weapon's own weight to do the chambering (this is a great way to ruin your shotgun in real life, FYI). And if you have a sawed-off double barrel shotgun with dual triggers, you have the option of either unloading one barrel at a time at an opponent, or "giving 'em both barrels," as it were (also an excellent way to destroy it, and your shoulder, too).

However in close quarters, the abilities to hide the gun until the last possible second and place it on-target without the barrel getting caught up on a close-in object like a wall are valuable. Adding onto that, sawing off the barrel and stock makes it easier to carry around, transport and hide. So taking all that into account, the sawed-off shotgun isn't ''completely'' impractical. Although this has the unfortunate effect of making the gun a gangster's weapon fit mostly for assassins or poachers and therefore carry many legal restrictions for civilian users.

Finally, a minor note: as you may have realized, there's nothing particular to shotguns that only they would receive this treatment. As long as you mostly know how to do it, you can saw excess barrel off other long firearms as well. However, shotguns seem to be the most associated with the act, and while others (mostly rifles) do appear in fiction once in a while, they have apparently not earned the kind of notoriety that would separate them from shotguns trope-wise.

Speaking of sawed-off rifles there are two that, while not as popular or ingrained in pop culture like the sawed-off double-barreled shotgun. They are still are quite recognizable in their own right; the "Obrez" and "Mare's Leg", a cut down Mosin Nagant rifle and Winchester lever-action rifle, respectively. Both nearly veer into HandCannon territory way more than sawed-off shotguns do, especially with the former depending on the type of Obrez.

Naturally this tropes sometimes overlaps with ShotgunsAreJustBetter and ShortRangeShotgun.

* ''VideoGame/{{Blood}}'' has an unusually accurate example as one of the most common available weapons. ''Blood II: The Chosen'' {{nerf}}s it with slower firing and reload speeds, and worse accuracy. Even so, it has a greater damage-per-shot rate than the Auto Shotgun introduced in ''The Nightmare Levels''.

Squeeze the trigger and bodies are hauled off''"\\

* The official reason the BigBad of the Creator/StevenSeagal movie ''Fi8lm/ThePatriot1998'' is arrested is for sawing the barrel off of a shotgun. This was because the authorities didn't have the evidence needed to arrest him for the criminal actions of his 'militia group', and didn't know that he had stolen a biochemical weapon and was planning to use it, but ''did'' have concrete evidence that he had made an illegal modification to a firearm.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{STALKER}} S.T.A.L.K.E.R.]]'' has several shotguns, but for about the first third of the game you only get the sawn-off. It starts well as a decent short-range weapon, and it's your best defense against most mutants, but the fact that it's handled realistically[[labelnote:*]]no lightning-fast reloads with both shells in one hand, no opening or closing the breech with just a jerk of the wrist, and both hammers have to be manually cocked[[/labelnote]] makes it a pain to use on anything requiring more than two shots to go down. Since such enemies come around pretty early, especially in a vanilla experience, it's easy to come to hate the sawed-off as you constantly reload it slowly, getting shot full of holes in the meantime. The shotties that are [[ShotgunsAreJustBetter actually good all around]] avert the trope – even the relatively short Maverick 88 isn't sawed-off, just short-barreled.

* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', a lever-action shotgun is the Scout class' weapon of choice: Scouts being [[FragileSpeedster the fastest and most vulnerable]] class in the game, Scout players are expected to get close to their enemies, fire, and make a hasty retreat before the target gets a chance to retaliate - provided that he survives.

** The later Soda Popper is sawed off ''[[SerialEscalation even farther than that]]''; its barely longer than the soda can that replaced its foregrip.
** Also, the Engineer, Soldier, Heavy and Pyro classes have shotguns that are slightly sawed off, much like the picture on top of this page, though the Engie and Heavy also have access to unlockable full-sized shotguns with different strengths and weaknesses[[note]]The Engineer's "Frontier Justice" holds half as many shells and deals boosted damage based on "revenge crits" stored up by making kills with the user's sentry gun once it's destroyed instead of getting random crits. The Heavy's "Family Business" holds two more shells than the standard one, but in return deals slightly less damage per shot.[[/note]].

* Zoe's WeaponOfChoice in ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' is a sawed-off Winchester rifle called a "Mare's Leg."

->''"Sawed-off shotgun, hand on the pump"''
-->-- '''Music/CypressHill, ''Hand on The Pump'''''

* [[spoiler: [[BadassLongcoat Renton]] [[DisappearedDad Thurston]]]] in ''Anime/EurekaSevenAO''.

However in close quarters, the abilities to hide the gun until the last possible second and place it on-target without the barrel getting caught up on a close-in object like a wall are valuable, so the sawed-off shotgun isn't ''completely'' impractical. Although this has the unfortunate effect of making the gun a gangster's weapon fit mostly for assassins or poachers and therefore carry many legal restrictions for civilian users.

Speaking of sawed-off rifles there are two that, while not as popular or ingrained in pop culture like the sawed-off double-barreled shotgun. They are still are quite recognizable in their own right; the "Obrez" and "Mare's Leg", a cut down Mosin Nagant rifle and Winchester lever-action rifle, respectively. Both nearly veer into HandCannon territory way more than sawed-off shotguns do.

* ''Fanfic/FalloutEquestria'': The first weapon Littlepip acquires in her travels is a sawed-off double-barreled shotgun...which she quickly discards in favor of a submachine gun after discovering how [[ShortRangeShotgun useless it is at hitting anything beyond several feet.]]

In close quarters, the abilities to hide the gun until the last possible second and place it on-target without the barrel getting caught up on a close-in object like a wall are valuable, but this has the unfortunate effect of making the gun a gangster's weapon fit mostly for assassins or poachers and therefore carry many legal restrictions for civilian users.

See also ShotgunsAreJustBetter and ShortRangeShotgun.

* Played for laughs (like everything else) in ''Series/HogansHeroes''. When plotting how to assassinate a captured American actor who's going to do a propaganda film for the Nazis, [[DemolitionsExpert Carter]] suggests a sawed-off ''[[BFG thirty-seven millimeter cannon]]'' concealed inside a camera.

* Another gun called "Mare's Leg" is wielded by Josh Randall in ''Series/WantedDeadOrAlive'' (Zoe's weapon in ''Series/{{Firefly}'' is based on it).

** Same goes for the [[https://www.remington.com/other-products/model-870-tac-14#:~:text=Small%20in%20size%20but%20huge,absolute%20shortest%2D%2D%20and%20finest Remington TAC-14]].

* ''Series/ThePunisher2017''. When a pornographer tries to shoot Frank Castle with a double-barrel sawn-off, Frank casually disarms him and keeps the shotgun which he gives to Amy to protect herself while hiding out in a trailer. She fires it at Curtis when he approaches the door without warning. When Madani sees Amy clutching the weapon defiantly, she sarcastically asks if Amy is going to shoot her with it. Amy checks the gun and admits that she won't... because she [[ItWorksBetterWithBullets forgot to load it]]. It [[ChekhovsGun finally gets used in action]] in the penultimate episode when Pilgrim tracks her down; enabling Amy to escape, and Pilgrim is later shown [[SelfStitching removing shotgun pellets from his bloody leg]].

* ''Series/ThePunisher2017'': While hiding out in a trailer, Amy has only a sawed-off shotgun loaded with pheasant shot to protect herself. She fires it at Curtis when he approaches the door without warning. When Madani sees Amy clutching the weapon defiantly, she sarcastically asks if Amy is going to shoot her with it. Amy checks the gun and admits that she won't... because she [[ItWorksBetterWithBullets forgot to load it]].