As a fan of the shotgun, I’m particularly interested in its weaknesses and how to solve those weaknesses. They are well known by now. They are short-range, have hefty recoil, and can be difficult to use one-handed. Sadly, these aren’t always theoretical; we can find real examples of shotguns failing to perform when needed.
These failures are law enforcement-based. Some arguably could have been fixed via training, and others were brought about purely by the situation the officers faced. Still, these incidents would help usher in the age of the patrol rifle and nearly send the shotgun to the dustbin.
Let’s examine four shoot-outs where the shotgun was not an effective fight stopper.
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The Newhall Massacre
In 1970, officers of the California Highway Patrol were looking for a red Pontiac after reports that the driver was brandishing a weapon. CHP officers Walt Frago and Roger Gore located the vehicle and pulled it over. They began conducting a search of the driver when the passenger came out shooting, immediately killing Frago. As Gore engaged the passenger, the driver pulled a revolver and shot him, killing him.
CHP Officers Alleyn and Pence arrived as backup and were immediately fired upon. The bad guys dove into the car to retrieve more weapons. Alleyn fielded a Remington Model 870 and opened fire on the suspect’s vehicle. He operated the shotgun so fast he accidentally ejected a live round.
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A single pellet struck one of the bad guys in the head, but did only superficial damage. The gunfight devolved quickly, and both additional CHP officers were killed. Eventually, one of the bad guys was arrested and the other committed suicide.
What’s the lesson to learn here? Pump shotguns have a demanding manual of arms. The fact that the officer ejected a live round is a major problem. Pump-shotguns require manual action by the shooter, and if that’s not well-trained, short stroking or ejecting live rounds occurs.
Alleyn emptied the gun without much result. You can argue this is due to the shotgun’s low capacity, and I think that’s fair. If I had to imagine emptying the gun, I would say he fired three rounds since 870s hold four in a standard tube and he ejected one live round.
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I wasn’t there, but I’m betting if he had more training, he would have waited to have better sight confirmation of his targets rather than emptying buckshot into a car.
Norco
Norco is a complicated case that turned one shootout into a chase with shooting, and a second shootout in the woods. In the first shootout, one officer engaged five heavily armed bank robbers. He was armed with a shotgun, and under intense fire, he was able to kill the bank robber’s getaway driver.
A single 00 pellet struck the driver behind the right ear, killing him instantly. This highlights one of the shotgun’s strengths: putting a lot of lead in the air per trigger pull and its ability to hit moving targets.
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However, as the chase became a second gunfight, the bank robbers, armed with rifles and shotguns, were capable of holding off the police who were armed with shotguns and revolvers. They even damaged a helicopter, forcing it to retreat.
The tide changed when Sheriff’s Deputy D. J. McCarty showed up with an M-16. The rifle caused the men to scatter and flee into the woods, with one officer saying, “There would have been a lot more dead cops on the road if not for that weapon.”
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In this situation, the bank robbers used the superior effective range of their rifles to keep the police at a distance. They were able to suppress the police. Shotguns are not suppressive weapons. They don’t offer rapid fire or high enough capacity to do so. Add in range, and it’s easy to be outgunned by rifle-wielding assailants.
1986 Miami Shootout
The FBI’s 1986 Miami Shootout is one of the most famous gunfights of all time. A group of FBI agents engaged two murderous bank and armored car robbers armed with a Mini-14 and shotgun, as well as handguns.
Of the eight FBI agents, only two had shotguns in their cars. Of the two, only one was deployed. FBI Agent and all-around badass, Edmund Mireles, engaged the two bank robbers with his Remington 870 shotgun.
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He fired five rounds and only wounded one of the bank robbers in the feet. While the fight was at close quarters, Agent Mireles had taken a .223 round to the left arm. He was shooting a pump-action shotgun with one hand and was able to isolate the threats.
He later killed both by drawing his revolver and killing both men by approaching them.
The problem with the shotgun is the manual of arms once again. The pump shotgun is exceedingly difficult to utilize with a single hand. That’s a testament to Mireles and his ability to stay in the fight after taking a rifle round to the arm. Even with an injured arm, a heavy recoiling weapon that requires two hands, he was seemingly able to isolate the threats and finish them.
North Hollywood Shootout
On February 28th, 1997, two bank robbers covered in soft body armor stormed a bank in North Hollywood with Norinco AKs. The rifles were converted to fully automatic, and the robbers weren’t shy about spraying lead.
The LAPD officers who responded had 9mm pistols, .38 Special revolvers, and 12-gauge shotguns. They exchanged fire, but the police officer’s fire was ineffective. The soft armor could stop any handgun or shotgun round, and did. These guys weren’t just wearing vests, but body armor covered their entire bodies with the exception of their heads.
Officers had to commandeer AR-15 rifles from a nearby gun store and the ARs brought by SWAT officers to combat the two heavily armed and armored bank robbers.
This leaves many to ask, why not go for a headshot? Even out to 50 meters, a shotgun could land a headshot with most buckshot. At least on a square range.
First, LAPD is trained to aim for center mass. Second, a headshot on a moving target while under suppressing fire is difficult with any weapon. If you take that headshot at extended range, you’re putting buckshot in the air and into the bank behind the bank robbers. Even after rifles arrived on scene, it was torso and lower body shots that rendered the bank robbers ineffective.
The shotgun’s failure here is its inability to penetrate armor. Buckshot pellets are essentially pistol rounds and cannot penetrate soft or hard armor. Additionally, it’s not a precision weapon with standard buckshot, making headshots difficult to take safely.
The Shotgun
For police officers, the shotgun is not the versatile weapon it once was. The failures of the shotgun highlight this, and it’s why patrol rifles are so common. While shotguns still have their place, it’s a lot easier to make an officer effective with a rifle than a shotgun. Regardless of which platform you use for defense and duty, you should study its failures to better understand its limitations.
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