"Please only use .20 gram high quality BB’s with this item in order to keep it in working order. Using anything else as ammunition for this gun will void the warranty and may cause it to jam. We recommend: ../shop/item.asp?itemid=53"

History of the Shotgun

     Shotguns have also been referred to as "scatterguns", "fowling pieces" or "two-shoot guns" historically.  The first recorded use of the term shotgun was in 1776 in Kentucky. It was noted as part of the "frontier language of the West". During its long history, it has been favored by bird hunters, guards and law enforcement officials.

     During the 1800s, shotguns were mainly employed by Calvary units. Cavalry units on both sides of the American Civil War employed shotguns. American cavalry went on to use the shotgun extensively during the Indian Wars during the latter half of the 19th century. Horseback units favored the shotgun for its moving target effectiveness, and devastating close-range firepower. The shotgun was also favored by citizen militias and similar groups.

     The famous lawman Wyatt Earp killed two men with a shotgun; his friend Doc Holiday's only confirmed kill was with a shotgun.

     Passenger carriages carrying a strongbox usually had at least one private guard armed with a shotgun riding in front of the coach, next to the driver. This practice has survived in American slang the term "riding shotgun" is used for the passenger who sits in the front passenger seat (however the term was not used till 1921, and for autos not till about 1954, when the TV series Gunsmoke became extremely popular, and used the terminology of riding shotgun).