Using the right gun is essential if you want to be competitive in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. If you like getting in people’s faces and taking them down before they can even react, then it’s time to pull out a shotgun. To help you figure out what shotgun you should be using, we’ve put together this tier list of the best shotguns in Modern Warfare 2.
Note: For more information about the game, check out our Modern Warfare guides and features hub.
Below is the tiering for every shotgun in Modern Warfare 2. The tiers of this list range from S to C: S Tier means that it is one of the best guns in the game; A Tier guns are strong but lack that extra punch to be S tier; B Tier weapons are usable but nothing extraordinary; and C Tier guns are not worth using outside of grinding for camos.
Shotguns tier list
- S Tier: Lockwood 300
- A Tier: Bryson 800, Bryson 890
- B Tier: Expedite 12
- C Tier: N/A
The shotguns in Modern Warfare 2 aren’t quite as strong as their Modern Warfare (2019) counterparts. In general, they are less reliable and have less range, but even so, when used right they are still strong. Just don’t expect the same crazy 30-meter one-shot kills you could secure with the 725 and the Model 680 of old.
Speaking of the 725, the best shotgun in Modern Warfare 2 is this game’s rendition of the same gun. The Lockwood 300 is a powerful double-barreled shotgun that can kill in one shot up to around 15 to 20 meters, and two shots up to around 25 to 30 if most of its pellets hit. It has slow handling and inaccurate hip-fire, but is powerful when used correctly.
Both the Bryson 800 and Bryson 890 overlap a lot as they are effectively the same weapon. Based on the Mossberg 590 and Mossberg 590M respectively, the only notable difference is that the Bryson 890 uses a detachable magazine rather than a traditional tube-fed magazine. These are both run-of-the-mill pump-action shotguns with decent range but slow handling and an even slower rate of fire. Regardless, they serve their purpose well enough and are still a good choice if built correctly.
The Expedite 12 fills the role of Modern Warfare 2‘s semi-auto shotgun. Credit where it’s due for a semi-auto shotgun, the Expedite actually has a decent effective range and its best-in-class fire rate makes it more forgiving than the other shotguns. However, the average time to kill in Modern Warfare 2 is so short that you often don’t have time to get off a second shot. For this reason, you are usually better off using one of the other shotguns.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is available on PC via Battle.net and Steam.
