Airsoft shotguns fire 3/6 BBs per pump. Spread-pattern hits at short range that nothing else replicates — and the satisfying mechanical pump-action that real shotguns trade on.

Most airsoft shotguns are tri-shot spring-powered: rack the pump, three BBs leave the barrel in a tight cone, recharge, repeat. No batteries, no gas required for the basic variants — just the mechanical action of pumping for each shot. The trade-off compared to a CQB AEG is rate of fire (one trigger pull per pump rather than full-auto) and reload time (after 5-8 shells worth of shots you reload). What you get back is reliability, the spread that makes CQB hits genuinely easier at short range, and a primary that works in any temperature, any environment, with zero electronic dependencies.

Two mechanism families. Spring tri-shot pump-action is the standard — Tokyo Marui, ASG, CYMA, and JAG cover this. Mechanically simple, reliable, affordable. Gas-powered shotguns (less common, more expensive) add semi-auto cycling and higher capacity but with the cold-weather and maintenance considerations of any GBB platform. For most UK skirmish use, the spring tri-shot is the practical choice.

Where shotguns fit on a team. They're the natural breaching primary for door-stack CQB and the perfect "shock-and-awe" sidearm for players running a sniper rifle who need a close-range fallback when a target closes inside the MED. They're not the primary for full-day outdoor skirmish — the rate of fire is too low for sustained engagements. But for indoor CQB nights and milsim breach roles, they earn their place.

💡 Titan Forge tip: Shotgun shells (the plastic casings that load into the magazine tube) are consumables — they don't last forever and sites don't usually sell them. Buy spares with the shotgun. They're listed in shotgun magazines.