Sawn-off Shotgun

File:Sawn-off sa.png

The Sawn-off Shotgun in GTA San Andreas.

The Sawn-off Shotgun, also known as the Sawed-off Shotgun, is a weapon available in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and The Lost and Damned. This gun is a type of shotgun with a shorter gun barrel and often a shorter or deleted stock. Compared to a standard shotgun, the sawed-off has a shorter effective range, but the same destructive power. Its reduced size makes it easier to maneuver and conceal. Such a powerful and compact weapon is especially suitable for use in small spaces, such as by vehicle crews, and entry teams running through doorways. To make shotguns less concealable, many jurisdictions have a minimum legal length for shotgun barrels.

GTA San Andreas

Despite being a Shotgun, it's held like a Pistol and you can sprint while holding it. It is double barreled and can only fire two shellss before a rather lengthy reload. At hitman level, the player can dual wield it and fire four shells instead. With hitman skill and unlimited ammo, the shotgun is as powerful as a rocket launcher, as it will blow up a car with about 6 shells and a chopper with about 24.

The Lost and Damned

The sawn-off shotgun can be used while riding motorcycles to do drive-bys. It only holds two shells per reload and a short effective range, but it is very powerful. It is exclusive to The Lost and Damned and cannot be found in the original GTA IV game. The Sawn-off Shotgun is so powerful at close ranges, it becomes very impractical and suicidal to hit people with cars or attempt [drive-by]s during [multiplayer] matches, especially if the auto-aim is turned on. While on a motorcycle, this can be used to instantly set a vehcile on fire by shooting the rear tires. This is usually a 1 hit kill, but sometimes takes 2 hits.

The Ballad Of Gay Tony

The sawn-off is also technically available, albeit via a glitch during the mission Frosting on the Cake. If the mission is failed whilst still at the dock, Luis can kill one of the bikers or bodyguards (who carry the weapons) and steal their sawn-off.

This is only a temporary item, in any case, as Luis will be outfitted with the Explosive Shotgun in a later mission by Yusuf Amir.

Locations

GTA San Andreas

• East Los Santos, Los Santos - On the roof of The Pig Pen
• Ganton, Los Santos - Available inside the Johnson House upon spraying over all 100 Gang Tags
• Ocean Docks, Los Santos - Inside a train trailer
• Vinewood, Los Santos - Between two studios
• Palomino Creek, Red County - Behind the wall opposite of Jazz Mags, in front of a door of a house
• Whitewood Estates, Las Venturas - Behind the Sindacco Abattoir
• Redsands West, Las Venturas - Beside a trash trailer and a wired fence across the Xoomer gas station
• Las Venturas Airport, Las Venturas - Atop a building south of the curvy road servicing the Las Venturas Airport

The Lost and Damned

• Given to the player at the beginning of the game
• Can be bought at Terry's gun van.
• Available at the player's safehouses after completing 10 Gang Wars

Trivia

• As its name implies, the sawn-off shotgun is usually produced by home-made modification of a standard shotgun. In countries where handguns and pistol ammunition are rare due to legal restrictions or high price, criminals are known to convert legal or stolen hunting weapons into concealable weapons.
• A real double-barreled shotgun would usually have two triggers, something that the version in the game lacks.
• Oddly, if you look closely while firing the sawn-off shotgun, it ejects shells after every shot. This would not happen in real life, as the shotgun depicted in-game is a break action, and the shells would stay in the chamber and would need to be manually removed.

See also

• Double Barreled Shotgun
• Sawed-off shotgun article at Wikipedia