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Gametitle-FNVGametitle-FNV GRA
Gametitle-FNVGametitle-FNV GRA

20 gauge shotgun shell is a type of ammunition in Fallout: New Vegas.

Background

"Gauge" is used to describe the bore size of a shot-firing weapon. Although bore sizes range incrementally from 1.5 up to 32 (with an aberrant 67.5 topping the scale), 10, 12, and 20 gauge (aside from the .410 shotgun that measures in caliber) are the most common bore sizes, with 12 gauge leading the group in popularity. A 20 gauge shotgun has a bore size of 15.6mm (.62", or 62 caliber), where the gauge number is the number of lead balls of that gun's bore diameter that would weigh a pound.

Sizes of shot is the individual lead or steel pellets that are fired from the weapon, which vary as well. A typical 20 gauge shotgun shell loaded with #3 buckshot contains eighteen to twenty pellets. Each pellet is 6.35 mm in diameter (0.25" or 25 caliber) and weighs 1.52 grams.

Characteristics

Masterson low recoil/max power 20 gauge shotgun shells are very similar to their larger, better known cousins, 12 gauge shotgun shells. Smaller in bore size, they have lighter powder loads and a smaller amount of shot, resulting in lower recoil and reduced target effect. 20 gauge shotshells consist of a plastic hull loaded with pistol powder and using multiple projectiles or a single slug.

Weapons using this ammunition

Production

Standard buckshot, magnum buckshot, 3/0 magnum buckshot and slug 20 gauge shotshell can be crafted at a reloading bench. A single shell requires the following ingredients:

Materials:Requirements:Produces:
Lead (30)
Range
Repair: 10
Level
20 gauge shotgun shell (1)
Materials:Requirements:Produces:
Lead (30)
Range
Repair: 25
Level
20 gauge, magnum (1)
Materials:Requirements:Produces:
Lead (33)
Range
Repair: 25
Level
20 gauge, slug (1)
Materials:Requirements:Produces:
Lead (32)
Range
Repair: 50
Level
20 gauge, 3/0 buck magnum (hand load) (1)

Breakdown

Breaking down a standard 20 gauge shotshell yields:

Materials:Requirements:Produces:
20 gauge shotgun shell (1)
Range
Repair: 10
Level
Lead (26)

Variants

20 gauge, magnum

Magnum shells are standard buckshot shells fitted with a higher internal powder load, increasing velocity and stopping power. The downside is that they cause more damage to the firearm used due to the higher overall pressure, requiring more regular maintenance.

20 gauge, slug

FNV 20 Ga Slug

20 gauge slug compared to .22LR bullet.

Slugs contain a large lead projectile promoting better accuracy and kinetic energy over a distance. Slugs enable a shotgun to engage targets at a further distance.

20 gauge, 3/0 buck

A sub-type added with the new add-on Gun Runners' Arsenal, these loads sacrifice quantity for quality, in other words there are fewer projectiles overall but they're heavier and pack a bigger punch.

20 gauge, 3/0 buck magnum

A sub-type added with the new add-on Gun Runners' Arsenal, these magnum shells use the larger 3/0 shot size, but with a greater powder load resulting in higher velocity. The Hand Loader perk is required to craft it.

20 gauge, pulse slug

A sub-type added with the new add-on Gun Runners' Arsenal, these slugs cause more damage to power armor and robots, and the target gets an extra kick from an electromagnetic pulse triggered by the impact.

Comparison

Legend
Ammunition type- Ammunition TypeWeapons spreadWeapons spread modifier
Damage Modifier- Weapon Damage modifierBonus effectAmmo bonus effect
Damage Threshold modifier- Target Damage Threshold modifierCraftable- Ammo is craftable
Condition penalty- Weapon condition modifierPercentage chance of empty casing- Percentage change of empty casing, hull or drained cell/pack/tank
Ammunition typeDamage modifierDamage Threshold modifierCondition penaltySpread modifierBonus effectCraftablePercentage chance of empty casing
20 gauge, standardx 1.2x 1x 1x 17 projectilesYes40% chance
20 gauge, pulse slug Gun Runners' Arsenalx 0.7x 1x 1x 0.351 projectile
+50 EMP robots
+25 EMP power armor
No40% chance
20 gauge, slugx 1x 1x 1x 0.351 projectileYes40% chance
20 gauge, 3/0 buck Gun Runners' Arsenalx 1x 1x 1x 14 projectilesNo40% chance
20 gauge, magnumx 1.3- 2x 1.15x 17 projectilesYes35% chance
20 gauge, 3/0 buck magnum Gun Runners' Arsenalx 1.3- 2x 1.15x 14 projectilesYes0% chance

Notes

3/0 buck rounds only have a x1 damage multiplier yet standard 20 gauge shells have a x1.2 multiplier and magnum shells have x1.3, including the 3/0 magnum shells (these multipliers were added as part of patch 1.5 as an incentive to use them over slug rounds). As a result, 3/0 buck actually inflicts less damage than standard shells while inflicting more damage per projectile as damage is divided evenly among them.

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