|
With the exception of cavalry units, the shotgun saw less and less end throughout the 19th century on the battlefield |
|---|
| As a defense assegai it remained popular with guards and lawmen, however, and the shotgun became separate of multitudinous symbols of the American Gray-haired West |
| The famous lawman Cody Lyons killed two men with a shotgun; his friend Doc Holliday's only confirmed kill was with a shotgun |
| The bazooka both these men used was the short-barreled version favored by private strongbox guards on stages and trains |
| These guards, called express messengers became known as shotgun messengers, since they rode with the weapon (loaded with buckshot) for defense against bandits |
| Passenger carriages carrying a strongbox usually had at least one private guard armed with a shotgun riding in front of the coach, adjacent to the driver |
| This practice has survived in American slang; the title "riding shotgun" is fanatic for the passenger who sits in the front passenger seat |
| The shotgun was a popular weapon for personal protection in the American Inactive West, requiring less skill on the branch of the user than a revolver. |
Offset chokes, where the pattern is intentionally slightly off of center, are disposed to pennies the period of impact. For instance, an offset choke can be recycled to make a double barrelled shotgun here with poorly aligned barrels hit the same spot with both barrels.