Best Shotguns In Rainbow Six Siege

Summary

• Shotguns in Siege are crucial for defense, offering high damage and accuracy in close-range battles.
• The Skeleton Key under-barrel shotgun is versatile for both combat and breaching, providing flexible gameplay.
• The ACS12 slug shotgun stands out for its long range, high damage, and large magazine capacity, ideal for sharpshooters.

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege is one of the most popular tactical FPS games in recent memory. With gameplay heavily centered around close-quarters combat and breaching rooms, few games better suit the use of shotguns than Siege. Despite often having a shorter range and lower rate of fire than many alternative weapons, none do more damage per shot than these powerful close-range weapons.

With a versatile range of weapons across several different operators both attacking and defensive, there is sure to be a shotgun to suit any playstyle, whether for taking out targets or breaching rooms themselves.

Updated on January 17, 2025, by Mehrdad Khayyat: No meta lasts longer than a few seasons for competitive games and Rainbow Six Siege is no exception. Although Ubisoft barely touches weapons in Siege, they still receive some nerfs and buffs every now and then.

Shotguns in Siege play a crucial role for defensive operators, and it’s a solid weapon to watch entries and surprise the rushing attacks with a single shot. What makes shotguns powerful is the fact that they are deadly enough even with a hip-fire shot.

10

M1014

Solid ADS Accuracy But Weak Damage

M1014 might be the weakest pump shotgun in Siege when it comes to the damage rate, but one thing that still makes it a good choice is ADS accuracy. Although it doesn’t deal large enough damage from mid-range, the high accuracy helps a lot with close-range battles.

Pulse players use this shotgun more often, and it’s not a bad deal for verticals, though shooting through walls will reduce the damage even more. So, don’t expect to one-shot enemies with this gun unless you are so close to them.

9

Skeleton Key

Best For Opening Verticals And Decent In Close Range

The Skeleton Key is a unique under-barrel weapon that is only available as a gadget to the operator Buck. This 12-gauge shotgun is just as good as any other in the game and can be used for the purposes of eliminating enemies at close range or destroying walls and doors to create entry points alike.

What makes this weapon special is the fact that it does not take up an entire primary weapon slot, but can be switched back and forth by Buck along with his primary assault rifle. The downside of the Skeleton Key relative to other shotguns, however, is its reload time and ammo capacity.

8

SPAS-15

Small Damage But Faster Reload And Fire Rate

The SPAS-15 is the successor to the popular SPAS-12 model and is available for the operators Caveira and Thunderbird. This semi-automatic shotgun has a very high rate of fire and is effective for much longer ranges than many of its counterparts, despite its weaker base damage.

The downside to the SPAS-15 is its low ammo capacity, holding just 6 shots per magazine, which can quickly disappear due to the gun’s rapid firing. With that said, the fast output and quick reload time make this a great weapon, particularly for the fast-moving Caveira.

7

SuperNova

Great For Sneaking Into The Site With A Silencer Equipped

The Benelli SuperNova is a pump action shotgun available to the operators Hibana, Echo, and Amaru. Despite having a relatively slow pump rate when compared with other shotguns, the SuperNova provides a lot of power with roughly 48 damage per pellet and a decent range before this begins to drop off.

One of the main advantages of this shotgun over many other weapons in the game is the ability to silence it with zero negative effects to damage or range. The fact that it can be equipped by various operators also makes it one of the most diverse shotguns available.

6

ITA12L

Solid Accuracy And Decent Damage Rate

Since Mira already has a secondary shotgun, ITA12L doesn’t get the attention it deserves, but it’s a pretty accurate shotgun even for mid-range fights. Unlike M1014 which sacrifices damage for ADS accuracy, ITA12L delivers both.

However, the main problem is that operators who have access to ITA12L both come with weak long-range options, which is why this weapon doesn’t have a high pick rate. If Ubisoft lifts the exclusivity of this weapon for Spanish operators, maybe we will see it more often.

5

SIX12 SD

Good ADS Range With Built-In Silencer

The SIX12 SD is a semi-automatic shotgun available for Nokk. Despite its relatively slow rate of fire for a semi-automatic shotgun, the SIX12, and SIX12 SD variants unleash a powerful blast of eight pellets per shot, and catching an opponent cleanly from anywhere in a close-to-mid range is likely to kill or down them. With Nokk’s buff in Year 9, this weapon works well for sneaking into the site.

This shotgun also boasts the fastest reload time out of any available shotgun, the only drawback being the weapon’s strong recoil and slow fire rate. The normal variant comes with a slower ADS time but a faster reload, which belongs to Ying and Lesion.

4

M590A1

Massive Damage For Close-To-Mid-Range Fights

The M590A1 is a pump action shotgun available to the operators Sledge, Thatcher, Smoke, Mute, and Warden. Considered to be a “jack-of-all-trades” this weapon is equally adept at blasting through obstacles and doors as it is taking out enemies at close range.

Provided that the player has a decent sidearm equipped, this weapon can act as a powerful breaching tool without compromising too much on medium-range damage. The only downside to the M590A1 is its low reserve ammunition, which players must keep note of before expending their ammo too quickly.

3

M870

Super Brief ADS Time With Decent Mid-Range Accuracy

M870 could be one of the most-used shotguns in the game if operators carrying it had more reliable secondary options. This shotgun is amazing for mid-range battles, and it deals devastating damage to the opponents, especially when used in ADS.

Since the ADS time for this weapon is quite short, it makes it easier to switch to ADS even within a brief opportunity. The destruction, however, is not as impressive as M590A1, but still good enough to make a few rotations on the site, though the reserve bullet is scarce.

2

SG-CQB

Powerful Pump Action Shotgun With Amazing Hip Accuracy

When comparing the dispersion rates among shotguns in Siege, SG-CQB claims the top spot with a significant margin. The weapon is quite deadly and accurate when hip firing and that’s what makes SG-CQB a versatile option for defenders.

Although only Doc and Rook have access to this weapon among defenders and they are both 3-speed operators, it’s still great for holding entries and camping in site. Sometimes, this weapon can also be a solid option for attackers too, if they know how to rush with a shotgun.

1

ACS12

Slug Shotgun With Long Range And Big Magazine

Ideally, ACS12 must be categorized under DMRs, yet it is a slug shotgun with an ACOG sight, and it deals devastating damage to opponents no matter how far they are located.

Aside from its range, the magazine is another factor that makes ACS12 stand out from other shotguns in the game. With 30 rounds in each magazine, it’s even bigger than every other DMR in the game, yet it deals 69 damage per shot, which is equal to that of 417.

ACS12 is the best gun for sharpshooters in Siege, and it comes with full destructibility, which makes it capable of opening rotations for the defender side as well. The only downside for ACS12 is that it doesn’t have the hip accuracy of normal shotguns.