All 14 Full-Auto Shotguns in Call of Duty Ranked From Worst to Best

Full auto shotguns are some of the most annoying weapons you will ever go up against in Call of Duty. Being able to hold down the trigger and clean up kills without even aiming down the sights just feels cheap. But alongside that cheap feeling is a sense of fun, at least if you are the one pulling the trigger, because some of these guns are genuinely fun to use while others are basically useless. Here is every full-auto shotgun in the series, ranked from the worst all the way up to the one that never lost its crown.

14. The AA12 in Modern Warfare 3 Is the Worst Full-Auto Shotgun in the Series

The original AA12 in Call of Duty was a monster, but the Modern Warfare 3 version was scaled back and nerfed to the point where it was not even worth using. It was heavy, clunky, and did not do a lot of damage. Worse, it was a primary weapon instead of a secondary, which meant committing fully to using it even though it was a weak gun.

If a gun like this had been a secondary, I think it honestly would have been forgivable. But since it was a primary, it had to be better than it was. I will confidently call this the worst full auto shotgun in the series.

13. The Rampage in Black Ops 4 Had No Intimidation Factor

The Rampage was a full auto secondary shotgun, and usually those are scary to see. Not this one. The fire rate was okay and the ammo capacity was okay, but the damage and accuracy were pathetic. The hip fire spread seemed like it was a mile wide, so you were only making contact with a couple of pellets at a time, and the damage on each pellet was low.

That low damage really stood out in a game like Black Ops 4, where the time to kill was already super long. It was a secondary, so it did not have to be great, but it was also significantly worse than the other shotgun secondaries in that game. I would rather a full auto shotgun be too weak than too strong, but this one killed any reason to use it.

12. The Haymaker 12 in Black Ops 3 Was a Forgettable Hit-Marker Machine

The Haymaker 12 is probably one of the most forgettable guns in Call of Duty history. The fact that it was a primary weapon did some damage to its reputation, similar to the Modern Warfare 3 AA12. With how much open space and advanced movement there was in Black Ops 3, shotguns needed solid range and impressive one-shot kill potential, and this gun had none of that.

Even with the long barrel attachment, it was a hit marker machine with poor range drop off. Even at close range it needed two to three shots to kill, with no way to get a one-shot kill. It was not reliable, not powerful, and not viable enough next to guns like the KRM, the Argus, and the 205 Brecci in that same game.

11. The DCM8 in Infinite Warfare Felt Unresponsive

When I first used this gun I was pretty shocked at how weak it was. I know a full auto shotgun is going to be weaker than other shotguns or it would be totally busted, but the DCM8 in Infinite Warfare was bad even by full auto shotgun standards. The fire rate was high, which is cool, but the range just was not there.

It felt like you had to hit somebody four to five times to kill them, which is annoying in a game where people are running on walls or sitting in corners with an MW4. It might be my Infinite Warfare bias talking, but I think this is one of those weapons that made you feel like you were at a disadvantage just by using it.

10. A Full-Auto Shotgun in Black Ops 7 Trades Power for Mobility and Loses

This entry is a super low damage shotgun in Black Ops 7 that trades power for mobility. It fires really quickly and is pretty lightweight, but you are going to have to hit somebody 28 times to kill them. From everything I have seen of it, it does not seem like a very good full auto shotgun. The mobility is nice, but I do not think the trade-off for that much lost damage is worth it.

9. Advanced Warfare's Paid DLC Shotgun Struggled Once People Boosted Away

This paid DLC full auto shotgun in Advanced Warfare had okay damage, okay range, and okay attachments, making it an okay weapon overall. It seems like the Zombies community had a good time with it, but in multiplayer it struggled to keep up with the other weapons in that game.

It definitely struggled to shine in a game with such fast vertical movement, because enemies who knew it was coming could just boost out of range and light you up from a safe distance with their ASM1 or their BAL-27. At least the Zombies community liked it.

8. The M1216 in Black Ops 2 Kills Fast but Needs Constant Reloading

It is possible I am warming up to this gun, because I usually criticize it heavily and would have put it in the bottom three on most days. Today I gave it a slightly higher spot, maybe just because there have been some really bad full auto shotguns on this list. It is not completely bad. It can get kills quickly, but it needs to be rotated like a merry-go-round every four shots, which can totally break your flow.

That slow rotation can also get you killed pretty regularly. It is a unique and memorable weapon, but when it comes to performance I do not think it is that good. There are a lot of drawbacks to go along with its devastating potential power, which is why I can see the appeal but do not think the drawbacks are worth it.

7. The Riveter in the New Modern Warfare 3 Turns Weak Damage Into Attachment Chaos

The Riveter is kind of mid on its own but becomes completely broken once you load it up with attachments. It has a very fast fire rate and pretty low base damage, but with the right attachments you can buff it far beyond that, and with the insane ammo capacity available, the low base damage stops mattering.

You can run into enemy territory, hold down the fire button for a minute and a half, walk away from the fight, and have collected a bunch of kills along the way. It is also a weird weapon model. Whenever it pops up in the kill feed, it really looks like an SMG to me.

6. The Maelstrom in Black Ops 6 Proved Itself After a Few Patches

I wrote this gun off at first, but after a few patches and some gunsmith experimentation it has proven itself to be a formidable weapon. The fire rate is good, the accuracy is good, and the damage is generous enough to be good. The omni movement in Black Ops 6 means it is not too difficult to weave in and out of shotgun range without getting blown up.

There are also some devious attachments available for this gun that Black Ops 6 players have probably seen a little too much of. On top of that, it has one of the coolest shotgun names on this list, and that alone helps earn it the number six spot.

5. The Origin 12 in Modern Warfare 2019 Gave the AA12 Formula Drum Mags and Incendiary Shells

This is the new universe's version of the classic AA12. It may be on the heavy side, but it takes full advantage of the gunsmith by offering some of the most ridiculous attachments of all time. If you had told me back in 2009 that there would eventually be a version of the AA12 with a drum mag and incendiary shells, I would have cried tears of joy, or laughed you out of the room.

It does have a few drawbacks, including slow movement and the fact that it is a primary weapon, which inherently limits your playstyle. But the sheer power and the attachments have to be top five in my opinion. If you knew how to stick to close quarters or played on smaller maps, this thing was busted.

4. The MX Guardian Plagued Modern Warfare 2 (2022) With Its One-Shot Kill Range

The MX Guardian absolutely plagued Modern Warfare 2 for a while, and I would guess it is probably still a menace, though I am not sure how many people are still playing that game. It had a very impressive fire rate, solid ammo capacity, and a very intimidating one-shot kill range.

Having a gun with a high fire rate and good ammo capacity that still carries one-shot kill potential over a good amount of distance is a dangerous thing to have in a game, especially one like Modern Warfare 2 with an instant time to kill in most cases, since it can erase someone with a single shot and no real precision required.

3. The MX Guardian Got an Indirect Buff When It Carried Over to Modern Warfare 3 (2023)

The MX Guardian was carried over to Modern Warfare 3, and even though Sledgehammer did not directly touch it, it got an indirect buff from the changes made to the overall gameplay. Modern Warfare 3 is a much quicker game with a longer time to kill, so a weapon like this got more of a chance to shine, both because it was easier to run around the map and get in people's faces and because the longer time to kill meant you really felt the power behind the trigger.

One-shot kill range becomes much more valuable when people are staying on their feet longer, and the MX Guardian made a pretty solid name for itself in Modern Warfare 3. I could genuinely go back and forth on the two versions of this gun. The Modern Warfare 3 version was better because of the gameplay changes, but the simpler, slower, campier gameplay of Modern Warfare 2 also made the MX Guardian completely unbeatable on certain maps. This one is subjective, and I will let readers decide. They were both insane.

2. The Street Sweeper in Black Ops Cold War Only Loses the Top Spot Because of Its Reload

This is the new Black Ops universe version of the classic Striker, but instead of being semi-auto like the Striker, you can just hold down the trigger and keep firing. Despite being fully automatic, despite being a secondary weapon, and despite Black Ops Cold War having a longer time to kill, the Street Sweeper would still get one-shot kills from a good distance even if you did not land the instant kill. It had a stupid fire rate and really good ammo capacity, making it easy to sweep a target up.

The only downside was a stupidly slow reload animation, since you had to load every shell individually while your character took their time. But once you were loaded up, there was no stopping you. Frankly, it only avoids the number one spot today because of that reload animation. If a gun this powerful were capable of a quick reload, it would have been hands down number one.

1. The Classic AA12 Is the Best Full-Auto Shotgun in Call of Duty History

This last shotgun was strong, versatile, a secondary weapon, and had a quick reload, and if you know your Call of Duty history you already know it is by far the best full auto shotgun in the series. It was also the first full auto shotgun in Call of Duty history, which feels poetic given how it turned out. Everything was crazy in that era of the game, so it is not shocking that this shotgun ended up broken too.

The fire rate was good, the ammo capacity was okay, and the one-shot kill range was ridiculous, all wrapped up in a secondary weapon you could pull out whenever you needed to get out of a sticky situation. Whenever you ran out of primary ammo or got stuck in close quarters or inside a building, you could pull out the AA12, hold down the trigger for about five seconds, and the entire enemy team would be dead. It is definitely the best full auto shotgun in Call of Duty history, and I do not think there is a question about it.

Which version of the MX Guardian, Modern Warfare 2 or Modern Warfare 3, actually deserves the higher spot on this list?