“Spray and pray.” That’s how accomplished shotgun owners describe the home defense strategy deployed by “casual” shotgunners. It’s the gun-active gun owner’s way of sneering at people who buy a shotgun, load it, stash it under their bed and call it good. These self-anointed combat experts are highlighting the fact that most shotgun owners are unaware that their firearm is NOT a point-and-shoot weapon. At an effective distance (i.e. ten yards or so), a shotgun unleashes a tightly gathered grouping of pellets. With appropriate ammunition, a single shotgun blast will kill your target dead. Provided you hit them. Which requires that you aim the weapon accurately. In other words, yes, you can miss with a shotgun. Hence the shotguinista’s diss, laughing at the less-accomplished shotgunner’s need for luck and/or divine intervention. Only one problem: even the best shotgun owner can lose a gun battle and, thus, their life. They know enough not to spray but they need to pray, too.
