How To Get The Shotgun In Fallout 3

Learning how to get the shotgun in Fallout 3 is something that can literally save your life while wandering the Wasteland. Basically, there are two variants of the shotgun that can be found around DC: the sawed-off shotgun and the combat shotgun, with the combat shotgun being the more powerful of the two. Choosing to use a shotgun during the course of your travels is wise as it can do a large amount of damage at close range, and as your skill in small guns increases it's even capable of downing enemies in one shot. Finding both variations of the shotgun is actually quite easy. There are, however, two unique shotguns that can be found within the Capital Wasteland, one for each variation.

1. Raiders are fond of using sawed-off shotguns, especially at the beginning of the game, and the combat shotgun can be easily found on humanoid characters.
2. Keep an eye out for traps that use combat shotguns; these traps can be disabled and the shotgun can be taken, along with a considerable amount of ammo.
3. The Kneecapper is a unique sawed-off shotgun that does an increased amount of damage with a tighter spread and can be repaired with normal sawed-off shotguns. It is used by Ronald Laren in Girdershade, whom you meet after accepting the quest "The Nuka Cola Challenge," from Sierra Petrovita, the only other resident of Girdershade. You can send him off to the Nuka-Cola plant, where he will meet his demise, and his body can be found and looted near or in the plant. Or, you can either pickpocket it from him or kill him and take it; however, killing him will result in a loss of Karma.
4. The Terrible Shotgun is the unique version of the combat shotgun, and its one of the best guns in the game. Obtaining it is quite simple too, all it involves is seeking out Smiling Jack, a merchant in the Evergreen Mills Bazaar. Once you find him (he won't be hard to miss, as he's the only raider in the Bazaar that isn't hostile to you), you can kill him and take the Terrible Shotgun from him. Killing him doesn't incur a loss of Karma, since he's a raider, and that also means that you can loot his inventory. This is the best way to get the Terrible Shotgun, since you'll probably never want to travel to the Bazaar to do business with him after your first meeting.

Finding either the Kneecapper or the Terrible Shotgun will make for an excellent addition to your gun collection. Find both of them, and you can do a lot of damage around the Capital Wasteland.