Shotguns and Pistols

13:31 Battlefield 6 has 4 shotguns and 7 secondaries as of Nov 8, 2026, the totals on EA's loadout page: the M87A1, M1014, 18.5KS-K and DB-12, and the P18, ES 5.7, M45A1, M44, GGH-22, M357 Trait and vz. 61. Shotguns are one of the three categories every class may carry, even in Closed Weapon modes; secondaries go in every loadout. In Maxiq's Oct 25, 2026 rundown after the Season 5 update, the default M87A1 is "absolutely amazing" with #00 Buckshot and the DB-12 is "possibly the worst gun in the entire game". No new shotgun or pistol came with Season 5, but EA is adding magazine options to some shotguns and testing optics for the M44 for Nov 10, 2026. Every other gun is on Weapons.

Quick facts

Sources: EA, loadout page, Jul 21, 2026; EA, Season 3 roadmap, May 8, 2026; EA, Nov 2, 2026; EA, Oct 21, 2026.

Every shotgun

Sources: EA loadout page; EA, 1.0.1.0; EA, California Resistance; TheXclusiveAce, Jun 24, 2026 (magazines and reloads).

Shotguns were the story of the open beta: EA counted 337,556,699 shotgun kills across its two weekends in Aug 2025, and the launch patch 1.0.1.0 made the M87A1 need more pellets for a kill. Update 1.3.3.0 (Jun 30, 2026) cut limb and stomach damage for every gun except shotguns and sidearms (EA).

How shotgun spread works

1:17 Battlefield 6 shotguns do not spread their pellets across the whole hip-fire circle. TheXclusiveAce explains in his Jun 24, 2026 shotgun guide that the pellets fly in a very tight group, and the circle only shows where that group may land at random. Half-cover a target with the circle and you can miss every pellet. His advice: put hip-fire attachments on a shotgun you hip-fire, or aim down sights, which sends the group where you aim.

Ranges by ammo type

2:50 Ace measured each shotgun's kill ranges in the firing range before Season 4 (Jun 24, 2026). With the default #1 Buckshot, 16 pellets a shot, his figures are:

Source: TheXclusiveAce, Jun 24, 2026, recorded play; patches since may have moved these.

4:44 #00 Buckshot, added for every shotgun on Jun 9, 2026, fires 8 pellets with roughly double the damage each and a tighter group, so it rewards aiming down sights. In Ace's test the M87A1 keeps its 15 m one-shot, the M1014 falls from a one-shot straight to a three-shot past 9.5 m, the 18.5KS-K's two-shot range stretches to about 18 m, and the DB-12 two-shots out to about 20 m.

6:17 Slugs fire one projectile and lose damage only at 75 m. The M87A1 kills with one body shot to 15 m and one headshot to 37.5 m, then needs two shots to 75 m; the 18.5KS-K and DB-12 never kill with one body shot, but one-shot to the head to about 9.5 m. Flechettes are #1 Buckshot with better penetration and delayed health regeneration for the target.

Which shotgun to use

0:30 The DB-12 splits opinion. Its two quick shots fire at about 360 rounds a minute, then a pump of about 467 milliseconds chambers the next pair, Ace measured, and it holds 16 shells, the most of any shotgun. Maxiq calls it the worst gun in the game and a nightmare to level to 50; Ace calls all four viable and says the DB-12 works once you stop rushing the second shot and let the recoil settle first.

11:13 Both creators land on the M87A1. Ace prefers it for "the relative consistency"; Maxiq rates the M1014 above the 18.5KS-K, whose eight rounds he finds tricky. For quicker reloads, the speed loader on the M87A1 and M1014 gives a flat reload of about 1.35 and 1.48 seconds.

We think the M87A1 with #00 Buckshot is the shotgun to learn, and the place for it is the second primary of an Assault through the Extra Primary Weapon gadget (Dexerto's build, Oct 2025), or a Recon or Engineer on close-quarters maps such as Cairo Bazaar and the infantry-only European Casino, where a 15 m one-shot covers most corners.

Every secondary

Sources: EA loadout page; EA, 1.3.3.0; EA, Season 2 roadmap; EA, California Resistance; Maxiq, Oct 23, 2025.

Which pistol to use

14:16 A year in, Maxiq's Oct 25, 2026 advice is to "always stick to the revolvers". The M357 Trait is his best secondary: a high rate of fire and a two-shot kill up close that he says makes it "almost a primary" for aggressive players, with eight rounds. The M44 earns its place with a long one-shot headshot range.

14:55 Of the pistols, he calls the M45A1 "a pretty okay three-shot kill", the P18 a comfortable default, and the vz. 61 usable only with its 40-point extended magazine, which leaves no room for anything else; the GGH-22 and ES 5.7 he would avoid.

7:07 Two weeks after launch, in Oct 2025, Maxiq had already ranked the M44 first of the four launch pistols, measuring a 1.5x headshot multiplier against 1.3x on the others and damage that barely drops with range, at the cost of a slow 3.4-second reload.

0:47 The same test put the ES 5.7 last: it fired fastest, about 450 rounds a minute, but did only 20 damage up close, against the P18's 25 at 400 rounds a minute. The ES 5.7 has since lost muzzle velocity in Update 1.3.3.0.

EA said on Oct 21, 2026 that the much-requested M9 "has not been forgotten" and that 2027 hardware comes "early in the new year". We expect the M9 in Season 6, and we think custom M44 optics will make the revolver the default Recon sidearm for finishing off body-shot targets, the trick Maxiq already showed in Oct 2025.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best shotgun in Battlefield 6?

The M87A1, according to both creators cited here (Jun 24 and Oct 25, 2026), best with #00 Buckshot for aiming down sights.

Why do my shotgun shots miss in hip fire?

The pellets fly in a tight group placed at random inside the hip-fire circle, not spread across it. Aim down sights or use hip-fire attachments.

What is the best pistol?

The creators cited here favor the revolvers: the M357 Trait for close range and the M44 for its headshot range.

Is the M9 pistol in Battlefield 6?

Not as of Nov 8, 2026. EA says it has not been forgotten and will share 2027 hardware early in the new year.

Sources

• Maxiq, Oct 25, 2026: The Updated Top META Weapons in Battlefield 6 Season 5!
• TheXclusiveAce, Jun 24, 2026: Which Shotgun and Ammo Type is Best in Battlefield 6?
• Maxiq, Oct 23, 2025: Battlefield 6, Ranking All Pistols From Worst to Best
• Electronic Arts, Jul 21, 2026: Loadout creation and weapon classes
• Electronic Arts, Nov 2, 2026: Community update, High Stakes in the Casino
• Electronic Arts, Oct 21, 2026: Community update, More to Season 5
• Electronic Arts, Jun 26, 2026: Battlefield 6 Game Update 1.3.3.0
• Electronic Arts, May 8, 2026: Season 3 roadmap
• Electronic Arts, Feb 12, 2026: Season 2 roadmap
• Electronic Arts, Nov 18, 2025: Season 1 California Resistance mid-season roadmap
• Electronic Arts, Oct 9, 2025: Battlefield 6 Update Notes 1.0.1.0
• MP1st, Aug 21, 2025: Battlefield 6 beta stats
• Dexerto, Oct 2025: Best Assault class setup