Shotgun

Shotgun is one of the weapons you can find in Friday the 13th: The Game.

Overview
This weapon is one of two firearms in the game, and is considered one of the most potent choices to use against Jason. Hitting Jason successfully will result in dealing high damage, knocking him down, and escaping with a good head start while he struggles to rise once more. It's aimed with a secondary button, and fired with the primary attack button, but it can be fired before the readying stance animation is complete (which isn't recommended since it's very easy to miss Jason without careful aim).

When fired, the shotgun shell will hit anything in the aiming circle if you are within a certain distance from the target (usually several clicks away, although with experience it becomes easier to know the effective distance). Shotguns also have only one round chambered; they will be discarded immediately after use, just like flare guns, with no chance to reload them. However, they're also one of the few weapons in the game which will never break, albeit Jason can force a counselor to drop the gun if he can grab them before they fire a shot off.

Shotguns are a rare weapon to find, and will be found in predetermined areas on a map. While each map has different loadouts for the objectives, the shotguns will always be located in their same spots. However, shotguns will not have a guaranteed chance to spawn in a map, rather its just highly likely at least one will appear in a game. Furthermore, when Tommy Jarvis enters a match, he always starts off with a shotgun in his possession.

Since this weapon can only be used once, it's not the best option for counselors who are skilled at fighting (e.g. Brandon) since they will need to fight Jason off several times potentially. Instead, teammates who are weak at fighting should be armed with it so they can provide some much needed firepower if Jason shows up. While it's powerful, using it also means you will be unarmed for the time being, which can cause fear to ramp up quickly. You must hit Jason with this weapon if you're alone, otherwise it will become easier for him to drench you in fear if you're unable to find another weapon in short notice.

Observant Jason's are able to use their Shift ability in order to avoid being shot; this means Jason can quickly close the distance on an unprepared shotgun user, then render the weapon useless by grabbing the counselor. Many Jason also use Shift when they know there are several counselors inside a building specifically to gather quick intel on his prey, meaning can locate a shotgun user as well as learn the group is packing serious firepower. As a result, try to ambush Jason with this weapon in a spot he wouldn't expect or cannot see clearly (such as around a corner of a room).

All in all, it's a tricky weapon to use against Jason, but it's definitely worth trying to get your hands on one if given the opportunity.

Patch 1.09 Shotgun Update
As of Patch 1.09, Jason is no longer able to block through shotgun rounds, making it an even more effective weapon than before. Furthermore, depending on the type of match you play online, several changes were made:

Public
All weapons, including shotguns, are no longer able to commit friendly fire when playing in a public match; shotgun users will have a better opportunity at saving fellow teammates who are grabbed by Jason. Furthermore, when counselors are fighting Jason in a group, a counselor with weak combat potential can sit back, keeping careful aim on Jason in order to shoot him if the counselor he grabs isn't carrying a pocket knife. As a result, Killing Jason comps in public matches were indirectly buffed, and coordinated groups can task a shotgun user as a fail safe.

Private
On the flip side, private matches weren't changed. Jason can use a grabbed counselor as a shield since the shotgun is capable of killing counselors accidentally if the user isn't careful. As a result, unless you are very close to Jason, and you're able to aim at his feet, it's not a good idea to shoot Jason while he is holding a counselor. There's simply too much danger involved; you might accidentally shoot an ally, therefore being hit with a major CP penalty of -1000 points.