AA-12

The AA-12 (Auto Assault-12) is a fully-automatic shotgun that appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized. It is the only fully automatic shotgun, but will need to be reloaded frequently and has a short range.

Multiplayer
The AA-12 is unlocked at Level 18 in multiplayer.

The AA-12 is a unique shotgun, as it is fully automatic and utilizes a box magazine. It has an 8-shell magazine capacity, which is doubled when the Extended Magazines attachment is used, which balances the weapon's power and speed. The AA-12 empties its magazine far more quickly (400 RPM in multiplayer) than it reloads, though this is slightly offset when Sleight of Hand is utilized. Since it uses magazines rather than individual shells, it is reloaded faster than any other shotgun in the game.

In multiplayer, the AA-12 has only one extra magazine, so it is wise to use it sparingly, unless Scavenger is used. It has moderate recoil unless firing full-auto, and very poor range, even when compared with other shotguns. This means that players using the weapon will have to get fairly close to enemies to use it effectively. However this trait makes it a highly useful weapon for clearing rooms, or areas full of enemies. Using Extended Mags will increase the capacity to 16 shells, allowing prolonged fire. Using Extended Mags in conjunction with Scavenger (as otherwise, with Extended Mags, users spawn with no extra magazines) can make it a highly useful weapon, and has made some players use it as a "primary" weapon. Using a silencer with this weapon makes it almost completely useless, as it shortens the range to roughly 5-10 yards, which means that the user must get incredibly close to enemies to actually be able to hit them. The AA-12 is very effective on Sabotage or Demolition matches as it can clear out a room with ease due to its rate of fire.

Players almost never use a Silencer for this weapon due to its low base range.

It is also notable that with the Grip attachment, the AA-12's switch time is noticeably quicker than without the grip. Though this can be remedied by double tapping the switch weapon button quickly to make the switch time quicker.

It is highly recommended to hip fire AA-12, as most players do, since it is hard (and usually unnecessary) to trace enemies with the iron sights, and because of the fact, that shotguns are more accurate this way (Steady Aim makes this even more effective). Also, the iron sight is very big, and obstructs a lot of the player's sight line, which can make him blind to potential dangers, such as an enemy.

If used as a main weapon, one should choose Scavenger or Sleight of Hand, Stopping Power (not necessary) and Steady Aim or if the user prefers it, Commando, in case a quick melee is needed to finish an enemy off. It is also a good idea to use the AA-12 in conjunction with Cold Blooded and/or SitRep Pro, as well as Scavenger Pro, for a good under-the-radar class.

Weapon Attachments

 * Red Dot Sight
 * Heartbeat Sensor (Special Ops only)
 * Silencer
 * Grip
 * FMJ
 * Holographic Sight
 * Extended Magazines

Modern Warfare: Mobilized
The AA-12 appears as one of the two shotguns available in Modern Warfare: Mobilized, the other being the SPAS-12. Though the AA-12 seems similar to the AA-12 in Modern Warfare 2, there many differences between the two. First of all, the AA-12 is a frequent starting weapon in the later levels of campaign mode; is used in the U.S. Marine missions most frequently. It also comes with a 32-round drum magazine by default, much greater damage per shell, a greater one-shot kill range, near infinite pellet range, and a much lower and controllable rate of fire than the Modern Warfare 2 version.

Singleplayer
In single player, the AA-12 is a versatile weapon, having a near infinite range, high damage, and a large 32 shell drum magazine. The extremely high range allows the player to make a kill at any distance, though the pellets will spread apart as the distance between the player and the target increases, negating the one-shot kill effect and decreasing accuracy considerably. Combined with the high damage, large shell capacity and near infinite range, one can fire multiple shells to make a kill at long range if needed. As mentioned before, the AA-12 is found in the later levels of campaign mode as a starting weapon, more specifically, in the levels Training, Closing In, To the Rig, and Oil Rig Confrontation.

Mulitplayer
In multiplayer the AA-12 is the second weapon to be unlocked for the Coalition multiplayer faction, taking 150 kills with the Coalition faction to earn.

Glitch
On the DS version there is a glitch on the mission Closing In, when the AA shotgun icon is tapped to reload it will not highlight.

Trivia

 * The AA-12 has a different reload when the Heartbeat Sensor is equipped (only available in Special Ops); the empty magazine will actually be thrown away when reloading, instead of disappearing off-screen as is the case with other attachments. The Heartbeat Sensor is also very visible even when aiming down the sight, a characteristic that is shared with multiple weapons including the TAR-21 and the L86 LSW.
 * In the Spec Ops mission, "Acceptable Losses", players start off with the AA-12 with three different attachments, the Red Dot Sight, Silencer and a Heartbeat Sensor. This is impossible in multiplayer, because you can only equip one attachment at a time (two with the Bling perk), and it isn't possible to attach a Heartbeat Sensor to a shotgun.
 * The AA-12 has different rates of fire in Singleplayer, Special Ops and in Multiplayer.
 * The AA-12 is sometimes deemed overpowered since its automatic fire can slaughter almost anyone at close range.

Video
thumb|left|300px|AA-12 Montage/Gameplay