M1897 Trench Gun

The M1897 Trenchgun is a shotgun featured in Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3, and Call of Duty: World at War.

Call of Duty 2
The M1897 trench gun is usable by everyone, can carry six shells in its magazine and it packs a one shot kill at close or medium range. Accuracy isn't a problem with this weapon, since the buckshot spread is pretty tight, even when hip-firing. Since accuracy is of no worry, don't bother with the iron sights. Even if a target survives, they should be seriously wounded; enough for either a pistol or a teammate to finish them off.

The Trenchgun's only flaw is the slow pumping action after each shot. The player should always make sure he/she's feeling confident about one shot killing the target before firing, because the target might kill them if they survive and opens fire while the player is still pumping.

Call of Duty 3
The Trenchgun once again holds six shells and is used by the Americans in the campaign and the Americans and the Germans in multiplayer. In campaign, it is mostly seen being used by Leroy Huxley in most levels as it is his signature weapon. It is only during the missions "Night Drop" and "The Forest" where it can be found in a bunker, and it can be used at the beginning of the level "Hostage". In multiplayer it is used by the player that selects the medic class. Like in other games it is best used at close range to medium range. It is less accurate than in other games so aiming down sights is helpful as it reduces spread. It is mostly used on close quarters maps, in buildings, or by people guarding the objective in the game as most maps have the objective inside a building.

Singleplayer
The Trenchgun can be used in Little Resistance, Burn 'em Out and Relentless. Like all shotguns, it excels at close range but is useless at far range, making it extremely effective in the motar pits of Burn 'em Out and the tunnels of Relentless. It is advised to conserve ammo as the Trenchgun is a very valuable weapon. Sgt Sullivan is often seen using it.

Multiplayer
The Trenchgun is a pump-action shotgun capable of one shot kills at close quarters. Though not as deadly as the Double-Barreled Shotgun in face to face combat it provides more accuracy, range, and ammo than its counterpart.

It has a reduced 1-shot-kill range in comparison to the shotguns from Call of Duty 4, and is only effective at very close range. Steady Aim decreases the spread and can be very effective for increasing the range of the weapon. Stopping Power can be used to further increase the effective range by increasing the damage done by each pellet, thus, fewer pellets have to hit the enemy for a kill. The Trenchgun, like its counterpart the Double-Barreled Shotgun, is best fired from the hip rather than aiming down the sights. Using Sleight of Hand as a tier two perk reduces the amount of time it takes to reload the gun. Using Double Tap with the Trench Gun reduces the amount of time you pump the shotgun, giving you a faster rate of fire.

For stealthiness, this gun can be combined with a bayonet as the attachment, Camouflage as the tier two perk and Extreme Conditioning or Dead Silence as their tier 3 perk. Many favor Juggernaut over Camouflage because if you're stuck in a reloading situation, it takes more bullets for an enemy to kill you.

Nazi Zombies
The M1897 Trench Gun is often used in Nazi Zombies due to its better ammo capacity, and pellet spread than the Double-Barreled Shotgun. It has a longer reload time due to the individual shells being inserted into the chamber. Its biggest disadvantage is the reload time, and after Round 12, it loses its one-shot kill ability. However, against the Hellhounds, the Trench Gun it is always a one hit kill, even up past the 300th round. In "Der Riese", the Trench Gun can be upgraded to the "Gut Shot" via the Pack-a-Punch Machine, giving it more power, a capacity of 10, and causing it to reload 2 rounds at a time. The Gut Shot focuses the pellets into a closer proximity increasing the stopping power, making it an excellent backup close range weapon to have. When playing on Der Riese the Trench gun costs 1500 points This shotgun works best with speed cola with double tap and make it a very fast and very powerful weapon (more powerful if it's a gutshot) and clears the Zombies out faster, however, the ammo count runs out 3 times faster than a normal Trench Gun with no perks.

Trivia

 * The M1897 is the only shotgun in Call of Duty: World at War that can attach a bayonet. It is also the only shotgun in the series to feature a bayonet.
 * In the PS2 version of Call of Duty 3, AI (most notably Huxley), will not pump the shotgun after firing, instead, they will stop for a second (like a cooldown).
 * Attaching a bayonet on the Trenchgun and getting kills with it will not count towards the weapon dossier on CallofDuty.com.
 * Close range headshots with the Trenchgun can decapitate enemies, blowing up their heads entirely; limbshots and/or bodyshots up close will also dismember/disembowel them. Bayonet kills to the limbs or head can cut them off, unlike their rifle (and in the Type 99's case, MG) counterparts, which only cause sucking chest wounds.
 * Using a M1897 with a Sawed Off Double Barreled Shotgun on Nazi Zombies will give the player 120 ammo, whereas each weapon in multiplayer can only have a maximum of 60 individually.