Executioner

"Double-action revolver pistol. Fires 28 gauge shotgun shells."

- Description.

The Executioner (formerly known as the Raging Judge) is a double-action revolver that appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. It is unique because it fires 28-Gauge shotgun shells as opposed to regular handgun rounds. This gives the Executioner much more collective damage than other handguns at close range but inherently much less range.

Campaign
The Executioner appears as Menendez's signature handgun in the campaign. It can be unlocked in the customized loadout menu after the player completes 5 challenges in "Celerium". If the player chooses to try and shoot Menendez in "Achilles' Veil", Menendez will grab Farid's arm before the latter fires and then brings out his Executioner and shoots Farid. He will then lecture Farid on his loyalty and superiors before firing again, killing him. In "Odysseus", Menendez will hold Briggs hostage with the Executioner, then the player can wound or kill Briggs with the Executioner.

Multiplayer
The Executioner is the fourth handgun unlocked at level 31. It sports high damage and very low range as well as a poor accuracy. This weapon reloads one chamber at a time, much like the Python in Call of Duty: Black Ops, and takes a while to reload when fully empty; as each shell is reloaded one at a time. This makes the Fast Mag attachment valuable because it will then use a speed loader to reload all shells simultaneously. The Long Barrel has only a slight effect on the range of this gun but is highly recommended to use in the process of unlocking the other attachments as it adds 16% range to your firepower. Conversely, the Suppressor is not recommended at all; it will reduce the weapon's already short range even further. Dual Wield is not advisable, as it actually decreases the range and reduces the already mediocre minimum damage, coupled with the inability to aim down the sights (to reduce spread). Using a single Executioner with another more useful attachment is recommended instead. Otherwise, the single Executioner is much like the S12 in damage.

If the player uses a weapon more dependent on long-range combat, such as a sniper rifle, light machine gun or some assault rifles, the Executioner can be a worthy sidearm for hefty close-quarters engagements. It can also be useful paired with close-quarters primary weapons, should the player run out of ammo. However, it is unadvised to rely on the Executioner solely due to its very limited range and ammo capacities.

In Hardcore Mode, the Executioner is typically a two-hit-kill at its maximum range. When equipped with Long Barrel, one-hit kills are more frequent, but still not guaranteed. Due to its limited range and average damage, the Executioner is not commonly used as other handguns statistically and practically surpass it.

The Executioner is the third weapon tier on Gun Game, where it is equipped with the Laser Sight attachment.

The Executioner has since been buffed as of January 26th's Title Update by having its damage at medium range increased from 10 to 15. It will now rarely take more than four shots to kill within short to medium range, making it a much more effective weapon overall.

Attachments

 * Reflex Sight (unlocked weapon level 2)
 * Laser Sight (unlocked weapon level 3)
 * Long Barrel (unlocked weapon level 4)
 * FMJ (unlocked weapon level 5)
 * Fast Mag (unlocked weapon level 6)
 * Suppressor (unlocked weapon level 7)
 * Tactical Knife (unlocked weapon level 8)
 * Dual Wield (unlocked weapon level 9)

Zombies
The Executioner is available from the Mystery Box for 950 points. It has high damage by default, being able to kill a zombie in one shot approximately up to round 15, depending on range and how many pellets hit. The raise and drop times are also very fast as it is a handgun, making a trusty sidearm for close range situations. However, the weapon's main downside is its somewhat low cylinder capacity of five rounds and a lengthy reload, as well as lack of range; while arguably one of the best close-range weapon from the Mystery Box, the weapon has quite low damage at distance due to its shotgun nature. Speed Cola greatly speeds up the reload, which can be a life-saver at tricky situations. Reload cancelling can also shorten the reload time by a few hundred milliseconds. Double Tap Root Beer is a great help, practically doubling the Executioner's damage as it doubles the pellet count. Compared to the Python, the Executioner is far more powerful at best, but suffers from a slightly lower cylinder capacity and much less range. When Pack-a-Punched it becomes the Voice of Justice. It gets more reserve ammo, range and damage, with the potential to get one-shot kills up to round 35 from close range; making it a particularly valid weapon choice in zombies.

In the new zombies mode, Turned, the Executioner is the first weapon to be used when the player is human. Like other guns new to the game, the Executioner can be Pack-a-Punched multiple times to cycle through attachments. The attachments which are available are the Long Barrel and FMJ.

Trivia

 * The Executioner is the first non-shotgun to fire shotgun shells in the Call of Duty series.
 * It is the first revolver in the Call of Duty series to feature the Silencer and the Reflex Sight as attachment options.
 * It is the one of only two weapons in the game which, when attached with a Long Barrel, will actually visibly gain a longer barrel. The other is the Olympia. The longer barrel can easily be seen the counting the vents in the barrel rib; the normal one has two, the long barrel three.
 * It is the first revolver in the Call of Duty series to have less than six rounds in its cylinder.
 * The weapon's name in early stages was "Raging Judge".
 * This is the only shotgun in-game that does have the FMJ attachment.
 * It is the only handgun in-game that can one-shot-kill someone with a body shot in core game modes.
 * There is a visible fingerprint on the cylinder.
 * While reloading in the campaign, it is possible to see the words "ANGER MANAGEMENT" on the shell casings.
 * The Executioner with the Laser Sight has the lowest amount of spread of any weapons.
 * Originally, the Executioner had a Long Barrel by default, which had the word 'Executioner' engraved along the side of it. This was changed in the final game.
 * This is the first revolver in the series to feature a dual cylinder release latch. One is located near the grip of the gun and the other is located at the front of the cylinder.
 * The Executioner is Samuel Stuhlinger's favorite weapon.
 * It has the highest damage output of all the handguns featured in the Call of Duty series.
 * When using the Tactical Knife, if all of the weapon's ammo is expended, the blade held with the left hand will disappear altogether. Furthermore, when aiming down the sights of the ammo-less revolver, the iron sights will be severely misaligned.