Talk:VPBE/@comment-24795478-20140708040024/@comment-4068613-20140708143652

Shotguns are primarily known for firing a scattering of pellets instead of a single projectile. This cloud of pellets loses velocity and shredding power more quickly than a single projectile with the same mass.

Long story short, pistols should have a much longer effective range than a shotgun, though it would make sense for them to be less damaging than a shotgun in its ideal range.