M4 Shotgun
A semi automatic military issue shotgun
The M4 Shotgun is a shotgun in Rust. Its default ammo is the 12 Gauge Buckshot. It deals 168 damage per shot at 200 shots per minute from its 6-round magazine, the highest damage per second of the 6 shotguns. It cannot be crafted, and Locked Crate drops it most often, at 8.8%.
About the M4 Shotgun
A full reload takes 5.1 seconds, and switching to it takes 1.6 seconds. It loads one round at a time, so a reload can be stopped partway to fire. Its 12 compatible attachments include a silencer. Mounted in an Auto Turret, it deals 35% of its normal damage.
There are 4 kinds of ammo for it: 12 Gauge Buckshot, Handmade Shell, 12 Gauge Incendiary Shell and 12 Gauge Slug. With the other ammo types, its damage per second is 132 for the Handmade Shell, 110 for the 12 Gauge Incendiary Shell and 59 for the 12 Gauge Slug. The 12 Gauge Buckshot and 12 Gauge Slug fly faster, at 293 m/s against 130 m/s for the Handmade Shell and 12 Gauge Incendiary Shell. Each shot splits into pellets: the 12 Gauge Buckshot fires 14 pellets of 12 damage each, the Handmade Shell fires 20 pellets of 7.2 damage each and the 12 Gauge Incendiary Shell fires 10 pellets of 12 damage each, while the 12 Gauge Slug fires a single projectile.
From full condition it fires 400 shots with the 12 Gauge Buckshot before it breaks, which is 66.7 full magazines.
In all, 8 loot sources drop it; the full list of where it drops gives the chance for each.
M4 Shotgun damage and stats
Loaded with the 12 Gauge Buckshot, the M4 Shotgun deals 154 damage per second.
How to repair the M4 Shotgun
A full repair at a Repair Bench costs 7 × High Quality Metal, and no blueprint is needed.
×7 M4 Shotgun compared with other shotguns
Among the 6 shotguns it ranks 1st for damage per second, 5th for damage per shot, 2nd for fire rate and 2nd for magazine size.
The closest to it in damage per second are the Spas-12 Shotgun, Pump Shotgun, Eoka Pistol and Double Barrel Shotgun.
Handmade Shell 144 131.9 12° 130 ×20×1.315–30m 
12 Gauge Buckshot 168 153.9 12° 293 ×14×1.315–60m 
12 Gauge Incendiary Shell 120 110 12° 130 ×10—15–30m 
12 Gauge Slug 64 58.6 0° 293 —×230–60m Damage & DPS are per-shot with the listed ammo; aim cone is the spread in degrees, velocity in m/s.
Variable Zoom Scope –––––+50 %–– 
Extended Magazine –––––––+25 % 
Weapon flashlight –––––––– 
Holosight ––-20 %––––– 
Weapon Lasersight ––-20 %-50 %––-90 %– 
Muzzle Boost –+10 %+0.15+0.5–––– 
Muzzle Brake -15 %–+0.5+2–-50 %-100 %– 
Simple Handmade Sight –––––––– 
Oil Filter Silencer -30 %–––-30 %––– 
Military Silencer -25 %–––-25 %––– 
Soda Can Silencer -30 %–––-35 %––– 
8x Zoom Scope –––––+50 %–– What the M4 Shotgun recycles into
A green recycler always gives back 10 × High Quality Metal, 2 × Metal Pipe and 1 × Metal Spring for one.
×10 
×2 
×1 50% ×12 ×2 ×1 40% 80% 
×15 ×3 ×2 25% 
×8 ×1 ×1 60% 20% Where to find the M4 Shotgun
Locked Crate has the best chance at 8.8%, followed by Elite Crate at 1.2% and Bradley Scientist at 0.94%.
Stats checked against the Rust game files on 13 November 2026.
