S.G.S Basics: Shotgun Handling and Usability
- Jul 7, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Feb 4
Wing-shooting with a shotgun is radically different from aiming a rifle in big-game hunting. To summarize the difference in one line: We don’t aim with a shotgun—we point.
And ideally, we learn to shoot with both eyes open. That’s when real skill starts to develop.
Once I had the bird flight mechanics dialed in, I turned my attention to the other core of the experience: the shotgun itself—how it handles, how it feels, and how to simulate that instinctive shooting style using nothing more than a mouse and keyboard.
The Shotgun Model and Animations
To save time and stay focused on building core functionality, I used a marketplace asset: an over-under shotgun with high-quality modeling and animated mechanics.
If you’ve noticed rails in screenshots—that’s not an oversight. The model I chose includes them, even though they’re more common on tactical or defensive shotguns than in upland bird hunting.
In a real-world field scenario, you’d rarely—if ever—see a rail on an over-under shotgun. But for the purposes of the prototype, it was a fair trade-off: quality visuals, clean animation states, and minimal time spent on asset creation.
Now that we’ve addressed the unusual rail detail, let’s move on to what matters more: how the shotgun works in the hands of the player.
Designing the Shotgun Usability
I didn’t want to reinvent how virtual shotguns are handled—but I needed the experience to feel swift, responsive, and tailored to the instinctive nature of wing-shooting. Most importantly, it had to work with standard PC controls, without needing any custom gear or VR setups.
Here’s what I prioritized in the shotgun handling system and experience for Small Game Seasons (S.G.S):
Unobtrusive idle position: The shotgun should stay low and clear when not mounted, giving players a clean field of view while navigating.
Adjustable swing sensitivity (Ins and Del Keys): Motion sensitivity can be customized, and only affects the shotgun when mounted—not the player character.
Quick mounting (Right-click): Mounting the shotgun is instant and intuitive.
Two-eyes-open toggle (Mouse Wheel): Players can switch between classic aiming and a wide-field shooting posture that mimics the two-eyes-open technique.
Firing (Left-click): Straightforward and responsive, as expected.
Reload realism (Mouse Wheel Press): Reload times are tuned to lean toward real-world pacing—enough to feel natural, but not frustrating.
Recoil: I fine-tuned the recoil feedback / effect to make it feel as natural and lifelike as possible. I added a noticeable kick and a camera bump to reflect the physical feel of a real 12-gauge—just like what I experience in the field—without disrupting visual tracking of the target.
These small mechanics work together to replicate what happens in real life when you raise a shotgun, scan for birds, and react to a sudden flush.
Field of View: The Screen vs. The Eye
Field of view (FOV) might not be something most players think about—but in a simulation like S.G.S, it affects everything.
Monitors are flat, static windows. Our eyes aren’t.
In real life, we benefit from a natural peripheral view and stereoscopic depth. On a screen, you get neither. Most games try to compensate by widening the field of view—but that often distorts speed, distance, and aiming behavior, especially in fast-paced shooting situations.
For wing-shooting, this distortion can significantly affect how much lead you give a bird in flight.
I experimented with different FOV values and eventually gave players control over it. Using the + and - keys, they can adjust the FOV between 60° and 90°:
60° simulates the frontal view of the human eye (without periphery)
70° became my recommended compromise
90° is available, but I don’t advise using it for realistic feel
I also added a manual zoom feature (Left Alt key) when the shotgun is mounted. Unlike the common auto-zoom in many games, this approach leaves the decision to the player and avoids unnatural camera behavior.
The Two-Eyes-Open Technique
One of the defining skills in real-life wing-shooting is keeping both eyes open. It gives you a wider field of vision, better depth perception, and faster reaction time—all crucial when birds flush unexpectedly and disappear just as fast.
So I had to include it in S.G.S.
To simulate this, I implemented a toggle that makes the shotgun mostly transparent (around 90%). This lets players maintain awareness of birds flying across their peripheral view without having the barrel obscure them.
Of course, this isn’t a perfect recreation of the real optical experience—it’s a visual trick. But it serves the purpose well. And most importantly, it encourages players to develop a two-eyes-open habit, just like real wing-shooters do.
Shotgun Camera (Draft Feature)
Pressing 'K' toggles a basic prototype of the Shotgun Camera feature. In its current form, the system captures a still image at the moment a bird is hit, along with basic data such as distance and position.
This early version does not yet record or save full sequences, but that functionality is part of the intended vision for the complete game.
Conclusion
Shotgun use in upland hunting is about instinct, timing, and flow—not lining up a sight or locking onto a target. That’s why I approached shotgun handling in S.G.S not as a “weapon system,” but as a reflex tool.
With a simple control scheme and thoughtful mechanics, I wanted players to feel something familiar—whether they’re veterans of the woods or just beginning to explore the world of bird hunting.
And while the visuals and camera setup are constrained by the nature of PC gaming, I’ve aimed to keep the spirit of real wing-shooting at the core.
Next time, I’ll dig into shot patterns and ballistic behavior—and how that ties into different bird species, distances, and shot decisions.
References & Guidelines
Disclaimer: The following resources, links, and references are shared for context and inspiration. They are unrelated to the S.G.S prototype, which is entirely fictional and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or representing any real organizations, brands, or publications.
The Field (UK) – Improve Your Game and Clay Shooting: 20 Top Tips
Shooting UK – Lead when shooting: here’s how to get it right
Ducks Unlimited – Shotgunning: Keeping Both Eyes Open.
Project Upland – How to Shoot a Shotgun for Upland Hunting.
Target Focused Life – Should You Shoot with Both Eyes Open?
Sporting Road – Notes from the Wing Shooting Workshop
Wikipedia – Wing Shooting