This heavy 12 caliber slug round is normally used for hunting big game, but is also good for other purposes. Instead of piercing, this hefty slug simply crushes through armor.
― Call of Pripyat in-game description
12x76 slug rounds are a rather common type of shotgun rounds available in all S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games.
General Characteristics
The slug is a shotgun shell that is #12 Gauge / 18.5mm (0.729") wide and 76mm (3") long. It is a solid bullet rather than a cluster of lead shot. Rather than piercing, these lead slugs simply punch through armor.
Slugs have none of the disadvantages of regular buckshot, and have decent penetration and velocity. As an advantage, it has lower air resistance than assault rifle rounds, making it more accurate and giving it longer range than buckshot. It has only slightly higher penetration than standard assault rifle ammunition, making it barely useful against human opponents. However, as it only fires a single projectile, careful aim must be taken in order to use effectively, and in fact, turns the entire idea of a shotgun on its head. While in theory, slugs and darts should allow for near-sniper-like performance, one must remember that unless specifically upgraded for single projectile munition, shotguns have much lower accuracy than rifles, as well as much cruder iron sights, making long-range fighting with these munition types difficult.
It is most effective against humans with little to no armor and is ineffective against mutants.
An important thing to note though, is that amongst common ammunition, 12x76 slugs are some of the heaviest bullets the player can acquire, and can surprisingly quickly overencumber a player.
Usage
12x76 Slugs can be used in any smooth-bore shotgun, such as the Hunting shotgun, SPSA-14, Chaser 13, Sawed-off shotgun, and the Eliminator.
Appearances
Shadow of Chernobyl
Not many NPCs use these rounds, but they can be purchased from Sidorovich, the Barkeep, and Skinflint. These rounds are extremely effective (one-hit kill against Bandits and light Military) against enemies with relatively lightweight armor, such as the Stalker Suit and the Mercenary suit. Several torso shots at a decent distance will kill such an NPC. Buckshot rounds are still far more effective against mutants.
Clear Sky
Slug rounds are more common in Clear Sky. Many Loners, Renegades, Bandits, and Clear Sky members rely on them. Some Freedom members use them as well, and most traders sell them. However, these rounds are near useless as they are utterly ineffective against most humans. Even a simple Bandit with a Bandit Jacket will survive several shots at point blank range when using slug rounds. Buckshot rounds are more effective against both humans and mutants, unless the player is shooting humans at medium to long range.
Call of Pripyat
Slug ammunition can be easily purchased from Owl or Hawaiian after completing a few quests in the Yanov and Zaton areas. In addition, Veteran and Expert shotgun users will almost always drop a good amount of rounds (7 if they carry a SPSA, 12-24 if they use an Eliminator). The ammunition has been adjusted to have higher damage and armor piercing capabilities in order to take the place of the removed 12x76 Dart ammunition. As such it is now moderately effective against both humans and mutants (in fact almost any human NPC in the game can be incapacitated or killed in 3 slug hits or less), offering an efficient-if-weighty alternative for armor-piercing fire when one does not have other kinds of armour-piercing rounds. When used with an Armsel Protecta that sports a scope, the resulting combination is an impromptu sniper rifle for most of the game until one finally acquires an SVD or SVU.
It is worth noting that unlike in other games, in Call of Pripyat the Sawed-off shotgun can't use 12x76 ammunition.
Notes
- Shotguns with rifled bores, such as the Threaded SPAS-12 or a modified Hunting Shotgun will have much more accuracy when using these rounds.
- The black Cyrillic Script on the top left corner of the ammo box reads Zhekan (Жекан, "Bun"), which should be Zhakan (Жакан, "Slug"), a colloquial name for a bullet with stabilizing fins meant for a smoothbore barrel.
- The Cyrillic script in the bottom of the box reads Droboviki ("Shotguns") "Saiga" & TOZ BM, indicating the weapons chambered for it.
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