The Double Barrel Coach Gun, also known as the Double Shotgun, is a weapon that uses 12-gauge shells as ammunition and fires 14 pellets in a wide box-shaped pattern. Compared to the 12 Gauge Pump-Action Shotgun, it is much more powerful, especially at close range, but has terrible spread and a slower rate of fire.
The coach gun is a side-by-side double-barreled shotgun. It was originally designed as a sports weapon for the civilian sector targeted at hunters of medium-sized game, such as deer or exoboar.[1] It has since been added to the list of standard military equipment, particularly after the entire stock of DX-77 Automated Shotguns was infected by an alien virus. Since the outbreak of the Mental War, the coach gun has proven to be a very effective weapon with both soldiers and civilans alike against enemy aliens.[2] The weapon is loaded through a hinge-action mechanism, which while reliable results in a slow overall rate of fire and only allows for a limited amount of shots before reloading.
The coach gun uses two shells every time the gun is fired, twice as much as the pump action shotgun. While high in firepower, the pellets' wide spread makes the weapon ineffective past short range. The weapon also has a significant amount of time between shots, which greatly decreases the rate of fire. The coach gun's reload animation is significantly shorter in Deathmatch mode of the classic Serious Sam titles, giving it about the same delay between shots as the pump shotgun does. It will also gib a player if it deals 140 or more damage to them, which is most commonly done by having all 14 pellets connect.
The weapon's performance and rate of fire varies between games:
In Serious Sam 3: BFE, the coach gun's shells excel at point blank range, however, the high spread greatly limits mid to long range effectiveness. It behaves exactly like the coach gun from Serious Sam 1; it fires both barrels at once, but the gun is automatically reloaded afterwards. It also has very high recoil, unlike the coach gun from previous games, making it more suited for close quarters.
In Serious Sam 4, the coach gun has a similar reloading animation to the Double-Barrel Shotgun from Serious Sam: Next Encounter and the Double Shotgun from Serious Sam 2, giving it a slightly shorter reload time than in previous games (it should be noted, however, that the weapon has a significantly longer reload time when it is being dual-wielded). It now shows a slight increase to spread, making it useful for clearing out weak enemies at close to medium range. Its fire rate slows down considerably when dual-wielded. Due to the headshot mechanic being implemented in these titles, this makes the shotgun deadly against medium foes at close range when they are shot in the head.
Appearances[]
The coach gun, like the pump shotgun, is a common weapon, often appearing on the first, second, or third levels in the game it appears in. It can be sometimes found as earlier in secrets. As shells are the most common ammo type in the series, ammunition for this weapon is always plentiful.
Two coach guns appear in the second level, "Holy Spirits". One is found inside a small temple in an open yard, and the other is inside a larger temple next to the exit that requires a stone ankh to open.
The coach gun is found in "Gathering of the Gods" inside a shed. It requires a key (which is found inside a portable building) to unlock the supply shed.
The coach gun appears three times throughout the campaign; it is first obtained in "Death from Above" appearing for a second time in "A Breakfast in France", and for the last time in "The Package".
The coach gun only appears once in the campaign. It is acquired in the gas processing part of the refinery in "A Smell Of Petroleum Prevails".
Tactics[]
General[]
When using the coach gun, the player should remember that the slow reloading animation between shots makes them vulnerable, and should be moving or ready to move as soon as the coach gun is fired.
The coach gun is an excellent anti-Kleer weapon. A point-blank shot will always kill a Kleer in one hit. Short range shots have a chance to kill the latter as well, though a few pellets might fly past the Kleer, especially in Serious Sam HD and Serious Sam 3: BFE. In Serious Sam HD, the Kleer has a a hit-box that conforms more in line with its shape than in the classic game.
Sirian Werebulls are less of a threat when confronted by the coach gun. Two short-range blasts can kill one, and landing all of the pellets on a Werebull can be easily accomplished due to its size and hit-box. Alternatively, one can fire a rocket or grenade at, or failing that, use the Military Knife or Sledgehammer on the Werebull and then finish it off with the coach gun.
The coach gun can also kill a Scythian Witch-Harpy in one shot at close range, in cases such as a Harpy closing in to perform a melee attack. However, the coach gun is only effective on small flocks of Harpies, due to the reloading time between shots leaving the player vulnerable. It is not recommended to be used when encountering a swarm.
Serious Sam: The First Encounter[]
This weapon is effective at clearing out large masses of weak enemies clustered together, like Beheaded Bombers, Beheaded Firecrackers or Beheaded Rocketeers. It works best when the enemies are lined up horizontally, as most of the pellets may miss if they are in different positions.
The coach gun is useful for stunning medium enemies like juvenile Arachnoids, as they will flinch when damaged. Two close-range blasts from the gun will rapidly deplete their health to the point where the player can easily finish them off with the Schofield .45 or the Military Knife, which helps to conserve ammunition.
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter[]
Like with Arachnoids, the coach gun works well for stunning enemies such as Zumb'uls, as, like the latter, they have a tendency to flinch when damaged sufficiently enough.
The coach gun is an effective weapon against Cucurbito the Pumpkin. A single slice from the knife will deplete his health enough to be easily finished off with the coach gun. This can also work on small groups of Cucurbitos if they are no other enemies around.
With Serious Damage active, the coach gun becomes a lethal weapon at close range. It can easily finish off groups of weak enemies and work against even tough enemies like Common Aludran Reptiloids, and can finish off enemies from medium range if the pellets reach them. A single close range blast with the power-up active will instantly kill anything up to a Fiendian Reptiloid Demon.
If the player is daring enough, they can use the coach gun on a Major Bio-mechanoid from medium range, as long as they can dodge their rockets in time and they are in a large open area. A good level for using this strategy is on "Ziggurat".
Serious Sam Advance[]
Against alien critters some times the old ones are the best, this slow firing shotgun has devastating power at short range, almost nothing can resist a blast from this.
The coach gun works great against medium-strength enemies, such as the Hermit Crabuloid or the Methug Soldier. It does enough damage per hit that it can kill a medium strength enemy in two or so shots.
Its reload time is quick enough that it can also be used to take on small groups (2-3) of medium-strength enemies as long as the player is constantly strafing. This makes it handy for taking out groups of medium-enemies if they haven't acquired a rapid-fire weapon, like the Thompson submachine gun, or need to conserve ammo for those weapons.
It is an effective alternative to the rocket launcher for stronger enemies, like the Bladder Beast, if the player is at close quarters and can't use a rapid-fire weapon for various reasons. While each shot does less than a rocket does, it does do a good amount of damage per hit, which is much better than a shot from something like the Schofield Pistol.
Serious Sam 3: BFE[]
The coach gun is an excellent weapon to use against a single or small amount of Kleers. One shot will kill a Kleer if it is close enough to the player when the gun is fired. The same strategy also works on Gnaars.
It also works well as an "emergency" weapon against certain powerful enemies, such as the the Major Bio-mechanoidor the Scrapjack. Their large size allows most of the pellets to connect at medium range, which isn't possible with other enemies.
The coach gun is an effective weapon against Hatchling Arachnoids. However, due to their health and hit-box, one shot is not always guaranteed to kill one, even at close range. Alternatively, the player can fire a round from the pump shotgun at the Hatchling and then finish it off with the coach gun for an easy kill. To save ammo, the sledgehammer can also be used.
This weapon is effective against groups of weak enemies, such as Beheaded Rocketeers. The large amount of pellets fired per shot can kill/gib multiple enemies with one shot, which is useful for clearing out a group of weak enemies without using ammo for the M29 Infantry Assault Rifle.
Its large spread makes it ineffective at anything past close range. This makes it ineffective against enemies that prefer to stay at medium or long range, such as the Witch-Bride of Achriman.
Serious Sam 4/Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]
The coach gun is an excellent weapon against the Emetic Anthropolyp; one shot will kill it at close range if all the pellets connect. The player should steer clear of its explosion radius when firing at this enemy at close range, however.
A decent weapon against male and female Gnaars, Kleers, and hordes of weak enemies clustered together.
The coach gun works extremely well against Sirian Werebulls. It can kill one in a single shot at close range if the player fires at its head. The same tactic can be used against other tough enemies (the Aludran Reptiloid, Scrapjack etc.) to deplete their health or finish them off quickly.
The weapon's spread makes it very useful for clearing out groups of Aludran Microhoppers, but it can be difficult to land a hit on Microhoppers, though, given their tendency to strafe to avoid the player's gunfire.
The coach gun had a different firing and reloading sound in Test 1.
In Test 2, the final sound was used while Test 1's model was still in use.
Before Serious Sam 4 was released, the coach gun was originally meant to have a grenade launcher attachment. This was scrapped in the game's final release and repurposed for the pump action shotgun.
Related achievements[]
Serious Sam 3: BFE[]
Up Close and Personal
Gib 20 enemies from close range with a shotgun.
Serious Sam VR: The First Encounter[]
I love my Shotguns
Kill 250 Enemies with a shotgun.
Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE[]
Up Close and Personal
Gib 20 enemies from close range with a shotgun.
Serious Sam Fusion[]
I love my Shotguns
Kill 250 Enemies with a shotgun.
Up Close and Personal
Gib 20 enemies from close range with a shotgun.
Serious Sam 4[]
Spread the Joy
20
Kill 3 enemies with a double shotgun blast.
All Kleer
20
Kill 50 healthy Kleers with a direct double shotgun hit.
Quadruple the Gun
20
Kill 20 enemies while dual wielding double shotguns.
Bullseye
20
One-shot kill 3 Werebulls with a shotgun.
Trivia[]
General[]
In real life, a coach gun is a modern term coined by gun collectors, to refer to any side-by-side double-barreled shotgun that generally has a barrel from 18 to 24 inches. In the American Wild West, these guns were used by shotgun messengers to defend stagecoaches.
In the games, the coach gun only fires from both barrels when fired, while in real life a double-barreled shotgun can fire one shot either individually or two shots at once.
This is likely an intended feature left in by the developers, as having the coach gun only fire one shell per shot would result in equal firepower to that of the pump shotgun, and thus this would render the coach gun redundant.
Unlike the majority of real-life weapons that appear in the series, the coach gun does not appear to be modeled after any weapon.
In newer titles, while sprinting in first-person view, Sam holds the coach gun upwards, while in third-person view, he holds it downwards. The reloading animation is also different. The same applies to the pump-action shotgun.
Serious Sam 1[]
The coach gun in Serious Sam: Xbox has a different, slightly improved model compared to the PC version.
The Serious Sam HD version of the coach gun is based on the Xbox model, as opposed to the PC model, like most, if not, all the weapons.
In Serious Sam HD, in third-person view, Sam 'pumps' the coach gun after firing it instead of inserting shells into the shotgun's breech.[3]
Serious Sam 4/Serious Sam: Siberian Mayhem[]
When the player picks up the coach gun for the first time, the weapon has a unique first-person animation which involves Sam admiring the weapon before inserting shells into it. This is also shared with the pump action shotgun.
