Auto Shotgun

The Benelli M4 Super 90 semi-automatic shotgun is a second-tier weapon and is a more powerful version of the pump shotgun that does not require a pump after each shot. It holds a maximum of 10 shells at a time with 128 in reserve, same reserve as the pump shotgun. It is the best short-range weapon in the game, capable of firing extremely fast and taking out massive amounts of Infected per shot.

On both shotguns, the reloading is both a curse and a blessing; it allows topping off the magazine on the fly, and the reloading process can be stopped to handle sudden threats. However, if you are reloading when empty, you will manually rack the shotgun at the end of the reload, regardless or whether it finished or was interrupted. A good trick is to interrupt an empty reload after the first shot by clicking fire then reloading again, as you have gotten the racking animation out of the way and can immediately fire if a threat appears.

The relatively small magazine and low accuracy compared to other second-tier weapons make it slightly less effective against bosses. Although the range on the shotguns in L4D is higher then in most FPS games and truer to real life, the range is still quite limited compared to the other firearms. Its high damage output does allow it to seriously wound a boss, but only at a dangerously close range. Its rate of fire can be increased by quickly pulling the trigger as opposed to holding the trigger down. It is generally a good idea to have at least one member of the team using a shotgun. Like the pump shotgun, it can kill the Witch with one hit if fired into her eyes while she is not attacking, making it useful for getting the Cr0wnd achievement.

Tactics

 * Generally refrain from shooting targets at long-range, this is an up-close-and-personal weapon and needs to be used as such for maximum carnage
 * This means wielders of Auto shotguns should always have point (be in front of the other survivors)
 * Spamming a choke point at close range with the Auto shotgun is very effective against a Horde
 * Do not hold down the fire key in this situation; since this weapon is so effective, you only need to tap it to blow away multiple infected at a time
 * It is also important to note that while the auto shotgun has a high rate of fire, firing indiscriminately with this weapon is not always a good idea as doing so will eat away at your ammo supply rather quickly and can raise the possibility of undesirable results, such as friendly fire, or startling a witch.
 * On higher difficulties, it is important to remember that the shotgun does have a cone of fire and should your teammates be within that cone, they will take damage as well. Therefore, if you're trying to hit zombies close to your teammate, either melee them away before shooting or deliberately 'miss' your teammate to minimize the possibility of friendly fire.
 * The Auto shotgun is the most effective weapon for dealing with a Tank in close quarters. One player with an auto shotgun is capable of bringing down a tank in 20-30 bullets, provided he stays in the right range. In other situations, running behind a tank with an auto shotgun while it chases another survivor works extremely well until he begins chasing you. Two survivors using this tactic can deal with a tank quite well on most difficulties, even if the other two aren't there.
 * There are 12 pellets per shot, equating to 24 damage per pellet, same as the pump shotgun but with 2 more pellets.

Real steel information
It is manufactured by the fictional German company Rapidarms Inc. In real life, it is produced by Benelli, a subsidiary of the Italian firearms manufacturer Beretta. The underbarrel magazine tube holds 4 or 7 rounds depending on the configuration and the semi-automatic action is gas operated. Another of Benelli's semi automatic shotguns, the M3, has a pump mode to use less lethal or specialized shot shells, as they do not operate the semi auto very well. A gas operated system, like the one on the M4, needs more maintenance, but is less picky on shell type then straight blowback. The M4 is planned to phase out the Remington 870 and Mossberg 590 in US armed forces as part of the Joint Service shotgun program. The other shotguns in the Benelli line, the M1 and M3 notably, are popular shotguns in both police and civilian use.