[Super-Dave]

I am curious about when a shotgun would be a better choice than a full auto submachine gun. I see swat teams all the time with some members with shotguns and others with submachine guns. I know the shotgun can be used for breaching but this is a more recent phenomenon.

Supposing a swat teams enters a building looking to clean out a bunch of armed dangerous thugs. If they knew in advance that the thugs did not have body armor. When would it be better for them to use shotguns or full auto submachineguns?

I know most swat teams have abandoned the 9mm, .40 submachine guns for the Ar-15 carbine due to over penetration issues. But even for them under what scenarios are you better off with the shotgun?
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