How to get the shotgun in Sons of the Forest

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The location of the shotgun in Sons of the Forest and how to dig up the grave

Sons of the Forest shotgun location
(Image credit: Newnight)

To get the shotgun in Sons of the Forest, players have to dig up the buried grave in the the North Peninsula, though that'll require the shovel first. It's worth doing though, as the shotgun is an incredibly deadly weapon and one that'll do a lot of damage to any little foe at the end of the barrel. We'll cover how to get the shotgun in Sons of the Forest below, how to get a steady supply of ammo for it, and what makes it one of the best Sons of the Forest weapons in the whole game.

How to find the shotgun in Sons of the Forest

The Sons of the Forest shotgun is located inside the buried grave in the north peninsula on the map above, marked by a rickety wooden cross stuck into the ground - it really IS an Evil Dead moment! If you need help finding it, the grave is actually marked with one of the Sons of the Forest GPS locators, so it'll show up on your GPS map from the very beginning, highlighted with a purple exclamation point (admittedly there are three of those markers on the map, but disregard the one in the sea and the one further in-land, closer to the mountain).

Sons of the forest weapons

(Image credit: Endnight Games)

The grave itself doesn't stick out much, so use the GPS to home in on its location. Of course, once you find it, you'll need the Sons of the Forest shovel to dig it up. There's no way to get the shotgun without the shovel, so make sure you don't head to the grave without it! And if you don't have it, use our linked guide above to find it.

Of course, the other alternative is to just GIVE yourself any of these items by entering the correct Sons of the Forest item IDs, via the process laid out at the link. If you already know the process, here's the specific IDs for the shotgun, shovel and ammunition.

  • Shotgun: 358
  • Shotgun Rail: 346
  • Slug (Shotgun ammo): 363
  • Buckshot (Shotgun ammo): 364
  • Shovel: 485

How to get Shotgun ammo in Sons of the Forest

Sons of the Forest shotgun location

(Image credit: Newnight)

Even once you have the shotgun, getting ammo for it is a little tricky, especially if you don't want to use the item IDs mentioned above. Though its placements are consistent, it's usually found in dangerous areas, so those who want to fill their pockets with slugs and buckshot should check the following hotspots and lootable elements of the game for the best possible chance.

  • Cannibal camps
  • Caves
  • Human bunkers
  • Any and all containers

While it's a little hard to guess what containers will have shotgun shells in, once you find them, you can then farm them…

How to farm shotgun ammunition

Sons of the Forest shotgun location

(Image credit: Newnight)

Shotgun shells can be farmed indefinitely, as per the Sons of the Forest respawn rules. All you need to do is find a container with shotgun shells inside, loot it, save the game and reload it. Your inventory will still have the looted shells inside, but the container will have restocked. Keep repeating this process to fill up on ammunition until you're a one man army. 

Alternatively, if you run out of ammunition, give it to the Sons of the Forest Virginia companion, who can use weapons infinitely without needing ammo. If you can't use it, might as well give it to an ally who can.

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Joel Franey
Joel Franey
Guides Editor, GamesRadar+

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.