I made a couple of videos looking at the bullet spread and the advantages and disadvantages of using each one. I am not trying to make any kind of definitive point here, just take what you see and draw your own conclusions.  
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kscj7dmuDo&feature=channel_video_title Gnahser
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCzjSbWrLTI&feature=channel_video_title Sawed Off
 
I hope this can get a discussion going regarding the shotguns in Gears 3, as it a huge part of the multi player experience and opinions on the gnasher and sawed off are divided to say the least right now. 

Gnasher should have half of that clip and a longer reload time if you ask me.

I feel they pretty much nailed the guns this time around. The Gnasher is the most useful of the two while the Sawed Off has the highest amount of risk/reward.

DBS was specifically made for people who can't aim, Epic said it themselves. It shouldn't even be in Ranked. The game says, "Zero effectiveness beyond melee range." Yet, it 1 shot kills you from 5 feet, which the Gnasher can't do.

Don't argue ranges, it promotes camping and people just run away in matches using it. The worst thing about it is having players on your team with it, they always blow the match, and if not, they don't even have to put effort into killing anyone.

Also, people are ignorant if they say Gears 1 and 2 was a one gun game. As someone who put days and days worth of time, I can tell you that's not true. Every gun was balanced, people were just bad.

My mind is blown by how off you can be with the Sawed Off and still get a kill. Not sure if I think it's imba or anything yet, since the reload takes forever and is only one round. Maybe I'll play around with it some myself to see how I really feel.

Granted, i'm not big on the competitive side of things but it really irritates me that people have such a problem with the SOS. That's not aimed at the OP. If anything it's aimed at the majority of the people on GAF
 
1) It's not a secret by any stretch of the imagination that they took measures to make this game more "noob friendly" As i've been told and read, gears is one of the most intimidating online experiences when it comes to shooters. A lot of that has to do with the fact that a lot of Gears' combat is close quarters thanks to the shotgun and everyone's love of it. So the biggest complainers of the SOS are usually the ones who are really good with the gnasher but suddenly feel like they can't automatically dominate over the competition with their shotgun
 
2) The risk/reward on the SOS is ridiculously huge. If it lands, they're dead if not then you pretty much leave yourself open to be punished as should be the case. Then people say that doesn't matter because it doesn't take any skill to kill someone with it and it always lands. Look, if you're that close to someone where they can practically touch the gun to your chest then you should die if you get hit with it. The same way that if they miss then you got ample opportunity to punish them. For the record, as im sure most experienced players already know, the gnasher is a one shot kill when you're actually close enough so that virtually cancels out any complaints right there.
 
3) Worse case scenario, when all else fails, learn to use the SOS. it's not exclusive to noobs or nothing. Why are you gonna keep complaining about how powerful/unfair a weapon is but not actually try to master it yourself? Make the playing ground even if you think it's so uneven.  I'm sure most people who's first played gears MP whether it be gears 1 or gears 2, probably went into it thinking the lancer was going to be their best friend and that they were gonna get kills from a distance and use cover accordingly. Otherwise, like how the SP portion of the game taught you to. Only to be greeted with wall bouncers and shotgun pellets to the face. They learned a valuable lesson the hard way; that's just not how the MP community plays the game. Oh well, big deal. It's competitive for a reason, if you want to get good/better, fall in line with what has proven to be successful for other people and then be better at it than them.
 
From watching those videos the only thing that seems fucked up is that there's a wide horizontal spread on the SOS where actual accuracy isn't even a factor, however, given how close up you need to be on a person anyway, it's almost a moot point

@CrazyBagMan: I remember the Aiming Reticule for the Sawn-Off in the beta. That thig stretched practically the whole screen. No surprises at all for the sideways range for me. =D

I agree with the suggestions that the sawed off's distance should be reduced. It should be exactly at melee distance. I've pulled off ridiculous kills with the gun but I switched back to the Gnasher because of gametypes such as King of The Hill where I need more than one round to shoot.

The Gnasher is no slouch either though, it's pretty effective in medium range, it won't down you with one hit but it will deal a good bit of damage.

@Intro: Don't be crazy, 80% of matches consisted of people running to the power weapon of the map, boomshot or sniper rifle or something along those lines, and the fight devolved into shotgun parties until one team came out on top. There were rare occasions where people actually used a Hammerburst to fend off people but the Gnasher would always be dominant in matches. I'm noticing more rifled being used in Gears 3 now than ever before. The only shotgun users I see are the ones who rush at you.

@JTB123 said:

@Intro: The Gnasher can one shot beyond melee range, it's at the end of the part 1 video. Not sure if you're counting 5 feet in Gears more than that though, just saying. I'm sure everyone has their own definitions for mid, long and close range.

One takes aiming and the other doesn't...

@Enigma777: Heck no.

Why would they do that? Y don't you people actually learn how to play gears instead of bitching and making the developers ruin it.

You people bitched about the shotgun in gears of war 1 and they put f ing smoke grenades that down you in gears of war 2 and made the shotgun worhtless so noobs can get a kill.

@Enigma777: Heck no.

Why would they do that? Y don't you people actually learn how to play gears instead of bitching and making the developers ruin it.

You people bitched about the shotgun in gears of war 1 and they put f ing smoke grenades that down you in gears of war 2 and made the shotgun worhtless so noobs can get a kill.

@Intro: Thank you !

I used to play gears of war 1 to death.

Everybody that complained was just plain bad. They never took the time to get good with the shotgun. And now when this sawed off piece of shit is in everybody is using it.

Gears of war will always be the game with the highest amount of bad players.

@Enigma777 said:

@Edin899 said:

@Enigma777: Heck no.

Why would they do that? Y don't you people actually learn how to play gears instead of bitching and making the developers ruin it.

You people bitched about the shotgun in gears of war 1 and they put f ing smoke grenades that down you in gears of war 2 and made the shotgun worhtless so noobs can get a kill.

When 90% of players use the fucking shotgun in a game, you know it's OP. There's a ton of awesome weapons in Gears and I want to be able to use all of them instead of sticking to just one weapon so I can stay competitive.

Uh no stop complaining. Gears of war is 3 is perfectly balanced except for the sawed off as you can see in his video.

You don't know how to use the gnasher because you don't know how to aim.

I killed alot of people with my hammerburst and retro in this game but when you get close enough ofcourse im gonna pull out my gnasher.

Got 700 kills with it and that will go up!

@Edin899 said:

@Enigma777 said:

@Edin899 said:

@Enigma777: Heck no.

Why would they do that? Y don't you people actually learn how to play gears instead of bitching and making the developers ruin it.

You people bitched about the shotgun in gears of war 1 and they put f ing smoke grenades that down you in gears of war 2 and made the shotgun worhtless so noobs can get a kill.

When 90% of players use the fucking shotgun in a game, you know it's OP. There's a ton of awesome weapons in Gears and I want to be able to use all of them instead of sticking to just one weapon so I can stay competitive.

Uh no stop complaining. Gears of war is 3 is perfectly balanced except for the sawed off as you can see in his video.

You don't know how to use the gnasher because you don't know how to aim.

I killed alot of people with my hammerburst and retro in this game but when you get close enough ofcourse im gonna pull out my gnasher.

Got 700 kills with it and that will go up!

How about debating intelligently instead of typing like a 12 year old. The Shotguns have needed tweaking since Gears 1. The other weapons should be viable against them, and in Gears 3 they are more viable but people still stick to the shotgun because it's still dominant.

i have gotten to the point where i leave the game if i see 3 people using the sawed off. No point in wasting my time. It takes no skill. As seen in the vdieo you dont even need to be aiming close to them to kill them. 5 feet to the side or above and they die... come the fuck on.

@MariachiMacabre said:

@Edin899 said:

@Enigma777 said:

@Edin899 said:

@Enigma777: Heck no.

Why would they do that? Y don't you people actually learn how to play gears instead of bitching and making the developers ruin it.

You people bitched about the shotgun in gears of war 1 and they put f ing smoke grenades that down you in gears of war 2 and made the shotgun worhtless so noobs can get a kill.

When 90% of players use the fucking shotgun in a game, you know it's OP. There's a ton of awesome weapons in Gears and I want to be able to use all of them instead of sticking to just one weapon so I can stay competitive.

Uh no stop complaining. Gears of war is 3 is perfectly balanced except for the sawed off as you can see in his video.

You don't know how to use the gnasher because you don't know how to aim.

I killed alot of people with my hammerburst and retro in this game but when you get close enough ofcourse im gonna pull out my gnasher.

Got 700 kills with it and that will go up!

How about debating intelligently instead of typing like a 12 year old. The Shotguns have needed tweaking since Gears 1. The other weapons should be viable against them, and in Gears 3 they are more viable but people still stick to the shotgun because it's still dominant.

That will probably be hard seeing on how this guy went out of his way to make copy of my guide in some attempt to "get at me", I haven't read it because it was deleted by the time I got home but it had to have been deleted for some reason. Anyways, the shotgun is way better in Gears 3 than ever before. If there's one criticism of the SOS that I'll acknowledge is that its range needs to be reduced to melee range.

@Enigma777 said:

When 90% of players use the fucking shotgun in a game, you know it's OP. There's a ton of awesome weapons in Gears and I want to be able to use all of them instead of sticking to just one weapon so I can stay competitive.

Because the weapon that actually gave people a lot of fun times doesn't mean it's OP. The weapons were always balanced, people just chose not to use the rifles. If I took a team of 5 people and we never switched to the shotgun in Gears 2, we could easily win.

Epic specifically made the gun for people who can't aim, they've said so themselves. It shouldn't be in Ranked matches at all, it should stay in the casual playlist and quick match, which was made for drop in/drop out non-competitive gameplay.

Also, I hate when people say adapt. I have, I do great against DBS users, most are terrible. Not to mention, those people never "adapted" in Gears 1 or 2 because they simply weren't good enough, but now they have DBS and tell everyone else to adapt. Ironic.

the DBS needs to be removed. Its complete trash. Im tired of dying when i am 5 feet to the side of them and they cant aim for shit but they get free magic kills.

At first I thought to myself, "Oedipus, are you really going to debate the merits of video game weapons on an internet forum? If any girls saw you, they would never do you." And I said, "Fuck off, self, I'm going to debate this."

Anyway, after getting owned on with the sawed-off, I was all, "f this" and started using it myself. Turns out, it's not an "instant win" button. It's useful and deadly, but only in discrete situations (and if you mess up, you're boned). You're usually left exposed and ashamed. Gnasher be damned.

Has anyone come across the situation where they blats someone with the sawed-off at the same time they're blastin' you and you both die? That's one of my favorite/most frustrating moments playing GoW3.

http://forums.epicgames.com/threads/831509-Sawed-Off-Shotgun-Balance-Discussion-Please-Post-SOS-DBS-ideas-Here-Update-9-30-11?p=29118302&viewfull=1#post29118302

Longer post by me.

I'm gonna keep saying it because I really think it should be the case, the sawed off should be a power weapon on the map. Even if it's one of those that are right next to the spawn, that gives you the worst case scenario of one team having two, and the other having none.

yeah, the sawed off has a larger gib range and wider too. but its a single shot and its got a really long reload.

the gnasher can gib people pretty easily as well and is useful in far more situations.

both have their advantages. both are available to all players. because someone beats you with a sawed off just means they had the advantage in that situation. i cant even count the number of free kills ive gotten due to people trying sawed off me. its crazy. bait them into shooting their shot and they're SUPER easy to kill. have you guys not realized that yet or something?

every really skilled person at this game ive seen uses the gnasher, why? because it has clear advantages over the sawed off in most situations. its actually useful at medium range as well. it has 8 rounds to a clip.

sometimes sawed off players get me, good for them. im not going to rush online and whine about it. i could have easily killed them if i didnt make a mistake. same with gnasher users they kill me sometimes too. sometimes i get retro charged? should i whine about that on the internet too? its ridiculous.

@tunaburn said:

i have gotten to the point where i leave the game if i see 3 people using the sawed off. No point in wasting my time. It takes no skill. As seen in the vdieo you dont even need to be aiming close to them to kill them. 5 feet to the side or above and they die... come the fuck on.

Don't be a baby. Learn to use the retro or to watch your back.

People running around with the sawed off die easy. It's a pull out at close quarters or when someone isn't paying attention/you get the drop on them gun. If they're getting kills easy on you with the SOS they are sneaking up on you, your teammates are not sticking with you, or you are expecting to run around the map without having to watch any corners or have caution.

I am at like level 23 now and I get the most of my kills with the retro and don't feel like I get killed by the sawed off more than the regular shotgun or anything else.

@SpudBug: its not being a baby. i have played gears since the first one came out. i have sunk hundreds of hours into these games. the sawed off is made for the ones youre calling a baby. people that cant use the gnasher and need a free kill weapon. the retro is good for killing them but then it replaces your normal lancer or hammerburst and leaves you with no long range weapon at all. so basically you turn into a glorified sawed off user. except at least when someone is using the retro they have to aim at me. me and 90% of the people on the gears of war forums want the sawed off removed or the spread at least lowered.

it wouldnt be nearly as bad if the spread wasnt a full screen to the side. letting them kill you without even seeing you on the screen. it takes no skill and should not be in ranked as it is.

@marioncobretti: hammerburst is awesome. its my main weapon i use more than anything else. and i use the gnasher for close range. i kill the sawed off users more than i die to them. But that doesnt change the fact that its literally put in the game for people that suck at the game to get free kills. if you watch the video on youtube you can see the spread is enough that it shoots around corners and kills people. if they just fix the spread a little bit so that you at least need to be on the screen it would make it so much better.

@marioncobretti: because that causes those new shitty players to never get better. my last game last night was team deathmatch. they had 4 guys just running around with the sawed off on checkout. that map is small and full of cover. it was not possible to avoid them all. we ended up winning but they got us all the way down to no respawns. and we were using power weapons, and staying together, and lancering, and using tactics while they just ran around with the sawed off getting there one kill and then being gunned down. thats not fun at all.

@Edin899 said:

@Enigma777: Heck no.

Why would they do that? Y don't you people actually learn how to play gears instead of bitching and making the developers ruin it.

You people bitched about the shotgun in gears of war 1 and they put f ing smoke grenades that down you in gears of war 2 and made the shotgun worhtless so noobs can get a kill.

Firstly, smoke couldn't down anybody. If it did damage, then I think all those 'taunt tags' people did to downed people would end the taunting, maybe you mean ink?. And developers have to expect that people will buy a game without playing the prequel, so they have to balance it out and teach new players. And you appear to be bitching about the shotgun in your comment.

@TEHMAXXORZ: he means in gears of war 2 the smoke grenades would make you go ragdoll all over the ground. like a limp noodle. it didnt "down" you. they changed that on like the 5th balance patch on that game.

@Clonedzero said:

yeah, the sawed off has a larger gib range and wider too. but its a single shot and its got a really long reload.

the gnasher can gib people pretty easily as well and is useful in far more situations.

both have their advantages. both are available to all players. because someone beats you with a sawed off just means they had the advantage in that situation. i cant even count the number of free kills ive gotten due to people trying sawed off me. its crazy. bait them into shooting their shot and they're SUPER easy to kill. have you guys not realized that yet or something?

every really skilled person at this game ive seen uses the gnasher, why? because it has clear advantages over the sawed off in most situations. its actually useful at medium range as well. it has 8 rounds to a clip.

sometimes sawed off players get me, good for them. im not going to rush online and whine about it. i could have easily killed them if i didnt make a mistake. same with gnasher users they kill me sometimes too. sometimes i get retro charged? should i whine about that on the internet too? its ridiculous.

Listen to this man, for he is wise

@TEHMAXXORZ said:

@Edin899 said:

@Enigma777: Heck no.

Why would they do that? Y don't you people actually learn how to play gears instead of bitching and making the developers ruin it.

You people bitched about the shotgun in gears of war 1 and they put f ing smoke grenades that down you in gears of war 2 and made the shotgun worhtless so noobs can get a kill.

Firstly, smoke couldn't down anybody. If it did damage, then I think all those 'taunt tags' people did to downed people would end the taunting, maybe you mean ink?. And developers have to expect that people will buy a game without playing the prequel, so they have to balance it out and teach new players. And you appear to be bitching about the shotgun in your comment.

Uh smoke grenades did down you in gears of war 2......

If a guy charges at you and you haven't got a DBS or a gun ready that will stop him in time, roll backwards. Chances are he has a sawed-off and will not be able to kill you as you keep your distance.

the problem with rolling backwards and running away is the game becomes a campfest. you will forever have to run away because they just sit in cover until you come by. thats not fun at all.

I was anti shotgun in gears 1&2, for the most part 3 as well. However the other day I decided to try and get my 100 kills with the gnasher, and my eyes were opened. I started getting kills like a mad man. It answered the argument for me. Gears online is without a doubt 'geared' towards shotguns. Do you want to dump a whole clip into someone with a rifle, or pull the trigger once and get an almost guaranteed kill with the shotgun?

@Clonedzero said:

yeah, the sawed off has a larger gib range and wider too. but its a single shot and its got a really long reload.

the gnasher can gib people pretty easily as well and is useful in far more situations.

both have their advantages. both are available to all players. because someone beats you with a sawed off just means they had the advantage in that situation. i cant even count the number of free kills ive gotten due to people trying sawed off me. its crazy. bait them into shooting their shot and they're SUPER easy to kill. have you guys not realized that yet or something?

every really skilled person at this game ive seen uses the gnasher, why? because it has clear advantages over the sawed off in most situations. its actually useful at medium range as well. it has 8 rounds to a clip.

sometimes sawed off players get me, good for them. im not going to rush online and whine about it. i could have easily killed them if i didnt make a mistake. same with gnasher users they kill me sometimes too. sometimes i get retro charged? should i whine about that on the internet too? its ridiculous.

Totally 100% agreed! The amount of whining online I have seen about this shotgun business is insane. One thread I saw somewhere even suggested that the SOS is making muliplayer numbers dwindle already!

I love Gears and I love competitive multiplayer but this is the first time that I have really got in to any Gears multiplayer, so in my eyes the weapons balance in this game is perfect. Rifles are actually useful, intense long range exchanges of fire happen and most importantly of all its fun!

Perhaps the SOS range/spread does need to be slightly adjusted, but i'm an occasional user and I don't find it too unforgiving, plus as others have said, if you miss with it, you're done, so thats balance enough surely?

@InvertedForce: I am not terrible with it. I use the gnasher more but if I kill you with the sawed off you can be fairly certain I was aiming right at you.

@Afroman269: No, those are the idiots. :)

The multiplayer is all about the shotguns. I can't have fun with the multiplayer anymore.

You all need to grow a sack and realize the chainsaw is the anti SOS. By the time they get close enough you've teleported 50 ft. for the animation. Can't tell you how many times I've seen my shot go off, them bleed, but then have a chainsaw tearing me a new asshole and a death.