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Road2Radiant

Shotguns

Bucky: damage and tips

The Bucky is an 850-credit shotgun, the cheapest main weapon in the game. It fires 15 pellets on left click and launches an exploding shell at medium range on right click.

Price
850 credits
Bucky

Stats

Price
850 credits
Fire rate
1.1 rounds/s
Magazine
5 rounds
Reload
2.5 s
Equip time
1 s
Run speed
75% of knife speed
First-shot spread
3°
Penetration
Low
Fire mode
Semi-automatic
Alt fire
Air burst shot

Damage by range

Damage per pellet, 15 pellets per shot: shots to kill depend on how many pellets land.

Damage by range
RangeHeadBodyLegs
0 to 8 m341714
8 to 12 m261311.05
12 to 50 m1897.65

How to play it

The Bucky fires 15 pellets per shot, about once per second, with 5 shells and a 0.5 s reload per shell: you can reload between shots. On left click, it's made for very close combat: under 8 m, a pellet to the head does 34 damage and 17 to the body. On right click, it launches a shell that bursts at 7.5 m and releases 5 pellets, useful at medium range but much weaker. Hold tight angles crouched, against a wall, and let the enemy come to you. It's inaccurate and slow (75% of run speed).

When to buy it

The Bucky is a reduced-economy buy: at 850 credits, you keep enough for armor and an ability. It also suits defending a site on tight angles. Avoid it against rifles that hold you at long range.

Strengths

  • At 850 credits, it's the most affordable main weapon: you keep enough to buy armor and abilities.
  • Under 8 m, a shot kills as soon as 6 pellets hit the body with no armor, 9 against Heavy Armor (17 per pellet, 15 pellets).
  • You can reload a shell between shots, so you use your whole supply without staying exposed for long.
  • Right click gives you a medium-range option the Judge doesn't have.

Weaknesses

  • Very high spread (3° on the first bullet): even at short range, not every pellet hits.
  • Damage collapses with distance: beyond 12 m, a pellet only does 9 to the body: you need 12 pellets out of 15 to kill with no armor, so almost always two shots.
  • Fire rate of about one shot per second: if you miss, the enemy has time to finish you.
  • 75% movement speed and a one-second equip: you're vulnerable when peeking.

Tips

  1. Crouch and stick to a wall or a tight angle: the spread shrinks a little and the enemy has to come to you.
  2. Shoot under 8 m: that's where pellets do 34 to the head and 17 to the body. Beyond that, the falloff is brutal.
  3. Counter-strafe before the shot: movement adds 1 to 4° of spread and makes most pellets miss.
  4. Reload between shots to fill the magazine without waiting for the end of a fight.
  5. Save right click for enemies past 8 m advancing in a straight line, otherwise left click is safer.

The aim to train

The Road2Radiant benchmark subcategories that matter most here.

  • Static

    Clicking on static targets

    You need to place the crosshair on an enemy who appears cleanly, with a single decisive shot.

    Drills to improve

  • Strafe Click

    Clicking while strafing

    Movement adds spread: a clean counter-strafe right before the shot changes how many pellets hit.

    Drills to improve
Measure these skills with the benchmark

Compare with

Same category

Train the aim this weapon demands

Sources

Updated on October 13, 2026

Data from patch 13.06. Names, art and weapon stats: Riot Games, via valorant-api.com.