In CoD: Vanguard, the developers have immortalized one of the rarest weapons from the real world in the game. However, the corresponding shotgun was actually called something entirely different, was extremely limited, and wasn’t even intended for military use. Nonetheless, it is one of the most common weapons in the game. Discover here what really lies behind the legendary ‘Becker shotgun.’
What kind of weapon is it? The weapon known in Call of Duty: Vanguard by the curious name ‘Einhorn’ was not actually called that. Rather, it is a so-called ‘Becker shotgun.’
This weapon was constructed in 1899 by the ‘Deutsche Jagdwaffengesellschaft’ but was only produced in series about 20 years later, in 1920.
How does the shotgun work? The Becker shotgun is a revolver shotgun, which is already a very unusual principle. Most shotguns are either classic breech loaders or are made ready to fire again via a manual repeating mechanism, like in the classic pump gun.
However, the Becker shotgun uses a sophisticated system of movement and gas pressure to fire semi-automatically from a 5-shot revolver magazine. Only the last shell must be ejected manually via a simple mechanism.
The way the shotgun looks and functions in real life is explained well in this YouTube video:
The Becker shotgun is indeed something like a ‘unicorn’
How rare is this weapon in real life? The Becker shotgun is rightly called ‘Einhorn’ in the game. For in real life, very few people have probably ever seen it, just like the legendary mythical creature.
For in 1920, when the weapon went into series production, only 100 pieces were reportedly made, according to sources. The shotguns were also designed as hunting weapons, as the name of the company that designed them suggests. A military application was never the premise behind the design of the ‘Einhorn.’
Rather, the weapon was likely intended as a quirky toy for wealthy hunters who used it to hunt various game in German oak forests in the 1920s.
Overall, the weapon doesn’t quite fit into the category of more utilitarian and martial implements usually used in the game. With its curved lines and elegant embellishments, it resembles an anachronistic piece of jewelry from another world.
Even the numbering of the individual chambers on the revolver magazine in Roman numerals does not match the utilitarian design of other German weapons from the era.
All in all, the Becker shotgun looks more like a weapon from a steampunk scenario than a firearm from World War II.
How often does it appear in the game? These historical facts seemed to be of little concern to the developers of CoD Vanguard. Because already in the campaign, it feels like every second soldier of the Wehrmacht is running around with it.
Apparently, the Nazis in Vanguard have seized secret stocks of the Becker shotgun and distributed them en masse to the Western, Eastern, and African fronts. And apparently, there were also enough unicorns left to generously equip the Japanese allies in the Pacific with the shotgun.
It is hard to explain otherwise how the first weapon that Polina seizes from a couple of stupid Germans after the attack on Stalingrad is a Becker shotgun.
Later in the game, the thing conveniently lies around wherever its use appears to be particularly effective.
So common is it in multiplayer mode: The weapon is definitely present in the game more than 100 times. Especially when considering that it is the first shotgun in the multiplayer mode. Every player starting CoD Vanguard first has this shotgun and must grind for a while before obtaining other shotguns.
Additionally, there are absurd modifications, like the version shown here without a stock, with a sawed-off barrel and – believe it or not – a magazine! How the revolver mechanism should still function when a magazine clip is stuck in the middle is probably beyond even the machine god!
Instead of reserving a truly well-designed and beautiful weapon as something special for the endgame grind, the poor unicorn is practically dumped as mass-produced.
I would have really liked it if one had to grind and work for this rare and beautiful weapon. But what do you think? Let us know in the comments.
Unfortunately, the unicorn is not the top shotgun in the game despite its elegant and clever design. If you want a really strong shotgun, check out our guide on it.
