Tyrian:
Story time.
When I got my first shotgun, and went out for lessons, for the certification, I was with a group of seven. Four of them couldn't hit the paper target with bird shot, let alone the 9mm shot. My first turn was messy, but it hit. Oh, and those four, we are talking for the whole class.
Shush. Fictional buckshot is much more fun than real life buckshot.
In most games I can hit 2-3 people with a shotgun at 7 yds.
Irl my Remington 870 throws a pattern about the size of the palm of my hand at 7yds (With 00). It would be bigger with birdshot (#8 for the curious) but still way smaller than a cheap paper plate.
The general mayhem of rpg shotguns is just plain more exciting.