User blog comment:Willbachbakal/Singleplayer Enemies: Leadhead Splicer/@comment-1330314-20100817194638

1) Shrapnel, no matter how slicey and dicey and burney, will go nowhere as far as buckshot, won't be as accurate, and won't kill the enemy any more than the latter can. As a matter of fact, the buck would be able to penetrate farther into the victim's body, causing much more potential damage to the internal organs.

2) A blast guard in this case is irrelevant. If you were to fire such a gun, the shrapnel would tear the barrel to pieces from the inside out.