I figured there would be another thread about this, but I couldn't find one, so sorry if this is a repeat. There don't seem to be any perks that enhance shotguns, meaning you can't progress with them. Some people say that the Rifleman perk affects them. I've seen a lot of conflicting information on the web. The wiki says no, GameFAQs seems to think yes. Does anyone know for sure? Please indicate how you know. Thanks.

Rifleman does seem to boost them. when I put points into single shot rifle damage my double barrel shotgun gained it too.

Thank you for the reply. I assume you mean you actually saw the damage stat number get boosted in the pip boy?

One of the loading screens specifically says shotguns fall under rifleman.

Oh, nice. I didn't catch that. I appreciate the tip.

Early on I got an assassin's double barrel shotgun from a legendary rad roach. It does double damage to humans. I kept modding the damage, range, and recoil every time my gun nut level would allow it. So, I kept a pretty good watch on which weapons did what damage and when I took the riflemen perk it did jump. One shot raider in the head is so much fun. I'm trying to get good at catching the eyeballs from the aftermath in midair. Practice, practice, practice.

Yep, Rifleman covers shotguns too. I have a Gun Nut at 3/4 and Rifleman at 4/5 and my shotgun does almost 150 damage. That said, I sort of wish shotguns had their own perk, Shotgun Surgeon, and it was nested in the END tree. That would help spread out the weapon love a bit and open the opportunity to give shotguns their own flavor (although the armor ignore is still awesome).

Useful to know. This would make a Rifle/Shotgun build to be the "cheapest" as shotgun can take care of close quarters while Rifle touches them from a distance without having to blow extra points on 2 or more perks for 2 different types of weapons. Pistols get more shots in VATS though. I don't think I'd ever waste points on automatic or heavy weapons personally.

Keep in mind if you use a combat shotgun with a auto fire receiver its no longer affected by the rifleman perk, but the commando perk.

Non-auto shotguns - Rifleman

Auto shotguns - Commando

Before you spend a point make sure you have the correct mod on your shotgun and check your damage on pipboy. Add a point and then check your damage again. I have a non-auto shotgun build and the Rifleman perk does increase its damage. If you have an auto shotgun you will need to put points into Commando.