Comrade John
Seriously...

No... IF there wasn't skill in it, why are there people that consistently win all their shotty battles?

How does aiming without a reticule take no skill? How does wall bouncing and strafing take no skill? These are the defacto tactics in all shooter games. They're classified in almost any game to be skillful. Halo has the BR, gears has the shotgun.

The shotgun was severly weakened in GOW2 making it almost useless. It takes almost 8 shots to down someone while someone with an HB can spam the trigger. I'll give you a hint why less people use the HB: it's called having fun. It's so damn boring hiding behind a pillar for 40 minutes shooting the HB. People purposely use the shotty over the HB. When you have money on the line like in MLG, you get 50 minute stale mates because of how overpowered the HB is (please refer to MLG Meadowlands). People don't use the shotty because it's powerful, but because blowing people away while strafing is so satisfying.

The shotgun takes skill. You actually have to aim, strafe, wall bounce, and shoot without a reticule. 2 piecing is for nerds and no one who likes the shotgun uses it. They're trash if they 2 piece.