The Bustin Shotgun was designed by Max Ballesteros over a three year period with help from Jonanthan Neuman aka Bubbles. Luckily Max gave me a prototype about 8 months before its release so I’ve spent a lot of time on it. The Shotgun comes in two different layups: Thermoweave Hollow Core or Thermoweave Maple. The Hollow Core is both lighter and more expensive than it’s Maple counterpart. As Bustin’s premiere layup, I’ve found Thermoweave to be a durable composite that’s both resilient against abuse and stays very stiff.

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Construction

The Shotgun’s concave is relatively complex. It features crescent microdrops, an egg shaped w concave out back and two sets of micro flairs in the middle of the deck. Its no wonder this deck took such a long time to come out because there aren’t many boards that feel like this one.

Concave

The Shotgun’s concave is designed to be downhill oriented, but with all its features it also functions as an amazing freeride deck. The Shotgun’s microdrops are a simple crescent shape allowing you to put your toe on the flair of the drop and press the outside of your foot against it, locking you in place. In addition, the concave and the flush mounts lineup so that on the smallest wheelbase the inside bolts are lined up with the drops, which allows additional leverage not often found in most microdrop decks and works incredibly well for racing.

In the back half of the Shotgun you’ll find an egg shaped concave – the w concave is narrow at waist of the board and grows wider as you get closer to the drop near the tail. The benefit of an egg shaped w concave is the ability to use the angle of the narrow w at the waist of the board to tuck on and with the thicker w in the back makes for a comfortable pocket to dig into for any slide.

The last major feature is something unique to the Shotgun and I refer to them as micro-flairs. Around the front foot’s heel and near the bottom of the w concave are small flairs on the rail that are just big enough for you dig into for additional leverage.

Overall, the features add up to what seems like an intense package reminiscent of the Landyachtz Wolfshark, but if you shrink your stance by moving in an inch from the drops, the board becomes very mellow and comfortable to just cruise on.

Skate Experience

I am one of those people that likes to try new decks when something interesting comes out. Still, for the last two years I’ve come back to the Bustin Shotgun each time. The deck just feels natural – grippy, big, burly runs or slippery, quick, technical runs are both comfortable because the concave gives a ton of confidence.

When I ride the Shotgun I never have to guess where I am on the deck. Between the microdrops, w concave and microflair I can feel exactly where I am. Most people mention that features allow them to know where their feet are at any time, but the micro-flairs really help define where you are when using the rails unlike other decks.

With several wheelbase options and massive wheel wells I am able to freeride and downhill to my hearts content on the Shotgun.

The Shotgun is one of my all time favorite downhill decks because the concave is comfortable for long runs and holding a tuck for long sessions is no problem. The pairing of the micro drop with the w concave and micro-flair in the back offers great leverage for picking your lines and proper pre-drifts.

While grippy runs and dialed lines are exciting, having a deck that can also function as a freeride deck is a must. All of the features in the Shotgun can easily be transferred into freeride. Plus, the sections of mellow concave allow for stances that leave you feeling comfortable during long sessions without wearing you out.

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Conclusion

The Shotgun is a deck that features unique and innovative concave with an incredibly strong construction. Its built to handle the abuse of both freeride and downhill. The concave is confidence inspiring, holding you in place so long as you’re a fan of w concave and the lack of rocker.

While the board is a bit on the heavier side for its size, I think the construction’s durability makes up for that. The only real issue with this deck is acquisition. Bustin doesn’t expect to produce them on a large scale, so to get one you need to wait for the next batch or grab one used from another skater.

Pros: Comfortable concave, big wheel wells, flush mounts, strong/stiff construction, micro-flairs, durable

Cons: Heavy, limited run, no rocker (if you like that)