MODULE 8

SHOTGUN SHELL

A shotgun shell, shotshell or simply shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-

walled) cartridges used specifically in shotguns, and is typically loaded with numerous small,
pellet-like spherical sub-projectiles called shot, fired through a smoothbore barrel with a
tapered constriction at the muzzle to regulate the extent of scattering. A shell can sometimes
also contain only a single large solid projectile known as a slug, fired usually through a rifled
slug barrel. The shell casing usually consists of a paper or plastic tube mounted on a brass
base holding a primer, and the shots are typically contained by a wadding/sabot inside the
case. The caliber of the shotshell is known as its gauge.

SHOTGUN – a smooth bore weapon designed to shoot a number of lead pellets in one charge.
GAUGE – as applied to shotgun, indicated the bore diameter is equal to the diameter of the
lead ball whose weight in pound is equal to the reciprocal gauge index.

E.g. 12 gauge – indicate the bore diameter is equal to the diameter of the lead ball
weighing 1/12 of a pound.

GAUGE BORE DIAMETER

4 .935”
8 .835”
10 .775”
12 .729”
16 .662”
20 .615”
28 .550”
.410 .410”

This refers to the bore diameter without any degree of choke.

A 12 gauge shotgun shell in an unusual translucent plastic hull, allowing the contents
to be seen. From left to right: gunpowder, over-powder wad, shot wad, #8 birdshot, and over-
shot wad.

A shotgun shell (shotshell) is a self-contained cartridge loaded with shot or a slug

designed to be fired from a shotgun. Most shotgun shells are designed to be fired from a
smoothbore barrel, but with the recent gain in popularity of dedicated shotguns with rifled

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barrels for firing slugs, there are many rounds specifically designed to be fired from a rifled
barrel. A rifled barrel will increase the accuracy of the shotgun with slugs, but makes it
unsuitable for firing shot, as the rifling causes the shot to form a hollow "O" shape in flight.
Some less lethal shotgun ammunition is available in the form of slugs made of low-density
material, such as rubber. See shotgun specialty ammunition for more information.

Construction of a typical shotshell

Modern shotgun cartridges

typically consist of a plastic
case, with the base covered
in a thin brass covering.
Paper shells used to be
common, and are still
made, as are solid brass
shells. Some companies
have produced what
appear to be all-plastic
shells, although in these
there is a small metal ring
cast into the rim of the shell to provide strength.
Often the more powerful loads will use "high brass" shells, with the brass extended up
further along the sides of the shell, while light loads will use "low brass" shells. The brass
does not actually provide a significant amount of strength, but the difference in appearance
provides shooters with a way to quickly differentiate between high and low powered
ammunition.

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DIFFERENT TYPES OF CRIMPING OF THE
SHOTGUN CARTRIDGE

Shotshell sizes
Shotgun shells are generally
measured by "gauge," though in Britain and
some other locations outside the United
States the term "bore" is used with the same
meaning. Rifles and handguns are almost
always measured in "caliber," which is
simply a measurement of the internal
diameter of the barrel and, consequently, the
diameter of the projectile fired. By contrast,
shotguns are usually measured by "gauge," which is the weight, in fractions of a pound, of a
lead round shot the same internal diameter as the barrel.

For example, a shotgun is called 12

gauge because a lead sphere that just fits
the inside diameter of the barrel weighs
1⁄12 of a pound. This measurement comes

from the time when early cannons were

designated in a similar manner—a "12
pounder" would be a cannon that fired a
12 pound (5.5 kg) cannonball; inversely,
an individual "12 gauge" shot would in
fact be a 1⁄12 pounder (38 g). Thus, a 10-
gauge shotgun has a larger-diameter barrel than a 12-gauge shotgun, which has a larger-
diameter barrel than a 20-gauge shotgun, and so forth.

.22 Rat shot

No. of lead balls in one pound diameter of lead balls

10 0.78" (19.7 mm)

12 0.73" (18.5 mm)

16 0.66" (16.8 mm)

20 0.62" (15.6 mm)

28 0.55" (14.0 mm)

The most popular shotgun gauge by far is 12-gauge. The larger 10-gauge, once
popular for hunting larger birds such as goose and turkey, is in the decline with the advent

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of longer, "magnum" 12-gauge shells, which offer similar performance. The mid-size 20-
gauge is also a very popular chambering for smaller-framed shooters who favor its reduced
recoil, those hunting smaller game, and experienced trap and skeet shooters who like the
additional challenge of hitting their targets with a smaller shot charge. Other less-common,
but commercially available gauges are 16 and 28. There are also some shotguns measured
by diameter, rather than gauge, these are the .410 (10 mm), .380 (9 mm), and .22 (5.5 mm);
these are correctly called ".410 bore", not ".410 gauge".

The .410 bore is the smallest shotgun size which is widely available commercially, in
the UK 9mm shotguns are quite common for use in "Garden Guns" and folding shotguns. For
size comparison purposes the .410, when measured by gauge, would be around 67 or 68
gauge (mathematically it's 67.62 gauge), not the sometimes mistakenly assigned 36 gauge.

Shotshells are also found in some handgun cartridges, such as .38 Special and .44
Magnum; these are often used in revolvers for defense against snakes at very close ranges,
or for killing small pests such as rats. A number of single shot pistols and rifles are made in
.45 Colt with special screw-in chokes allowing the use of .410 shells—usually the chokes are
designed with deep grooves parallel to the bore designed to stop the spin of the shot column,
as the .45 Colt barrel is rifled. Taurus recently introduced a revolver named The Judge, which
accommodates both .45 Colt and .410 shotshells.

Shot sizes
Shotshells are loaded with different sizes of shot depending on the target. For skeet
shooting, a small shot such as# 8 or #9 would be used, because range is short and a high
density pattern is desirable. Trap shooting requires longer shots, and so a larger shot, up to
#7½ would be desired. For hunting game, the range and the penetration needed to assure a
clean kill must both be considered. Shot loses its velocity very quickly due to its low sectional
density and ballistic coefficient (see external ballistics). Small shot, like that used for skeet
and trap, will have lost all appreciable energy by 100 yards or meters, which is why trap and
skeet ranges can be located in relatively close proximity to inhabited areas with negligible
risk of injury to those outside the range.

Birdshot
12 gauge birdshot shotgun shell.
Birdshot sizes are numbered similar to the shotgun
gauges; the smaller the number, the larger the shot.
Generally birdshot is just called "shot", such as "number 9
shot" or "BB shot". A useful method for remembering the
diameter of numbered birdshot is simply to subtract the
shot size from 17. The resulting answer is the diameter of
the shot in hundredths of an inch. For example, number 2
shot gives 17-2 = 15, meaning that the diameter of number 2 shot is 15/100 or 0.15". B shot
is .170 inches, and sizes go up in .01 increments for BB and BBB or Pellets.

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Size Nominal diameter Pellets per oz (28 g) Quantity per lb.

Lead Steel

FF .23" (5.84 mm) 35

F .22" (5.59 mm) 39

TT .21" (5.33 mm)

T .20" (5.08 mm) 36 53

BBB .190" (4.83 mm) 44 62 550

BB .180" (4.57 mm) 50 72 650

B .170" (4.32 mm)

1 .160" (4.06 mm) 72 103 925

2 .150" (3.81 mm) 87 125 1120

3 .140" (3.56 mm) 108 158 1370

4 .130" (3.30 mm) 135 192 1720

5 .120" (3.05 mm) 170 243 2180

6 .110" (2.79 mm) 225 315 2850

7½ .095" (2.41 mm) 350 3775

8 .090" (2.29 mm) 410 686 5150

8½ .085" (2.15 mm) 497

9 .080" (2.03 mm) 585 892 7400

Buckshot
Larger sizes of shot, large enough that they must be carefully packed into the shell
rather than simply dumped or poured in, are called "buckshot." Buckshot is used for hunting
larger game, such as deer (hence derivation of the name), and also in riot shotguns and
combat shotguns for defensive, police, and military use. Buckshot is also categorized by

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number, with smaller numbers being larger shot. It is called either "buckshot" or just "buck",
such as "triple-ought buck" or "number 4 buck".

Size Nominal diameter Pellets/oz

TriBall (12 Ga.) <5> .60" (15.24 mm ) 3/4 ounce per pellet

0000 ("quadruple-ought") .38" (9.7 mm) 5

000 ("triple-ought") .36" (9.1 mm) 6

00 ("double-ought") .33" (8.4 mm) 8

0 ("ought") .32" (8.1 mm) 9

1 .30" (7.6 mm) 10

2 .27" (6.9 mm) 15

3 .25" (6.4 mm) 18

4 .24" (6 mm) 21

Shotshells and patterning

Most modern sporting shotguns have interchangeable choke tubes to allow the
shooter to change the spread of shot that comes out of the gun. In some cases, it is not
practical to do this; the gun might have fixed choke, or a shooter firing at receding targets
may want to fire a wide pattern immediately followed by a narrower pattern out of a single
barrelled shotgun. The spread of the shot can also be altered by changing the characteristics
of the shell.

Narrower patterns
A buffering material, such as granulated plastic, sawdust, or similar material can be
mixed with the shot to fill the spaces between the individual pellets. When fired, the buffering
material compresses and supports the shot, reducing the deformation the shot pellets
experience under the extreme acceleration. Copper plated lead shot, steel, bismuth, and
tungsten composite shot all have a hardness greater than that of plain lead shot, and will
deform less as well. Reducing the deformation will result in tighter patterns, as the spherical
pellets tend to fly straighter.

Wider patterns
Shooting the softest possible shot will result in more shot deformation and a wider
pattern. This is often the case with cheap ammunition, as the lead used will have minimal
alloying elements and be very soft. Spreader wads are wads that have a small plastic or paper
insert in the middle of the shot cup, usually a cylinder or "X" cross-section. When the shot
exits the barrel, the insert helps to push the shot out from the center, opening up the pattern.

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Often these result in inconsistent performance, though modern designs are doing much
better than the traditional improvised solutions. Intentionally deformed shot (hammered
into ellipsoidal shape) or cubical shot will also result in a wider pattern, much wider than
spherical shot, with more consistency than spreader wads. Spreader wads and non-spherical
shot are disallowed in some competitions. Hunting loads that use either spreaders or non-
spherical shot are usually called "brush loads", and are favored for hunting in areas where
dense cover keeps shot distances very short.

Spread
A shotgun's shot spread refers to the pattern that the projectiles (or shot) leave
behind on a target. Most shotgun shells contain at least several metal shots, in order to
increase the likelihood that a target will be hit. This is especially useful for hunting small
game such as birds, rabbits, and other animals that move quickly and can unpredictably
change their direction of travel. By firing multiple shots at once, the probability of a direct
hit is vastly increased. However, some shotgun shells only contain one metal shot, known as
a slug, for hunting large game such as deer.

As the shot leaves the barrel upon firing, the shot is close together. But as the shot
moves farther away, the individual pellets increasingly spread out and disperse. Because of
this, the effective range of a shotgun, when firing a multitude of shot, is limited to
approximately 20 to 50 metres. To control this effect, shooters use a tool within the barrel of
a shotgun called a choke. The choke effectively reduces the diameter of the barrel, forcing
the shot even closer together as it leaves the barrel, thereby increasing the effective range.
The choke acts much like putting one's finger over a garden hose to increase the range of the
water coming out. The tighter the choke, the more narrow the barrel. Consequentially, the
effective range of a shotgun is increased with a tighter choke. Hunters or target shooters can
install several types of chokes, depending on the range at which their intended targets will
be located. From tightest to loosest, the various chokes are: full choke, modified choke,
improved cylinder, and cylinder bore.

A hunter who intends to hunt an animal such as rabbit or grouse, knows that the
animal will be encountered at a close range (usually within 20 metres), and will be moving
very quickly. So, an ideal choke would be a cylinder bore (the loosest) as the hunter wants
the shot to spread out as quickly as possible. If this hunter was using a full choke (the
tightest) at 20 metres, the shot would be very close together and cause an incredible and
unnecessarily large amount of damage to the rabbit. This would waste virtually all of the
meat, as the little amount of meat remaining would be overly laden with shot and rendered
inedible. By using a cylinder bore, this hunter would maximize the likelihood of a kill, and
maximize the amount of edible meat. Contrarily, a hunter who intends to hunt geese knows
that a goose will likely be approximately 50 metres away, so, that hunter would want to delay
the spread of the shot as much as possible by using a full choke. By using a full choke for
targets that are farther away, the shooter again maximizes the likelihood of a kill, and
maximizes the amount of edible meat. As well, this guarantees a swift and humane kill as the
target would be hit with enough shot to kill, instead of simply flying away wounded.

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References:

• "Shotgun Pattern Testing". FirearmsID.com. http://firearmsid.com/A_distshotpatt.htm.

Retrieved 2010-05-13.

• Categories: Shotgun shells | Ammunition

• "Objective Infantry Combat Weapon".

http://216.117.156.23/features/tangofox/2000/february/oicw.shtml. Retrieved 2007-07-
16.

• "Memorandum: Sniper Use of Open-Tip Ammunition".

http://www.thegunzone.com/opentip-ammo.html. Retrieved 2007-03-17.