From: firstinitiallastname@texas.net   
      
   AIW3002 wrote:   
   > I recently asked the following on rec.guns, but have gotten no reply. Perhaps   
   > you can give me some idea, if you have old shotgun shells.   
   >   
   > Subject: Q: 10G Buckshot Loading - 1880s   
   > From: aiw3002@aol.com  (AIW3002)   
   > Date: 01/24/2004 8:28 AM Eastern Standard Time   
   > Message-id:    
   >   
   > Given that the 10 Gauge double was used during this time period, I was   
   > wondering how many buckshot was in the paper shell. Anyone able to offer an   
   > answer?  A recent viewing of "Open Range," with "Boss" using a double sparked   
   > this question, btw. Duvall turned in yet another great western performance.   
   (I   
   > think).   
   >   
   > Thank You.  :-)   
      
   Well, it varies with the size of the shot, mainly. A look at the Sears   
   catalog of 1894 for 10 gauge black powder shot shells shows their shells   
   contained 1-1/8 oz. of shot. Other references show anywhere from 1 oz.   
   to 1-1/2 oz., depending on the powder load.   
      
   Now, the guage is a measure of barrel diameter, and, if you imagine a   
   lead ball the same diameter as the barrel, the guage is the number of   
   that diameter shot in one pound.   
      
   #4 buck (0.24 in.) is about 21 shot to the ounce, making it anywhere   
   from 21 to 30 shot per load - and 00 buck (0.33 in.) is about 8 to the   
   ounce, making it 8 to 12 shot per load.  Other buck shot sizes would   
   vary between those. (I think I have that right.)   
      
   There were some differences between plack powder shells and modern   
   smokeless ammunition. The chambers were typically a bit shorter. Black   
   powder produces considerable smoke and is very dirty (lots of blackened   
   hands and faces after a hard fight). A 19th century shotgun had to be   
   cleaned rigorously, or it would rust badly. The barrels were removed and   
   washed in water (the residue isn't oil-soluable like modern powder) and   
   dried, every day, if they were used frequently. A conscientious shooter   
   would make the last wash boiling water, so it would dry quickly without   
   rusting.   
      
   Muzzle velocity was about the same as with modern shells, but they were   
   considerably louder. Loaded as blanks, they are even louder, so your   
   movie shotgun fight is probably noisier than the original, if they're   
   running black powder for effect and authenticity. And there was somewhat   
   greater recoil, due to the extra crud being ejected and the fact that   
   black powder is an explosive, rather than a rapid burning powder today.   
      
   And no, the old shotguns (nor new) didn't blow the victim back and up in   
   the air. But ten or so approximate .32 caliber balls at 1200 feet per   
   second was formidable.   
   --   
                          Gerald Clough   
       "Nothing has any value, unless you know you can give it up."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)