Not shotshell trivia

[OH Osthaus]

Originally Posted by Stephen Hodges

As a follow up to Edgars Primer question, I have a trivia question regarding the naming of shotgun gauges. We all know what the bore diameters are for 10, 12, 16 and 20 gauge guns. But just how did each gauge mentioned get assigned the designation of 10, 12, 16 and 20 gauges?

balls of that diameter per pound of lead


did you know that in the 18th century Pennsylvania longrifles were not defined by caliber as we do now,

they also were identified as balls to a pound - to someone going off on a long hunt who was packing in lead it mattered how many shots he got for each pound he lugged into the wilderness - and since the bores were cut by hand - they varied a lot

militia units were issued bars of lead to "run" their own balls due to the lack of a standard

[Steve Hodges]

Originally Posted by Rick Losey

balls of that diameter per pound of lead


did you know that in the 18th century Pennsylvania longrifles were not defined by caliber as we do now,

they also were identified as balls to a pound - to someone going off on a long hunt who was packing in lead it mattered how many shots he got for each pound he lugged into the wilderness - and since the bores were cut by hand - they varied a lot

militia units were issued bars of lead to "run" their own balls due to the lack of a standard

Very interesting, Thanks. You never know when this stuff will come up in cocktail conversation