I am writing a book on cartridges for Left Coast Press.  I have a table on
all of the shot sizes (American, British, and European) and have
illustrations of bore diameters (which will only come out in the book).  I
can send the shot size table to anyone who wants it.  If you use it
reference it as personal communitcation. It has diameter in mm and inches,
lead pellet weight in grains, lead pellets per ounce, and steel pellets per
ounce.

I think 98% of all shot from historical sites has gone through the 1/4 inch
dry screen.  I have been shooting, reloading and casting my own bullets for
more than 35 years.

Smoke


On 4/12/08, Mark Branstner <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Hey Guys,
>
> Although I'd be very surprised to learn that I was the first person to do
> this, here goes:
>
> Given the frequency of finding round lead ball and shot on historic sites,
> and the fact that it has often been distorted in use, making it difficult to
> accurately measure, I came up with an Excel table that allows you to simply
> weigh the large shot or ball, and determine gauge and/or caliber.  Of
> course, this assumes the shot or ball was originally round and is still
> essentially whole ...
>
> I created the conversion table to range from 1-200 Gauge or 1.671 - 0.28
> caliber, which should cover most anything firearms-related (and even small
> cannon :-) ).  I realize  that there were 2 and 4  gauge market shotguns out
> there, but it would be unlikely for them to be shooting solid full-bore
> projectiles.  By the same token, anything smaller than .28 caliber would
> almost certainly fall into the buckshot or shotgun pellet range, where
> caliber measurement would be largely unnecessary.
>
> Note that I have cross-referenced GAUGE, CALIBER, GRAIN WGT, GRAM WEIGHT,
> and ROUNDED GRAM WEIGHT and ROUNDED CALIBER.   This should cross-correlate
> with historic sources, as well as modern literature, and lab data.
>
> I have not added information about standard sizes of buckshot, shotgun
> pellets, etc., as that data is pretty readily available on the web
> (Wikipedia).
>
> If anybody wants a copy, please send me an e-mail and I will forward.
>
> Mark
>
> P.S.  Again, if somebody has already done this in a easily accessible
> format, just ignore.
>
>
> --
>
> Mark C. Branstner, RPA
> Historic Archaeologist
>
> Illinois Transportation
> Archaeological Research Program
> University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
> 209 Nuclear Physics Lab, MC-571
> 23 East Stadium Drive
> Champaign, IL 61820
>
> Phone: 217.244.0892
> Fax: 217.244.7458
> Cell: 517.927.4556
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
> "I hope there's pudding" - Luna Lovegood (HP5)
>



-- 
Smoke Pfeiffer

Remember: When seconds count, the police are only minutes away!