In the C17 at least many of these are likely to be customary
measurements i.e. varying between time and place. In the English Civil
War of the 1640s a major problem was the lack of standardisation and
under-sized shot was widely used. Several attempts were made to
standardise weapons in the mid C17 England. In 1630 the government
defined caliver shot as 17 bore and pistols as 24 bore but reality was
probably much more complicated. In Britain I seem to remember from my
childhood that a large size of split-lead shot used for fishing were
called swan shot possibly after the earlier gun shot.
 
paul courtney, leicester, UK
 
 
 
 
In message <C7545C592B1DD21198150000BC0E079F9FB491@ex81216aa008>, Heath,
Charles <[log in to unmask]> writes
>Hello all,
>
>Can anyone recommend sources that formally define and describe (e.g.,
>diameter, weight, shape, etc.) of 17th-18th c. ball/shot varieties, such as:
>swan shot, Bristow, Calliver bore, Dutch, East India bore, Mould Goose,
>Pistoll bore, Plover, and Drop no. 1?
>
>I have consulted M.L. Brown's Firearms in Colonial America (1980), T.M.
>Hamilton's Indian Trade Guns (1982), H. L. Peterson's Arms and Armor in
>Colonial America (1956), and T.M. Hamilton's Colonial Frontier Guns (1980),
>but found no fully adequate descriptions.
>
>Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.
>
>
>Thank You,
>
>Charles Heath
 
Paul Courtney
Leicester UK