Shooting shot from a rifle?

[Robert Egler]

Happened to be clicking through some channels on TV, and caught part of some movie I didn't recognize (which isn't hard since I rarely watch movies), but what caught my attention was that one of the characters told another to load up his rifle with nails and scrap iron. I vaguely recall hearing something similar in some other old cowboy movie years ago. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't do that, but it got me thinking. Has anyone ever tried shooting shotgun shot from a rifle? What do you think would happen? I would think that the spin imparted by the riflings would spread the pattern way out real fast. Not to mention that a .50 calibre would only be about the size of a 410. Just thinking here, don't have any plans to try it. :hmm:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Yes, The shot column spins, and you get a spinning rope effect, with a large hole developing in the middle quickly. After 10 feet, its only luck that lets you hit a clay target. You can put shot into a mansized target out to 30 feet with some reliability, but beyond that, you are getting into the " iffy " range.

 

[BrownBear]

Not in rifles, but in cartridge handguns. Home-rolled ammo never performed that well, but varieties with the shot loaded in plastic capsules had some utility. Speer sold both loaded ammo and supplies for roll-your-own. In both 44 and 38/357 they were useful snake loads. Tried them on cottontails in front of hounds and gave that up pretty quick due to thin patterns.

T/C made their own versions available in 357 and 44, reloading components, along with special barrels including screw-in "choke tubes" designed to take the spin off while also cutting the plastic shot capsule to free the shot. These worked a whole bunch better, provided the shot capsules actually opened. Performance increase was mostly due to vast increase in shot per load due to extra long shot capsules. I found the 44 version to be roughly equivalent of a 410 from a shotgun.

T/C also produced a 45 LC barrel with over-long chamber which would accept and fire 410 shotshells. It was a lot more convenient and reliable in patterning, but when the 44 soht capsule variety opened, it was a little better performer in my hands.

Intersting side note: I had a diving "bang stick" for shark protection in 44 Mag. They were also available in 20 gauge shotgun. These function by actually whacking the end against the shark, which drives the cartridge and primer back against a fixed firing pin to set off the round. Performance with regular 44 pistol rounds was so-so, but load that sucker with one of the TC shotshell load and it was outstanding. The whole plastic capsule exited, then opened up as it penetrated the shark. Turned the 44 bang stick into as effective a killing machine as the 20 gauge version.

 

[silverfox]

You should see what a 12 ga bang stick does. Never tried one with BP in it. might have been smoked fish. :rotf:
Fox :hatsoff:

 

[tg]

My grandfather bought a civil war rifle for .50 cents at an auction(Austrian import ) when he was ten back about the turn of the century, he used to load up pebbles, horseshoe nails and whatever he could find to shoot prarrie hens and rabbits during the early 1900's to feed the family, so I know it has been done but is not likely the best thing to use a rifle for, and would not throw a great pattern, from the looks of the bore it is hard on rifling as well.

 

[rice1817]

Del Gue in "Jeremiah Johnson", when planning to ambush the Blackfeet to get back Del's horses, told Jeremiah to "fill that bear rifle full of nails!" Always seemed to me to be a great way to ruin a Hawken Rifle!

 

[Zonie]

Ah, Hollywood! :grin: :rotf:

It sure sounds good when you hear it, but I'm betting no rifleman or trapper would even consider such a thing unless he had run out of lead balls.

I wonder if the writers had any idea about how scarce nails on the frontier were?
Folks would burn their houses down just to collect those valuable nails to use in the next house they planned on building.
Oh well. :grin:
zonie

 

[longshot47]

I think one of the Don Wright's novels makes mention of the defenders of a frontier station loading their smokepoles with nails and metal scree [always though nails were a rare item in a green wood culture?]
Fictionalized fiction?? :hmm:

 

[54mountain]

Years ago our club would hold a winter shoot and we would load our rifles with shot and hunt doves and pheasants.
One day we came upon a game warden and ask him what he thought about the idea, His reply was that he had better not catch anyone shooting birds this way.
It seems it is not legal to shoot them with any rifled barrel no matter what you have in it. So It can be done just watch what your shootin'

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Ah, Hollywood! :grin: :rotf:

It sure sounds good when you hear it, but I'm betting no rifleman or trapper would even consider such a thing unless he had run out of lead balls.

I wonder if the writers had any idea about how scarce nails on the frontier were?
Folks would burn their houses down just to collect those valuable nails to use in the next house they planned on building.
Oh well. :grin:
zonie

Zonie, I'm surprised at you! Don't you know every mountainman carried a few pounds of nails just in case he wanted to build a barn out of milled lumber? I thought everyone knew that. :grin: