Sodium Chloride in a Shotgun

[Enfield58]

We've all heard about the farmer who loaded his shotgun with sodium chloride to prevent the pervicacious, pilfering, precocious plunders or the patch from absconding with the delectable watermelon (citrullus lanatus) but is this true or urban legend?

In the modern world, misdemeanor offences for stealing watermelon are rare. Besides, the judicial system may take a dim view of someone using less-than-lethal force with rock salt in a smooth bore on a street urchin who hasn't begun to shave yet.

With that said, I have a few questions to pose to the highly esteemed group of this forum. I'm asking this strictly for muzzle-loading shotguns.

1) Did farmers really use rock salt?
2) If they did use rock salt, what load would they use? Was the salt loaded by volume or weight?
3) Does anyone, or has anyone, endeavored to conduct external and terminal ballistics tests with the rock salt?
4) We don't need a show of hands for this question but does anyone have personal experience (or know of someone) that has experienced the pain and humiliation of getting shot with rock salt?
5) Follow up question from question 4. Did you get away with the watermelon?

Asking for a friend.

 

[1950DAVE]

All of this is true in my area but in my experience only with of shotguns that are unmentionable on this site. Empty lead , load salt, close shell, load weapon, wait.
Dave

 

[Bob McBride]

A good rule of thumb with these things is if it sounds like an urban legend, it surely happened in the Deep South.

 

[ohio ramrod]

My friend tried shooting rock salt in his dad's shotgun when we were kids. I don't remember what it shot like, but I remember what his dad did when he found out about it!My friend did not sit down for two weeks!

 

[Treestalker]

My older brother Tiny caught a load of rock salt in the left shoulder blade while stealing a watermelon. He still had the scars to prove it. Things like that did happen in the Settlement when I was a boy. 'Uncle' Monk Stanton used to load his shotgun with blanks to scare kids out of his patch. He never shot anybody. The widow 'Aunt' Sadie Williamson loaded with lead and everybody knew it.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

“I’ll load up my shotgun... with rock salt and nails”

 

[Notchy Bob]

My grandfather dealt with a couple of human vandals on his farm in Alabama by loading a double-barreled shotgun with okra seed. These are dark, almost spherical, and about the size of BBs, but not as heavy. Bob McBride is right... If it sounds like an urban legend, it probably happened in the south.

It was probably in the years just before World War I. A couple of local boys thought it was great fun to come in the middle of the night and manure in my grandmother's washpot. My grandpa somehow figured out when they were coming back, so he went out and stood in the shadows with his shotgun loaded with okra seed. He waited until they dropped their overalls, then let 'em have it, one barrel for each bare butt. They left in a rush, and never came back. That was the end of it.

My dad told me that story many times.

Notchy Bob

 

[hanshi]

Salt in a shotgun helps deter demons and spirits. Sam & Dean Winchester on "Supernatural" use it to great effect.

 

[Enfield58]

From the Star Gazette of Elmira, NY, July 31, 1943.

 

[Enfield58]

 

[Enfield58]

Now I'm beginning to wonder. Would one still get a better pattern with a "Skychief" load? And, again, would one load the salt by volume or by weight?

Still asking for a friend.

 

[Bob McBride]

From the Star Gazette of Elmira, NY, July 31, 1943.

...and one dill pickle.....

 

[Enfield58]

One of my favorite scenes in this classic movie...

 

[Bob McBride]

One of my favorite scenes in this classic movie...

...."I was just around a-borrowin"......

 

[troy2000]

Galen, my youngest uncle, was about five years older than me. I remember checking out the noise coming from his bedroom one evening, and he was laid out across his bed with his pants down. He was carrying on something fierce while my grandmother picked rock salt out of his bottom with a pair of tweezers, and I remember her telling him, "oh, hush. He TOLD you what was going to happen if you didn't leave that girl alone..."

Apparently he was visiting said girl in her back yard, and her dad came out. Galen made a run for it, and dad nailed him as he went over the fence. I wouldn't guarantee he used a muzzleloader, though.

 

[Eterry]

I tried some rock salt loads in a modern pump shotgun to keep our mules out of the corn patch. The noise was more effective than the load of salt.
I tried patterning it, not impressive.

 

[LawrenceA]

From the Star Gazette of Elmira, NY, July 31, 1943.

know who the dill is

 

[Enfield58]

I tried some rock salt loads in a modern pump shotgun to keep our mules out of the corn patch. The noise was more effective than the load of salt.
I tried patterning it, not impressive.

in a modern shotgun shell you are restricted by volume of the amount of rock salt.

I wonder what it would be like in a muzzle loader when the rock salt is loaded by the same weight as the lead shot.

The salt column as opposed to a shot column would be longer.

 

[LawrenceA]

in a modern shotgun shell you are restricted by volume of the amount of rock salt.

I wonder what it would be like in a muzzle loader when the rock salt is loaded by the same weight as the lead shot.

The salt column as opposed to a shot column would be longer.

And you could use less powder and those huge grains.
The thought even stings

 

[FishDFly]

Considering the irregular shape of rock salt I would doubt it would pattern very far and with it's sectional density I doubt it travel very far either.

In a way this kind of sounds like switching Exlax in chocolate chip cookies.l