More on Small Shot for Smoothbores.

5.7mm - 5.8mm diameter (o/all length of strip is 78mm)." River Thames find.

http://www.bagseals.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=1590;

The above I suspect is swan shot. It is about the same size that I make myself for use in my fusil & pistol, about 5/16 th of an inch.

Author's pouch of swan shot.

Shot was the term used for any made ammunition fired from a muzzle-loading gun or cannon. What we are concerned with in this article is the shot commonly known as "swan-shot" & "goose-shot". During my research I have come across much misinformation, & other information that I think is suspect & which has no references to back up the claim.
The first "shot tower" was invented & patented by William Watts in 1782, so before that date, there must have been other method/s of producing shot for fowling purposes. All evidence so far points to the use of moulds, as sprues have been found, & only moulding produces such sprues. However, this is not to say that rough shot was not made from hammering out lead ball & cutting pieces of lead from the resulting small sheet of lead. This method certainly works as I have done it myself & would be a suitable method to use in the wilderness if there were a need.

I must also make it clear that the terms "swan shot" & "goose shot" refer to the size of the shot, not the appearance, or the method of production. The shot available at the time recieved the name of the particular animal for which it was best suited.

http://www.fortdobbs.org/history-artifacts.htm

Shot.

During the early years of the colony each Englishman who planned to

emigrate to Virginia was advised to supply himself with the following

"Armes":

    "One Armour compleat, light.

    One long Peece, five foot or five and a halfe, neere

      Musket bore.

    One sword.

    One bandaleere [a bandoleer was a belt worn to carry the

      cases which held the powder charges].

    Twenty pound of powder.

    Sixty pound of shot or lead, Pistoll and Goose shot."

Contemporary records indicate that hunting game birds and animals was a

popular New World diversion. Such sport served a twofold purpose, as it

offered recreation to the settler and helped provide food for his table.

Parts of early fowling pieces and numerous lead birdshot (called goose

or swan shot during the early years of the 17th century) have been

recovered.

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16277/16277.txt

In the ash and burned soil of this hearth area, lead casting sprues for swan shot were found,

http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1184&context=sciaa_staffpub

“every one shall be completely furnished with arms, a musket, a sword, bandoleers, a rest, a pound of powder, 20 bullets fitted to their musket, or 4 pound of pistol shot or swan shot at least.”101
Charles J. Hoadly, The Public records of the Colony of Connecticut (Hartford, 1857) V. 25, 26.

https://fortyninthparalleljournal.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/solomonsmithautumn2014.pdf

A box of goose shot, 1-2 a box of swan shot.
New York merchant 1731.
History of New Paltz, New York and Its Old Families (from 1678 to 1820 

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=FW6dkGRXuo0C&pg=RA1-PA59&lpg=RA1-PA59&dq=~%22swan-shot%22+and+%22goose-shot%22&source=bl&ots=1SupuNOsi8&sig=IHxfKwo5yajI2Txj3hAl2m3y7S4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj406KjnfHLAhVk36YKHU8IDVcQ6AEIKTAC#v=onepage&q=~%22swan-shot%22%20%20%22goose-shot%22&f=false

Hammered Slug Probably the most common slug is that created from normal lead balls, which were modified by hammering to substantially reduce their caliber. The final shape, whether square, hexagonal or round in section depends on the number of times they were hammered. The length of a slug is irrelevant to the function of the bullet, being determined simply by the caliber of the original ball and the intended final caliber. The caliber of the original bullet can be determined by the weight.
http://www.heritagescience.ac.uk/Research_Projects/projects/Projectposters/Conservation_of_Battlefield_Archaeology_project_report_-_Appendix_3

Location: St. Augustine	Site: Fountain of Youth
Period: 1560 - 1570	Group: Military items
Description: Lead shot

https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/histarch/photoout1.asp?id=110

"They [the Indians] have also their moulds to make shotte, of all sorts, as Musket bullets, pistoll bullets, swane and gose shotte, and smaler sorts;....."

Bradford, 1648. Plymouth plantation.

“with some flints, lead, swan-shot, and a barrel of gunpowder”.

Benjamin Franklin 1755. The Writings of Benjamin Franklin, Volume 4

The dropped shot ranged from 0.22 to 0.71 inches (5.54 to 17.94mm). The cast shot ranged from 0.22 to 0.71 inches (5.54 to 17.94mm).

http://www.mountvernonmidden.org/content/Shot.html

The presence of handfuls of casting sprues and lead fragments from making swan shot….

Archaeological Pathways to Historic Site Development By Stanley South

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=xydKAjTkkmcC&pg=PA119&lpg=PA119&dq=making+swan-shot+in+the+18th+century&source=bl&ots=s4QJnP3auL&sig=KRneEcE9EhyRo2DtcWB6pJRcFCE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwizjIX53vHLAhXFMKYKHTfpARwQ6AEIKDAB#v=onepage&q=making%20swan-shot%20in%20the%2018th%20century&f=false

Lead shot from the 'Bronze Bell' wreck, early 18th century

http://education.gtj.org.uk/en/item1/25487;

http://www.mountvernonmidden.org/content/Shot.html;

http://www.mountvernonmidden.org/content/Shot.html;

I have been unable to define the term "drop shot", as these lists pre date the use of William Watts shot tower.

http://www.mountvernonmidden.org/content/Shot.html;

From an English civil war site.

https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/249124;

This is possibly a swan shot gang mould.

http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/wilkinsons-auctioneers-ltd/catalogue-id-srwil10010/lot-f1e4e4ac-00b0-491e-8e0e-a456006b774a;

Various types of round shot made from stone, iron and lead found on board the 16th century carrack Mary Rose.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_shot;

Lead shot assemblage from the 1650 attack on Castledonovan Castle, Co. Cork .

http://www.rubiconheritage.com/2011/12/16/biting-the-bullet-the-archaeology-of-musketballs/#lightbox/1/

Lead shot from the 1601 English Lord Deputy's Siege Camp at Kinsale, Co. Cork. 

http://www.rubiconheritage.com/2011/12/16/biting-the-bullet-the-archaeology-of-musketballs/#lightbox/1/

More on Cartridge Boxes and Cartridges.

16th Century German made cartridges.

17th century shipwreck find. http://www.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/phips/wreck17.htm

Shot found in cartridges from the shipwreck. Note the shape of the shot at the top. I have not seen shot like this before. http://www.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/phips/wreck17.htm

 

British Military Type 1 cartridge, 18th century.

 

 

 

On Powder & Lead.

On Powder & Lead.

What are the heaviest items that we carry on a trek? I would think it was water, lead, & food. Food we can cut back on. I don’t mean that we should all start just carrying flour, bread or corn & hunt for our meat, but we can cut our provisions back to just two items, perhaps bread & hard cheese, or bread & meat. That should be fairly light & last us for a weekend or more.

Water we can’t do anything about, unless you know that you have good water where you are going. I carry water anyway, & either boil any water I find, or I collect rainwater in my kettle.

Lead can be reduced in weight because we can retrieve spent lead from shot game & remould it. By reducing the amount of lead we carry we can carry more gunpowder.

My fusil takes 60 grains of gunpowder. 60 grains = 1 Dram.


1LB of gunpowder = 256 Drams. So that is 256 shots from just one pound of gunpowder. My powder horn holds roughly one pound, & my gunpowder bag roughly two pounds. So if I only took my horn & gunpowder bag, I would still have 768 shots to hunt with. That is a lot of meat when hunting large game, & most of the meat would come from a trap line. So barring any skirmishing, I could take one shot per day for 2 years, or one shot per week for 14 years from just 3 pounds of gunpowder!

The Flintlock Fusil.