The Gunsmith’s Manual

Chapter XXXIII On Powder and Shot

To Select Buck Shot.—The proper way is to put a wad in the muzzle of the gun, about half an inch down, and fit the shot in perfect layers; if this is observed, there will be no necessity to try them in the cartridge case, as they will be sure to fit. Buck-shot cast from a mould with nine to the 1⅛ ounce, will just fit a twelve-bore barrel at the muzzle in a choke bore. If smaller shot is required, choose four to a layer, or five, and avoid the sizes that come between. At forty yards, all these pellets ought to go in a 26-inch circle, and the penetration be equal to a small rifle.

Weighing Powder, etc.—For weighing powder charges for rifles, Apothecaries’ scales and the Apothecaries’ table of weights and measures are used. The table is:

20 grains,	1 scruple;
3 scruples,	1 drachm;
8 drachms,	1 ounce;
12 ounces,	1 pound.

Powder is bought and sold by Avoirdupois weight, which has 16 ounces to the pound. The table is:

16 drachms,	1 ounce;
16 ounces,	1 pound.

The standard unit of weight of the U. S., is the pound, Troy weight, the table of which is:

24 grains,	1 pennyweight;
20 pennyweights,	1 ounce;
12 ounces,	1 pound.

The grain, ounce, or pound, Troy, and the grain, ounce, and pound, Apothecaries’ weight, are precisely the same; but the ounce is differently divided.

The grain weight is the same in both tables. The pound Avoirdupois, like the pound Troy, contains 7,000 grains. The pound Apothecaries, contains 5,760 grains.

One pound of powder, Avoirdupois weight, will load 140 fifty-grain cartridges; 93 seventy-five-grain cartridges; 70 one-hundred-grain cartridges.

A dram Avoirdupois is equal to 27¹¹⁄₃₂ grains.

In weighing bullets and powder in grains, Troy weight is used, and 437½ grains are equal to one ounce Avoirdupois. The drachm, Dixon measure, is 27½ grains, Troy or Apothecaries’ weight.

Comparative Sizes of Shot

Description.	SOFT SHOT PELLETS TO OUNCE.
	Sparks	Tatham	Le Roy	Baltimore	Chicago	St. Louis	English	Diameter of Shot
Extra Fine Dust.		84,021						¹½⁄₁₀₀
Fine Dust.		10,784						³⁄₁₀₀
Dust.	5910	4565						⁴⁄₁₀₀
No. 12.	3316	2326	1778	2232	2400	2820		⁵⁄₁₀₀
″ 11.	1660	1346	982	1536	1414	1700		⁶⁄₁₀₀
″ 10.	950	848	822	815	854	1006	1728	⁷⁄₁₀₀
″ 9.	615	568	560	600	596	680	984	⁸⁄₁₀₀
″ 8.	426	399	375	365	434	490	600	⁹⁄₁₀₀
″ 7.	305	291	278	290	323	360	341	¹⁰⁄₁₀₀
″ 6.	245	218	209	190	246	250	280	¹¹⁄₁₀₀
″ 5.	182	168	166	150	172	190	218	¹²⁄₁₀₀
″ 4.	130	132	121	125	146	158	177	¹³⁄₁₀₀
″ 3.	118	106	98	90	118	126	135	¹⁴⁄₁₀₀
″ 2.	90	86	82	70	92	95	112	¹⁵⁄₁₀₀
″ 1.	80	71	69	60	75	82	82	¹⁶⁄₁₀₀
″ B.	63	59	58	50	62	68	75	¹⁷⁄₁₀₀
″ B.B.	55	50	49	45	53	55	58	¹⁸⁄₁₀₀
″ B.B.B.	48	42	44	40	46		47	¹⁹⁄₁₀₀
″ A.						50
″ A.A.						40
″ T.	41	36	38	35				²⁰⁄₁₀₀
″ T.T.	36	31	32	30				²¹⁄₁₀₀
″ O.					38	39		²⁰⁄₁₀₀
″ O.O.					33	34		²¹⁄₁₀₀
″ O.O.O.					27	28		²²⁄₁₀₀
″ T.T.T.			27	26				²²⁄₁₀₀
″ T.T.T.T.			24					²³⁄₁₀₀
″ F.	22	27						²²⁄₁₀₀
″ F.F.		24						²³⁄₁₀₀
	CHILLED SHOT PELLETS TO OUNCE.
″ 12.	3328	2385						⁵⁄₁₀₀
″ 11.	1670	1380						⁶⁄₁₀₀
″ 10.	960	868					1700	⁷⁄₁₀₀
″ 9.	618	585					1000	⁸⁄₁₀₀
″ 8.	432	409					606	⁹⁄₁₀₀
″ 7.	318	299					350	¹⁰⁄₁₀₀
″ 6.	253	223					270	¹¹⁄₁₀₀
″ 5.	190	172					220	¹²⁄₁₀₀
″ 4.	142	136					180	¹³⁄₁₀₀
″ 3.	120	109					130	¹⁴⁄₁₀₀
″ 2.	106	88					110	¹⁵⁄₁₀₀
″ 1.	89	73					80	¹⁶⁄₁₀₀
″ B.		61						¹⁷⁄₁₀₀
″ B.B.		52						¹⁸⁄₁₀₀
″ B.B.B.		43						¹⁹⁄₁₀₀

Comparative Sizes of Balls

Description.	BALLS TO POUND.
	Sparks	Tatham	Le Roy	Baltimore	Chicago	St. Louis	English	Diameter of Shot
Buck 3.	320			312				²⁵⁄₁₀₀
″ 8.					320			²⁵⁄₁₀₀
″ 4.			300					²⁵⁄₁₀₀
″ 3.		288	270					²⁵⁄₁₀₀ ²⁸⁄₁₀₀
S.S.S.G.							272
S.S.G.							240
Buck 2.	212	225	238	250				²⁸⁄₁₀₀ ²⁷⁄₁₀₀ ²⁹⁄₁₀₀
″ 8.						234		²⁶⁄₁₀₀
″ 7.					212	194		²⁹⁄₁₀₀
S.G.							176
Buck 6.					165	176		³¹⁄₁₀₀ ²⁹⁄₁₀₀
I. C.				174
Buck 1.	165	172	160	182				³¹⁄₁₀₀ ³⁰⁄₁₀₀ ³²⁄₁₀₀
O.				166
Buck 5.						147		³⁰⁄₁₀₀
O.	144	140	145					³²⁄₁₀₀ ³²⁄₁₀₀ ³⁴⁄₁₀₀
M.G.							136
C.P.	136							³³⁄₁₀₀
Buck 5.					136			³³⁄₁₀₀
L. Buck.	128							³⁴⁄₁₀₀
Buck 4.						127		³²⁄₁₀₀
O.O.			120	120				³⁵⁄₁₀₀
Buck 4.					113			³⁴⁄₁₀₀
″ 3.						113		³⁴⁄₁₀₀
O.O.	112	113						³⁵⁄₁₀₀ ³⁴⁄₁₀₀
R. 4.	100							³⁶⁄₁₀₀
O.O.O.		100						³⁶⁄₁₀₀
Buck 3.					100			³⁶⁄₁₀₀
″ 2.						97		³⁶⁄₁₀₀
O.O.O.				88
L.G.							88
O.O.O.	85		85					³⁸⁄₁₀₀ ⁴⁰⁄₁₀₀
Balls 38.		85						³⁸⁄₁₀₀
N.P.				85
Buck 1.						84		³⁸⁄₁₀₀
″ 2.					70			⁴⁰⁄₁₀₀
58.				58
R. 2.	55							⁴⁴⁄₁₀₀
A.P.				53
Balls 44.		50				48		⁴⁴⁄₁₀₀
Buck 1.					50			⁴⁴⁄₁₀₀
R. 1.	36							⁵²⁄₁₀₀
32.				32
½ oz.						32		⁵²⁄₁₀₀
M. 18.	18							⁶³⁄₁₀₀
M. 16.	16			16				⁶⁵⁄₁₀₀
	COLT PISTOL SIZES.
Colt 31.	Buck 1				Buck 6
″ 36.	R. 4	000			Buck 3	Buck 2
″ 44.	R. 2	B’lls 44			Buck 1	44

Comparative Sizes of Gunpowder

Commencing with the Coarsest Grain of each Quality.

Oriental.	Orange.	Hazzard.	Dupont.
Common Sporting.
	C		Fg
Fg	Fg	Fg	FFg
FFg	FFg	FFg	FFFg
FFFg	FFFg	FFFg
Fine Sporting.
Falcon		American
No. 1		No. 1
″ 2		″ 2
″ 3		″ 3
			E. R.
Fine Ducking.
Falcon & Wild Fowl.
No. 4	No. 5	No. 5	No. 1
″ 3	″ 4	″ 4	″ 2
″ 2	″ 3	″ 3	″ 3
″ 1	″ 2	″ 2
Best Quality Sporting.
Di’mond Grain.	Lightning	Electric.
No. 4	No. 7	No. 4
″ 3	″ 6	″ 3
″ 2	″ 5	″ 2
″ 1	″ 4
Fg			Diamond Grain.
FFg
FFFg

Dupont’s Eagle Rifle powder is the finest grain of sporting powder made; Oriental Falcon Sporting, No. 3 grain, is the nearest to it in size.