129: Shotgun Cartridges and Shells - The Prepper Podcast




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Summary: Shotgun Cartridge Components Explained<br> Shotgun cartridges have similar components to that of a rifle cartridge.  The components of a shotgun cartridge are:<br> <br> The Projectile<br> The Case<br> The Wad<br> Propellant <br> The Head<br> The Rim<br> The Primer<br> <br> Primer                                                                                                                                                   <br> <br> The explosive center of the shell.<br> Firing pin hits primer.<br> Powder in primer ignites.<br> Ignites the propellant in the shell.<br> <br> Propellant<br> <br> Fast burning material that creates a gas expansion in the shell.<br> This propels the shot down and out the barrel.<br> <br> Case<br> The Shell Case is what houses everything.<br> The common sizes of Shotgun Shells are<br> <br> 10 Ga<br> 12 Ga<br> 20 Ga<br> .410<br> <br> What does the “gauge” of a shotgun shell mean?<br> <br> Gauge originated when cannons and muzzleloaders were common.<br> The spherical lead ball was a fraction of a pound.<br> A 10 Gauge ball was 1/10 of a pound.<br> A 12 Gauge ball was 1/12 of a pound.<br> The bore was a 10, 12 or 20 Gauge bore… this carried over to the modern shotgun.<br> A smaller number meant a bigger ball, which meant a bigger bore.<br> <br> What size is a .410 shotgun.<br> <br> .410 is designated for a caliber number.<br> It is slightly larger than a 40 caliber cartridge.<br> The bore is about 10 mm.<br> <br> Uncommon shotgun shell sizes<br> <br> 4,8,16,24,28,32<br> These are either not common or considered obsolete.<br> The 10 gauge is becoming less common as well due to Lengthening and strengthing of 12 Ga shells.<br> <br> Common Shell Lengths for Shotguns<br> <br> 2 ¾, 3, 3 ½ inch<br> Shotguns will have the length etched on them.<br> You may go shorter than the shotgun length, but not longer.<br> <br> The Head<br> The head is the brass around the base of the cartridge.<br> The Rim<br> The rim is the small brass ring on the bottom of the shell.<br> <br> Allows ejection of the shell by the action of the shotgun.<br> Keeps the shell chambered correctly.<br> <br> The Wad Column<br> Made up of 3 components<br> <br> The Gas Seal<br> The Cushion<br> The Shot Cup<br> <br> Some wads are designed to be all three in one.<br> The Gas Seal<br> <br> This is designed to keep the expanding gas from moving behind it.<br> This keeps all expansion and momentum going forward.<br> <br> The Cushion<br> This is the shock absorber<br> <br> It prevents sudden violent expansion of gas from warping the shot (soft lead)<br> <br> Shells have different propellant and shot quantities.<br> <br> The cushion also takes up the empty space so the shell is standard length.<br> <br> The Shot Cup<br> The cup houses the shot and keeps it together as it travels down the barrel.<br> <br> It is slotted, so once it leaves the barrel, it tears away from the shot.<br> This allows the shot to travel freely in air.<br> <br> The Projectile<br> There are two basic projectile types.<br> <br> Shot, or pellets<br> Slugs<br> <br> <br> <a title="TPP 128: Shotgun Cartridges and Shells" href="//www.slideshare.net/KenJensen8/tpp-128-shotgun-cartridges-and-shells" target="_blank">TPP 128: Shotgun Cartridges and Shells</a> from <a href="//www.slideshare.net/KenJensen8" target="_blank">Ken Jensen</a><br> Shotgun Slugs<br> Shotguns were designed to shoot the ball type shot from the old muskets.  These are called “Pumpkin Ball” slugs.<br> <br> Since then, slugs have gotten much more sophisticated with design.<br> <br> Some of the benefits of slugs today:<br> <br> These new designs allow us to bring some “rifle” qualities to shotguns.<br> All the force is focused to one spot.<br> This allows for greater impact or penetration on large...