For Historian's and Ol' Timers...."Shot Strings"

Rembrandt

Found this interesting tid bit on another board....seems that years ago shotgun shooters would take rounds of buckshot apart....each pellet was sliced half way through with a knife...then a piece of fishing line was laid into the cut lead and pinched closed....the object was to connect the string of lead balls together then reload the shell. When fired this would give a much tighter pattern....hence the term "Shot String". This practice was done before shot buffers and plastic wads came along. Anyone ever hear stories from family or Ol' Timers that did this?

idsman75

I'm sure it isn't anything like this:



SSG idsman75, U.S. ARMY

Alpine

The last book I read where the author did extensive testing on pattern "stringing", the solution was to use harder shot. The harder the shot, the less deformation of the round shot, and the less shot slowing down, and pellets leaving the pattern.
According to this author three elements were important in less deformation of pellets.
1. Wad cushioning at powder ingition time, and just enough powder to do the job, at range you intend to use. To much powder just deformed more pellets, and less were in the pattern down range. Also discussed was over bored (commonly called back boring) shotgun barrels. With modern wads, overbored barrels produced tighter patterns.
2. The use of cushioning material in with pellets, to keep pellets from deforming. Either flour, sawdust, or stryene were mentioned.
3. Biggest factor: hardness of shot. The harder the lead shot, the less the deformation, the less shot loss from the pattern.

varmit hunter

Tried it when I was a kid. We called it chain buckshot.Did not work at all.The buckshot did what it always does.Went just were it had a mind to.