Airgun spread-shot pellets were introduced many years ago, but have long been obsolete, and there seems to have been virtually nothing documented about them. Lesley Wesley in his classic book describes them as “…..tiny sticks of chalk. Embedded in the compressed chalk were several (usually six) very tiny shots”. When the chalk stick was fired through the air rifle barrel the compression of the air caused the chalk to disintegrate and the tiny shots were projected from the muzzle.”
As far as I know, none of these shot pellets have survived. Empty boxes are known though, like this one.
I am intrigued to know how these pellets might have performed - such as how much penetration and spread could you get with them at different distances? Could a clay pigeon type of game be devised using them? I currently have a project trying to make some of these pellets for testing, but unfortunately having never seen any in the flesh I am having to work in the dark. It is a long shot, but has anyone seen any of these? Any information about them, such as calibre and approximate length, number of shot, hardness etc., would be very welcome.
Pure guesswork but I have had a go and have now found a chalk formulation that seems to work. These are my first attempts at .177 calibre. Each one contains 12 small lead shot.
If there is any interest I will post the results of my messing about, as my wife delicately puts it.
Originally Posted by ccdjg
Airgun spread-shot pellets were introduced many years ago, but have long been obsolete, and there seems to have been virtually nothing documented about them. Lesley Wesley in his classic book describes them as “…..tiny sticks of chalk. Embedded in the compressed chalk were several (usually six) very tiny shots”. When the chalk stick was fired through the air rifle barrel the compression of the air caused the chalk to disintegrate and the tiny shots were projected from the muzzle.”
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