Quote Originally Posted by Geezer View Post
Might that have been the ten smoothbore Winchester 70s used in 1959 by AAI to test the "Cartridge, .22" Caliber, Arrow", as part of the SPIW (Special Purpose Infantry Weapon programme), which fired a 10 grain, 0.72" saboted flechette? The idea being to create a very high cyclic rate, low recoil, small calibre infantry weapon that would give much higher hit probability than anything else known, but ended up being a colossal waste of money?
No, this was a wildcat centrefire rifle round, pretty sure it was the .22/250 and the muzzle velocity was 10,000 fps, hence the ability to hit flying insects. Barrel life must have been short.

The thing you mention was described to me as a 'flechette round' by some young guy that came to my rimfire club in Fife in the 80s. He had a SPAS combat shotgun and claimed to have certain 'military rounds' for it, including some kind of 'bolo' thing with three balls held together by steel thread that would chop a man's hand off, some nasty slug the purpose of which I cannot remember, and the 'flechette' round which must have been the thing you describe. He was in the TA and lost interest in the rimfire club when we told him he couldn't fire his SPAS or his Mini-14 on the 25 yard range. He even had a black transit van, maybe he thought he was in the A-Team. I thought flechettes were the darts delivered by artillery or aircraft, but apparently they can be fired from a shotgun as well. Very nasty idea whoever thought of that one.