Lead shot is a collective term for small balls of lead. These were the original projectiles for muskets, and today are fired primarily from shotguns, although shot shells are available in many calibers in a configuaration called "Bird Shot" or "Rat-shot". It is also used for a variety of other purposes such as filling cavities with dense material for weight/balance. Some versions may be plated with other metals. Lead shot was originally made by pouring molten lead into moulds and later more economically mass-produced using a shot tower. The Bliemeister method has largely supplanted the shot tower method.
Read more about Lead Shot: Manufacturing, Sizes, Applications Outside Firearms, Non-lead Alternatives
Famous quotes containing the words lead and/or shot:
“As a friend to the children commend me the Yak.
You will find it exactly the thing:
It will carry and fetch, you can ride on its back,
Or lead it about with a string.”
—Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953)
“Too timid to talk back, I shot my adversary.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)