A shotgun shell or shotshell is a self-contained cartridge loaded with lead shot or a shotgun slug which is designed to be fired from a shotgun.
Most shotgun shells are designed to be fired from a smoothbore barrel, but dedicated shotguns with rifled barrels may take a number of different rounds. A rifled barrel will increase the accuracy of slugs, but makes it unsuitable for firing shot, as the shot wears down the rifling and the rifling causes the shot to form a hollow "O" shape in flight. Non-lethal shotgun ammunition is available in the form of slugs made of low-density material, such as rubber. See shotgun specialty ammunition for more information.
Read more about Shotgun Shell: Construction of A Typical Shotshell, Shotshell Sizes, Shotgun Gauge Diameter Formula, Lead Free Shotshell, Shot Sizes, Shotshells and Patterning
Famous quotes containing the word shell:
“I was even more surprised at the power of the waves, exhibited on this shattered fragment, than I had been at the sight of the smaller fragments before. The largest timbers and iron braces were broken superfluously, and I saw that no material could withstand the power of the waves; that iron must go to pieces in such a case, and an iron vessel would be cracked up like an egg- shell on the rocks.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)