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 Lead shot was originally made by pouring molten lead into moulds and later more economically mass-produced using a shot tower.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:
“There is a lot of difference between tempting and leading into error. God tempts but does not lead into error. To tempt is to provide opportunities for us to do certain things if we do not love God, but putting us under no necessity to do so. To lead into error is to compel a man necessarily to conclude and follow a falsehood.”
—Blaise Pascal (1623–1662)
“Don’t sell the bearskin until you have shot the bear.”
—Swedish proverb, trans. by Verne Moberg.