Barrel Length and Shot Spread
Shortening the length of a shotgun barrel does not significantly affect the pattern or spread of the pellets until it is decreased to under 50% of a typical barrel length. The pattern is primarily affected by the type of cartridge fired and the choke, or constriction normally found at the muzzle of a shotgun barrel. Cutting off the end of the barrel removes the choke, which generally only extends about two inches (about 5 cm) inward from the muzzle. This results in a cylinder bore, which causes the widest spread generally found in shotgun barrels. For an even wider pattern, special "spreader chokes" or "spreader loads" can be used, that are designed to spread the shot farther. (See choke for more information on the impact of chokes. See shotgun shell for information on spreader loads.) See details on shot patterning.
Read more about this topic: Sawed-off Shotgun
Famous quotes containing the words barrel, length, shot and/or spread:
“The watchers in their leopard suits
Waited till it was time,
And aimed between the belt and boot
And let the barrel climb.”
—Louis Simpson (b. 1923)
“Punishment followed on a grand scale. For ten days, an unconscionable length of time, my father blessed the palms of his child’s outstretched, four-year-old hands with a sharp switch. Seven strokes a day on each hand; that makes one hundred forty strokes and then some. This put an end to the child’s innocence.”
—Christoph Meckel (20th century)
“You know, it’s a savage country, really. That’s the second one they shot in twenty years. It’s uncivilized—shooting people of substance.”
—David Webb Peoples, screenwriter. English Bob (Richard Harris)
“All catches alight
At the spread of spring:
Birds crazed with flight
Branches that fling
Leaves up to the light”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)