such as a bird. Birdshot contains the smallest pellets out of all the other shotgun ammunition types. They also cause the least amount of damage because of their small size, but they are still strong enough to
(1854–56), Russian troops armed with smoothbore muskets were no match for Britons shooting P/51 rifles. Massed formations were easy prey, as were cavalry andartilleryunits. A correspondent for theTimesof London wrote: “The Minié is king of weapons…the volleys of the Miniécleft[Russian ...
(1.1 to 2.5 inches) in diameter, were packed in waxed paper cartridges. Each pellet had a hole through its centre to accommodate asafetyfuseor an electric device used to ignite the powder. Pelleted powder was used almost entirely in underground coal mines, but now regulations generally ...
Subsequent inventors simplified the percussion lock mechanism by using loose or pellet detonating powder. By 1830, percussion caps (attributed to the Philadelphian Joshua Shaw in 1815) were becoming the accepted system for igniting firearm powder charges. A percussion cap was a truncated cone of meta...
Subsequent inventors simplified the percussion lock mechanism by using loose or pellet detonating powder. By 1830, percussion caps (attributed to the Philadelphian Joshua Shaw in 1815) were becoming the accepted system for igniting firearm powder charges. A percussion cap was a truncated cone of meta...
ammonium nitrateStructure of the chemical compound ammonium nitrate, from which fertilizer is produced. chemical compound Print Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from yea...