I think the point was that the gun was *so *inaccurate that the only thing you were effectively guaranteed *not *to hit was what you were aiming at. Not just “this is the general area that the projectile will possibly hit, which includes you, person I’m aiming at,” but “the projectile is absolutely going to curve away from where it’s being aimed.” As we’re seeing here, though, that’s apparently a very inaccurate (heh) representation of the reality of how the guns would have worked.
Because many US states require deer hunters to use shotguns, most modern shotguns (excepting doubles) are available off the shelf with a shortish cylinder barrel as well as rifle sights shotguns normally just have a single bead at the muzzle. For shotguns not so equipped, replacement barrels are available for most models, and the cost is usually quite reasonable…often under $100.
Not mentioned thus far is that modern shotgun shells use a plastic wad with a shot cup section. This and some additional packing could make a functional sabot for a round ball.
Finally, a truly round and uniform density ball is not inaccurate, even from a smooth bore… The problem is to come up with such a thing and keep it that way after the trauma of first loading, then an explosion behind it and finally sliding down a steel tube at high speed. A close fitting sabot might well provide enough protection to yield better accuracy than a musket.
Just curious. Why did you make sure to keep the meat of your OP out of the mouseover preview space?
I happen to like the mouseover preview functionality (as a lurker) so I’m curious to hear what the downside is for someone that’s posting a new thread.
Why is that?
Because it contains spoilers for an episode of a current season of a TV show. If somebody’s a fan of *Castle *but a few weeks behind on their viewing, I don’t want to give away the ending. Running out the mouseover preview is a pretty standard tactic for times your OP includes spoilers or anything groady that most people wouldn’t want to read (TMI threads).
Because rifle bullets travel too far. Shoot at the deer with a rifle and miss, and the bullet might kill someone way over in the next county.
(if you were, you know, pretty close to the county line and all).