Shot

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Shot is a general term for projectiles launched from firearms, or possibly rockets, which are made of solid material rather than a filled warhead. Shotguns, while they can fire solid slugs, usually fire multiple pellets from one propelling cartridge. Larger artillery pieces may also fire solid projectiles; this was the first type of ammunition for artillery, and still has a role in certain applications against armor.

The term is also used to refer to a single firing of a firearm, and as a measure of alcoholic beverages (e.g., a "shot" of tequila).

While shot ammunition is most commonly spherical, various dart-shaped variants are used in certain modern ammunition types. Armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding-sabot solid projectiles are the main round fired by tank guns of production tanks of all nations except the U.K. Flechettes are small darts used in antipersonnel ammunition.

Shot numbers[edit]

In the U.S., the number of pellets in a given type of shotgun shell is defined by a shot number. There are two series, birdshot and the larger buckshot. In general, the larger the number, the smaller the pellet.

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