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Question
QUESTION: do we know when the "0" buckshots were first labeled as such?

ANSWER: Dave,

Wish I could answer this one, but there is no definitive 'answer' that I am aware of.

The size of birdshot is generally designated by the size of the mesh of screen wire that molten lead is poured through to size the shot.  So, #1 birdshot would be made with a screen mesh of .16", #2 is .15", #3 is .14".  As you can see, the mesh size increases .01" with each number decrease.

Buckshot is swaged in a press and up until around 60-70 years ago, the size of the shot and the designation it carried varied somewhat from manufacturer to manufacturer.  European buckshot size designations were completely different that those in the US and UK sometimes following a number system like 6.0, 7.0, etc.

Around 50 years ago as the shotgun ammo market began to consolidate, someone or some company came up with a size scheme and description.  The largest was 'tri-ball', then 'quaduple ought', 'triple ought', 'double ought', 'ought', etc.   There is some speculation that this was simply a marketing designation that became widely adopted.

This is a question that has been asked by die-hard shotgunners in after action bull sessions for years, but I have never heard of anyone or found anyone that knew the answer.  Even the great one, Chuck Hawks, does not have anything to say about it.

If you do find anything...let me know.  I am curious about this as well.

Best regards,

Doug


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: doug, thanks for the update. my research says ww1 m97 trenchguns were loaded with "00".  this is more then 50 years ago. were the loads called something different?  dave  

Answer
Dave,

Prior to the industry becoming more standardized, different manufacturers used slightly different shot sizes for their specific designations.  In other words, what was called .00 buckshot by one manufacturer would differ slightly in size from shot with the same name from a different manufacturer if we are talking about more than 50 years ago.

The actual terms, including "double ought" buckshot have probably been around for over 175 years.  What I was trying to say is that was no standardized shot size for buckshot pellets of a particular designation until around 50 years ago.

I have no idea as to the origin of the actual nomenclature...

Sorry if I wasn't clear...

Doug