"Gauge was determined from the weight of a solid sphere of lead that will fit the bore of the firearm and is expressed as the multiplicative inverse of the sphere's weight as a fraction of a pound"
I have an idea: americans are never allowed to make units ever again. especially if they call it "gauge"
how are we going to measure the size of this circle?
well, we could measure the diameter.... that seems simple...
BUT NO! Instead, make a sphere that'll fit into it, out of pure lead, then count up how many of those spheres you need to make 1lb
ie a 12-gauge shotgun is so named because if you make a sphere of lead that'll fit into the bore, it weights approximately 1/12th of a pound.
I like units like I like my women: inverted and non-linear
gonna name my own custom firearm caliber unit based on dollars
it's how many dollars it takes to fill up my 2017 Nissan Rogue with enough gasoline to drive to the factory that makes them
apparently I'm incorrect: this one is so old that we have the brits to blame for the stupid unit
@foone tbf it's mostly a unit used by the upper-class pheasant-shooting set and bank-robbers these days - we haven't had much call to update it.
by my limited understanding it's related to the olde brit way of defining smoothbore cannon as 12-pounder etc (though those were based on iron not lead balls) due to relatively poor accuracy of measurement back then
@Cadbury_Moose @evilstevie @foone I absolutely love that hundredweight isn't actually a hundred of a weight. (originally, the British one, that is)
<sigh>
_And_ I got it w0RnG!
16 ounces = 1 pound (lb.)
14 pounds = 1 stone (st.)
2 stones = 1 quarter (qr.) (28lb.)
4 quarters = 1 hundredweight (cwt.) (112 lb.)
20 hundredweight = 1 ton (2240 lb.)
Footnote (feetnote?) 4 added to original post. 3:O(>
Lead was used for "gauging" as it was easy to cast and you could just weigh the ammunition - add (musket balls or shot) to the scales until it weighs one pound, then count it. Shotguns used "gauge" up to the very large "punt guns" when it would be "x pounds bore" and more like small artillery. 3:O)> (Very unfair to waterfowl, though.) 3:O((>
@evilstevie @foone
Not just smoothbore, either, e.g. "12-pounder 16cwt[1] gun" which was a "light accompanying gun"[2] that could keep up with cavalry. (I nearly bought one once, but had nowhere to keep it and a better use for the money.) The local Tax office would have been in range of it, though: it could fire a 16 pound shell[3] about 3 miles. 3:O))>
[1] Weight of the gun: three quarters of a ton.[4]
[2] Rifled muzzle loader from 1899!
[3] Elongated shell, not roundshot.
[4] Four Fifths!🙁