Topic summary
Lead shot
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Shot (pellet).
Manufacture
Lead shot dropped quickly into liquid cooling baths when being produced from molten lead is known as "chilled lead shot", in contrast to "soft lead shot" which is produced by molten lead not being dropped as quickly into a liquid cooling bath. The process of rapidly chilling lead shot during its manufacturing process causes the shot to become harder than it would otherwise be if allowed to cool more slowly. Hence, chilled lead shot, being harder and less likely to deform during firing, is preferred by shotgunners for improving shot pattern densities at longer (> 30 yards (27 m)) ranges, whereas soft lead shot, being softer and more likely to deform during firing, is preferred for improving shot pattern densities at very close (< 20 yards (18 m)) ranges as the softer and now deformed shot scatters more quickly when fired. Soft lead shot is also more readily deformed during the firing process by chokes.