Penetration tests of rock salt - The DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com

Shooting Rock Salt Loads
Found this site cruising the net...Testing rock salt loads, fun read.

That shi# hurts! I mean I would think it would ? HA HA ha ha

Like rubbing salt in the wounds?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun

Quote:

Rock salt shells are hand loaded with rock salt, replacing the standard lead or steel shot. Rock salt shells could be seen as the forerunners of modern less-lethal rounds. In the United States, rock salt shells were and are sometimes used by rural civilians to defend their property. The brittle salt was unlikely to cause serious injury at long ranges, but would cause painful stinging injuries and served as a warning. Some Spanish police forces, like the Guardia Civil and Cuerpo Nacional de Polic�a, use special rock salt shells called SAL-90 in their riot control units.

OK, so that is what Wikipedia says. It should be noted that there is [citation need] after that paragraph. So, we are told there are commercially produced rounds call SAL-90. Piece of cake, right? A simple search should show the maker and shells. After all there are enough collectors around, these should be sought after. So, some one please show us one of these commercial loads....

The 1st Shotgun entry - Mar 27, 2001
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shotgun&oldid=280239

Salt added to specialty ammunition section - Dec 29, 2005
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shotgun&oldid=33063357

SAL-90 listed in the Wiki - Aug 28, 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shotgun&oldid=234871383

I used to hear the stories as a kid as well. I have never known anyone who used rock salt in a shotgun.

Pete

I've always thought that this was an old wifes tale to scare (kids mostly) from raiding a farmers pumpkin patch. I have never actually seen a shotgun shell loaded with rock salt.
Has anyone on the forum?
Jim

Years ago I tried this. I loaded some 12 ga shells with rock salt from our water softner. I put a box up at a very close range. The rock salt just turned to dust when it hit the box, from what I recall did no damage to the box, just dust on it. So unless there might be differences in types of salt of changes from 35 years ago, I would expect the same

John Boyd

rough on bores i bet!

Seems to me rock salt wouldn't have enuf wgt to pressurize a slow powder. Would it have enuf to pressurize a fast target powder? I'd think you'd get squibs but tester claims report of shell sounded familiar.

jack

Why would anyone mess with such an idiotic idea? These guys must have ported backbored barrels. The Chop

This story may be made up � but on the other hand it may be true.

�A gentleman shooter had a much loved spaniel which was a little enthusiastic � running forward into the drive at the sound of the first shot. The embarrassed gun was of the habit of pricking his dog with a cartridge loaded with salt to bring him rapidly back to heal. Till the day a guest was on the peg next to him. On seeing the neighbouring gun shoot at his misbehaving dog and apparently missing, proceeded to finish the job off with both barrels from his own gun!�

I think the moral of the tale is don�t mess about with guns � use them for the job they were intended and make sure you never point or fire them at anything you don�t intend to kill.

We have a Safari park 30 miles away where you can drive through in your car amongst African animals roaming free.
In a seperate enclosure they have various monkeys, gibbons, apes etc.,
About twenty years ago I had a request from the Safari Park to supply cartridges loaded with Rice.
These were shot at the monkeys to stop them copulating infront of the public.
Ten years later all the monkeys had gone, wiped out by an Aids virus. Never for the monkeys to be replaced.

I would think wheat might work, to scare off dogs and 2 legged predators.
Or those plastic pellets used by air-soft gunners, they would leave a mark at 20 feet, I'd think!
Mike

When I was a teenager, I tried making up some salt loaded shells by removing the lead shot and replacing it with rock salt. The results were very disappointing because the salt didn't have enough weight to cause complete burning of the powder charge.
I the early 1970's I was on the staff of a school that taught bomb disposal to civilian police, and during that time we obtained some commercially loaded 12 ga. "Riot" shells. They contained plastic pellets about the size of BB shot, and worked very well for shooting open packages. As I recall, the instructions were to use ricocheting fire at close ranges, and direct fire only at 50 yards or so.