Back then the standard buckshot load for the Navy was #4. On a ship with steel compartments crack the hatch stick the muzzle in and bring a mop to clean up. By the time I came along 00 was the standard although there was still some 0000 around.

In Sr. Chiefs book Walking Point he stated that the spreader made quick shooting against moving targets in the dense jungle of Dung Island much more effective. As to the smaller #4 buck shot, Watson said it worked very well against the smaller Viet Cong. "I heard no complaints from any of them" he said.