Rounded cubic shot and shotshells loaded with rounded cubic shot
A shot pellet for a shotshell. The shot pellet has a generally cubic shape comprising six generally square faces joined by rounded edges that have a radius of curvature of between about 15% and 40% of the distance between opposite faces of the generally cubic shaped pellet.
1. A shot pellet for a shotshell, the shot pellet having a generally cubic shape comprising six generally square faces joined by rounded edges having a radius of curvature of between about 15% and about 40% of the distance between opposite faces of the generally cubic shaped pellet, the pellet having a face-to-face dimension of between about 0.070 inches and about 0.315 inches.
2. The shot pellet of claim 1 wherein the pellet has a mass of between about 1 grain and about 75 grains.
3. The shot pellet of claim 1 wherein the pellet has a mass greater than or equal to a standard #9 shot and less than or equal to a standard 000 Buckshot.
4. The shot pellet of claim 1 wherein the pellet has a corner to opposing corner diagonal distance of d√{square root over (3)}−2r(√{square root over (3)}−1), where d=distance between opposing faces,and r=radius of curvature of rounded edges.
5. The shot pellet of claim 1 wherein the rounded edges have a radius of curvature of between about 25% and about 35% of the distance between opposite faces of the generally cubic shaped pellet.
6. The pellet according to claim 1 wherein the pellet is plated.
7. The pellet according to claim 1 wherein the pellet is plated with yellow zinc chromate, copper, nickel, zinc, chrome or tin.
8. A shotshell loaded with a plurality of the pellets according to claim 1 .
9. A shot pellet for a shotshell, the shot pellet having a generally cubic shape comprising six generally square having a face-to-face dimension of between about 0.070 inches and about 0.315 inches faces joined by rounded edges, and having a corner to opposing corner diagonal distance is d√{square root over (3)}−2r(√{square root over (3)}−1), where d=distance between opposing faces, and r=radius of curvature of rounded edges.
10. The shot pellet of claim 9 wherein the pellet has a mass of between about 1 grain and about 75 grains.
11. The shot pellet of claim 9 wherein the pellet has a mass greater than or equal to a standard #9 shot and less than or equal to a standard 000 buckshot.
12. The shot pellet of claim 9 wherein the rounded edges have a radius of curvature of between about 15% and about 40% of the distance between opposite faces of the generally cubic shaped pellet.
13. A shot pellet for a shotshell, the pellet having a generally cubic shape comprising six generally square faces joined by rounded edges, the pellet having a surface finish of less than 63 √ and a face-to-face dimension of between about 0.070 inches and about 0.315 inches.
14. The shot pellet of claim 13 wherein the pellet has a mass of between about 1 grain and about 75 grains.
15. The shot pellet of claim 13 wherein the pellet has a mass greater than or equal to a standard #9 shot and less than or equal to a standard 000 buckshot.
16. A shot pellet for a shotshell, the pellet having a generally cubic shape comprising six generally square faces joined by rounded edges, and a face-to-face dimension of between about 0.070 inches and about 0.315 inches, the surface of the pellet having a surface roughness sufficiently low that the pellets have a cylindrical packing density of at least 8% greater than the cylindrical packing density of spherical shot of the same mass.
17. The shot pellet according to claim 16 wherein the rounded edges have a radius of curvature of between about 0.01 inches and about 0.125 inches.
18. The shot pellet according to claim 16 wherein the rounded edges have a radius of curvature of between about 15% and about 40% of the distance between opposite faces of the generally cubic shaped pellet.
19. The shot pellet of claim 16 wherein the shot pellet having a generally cubic shape comprising six generally square faces joined by rounded edges, and having a corner to opposing corner diagonal distance is d√{square root over (3)}−2r(√{square root over (3)}−1), where d=distance between opposing faces, and r=radius of curvature of rounded edges.
20. A shot pellet for a shotshell, the shot pellet having a generally cubic shape comprising six generally square faces joined by rounded edges, and a face-to-face dimension of between about 0.070 inches and about 0.315 inches, the surface of the pellets being sufficiently smooth, and the edges being sufficiently rounded so that the pellets have a cylindrical packing density of at least 8% greater than the cylindrical packing density of spherical shot of the same weight.
21. The shot pellet according to claim 20 wherein the rounded edges have a radius of curvature of between about 0.01 inches and about 0.125 inches.
22. The shot pellet according to claim 20 wherein the rounded edges have a radius of curvature of between about 15% and about 40% of the distance between opposite faces of the generally cubic shaped pellet.
23. The shot pellet of claim 20 wherein the rounded edges have a radius of curvature of between about 25% and about 35% of the distance between opposite faces of the generally cubic shaped pellet.
24. The shot pellet of claim 1 wherein the shot pellet is made of steel.
25. The shot pellet of claim 24 wherein the shot pellet is made of stainless steel.
26. The shot pellet of claim 9 wherein the shot pellet is made of steel.
27. The shot pellet of claim 26 wherein the shot pellet is made of stainless steel.
28. The shot pellet of claim 13 wherein the shot pellet is made of steel.
29. The shot pellet of claim 28 wherein the shot pellet is made of stainless steel.
30. The shot pellet of claim 16 wherein the shot pellet is made of steel.
31. The shot pellet of claim 30 wherein the shot pellet is made of stainless steel.
32. The shot pellet of claim 20 wherein the shot pellet is made of steel.
33. The shot pellet of claim 32 wherein the shot pellet is made of stainless steel.