12 Gauge "Dime Loads" (Crazy idea tonight)

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Travis McGee

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I had a crazy idea tonight, brought on by the discussion of best weapons for home defense. What would a 12 guage load consisting of about 15 dimes stacked up be like, at close range? Would the stack fly out like a slug, and then start to tumble and flip all over the place? I wonder if it would make a "cloud" of shrapnel, and then slow dramatically after a short distance?

Don't get me wrong, I don't think this would be a great defense load. It just made me curious, from a physics/ballistics point of view, to know how a stack of dimes would fly. If anybody is loading 12 guage this week, maybe try a "dime load" and pattern it, and let me know.

I know, it's a nutty idea. I'm just curious, that's all.
 
The pattern would be a royal mess. Ball is stable, and a proper bullet with rifling is even better. A stack of disks would fly out with no aerodynamic stability whatsoever. We generally shoot lead shot from shotguns because it is nice and soft and carries a good deal of mass. Dimes are really light, and would probably tear up the barrel. If you could keep them in a shot cup, it would probably not damage anything, but it's still going to be really light. Frankly, I wouldn't even consider trying it.

Kind of a funny thought to try it out, though. Anybody got an old shotgun they don't like?
 
That was referred to in an old '70s cowboy movie which I can't remember. Maybe an early Clint Eastwood or Butch Cassidy. Anyway, I always thought it was one of those laughable myths. There was a discussion of such myths here or on THR a couple of years ago. I referred to the dimes thing and someone else claimed it was used in an old west gunfight.
 
dime load

Please do not try this in a choked shotgun or with MODERN DAY PLASTIC WADS. This was supposed to be an old riot control load used by cowboy sheriffs, so when you mentioned it I went and tried a dime in a 12 gauge , it wouldn't go through the choke but will go through my choke less short barrel cowboy action shotgun, then I tried it in a plastic shot cup wad, it might be forced to work but now you have the added thickness of the wad petals. So if you are going to try this don't use the shot cup on the wad and use an cylinder bore shotgun.
 
That was referred to in an old '70s cowboy movie which I can't remember
Click to expand...
Young Guns
Billy shot the sheriff Bob with the sheriff's own shotgun loaded with dimes
"Hello Bob... Good bye Bob, best dollar eighty I ever spent." ...
 
"Young Guns". (Eighteen dimes in a 12 GA) "Goodbye Bob!" (BOOM) "Best dollar eighty I ever spent.

I love that line.

Heh

( joab is a bit faster then me.. :D )
 
seen an episode covering that on history channel"s wild west tech a while ago. seems to me to be a waste of dimes figure 00 wolud be considerably better. They showed some death picts of that shotgun load. fairly nasty. I don't think I would try it in modern weapons with choke inserts, might be a "bad" thing
 
I doubt that this was EVER a popular load of anykind. Consider how much $1.40 was back in those days and you will quickly discover what a huge waste of cash that would be. Not to mention the fact that a thin sheet of a light metal is about the crappiest balistic performer that can be imagined.
 
Not to mention the fact that a thin sheet of a light metal is about the crappiest balistic performer that can be imagined.
Click to expand...

Up until 1965, dimes were made of silver, which has 93% of the density of lead.
 
Yup, Mythbusters. They shot dimes at a pig carcass at closs range. Most of the dimes didn't even break the skin. The buck shot at the same range did much more damage with complete passthrough.
 
According to the legend that's what Billy the Kid used to shoot a deputy during a jailbreak. I would imagine if there is any truth to it at all, that he had gotten access to a muzzleloading shotgun, with powder but no shot. I guess he had dimes in his pocket.
 
Although "dime loads" may have been popular in the days of the Old West, I don't recommend them now . . . remember, it's the 21st Century, and money doesn't go as far as it did back then. :neener:
 
I believe I have heard of steel darts being used as well. Not sure if that is legal or not.

Even if Dimes are a poor performer, I doubt grand juries would look at that as a good think when the review came around.
 
The fluchetts were aluminum "nails" with formed fins on one end.

These were tried in Vietnam, and were a failure.
The darts are like needles and can cause fatal penetrations of body organs and death.

The problem is, they are fatal........eventually.
Since the shotgun is, at best, a short range gun, eventually is not something you want in your face.

The light, nail-like fluchetts have no mass and often the recipient didn't even know he'd been fatally hit until his system suddenly collapsed.
There were reports of even the small Vietnamese continuing to run and shoot even after an effective hit.

The dime idea has been around a long time, and was used as late as Vietnam where various Special Forces experimented with it.
SEAL's were heard to refer to these as "Keep the change, Charlie", and believed the flat dimes would cut through brush better.

However effective, or ineffective the dime load was, it was a load of SILVER dimes, not the modern bi-metal coins.

The TV show that showed an ineffective dime experiment against a pig carcass was a show about Billy the Kid.
The shooter was actually using a 10 gauge shotgun.
In this case, the load would not work due to the bore being too big for the 12 gauge sized dimes.

The bigger 10 gauge bore would allow too much gas leakage.

There may well be something to the dime load idea, since even Jeff Cooper once remarked that he loaded his house shotgun with loads of dimes.
I assume he would have checked to find out if it actually worked.

What we need is a volunteer with a Cylinder Bore 12 gauge and some real silver dimes to try this and report back.

In truth, dime loads, fluchetts, Rubber balls, Dragon Flame loads, string shot, and all the other "gimmick" loads never works as well as standard #4, #1, or #00 buckshot.

NOTHING says "Stop that" like a load of buckshot.
 
""gimmick" loads never works as well as standard #4, #1, or #00 buckshot"

Amen to that. And let's not forget the "forgotten buckshot size", #0. The old standard single ought load was 12 .32 cal pellets in a 2 3/4" 12 ga shell. Sometimes hard to find, maybe hard to sell, but certainly an excellent choice for serious purposes. :D
 
I'm almost tempted to try this. My HDSG is a Stevens 311 with trimmed back tubes, hence no choke. Problem is, last time I checked, silver dimes cost more than 10 cents and I'm pretty sure that a trip down a 12ga barrel and the impact into a backstop would drop them down a grade or four. A co-worker is a big coin collector, he may be able to secure me a handful of poor condition silver dimes. Would be interesting to say the least.

And BTW, said 311 is currently loaded with a couple of #4 shot, but the buttcuff is full of Federal Maximum Load 0 buck. Stuff patterns great, and I seriously doubt the guy on the wrong end would notice the missing "0".
 
Real silver dime loads may have some positive effect when fishing in werewolf territory, but otherwise it's best to stick to standard ammo. The stuff works.
 
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