It can be made to perform in many different ways and for many different needs ... from armor piercing to flame-thrower and all kinds of stuff in between.

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Ele era velho.
Ele era corajoso.
Ele era feio.

we improvised muzzle loading shotguns and then improvised a variety of items to project from them. While testing out the barrel material we used a home made mold made of two blocks of hardwood with a cavity made by drilling between them with a spade bit and whittling out the bottom side to convert to a cone instead of a spike. As might be expected, cylindrical projectiles from a smooth bore have a tendency to tumble. We managed to scrounge some leaden spheres of diminutive size by saving our cruzeiros and spending them at the general store, but FFFg of Elefante or Rinoceronte brand took precedence over lead. A fist full of pea gravel was often used. I'm sure we kept our guardian angels working overtime to keep those loads from bridging and causing catastrophic expansion of the bore. We repurposed fireworks powder by combining both the coarse propulsion powder and the fine payload powder, duplex loads with out knowledge of Dick Cassul and others who were playing with much more elegant versions in fixed ammo instead of front stuffers. We had a grand time until Mom found out how much fun we were having and put an end to such endeavors. Still have all my fingers, both eyes and even some hearing. Yep, you can do a LOT of improvisation with front stuffers and the proper (or even improper) propellant. After seeing what passed for "safe" barrels in the Amazon Basin area, it cracks me up to see folks up north worrying about the safety of modern heavy steel barrels, either smooth or rifled.

The lad thought his dad was seven foot tall and three and a half wide with jaw and chest like cheyenne clint walker. The little fellow was of an age that he aped his dad's every move and tried to parrot his every word.

Then one day the herd bull acted a fool and went through three strands of wire and destroyed some chuting and chased some of the help up onto a hauler trailer before defiantly bellowing challenges from atop a dungheap. The rancher was called-in from his day job in town to address the calamity and the little fellow swelled in pride as he watched his dad load the old fowling piece and teach the beast some manners. At the shots, right and left, the bull promptly returned to his proper place in a most humble fashion.

A fortnight or so later the rancher was again called home from town with the bad news that the bull had been shot and was expected to die. A further shock came to the man when he was informed that his little son had been seen with a shotgun early that very morning. The man went to the schoolhouse and had the principal fetch the boy from class. When queried, the lad admitted to his misdemeanor(s).

"pa, I was waiting for the school bus when that confounded bull busted out again and there he was up on that dungheap just a bellowing away. I ran back in the house and fetched the 16 gauge and did just like you did."

The man, with misty eyes, gently tossled his son's hair and said "son, them shells I used was loaded only with okra seed !"

I was supposed to be working, so typing fast and not proofreading!

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