Re: dumb question on a boat forum...shot gun info
Did you know the answer, don't be ashamed, or alarmed if you didn't, as a lot of experts in the field do not. Except for the 410, which is actually .410 caliber, the guage is determined as follows. you take a pound of lead, and form it into balls with the diameter the same as the diameter of the barrel, and the number of balls you get will be the guage. Example, you take 12 balls of lead the same size as the diameter of the barrell weighs one pound, it is a 12 guage, 16 balls = 1 pound, it is a 16 guage, and so on except for the 410.

I have won a lot of bets with this question, in the last 50 years, but have won very little money. WHY? Because the mentality of many men, is you shoot them a birdy, or bet them a seemingly simple question about their sport/hobby they cannot answer, and they they will not pay up, they will first call you a lier, and if you do not drop it immediatly, they want to fight you, unless they are too weak for that, in which case you do not want to turn your back to them.
