Jenour’s “Brittle Charges”: The Ammunition Baked Like Bread

In 1830, at a time when improvements in shotgun ammunition usually involved wire, paper, or increasingly clever mechanical contrivances, J. Jenour proposed something far simpler. He suggested baking it.

In an article published in Mechanics’ Magazine, Museum, Register, Journal, and Gazette (No. 367, August 21, 1830), Jenour described what he called “brittle charges,” a method of forming shotgun shot into rigid, bore-sized cylinders using nothing more exotic than flour, water, and gentle heat. The idea sounds absurd until one reads his reasoning, which is methodical, safety-minded, and quietly radical.

Jenour was not an outsider chasing novelty. He identified himself as the inventor associated with the wire cartridge later sold under the Eley name, and as the author of earlier writing on cartridge design rewarded by the Society of Arts. His critique of existing methods therefore carries weight. He knew exactly what cartridges were meant to do, and more importantly, how they could fail.

(The subsequent history of the Eley wire cartridges, and Jenour’s part in their early development, is examined in more detail at eleycartridges.com.)

The central concern that drove his thinking was the phenomenon known as “clubbing” or “balling,” when shot leaves the muzzle in clusters rather than dispersing properly. Jenour stressed that this was rare, but he was equally clear that rarity was not reassurance. Any loading method that allowed even the possibility of sending multiple pellets downrange as a single mass posed an unacceptable risk to bystanders and fellow sportsmen.

Traditional cartridges, whether paper or wire, shared the same structural weakness. They relied on a container that had to rupture cleanly at the moment of firing. When it did not, the shot could remain bound together. Loose shot was not immune either, though the consequences were usually less dramatic. Jenour’s goal was not merely to reduce the chance of balling, but to eliminate it in principle.

His solution was elegant in its bluntness. Instead of using a case that must open, he proposed a charge that could not possibly remain intact.

The “brittle charge” consisted of lead shot held together only by a uniformly brittle binder filling the spaces between pellets. There was no wrapper of any kind. When the gun fired, the sudden impulse acted like a hammer blow. A brittle material does not stretch, tear, or peel away. It shatters. Jenour compared the effect to glass under impact. The binder would be destroyed instantly, releasing the pellets without exception.

In this way, he argued, balling became impossible. The charge could not leave the muzzle whole because it had been designed to fail completely.

The method of manufacture is where the invention crosses into culinary territory. Jenour recommended kneading common bread flour and water into a very stiff paste, optionally adding a small amount of grease or lard. Lead shot was then mixed thoroughly into the paste, taking care not to batter or flatten the pellets. The paste was meant only to occupy the voids between pellets, not to coat them heavily.

This mixture was pressed tightly into tubes sized to the gun’s bore, then dried slowly near a fire, on a hob, or in a gentle oven until hard throughout. Once dried, the charges could be brushed with gum-water and rolled in bran or flour to improve fit and handling.

The result was a rigid, bread-like cylinder freckled with visible shot, darker where heat lingered longest, and brittle enough to crumble under force. It was ammunition that looked far more at home on a baking sheet than in a cartridge pouch.

Jenour claimed a number of advantages. By keeping lead from direct contact with the bore, the charge reduced leading and fouling. By supporting pellets until the moment of firing, it preserved their roundness and improved pattern regularity. Because the charges were moulded, they could be made consistent in size, like bullets from a mould. If fitted properly, wadding could be eliminated altogether, speeding loading and reducing error. Above all, the brittle binder ensured that the shot could never emerge as a single mass.

Why did this idea go no further than the page? The reasons are not hard to imagine. A flour-based binder is sensitive to moisture, storage, and handling. Consistent drying is essential. Field conditions are rarely kind to baked goods. Even if the concept worked as described, it demanded a level of care and domestic involvement that few sportsmen likely wanted from their ammunition.

Timing also mattered. As the century progressed, industrially manufactured shotshells solved the same problems with greater reliability and far less fuss. Against that backdrop, oven-dried shot cylinders were always destined to remain an intriguing detour rather than a destination.

Still, Jenour’s brittle charges deserve more than a footnote. They show an inventor thinking clearly about failure modes and choosing brittleness deliberately as a safety feature. They also stand as a reminder that the history of firearms development is not a straight line of metal and machinery. Sometimes it passes briefly through the kitchen, pauses by the hearth, and then moves on.

Jenour’s Brittle Shot Charges (1830)

Category: Experimental sporting ammunition

Difficulty: Simple in theory, fussy in practice

Shelf life: Questionable in damp weather

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Drying / Hardening Time 1 day d

Total Time 1 day d 3 hours hrs

Servings: 12 charges

Course: Victorian Experiments

Cuisine: British

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups Bread flour Ordinary household flour, chosen for brittleness when dried.
• 1 cup Water Added sparingly to form a very stiff paste.
• 1 pound Lead shot Size to suit the gun; mixed carefully to avoid deforming pellets.
• 1 tbsp Lard or grease Optional; improves handling and reduces adhesion.
• 1 tsp Gum-water Optional finishing treatment to improve fit and slide.
• 2 tbsp Bran or flour For dusting after drying; assists with snug barrel fit.
• 1 pinch Common sense Historically absent; strongly recommended today.

Equipment

• 1 Bore-sized metal tube or mould Used to form the charge; period examples could be improvised from scrap or old barrel sections.
• 1 Hearth, oven, or warming hob Gentle, uneven heat preferred; scorching discouraged but not unheard of.
• 1 Mixing bowl Any sturdy vessel suitable for stiff dough and questionable decisions.
• 1 Wooden spatula or mixing stick Should not batter or deform the shot while mixing.
• 1 Flat work surface Table, bench, or kitchen floor, depending on ambition and tolerance.
• 1 Dry storage container Moisture is the enemy; success not guaranteed in British weather.
• 1 Patience Required for drying time and explaining the process to onlookers.

Method

 

1. Consult J. Jenour’s 1830 description and admire the confidence with which flour enters the discussion of shotgun safety.
2. Prepare a stiff paste from flour and water, described by Jenour as suitable for binding shot but unsuitable for polite dining.
3. Incorporate lead shot into the paste until evenly distributed, taking care, in Jenour’s words, not to batter the pellets or one’s expectations.
4. Form the mixture into bore-sized cylinders using a simple tube, a process that blurs the line between ammunition manufacture and experimental baking.
5. Dry the formed charges slowly with gentle heat until hard and brittle throughout, resisting the temptation to hurry or improve upon nineteenth-century patience.
6. Optionally apply a light surface treatment of gum-water and dusting flour, intended to improve fit and handling rather than flavor.
7. Reflect on the fact that the entire construction is designed to fail instantly and completely, which Jenour considered its greatest virtue.
8. Store in a dry place and in the historical record, where it belongs.

Notes

Dietary Warning:
Absolutely not vegetarian.

Allergen Information:
Contains flour, history, and poor decisions.

Nutrition Disclaimer:
This entry is presented as a historical curiosity. No nutritional value should be inferred, calculated, or tested.

Consumption Advisory:
Not edible, digestible, or advisable in any century.