How effective do you find chain shot?

[Andy Watkins]

We have been struggling with the French.
The english have +1 to hit and a skill test re roll. these are excellent.
We have been trying hard with chain shot but find it hopeless.
You halve the range which is terrible for carronades reducing them to 4″ no extra damage is done and you get 2 rolls on the aim high critical hit chart. We have found this to be totally ineffective, not having bought down a single mast yet.

We are considering giving chain shot an additional +1 to hit? or removing the -1 to hit for aiming high??

I would be interested to hear how others have been doing

[Gary Grimes]

I would give +1 to hit with chain shot but of course keep all the half range restrictions. I haven’t tested this but it sounds reasonable.

[dh341352]

the way i read it, is that chain shot would be a -2 unless fired high making it a -1. french only count -1 when firing high instead of the -2. so french firing high with chain shot overall modifier -2, everyone else -4… -3 for english with their +1 for gunnery

if using carronades.. range is halved from 8 to 4 inches but you count +2 if you shoot at pointblank range of 3 inches or less. so get in that little bit closer and then you suffer no minus modifier. it does mean though that you would take a battering from the English guns getting in close and then double damage at pointblank range.

would save the chain shot for ships with heavier guns. heavy cannons halved 10″ range light cannons 7″ and keep the carronades for throwing lumps of iron and then grape at point blank before boarding.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by dh341352.

[Steve Burt]

Could carronades actually load chain shot? I’m pretty sure they couldn’t be double shotted.

[Dr Dave]

Carronades were double shotted.

RN viewed dismasting generally as a waste of time since it killed relatively few men and didn’t reduce the enemy’s gunnery directly. Kill the crew, slow his return fire = fire at the hull.

[Eric Boyle]

Double shotted was more than just double ball. QD Carronades were often (in the USN anyway) loaded with grape and ball in a close range anti-personnel role. I am not sure that double ball was loaded much in carronades. Accuracy was already a problem, then you have to reduce the powder as well. Chain and bar shot presents a similar problem but the game reflects this by having to get really close when using chain in carronades.

[Dr Dave]

When HMS Victory fired her first shot from her port 68pdr Carronade it was triple shotted with double ball and grape. She fired a stern rake into the Baucentaure. Nasty.

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