Sri Lankan shot pistols and ballistics

In Sri Lanka, data on shot pistols designed by hand to take shotgun cartridges (Gal Katas) has been collected since 1970. Their construction, size, bore, breeching mechanism, hammer cocking pressure, trigger pull, etc., were examined. They were all 'rough hewn' illegal weapons found to be destabilised in the shooter's hand. Tests conducted showed that the 'crime' cartridge could easily be matched with the 'test' rounds and variation of the spread with the range was linear. Although penetration results were not consistent these weapons appear to be effective only at close range.