Tom Roster

Tom Roster

Tom is an independent ballistics consultant and author specializing in the design and testing of shotshells. He is a court-recognized shotshell/ shotgun expert witness with patents on shotshell components, especially for nontoxic shot. Tom was formerly the Ballistics Research Director at the Oregon Institute of Technology and then served as a Ballistics Specialist for the Dept. of the Interior.

the rise & fall of gauges
Scattershot

The Rise & Fall of Gauges

Shotgunning, like rifle or pistol shooting, involves a multiplicity of ammunition sizes that in turn match a multiplicity of internal chamber and barrel diameters....

demystifying chokes
Shot Talk

Demystifying Chokes

Shotgun chokes have been with us for about 200 years. Before that they simply didn’t exist. Every shotgun barrel possessed a continuous smooth bore...

Shot Talk

Notable New Loads

Of the ammo companies that I received news releases and/or samples from through March, the following are the new loads—and some existing loads—that I...

An array of ammunition
Shot Talk

Ammo-Price Increases

If you haven’t yet bought your year’s supply of factory loads or shot for reloading, brace yourself. Big price increases are happening. In 2024...

Table, comparing Hortonium with other shot types, appears on the Horton & Sons website.
Shot Talk

Comes Now Hortonium

Ready for another potential shotshell-pellet material? Here’s the latest entry: Hortonium. It’s a patent-applied-for composite material that has been introduced and is being promoted...

turkey in fall
Shot Talk

TSS Shot Revisited

In the July/August 2020 issue I wrote about TSS shot (“TSS: What It Is and Isn’t”). I described TSS shot as the latest tungsten-composite-shot...

Collapsing cushioning posts in one-piece plastic wads and compressing fiber
Shot Talk

Dangerous Loading Practices

Both of the topics I’m covering here were prompted by an ever-building series of reader emails and phone calls concerning these subjects. Since both...