In cartridges for shotguns, the shot size / grain size is indicated by the diameter of the individual shot pellet in a shot cartridge. Instead of directly stating the diameter in mm, numbers are given, whereby - at least according to German understanding - the principles apply: "The larger the number, the smaller the grain size." & "Between two sizes, the diameter changes by about 0.25mm."
Typically, hunting shot sizes between 1.7mm and 4mm are used. Shot sizes over 4mm are often referred to as "Posten". However, Posten actually starts at a diameter of 6mm.
Since there is a large international variance regarding the designation of shot sizes and due to the same designation of different sizes in different countries, there is a table attached here to help gain an overview of the country-specific designations of shot sizes.
| Shot Pellet Diameter in mm | Germany | USA | England | France | Holland | Austria | Sweden | Switzerland | Belgium |
| 1.0 | Dust | ||||||||
| 1.25 | 12 | 12 | Dust | 12 | 12 | ||||
| 1.5 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | |||
| 1.7 | 11 | 11 | |||||||
| 1.75 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | ||
| 2.0 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 00 | 9 | 9 | |
| 2.25 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 8 | |
| 2.4 | 7.5 | 7 | 7 | 13 | |||||
| 2.5 | 7 | 7 | 6.5 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 7 | |
| 2.75 | 6 | 5.5MG | 6 | 11 | 2 | 7 | KL6 | ||
| 2.8 | 6 | 5 | K6 | ||||||
| 2.85 | 4.5 | ||||||||
| 3.0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | G6 | 10 | 3 | GR6 | |
| 3.25 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 5 | |
| 3.5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 or 5 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| 3.65 | 1 | ||||||||
| 3.75 | 2 | 2 | B | 2 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 3 |
| 4.0 | 1 | 1 | BB | 1 | 0 or 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 | |
| 4.25 | 0 | B | BBB | 0 | 00 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| 4.5 | 2/0 | BB | A = BBBB | 00 | 4 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 4.75 | 3/0 | BBB | 000 | 2 | 10 | 2/0 | |||
| 5.0 | 4/0 | 0 | AA | 0000 | 1 | 11 | 3/0 | ||
| 5.25 | 5/0 | 00 | AAA | C9 | 12 | 4/0 | |||
| 5.5 | 6/0 | 000 | SSSSSG = AAAA | ||||||
| 5.75 | SSSSG | ||||||||
| 6.0 | Posten6 | Buck9 | |||||||
| 6.25 | SSSG | C7 or C8 | |||||||
| 6.5 | Posten5 | Buck8 | |||||||
| 6.85 | SSG | C6 | |||||||
| 7.0 | Posten4 | Buck7 | C5 | ||||||
| 7.5 | Buck5 | Spec.SG | C4 | ||||||
| 8.0 | Posten3 | Buck4 | C3 | ||||||
| 8.5 | Buck3 | SG | C2 | ||||||
| 8.8 | MG | ||||||||
| 9.0 | Posten2 | Buck2 | LG | ||||||
| 9.65 | Buck1 | ||||||||
| 10 | Posten1 |
Here is a general overview of rifle and shot calibers
Marketplace
