The staple remained the solid roundshot, as it had for centuries. It would be gradually phased out in favour of the explosive shell, but during the major battles of the war, the ratio of roundshot fired to all other ammunition was more than
2.5 to 1. The solid shot had a high muzzle velocity, and although individuals with good eyesight and sharp reactions could spot it in flight and take evasive action, it was deadly against massed bodies of infantry in particular, but also of cavalry. On the Alma battlefield, bodies were found of 14-15 Russian infantrymen killed by one roundshot alone, going right through the centre of their bodies near the waist - a complete file of men shown to have been hit from behind as all were lying across each other, face down.
Roundshot ranged out to 1000 yards, but this could be doubled by ricochet, ideally slightly downhill, though not steeply down, on firm ground. Although the sighting methods were primitive, a high degree of accuracy could be achieved. In the fixed battery positions in front of Sevastopol, experienced gunners regularly bounced roundshot round corners into Russian positions. These higher calibre guns also fired 'hot' shot as an incendiary - The roundshot was heated in a brazier beside the gun and separated from the charge bag by wads of oakum pre-soaked in water. Though recorded accidents were few, it still sounds a highly dangerous process!!
If roundshot was accurate, the explosive shell had traditionally suffered from lack of accuracy, due to unreliable fuse burning times. Many shells would go off prematurely, because the fuse was too short, bursting harmlessly too far overhead to do any damage below. Others would suffer from fuses cut too long, and would fizz on the ground like damp squibs long enough to allow their intended victims to scatter to a safe distance. But all this had changed with Captain Boxer's new system. There was a new fuse channel which was bored instead of being a fuse length which was cut off. It had side vents at regular intervals along the channel through which the flame could be diverted. These vents were originally blocked by removable clay bungs. If you didn't remove any of them, the flame would burn straight down the channel and explode the powder after thirty seconds. If you wanted your shell to explode before that, say at short range or higher in the air at longer ranges, you removed a relevant bung nearer the start of the burn accordingly and the flame would be sidetracked down the vent you had opened. There were no pre-calculated range tables at the time, so the skill of accurate fuse setting had to be acquired by experience, but the Boxer fuse ensured that the onus was on the individual, not the equipment.
