I know jack about guns or hunting. I think I might have seen one of those fancy Perazzi shotguns. I've never held or pointed a gun outside of my childhood cowgirl days. Dale Evans, anyone?

So I've been a little curious about the shot Cheney used. How big? How heavy?

The article here has a chart listing the various sizes of bird- and buckshot with weights. 7-1/2 shot is about half the diameter of a BB and 14% as heavy, in lead. Pellets are also produced in steel and bismuth (via Terry Oglesby).

UPDATE: It is illegal to hunt waterfowl in Louisiana using lead pellets. Ducks will eat pellets. Lead poisons the ducks, the water, and the ground. In some areas, it's illegal to use lead on small landbirds, too. I haven't checked that, yet.

Lyman, in his last hunting days, used steel pellets. Lyman thinks hunters upped the caliber by a half to make up for the lighter weight of the pellets.

Lyman got tired of getting up before dawn and being cold. He stopped hunting then. He used Browning shotguns. 12 gauge.