Thousands of pieces of lead shot and bullets have been excavated from James Fort. Individual molds would have been used to make the bullets that measure over 10 mm in diameter. The small shot were produced in two ways. One method was in a gang mold which, as the name suggests, can cast a number of shot at one time, and usually in varying sizes. It is obvious that the colonists had these molds, as evidenced by the large number of the small lead shot with mold seams, and by the many shot still attached to runners of lead created in the molding process.

The other method of producing shot was by pouring molten led through a copper strainer into a pail of water. This was a process widely used from the mid-16th century through the 18th century.