Fantom Zorbin,
Yes, our Vereys could fire a "bird scarer" cartridge. This mini-AA fired a small explosive charge fused to burst about 100 ft up, where it made a loud bang and a puff of white smoke.
Unfortunately our crows were very intelligent birds, and soon sussed out that the things were no more danger to them than the fireworks in the grass or on short sticks. They treated all such devices with contempt. (No, I don't really believe the story I once told about one old crow sticking two claws up to us !)
But the Tee Emm story of the horrible death of a wartime WAAF (she and a few lads were larking about with a Verey pistol in the Tower) is sadly true.
I could well see that a twelve-bore would propel such a cartridge much higher, but our Vereys were bored to a size much bigger than 12, so our service-supplied cartridges would not fit.
Danny.