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LETTEES 
 
 TO 
 
 YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 FIKST SERIES 
 
PRINTED BY 
 
 SPOTTISWOODE AX1) CO., NEW- STREET SQUARE 
 LOS DOS 
 
LETTEES 
 
 TO 
 
 YOUNG SHOOTEES 
 
 (FIRST SERIES) 
 
 ON THE CHOICE AND USE OF A GUN 
 
 SIR RALPH PAYNE-GALLWEY, BART. 
 
 SECOND EDITION 
 
 LONDON 
 LONGMANS, GKEEN, AND CO, 
 
 AND NEW YORK : 15 EAST 16 th STREET 
 1892 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
MY DEAR WALSINGHAM, 
 
 As your skill with the gun is unsurpassed; and 
 as your knowledge of Game and Wildfowl in regard 
 to their natural history, and their management in the 
 field, so as to afford true sport is, I consider, un- 
 rivalled, I therefore dedicate this book to you. I shall 
 feel very satisfied if all young sportsmen who peruse it 
 will endeavour to folloiv in your footsteps even at a 
 distance. 
 
 Believe me, 
 
 Your affectionate Cousin, 
 
 RALPH. PAYXE-GALLWEY. 
 
 M8562' 
 

CONTENTS 
 
 LETTER PAOE 
 
 I. REMARKS ON GUNS OLD AND NEW . . . 1-7 
 
 II. ON THE QUALITY, MANUFACTURE, AND COST OF 
 
 MODERN GUNS 8-22 
 
 III. HAMMER, HAMMERLESS, AND EJECTOR GUNS . . 23-33 
 
 IV. ON THE FIT AND CHOICE OF A GUN, AND THE 
 
 BEST GUN TO USE AS ADAPTED TO DIFFERENT 
 SHOOTERS 34-53 
 
 V. THE CHOICE OF GUNS (continued), WITH REMARKS 
 ON THEIR FASTENINGS, THE MERITS OF STEEL 
 AND DAMASCUS, AND THE LENGTH OF GUN- 
 BARRELS 54-66 
 
 VI. THE MERITS OF CHOKES AND CYLINDERS, AS 
 APPLIED TO THEIR EFFECT ON GAME AND 
 SUITABILITY TO THE SHOOTER . . . 67-77 
 
 VII. THE MERITS OF CHOKES AND CYLINDERS (COU- 
 
 tinued) . ' 78-90 
 
 VIII. HOW TO SHOOT SAFELY, WITH REMARKS ON 
 LOADERS, AND THE SAFE HANDLING OF A GUN 
 IN THE FIELD . 91-108 
 
x LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 LKTTKH PAGB 
 
 IX. ON KILLING GAME, AND SHOOTING GENERALLY, 
 
 IN A SPORTSMANLIKE MANNER . . . 109 126 
 
 X. ON CORRECT AIMING PRACTICAL . . . 127 188 
 
 xi. ON CORRECT AIMING PRACTICAL (continued] . 139-151 
 
 XII. CORRECT AIMING (continued] THEORETICAL 
 
 (INTENDED TO BE MORE CURIOUS THAN IN- 
 STRUCTIVE 152 163 
 
 XIII. SOME REMARKS ON CORRECT AIMING, IN REGARD 
 
 TO THE EYES 164-172 
 
 XIV. ON THE CARE AND CLEANING OF GUNS (THEIR 
 
 LIABILITY TO DAMAGE, AND GENERAL SUPER- 
 VISION) 173-188 
 
 XV. THE CARE AND CLEANING OF GUNS (continued) 189-197 
 
 XVI. ON THE LOADING OF GAME -GUNS POWDER . 198-205 
 
 XVII. ON THE LOADING OF GUNS SHOT . . . 206-220 
 
 XVIII. A FEW SIMPLE DIRECTIONS IN TARGET EXPERI- 
 
 MENTS, SUCH AS MAY BE OF USE IN TESTING 
 THE EXCELLENCE, OR THE REVERSE, OF A 
 GUN'S SHOOTING 221-242 
 
 XIX. CARTRIDGES CARTRIDGE-MAGAZINE CARTRIDGE- 
 BAG SLEEVELETS FOR CARTRIDGE -CARRIERS 
 OUT SHOOTING GAME-BAG .... 243-253 
 
 XX. GAME-STOP HOW TO MAKE RABBITS LIE OUT, AND 
 
 HOW TO CATCH WOOD-PIGEONS . . 254-203 
 
LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 LETTEE I 
 
 REMARKS ON GUNS OLD AND NEW 
 MUZZLE-LOADING GUNS (FLINT AND DETONATOE) 
 
 To those who recollect the guns of but a score years 
 ago the modern fowling-piece does indeed seem a 
 perfect weapon so perfect, that it is difficult to 
 imagine in what direction any improvements could 
 be added. Doubtless, however, when the ' detonator ' 
 succeeded the ' flint-gun ' much the same remark was 
 made. How our ancestors primed, and swore, and 
 primed again, after a missfire with a flint ignition, 
 can readily be guessed. How they turned the flint, 
 screwed it tight, and probed the touch-hole with a 
 long pin kept for emergencies in the corner of the 
 waistcoat ; and how they wiped and cleaned the pan, 
 to induce the gun to fire, especially when a wdodcock 
 was marked down, and, during rain and snow, held 
 
 B 
 
2 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 the lock under their coat tails to avoid a certain 
 missn're, has often been described. 
 \ }Yet,/whJat" trfce and earnest sportsmen they were, 
 JEL^ the " t same'; every bit as good as we are now, both 
 ftd^^drfr'apdjlj^b 1 , ;if not, indeed, better in some 
 respects. What dicl they care, so long as they pur- 
 sued a healthy, manly sport, if their guns missfired, 
 or if they had to hold 6 feet forward of a crossing 
 bird at twenty paces, so as to allow for the slow 
 ignition of their day and the interval that occurred 
 between pulling the trigger and the charge leaving 
 the muzzle. In those times there was, no doubt, a 
 pleasure and interest in perfecting the appliances of 
 sport that we cannoc enjoy to the same extent ; for, 
 on my word, our guns are about as near perfection as 
 possible. 
 
 It must be admitted, however, that in days of 
 yore the game was more on a par with the weapons 
 used in its destruction than is at present the case. 
 Partridges then lay close and steady, as there was 
 plenty of shelter for them to hide in : the long-cut 
 stubbles were like young woods in their density ; the 
 wide, rough hedges were grand shelters, especially in 
 the nesting- season ; and the turnip-seed, sown broad- 
 cast instead of in mathematical rows, gave such excel- 
 lent cover that the birds might almost be trodden on 
 before they would rise, and did not run out at one 
 end of a field as the sportsmen looked over a gate at 
 the other. Grouse, long ago, were ignorant of being 
 
t. GUNS OLD AND NEW 3 
 
 driven by an army of men, who, by their numbers 
 and well-drilled line as they march across the heather 
 in modern fashion, flush every bird for half a mile. 
 Now our game is wild, and rises at a distance ; and, 
 notwithstanding our far-killing and perfect weapons, 
 and our modern system of driving, it is all we can 
 do to get on even terms with it. 
 
 Flint-guns were not good killers, however straight 
 they might have been held ; they were decidedly 
 inferior to their successors of the copper cap in this 
 respect. But, as with breechloaders on their first 
 introduction, so was it with detonators a fierce con- 
 flict of opinion arose on the latter superseding the 
 more antiquated flint-guns, cherished as they were 
 by the fine old sportsmen of their period. 
 
 I have made many experiments with both ' flint 
 and * copper-cap ' guns, in regard to their qualities of 
 shooting, and have found them far behind a fairly 
 good breechloader with ordinary cylinder barrels, the 
 flint-gun especially ; though well able, so far as pattern 
 and penetration were concerned, to drop game dead at 
 the distances at which, hi the days of close-rising birds, 
 it was necessary to fire. One of the chief reasons 
 why muzzle-loading guns were inferior to our breech- 
 loaders was, that the wadding used in loading them 
 fitted the barrels with comparative looseness, neces- 
 sitated by their being charged from the muzzle ; the 
 effect of this resulting in ' windage,' or a waste of 
 propelling power, through the powder-gases escaping 
 
 B 2 
 
4 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 round the wads when the charge was ignited. With 
 breechloaders this fault is one that should not occur, 
 as in their case the wads fit tighter at the breech 
 than at the muzzle. 
 
 Certainly, the modern shooter has every possible 
 convenience in the capabilities of his gun. Accuracy 
 of aim is about all that he requires a great advan- 
 tage over his ancestors, who were obliged to go through 
 all manner of manipulations with their guns before 
 the skill of actual aiming had to be considered. It is 
 fortunate that the latter attribute cannot be mastered 
 and sold by the gunmakers with the gun, or we should 
 soon see the last of British game. 
 
 Although the detonating system, as applied to 
 game-guns, was a great improvement upon its pre- 
 decessor of the flint ignition, yet, when we look back 
 to the copper cap, what a vast amount of trouble and 
 anxiety the latter entailed ! We many of us remember 
 its worries : the hasty fumbling in pockets for the dif- 
 ferent wads, the caps, the powder, the shot all neatly 
 and systematically placed in their proper receptacles 
 on starting for the day, with apparent impossibility of 
 confusion, but which, nevertheless, after a few shots, 
 seemed mischievously subject to disarrangement. 1 
 
 1 One of the most original reasons for preferring breechloaders 
 to muzzle-loaders was once given me by the schoolboy son of a 
 sporting farmer. 'You see, sir,' quoth the youngster, 'I likes a 
 breechloader much more than a muzzle-loader because, if a gun ain't 
 got no ramrod, your father can't lay one across your back when he 
 isn't pleased with you out shooting ! ' 
 
i. GUNS OLD AND NEW 5 
 
 Then the danger of a muzzle-loader was no small 
 item in the day's sport. We often heard of first 
 barrels exploding while second barrels were loading; 
 of caps being jarred off when hammers were down ; of 
 powder-flasks, ignited by sparks, blowing fingers to 
 the four corners of a field ; of loaded guns being 
 considered unloaded till a man's head with the top 
 shattered proved the contrary ; not to speak of such 
 minor incidents as a ramrod sent flying to the clouds, 
 or into a tree or a cow ! And then the constant 
 anxiety present in the mind of a young or nervous 
 shooter, that his gun was doubly served with powder 
 and shot in one barrel the result of haste in charging 
 and the consequent dread with which his next shot 
 was looked forward to, and the possible knock-down 
 blow, or even * burst,' which might ensue. 
 
 MODEEN GUNS 
 
 But we have changed all that. A child could 
 almost be taught to load a modern gun without risk, 
 for none of the misadventures pertaining to the charg- 
 ing of muzzle-loaders apply to breechloaders ; and 
 the only real caution the young shooter need exercise 
 is to guard against causing danger to his companions. 
 That possibility remains as evident as ever it did, 
 whether the guns be ancient or modern ; for safety is 
 the attribute of the shooter, and not of the gun he 
 carries. 
 
6 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 Most modern guns, purchased at a fair cost from 
 well-known makers, shoot equally well if of good manu- 
 facture ; and the shooter will find little difference 
 between them in this respect, provided the gun he 
 uses is adapted to his strength and figure. 
 
 It is when a gun does not fit its owner that it gets 
 a bad name as a performer in the field ; and just the 
 reverse if it in every way meets his requirements. 
 The actual pattern and penetration of two good guns 
 chosen at random one that fits the shooter, and 
 one that does not are, probably, equally satisfactory 
 if tried at that surest of all tests, a target. Though 
 the shooter may fancy that the one gun kills farther 
 and cleaner than the other, this advantage is really 
 caused by his putting the strongest and thickest 
 cluster of the shot well on the mark he aims at, 
 instead of the weakest and most scattered. In fact, his 
 aim being correct through his gun fitting, he is enabled 
 to hit with the centre of the shot-circle, instead of the 
 outside of it. But more of this presently. 
 
 When the breechloader first came into favour, the 
 system was regarded as a wonderful innovation, 
 though the new guns were heavy and clumsy, and 
 were secured with awkward closing levers, and had 
 the ordinary hammers and locks of muzzle-loaders. 
 Cartridges to fit the new guns had almost as much 
 care and invention bestowed upon them as the guns 
 themselves ; yet a breechloader of twenty years ago 
 and, in a minor degree, its cartridge even though 
 
i. GUNS OLD AND NEW 7 
 
 considered well-nigh perfect at that date, was sim- 
 plicity itself when contrasted with a gun of to-day, 
 with its neatly-contrived and wonderfully clever lock- 
 work, its careful boring, and beautitully-constructed 
 barrels ; its strength, safety, and general appearance ; 
 and, above all, its certain ignition under all circum- 
 stances of weather and rough usage. 
 
 Before quitting the subject of old and modern 
 guns, it is worthy of notice that it was not till the 
 beginning of the present century that double gung 
 came much into favour. At first they were regarded 
 as unsportsmanlike and dangerous innovations ; and 
 I have some amusing and strongly-expressed letters 
 referring to their introduction : but, as with many other 
 improvements in gun-making, so with them, conveni- 
 ence soon conquered prejudice. Another thing worth 
 mentioning is, that shooting at flying game is a much 
 more ancient practice than commonly supposed. I 
 have seen woodcuts in old works on sport, published 
 so far back as two centuries, that depict birds on the 
 wing being killed by shooters. 
 
LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 LETTEE II 
 
 THE QUALITY, MANUFACTUBE, AND 
 COST OF MODE EN GUNS 
 
 CHEAP v. BEST GUNS, WITH GENEKAL ADVICE ON 
 THE PUKCHASE OF A GUN. 
 
 FEW recognise the skill and completeness exemplified 
 in a modern gun ; and many shooters, I really 
 believe, would never do so unless they were con- 
 demned to shoot for a season with the weapons of 
 their forefathers. There is a class of shooters who 
 merely look upon a gun as a machine to kill with, 
 and do not in the least realise the care, expense, and 
 anxiety bestowed on its construction. These are the 
 people who declaim against guns being needlessly 
 expensive if they cost over a very moderate sum. 
 Knowing nothing of the outlay required to produce 
 excellent workmanship, they fancy a cheap gun of 
 15Z. is, or ought to be, as good a weapon as one of 
 45Z., and, making no allowance for first-class material, 
 clever, and therefore costly, artisanship, they cannot 
 see why the lower-priced article should not be as good 
 
ii. THE QUALITY AND COST OF MODERN GUNS g 
 
 as that which costs double, and vow it is ' that rascal 
 the gunmaker ' who pockets the balance. 
 
 To the casual observer there is hardly any per- 
 ceptible difference in appearance and handling between 
 a fairly well turned out gun and a really first-class 
 one that costs nearly, if not quite, double. Such 
 a man puzzles his brains as to wherein lies the 
 superiority of the expensive over the cheap weapon ; 
 for the one apparently works as well, shoots as well, 
 and looks as handsome an article, as the other. 1 
 
 That there is a great and important difference is 
 at once evident to those who have a knowledge of 
 what a gun should be ; and any ordinary mechanic 
 trained to gun-making, or even a well-versed amateur, 
 would soon point out a score of details evincing 
 either excellence or the reverse. 
 
 The simplicity of a good gun and its fewer parts 
 form one of its strongest recommendations ; for it is 
 usually in cheap guns that we see complications in 
 
 1 The real truth of the matter is, that the majority of men who 
 patronise cheap guns rarely give them such a test of endurance as 
 would determine their merits, if any. 
 
 A cheap, rough gun may last for many seasons if it is put to no 
 more severe strain than 300 or 400 shots a year entail. For this 
 reason a 151. gun may meet all the requirements of the sportsman 
 who uses it ; and the latter is quite right to purchase his gun to suit 
 his purse and his sport, but is not justified in swearing by all his 
 gods that, because his 151. gun suits him, and stands without damage 
 a small amount of wear and tear, it is equal for all practical purposes 
 to a high-class weapon. If the 151. article experienced as much work 
 as is usually bestowed on a best gun, it would soon be evident which 
 was the better of the two ! 
 
io LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 the fastenings, many pieces doing the work which 
 one piece ought to do. 
 
 A first-class gun is always handsome, though 
 useless embellishments are frequently omitted. It 
 balances beautifully, works smoothly, and invariably 
 feels light and handy, as compared with an inferior 
 weapon, when put to the shoulder ; the latter being 
 good qualities which are among the chief recommenda- 
 tions of first-class work, as well as some of the most 
 useful attributes that a maker of repute is able to 
 bestow on his guns. 
 
 Take, for instance, a cheap gun. On a cursory 
 examination, its screws and pins and springs and 
 pieces seem, to all outward appearance, sound and 
 good and so they are for very ordinary use ; but 
 the same parts of a high-class gun are, practically 
 speaking, thrice as excellent, for they are far better in 
 design and material, and have had much more care 
 and harder tests applied to them during their manu- 
 facture and fitting. 
 
 As an example, in the rough work of wildfowl 
 shooting afloat I am always obliged to use a really 
 good gun one on the minutest parts of which I can 
 depend. And I find it is true economy to do so ; for 
 it is quite a mistake to imagine that a cheap, rough, 
 strong-looking gun will stand hard usage as well as 
 a highly-finished, though perhaps a more delicate- 
 looking, weapon. 
 
 I have often tried cheap guns for wildfowl shoot- 
 
n. THE QUALITY AND COST OF MODERN GUNS 1 1 
 
 ing ; but a little rust from salt water, or a tumble or 
 two in a boat, and crack goes a screw-head, or snap 
 flies a spring. The gun is then sent to the maker, 
 who writes word : ' These accidents will happen even 
 with the best guns ; ' but, for my part, I do not find 
 that they do, or at all events very seldom, and in 
 nothing like the same proportion. 
 
 Now as to penetration. A cheap gun will, for a 
 time, shoot nearly as hard as an expensive one ; but 
 it will not retain its power, the quality of the metal 
 in its barrels not being good enough to enable it to 
 do so. It is, however, in the matter of regular shoot- 
 ing and a properly spread pattern that the good 
 weapon has such an advantage over its cheaper rival, 
 besides being so far superior in lasting powers ; for 
 though the strength and balance and finish of a first- 
 class gun are as perfect as may be, these are not its 
 only advantages, as its shooting qualities are also of 
 the same high standard of excellence. 
 
 Cheap guns are usually sold to suit the pockets or 
 fancies of a certain class of customers who cannot 
 or will not give a high price. Well and good ; money 
 is a consideration to most. But this does not equalise 
 a cheap and a costly gun in the matter of value and 
 merit. 
 
 A sportsman who purchases a cheap gun is not 
 generally one who gives it hard work in regard to the 
 number of shots he fires. The man who can afford to 
 buy an expensive weapon can generally enjoy good 
 
12 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 shooting ; and he may, likely enough, fire 3,000 to 
 4,000 shots or more a year from one gun. A very well- 
 made article, you may rest assured, does he require for 
 such wear and tear as this a trial of endurance that 
 few, if any, cheap guns could stand without necessi- 
 tating repairs. 
 
 We do not grudge an extra 20Z. for a good horse ; 
 and if we knew that additional sum would give us as 
 reliable an animal for the required purpose as money 
 could buy, we should gladly pay, and consider the 
 bargain a fortunate one. Then why not so with a 
 gun, if we can afford to act in a similar way ? Yet 
 I know rich sportsmen, whose surroundings in the 
 matter of horses, pictures, and other belongings are 
 as costly as they can obtain, and as perfect as money 
 can buy, who would on no account expend over 20Z. 
 on a new gun ; because, for some reason best known 
 to themselves, or, at all events, which they cannot 
 explain, they say * a gun ought not to cost more.' 
 
 Cheap guns are made by the hundred, and sold by 
 the hundred. The artisans employed in their manu- 
 facture are inferior craftsmen. Among thoroughly 
 clever workmen there is an esprit de corps which for- 
 bids them from having anything to do with second- 
 class guns. A workman who is really accomplished 
 in the art of gun-making does his work slowly, and 
 with extraordinary care. I have watched such a 
 man by the day ; he will not allow himself to be 
 hurried by his employer, or by anybody else, as good 
 
ii. BEST GUNS 13 
 
 work does not admit of haste. For this reason an 
 unlimited number of best guns cannot be turned 
 out by any gunmaker, however large his staff of 
 employes. At most, but a few of his men can be 
 trusted to look to the finishing of best guns, as first- 
 class workmen of long experience are always in 
 demand, and few gunmakers can boast of more than 
 three or four on their premises. This is one of the 
 reasons why a good gun takes so long to complete 
 after the order for it is received ; for its parts are not 
 turned out by the dozen, as is the case with guns of 
 cheap make. 
 
 BEST GUNS 
 
 Let us have a look at what the manufacture of a 
 good gun means, and at the same time bear in mind 
 that it is in every detail constructed with as much 
 care and accuracy as the fittings of a valuable watch. 
 It is tested over and over again, and its materials 
 are chosen with the utmost caution, in view of their 
 lasting and other useful capabilities. 
 
 First-class gun- barrels are selected from the very 
 best iron and steel ; they are put together with the 
 greatest possible care ; and they are bored, finished, 
 and adjusted to a thousandth of an inch. The 
 thought and science bestowed on the barrels alone, 
 before they are perfect, represent the experience of a 
 lifetime ; and, as instancing what a first-class artisan 
 in the gun-trade is worth to his employer, it is worthy 
 
14 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 of remark that no machine or lathe has yet been 
 invented that equals in delicacy or rivals in accuracy 
 the touch of such a man's hand, as applied to his 
 tools when finishing a barrel for its shooting, or 
 when bestowing on it a correct outh'ne. The barrels, 
 roughly attached to the stock, are tried at the range, 
 and brought back, and retouched here and there 
 by clever artificers; then they are tried again, and 
 perhaps altered half a dozen times; and several 
 hundred shots may be fired from them before the 
 workman and his master are satisfied that the gun 
 supports their reputation, and is fit for the purchaser. 
 
 To arrange the satisfactory shooting of guns is a very 
 difficult and intricate affair. Out of a score of guns 
 sent to the trial-ground, it is quite possible that not 
 one will shoot as does another, though each is bored 
 to all intents alike. To alter them so as to get their 
 performances up to the same standard of excellence 
 is a matter of great care and expense. This difference 
 between the shooting of guns is not to be wondered at 
 when we consider that the thousandth of an inch of 
 deviation in any part of a barrel may throw it off its 
 shooting ; and when we also bear in mind that its 
 boring is regulated by manual labour. 
 
 The excellence of gun-barrels depends very much 
 on the amount of care they undergo during the 
 process of forging. A barrel that has not been care- 
 fully welded is very likely to show ' greys ' and sand- 
 holes in its finished state. The former appear in the 
 
ii. DEFECTS IN GUNS 15 
 
 form of small specks, and are not of great consequence 
 unless in profusion ; but the latter are serious defects, 
 of a dangerous nature. These sand-holes run (like 
 the track of a worm in timber) round or along the 
 barrel, inside the metal ; and they are wont, by 
 rusting, to increase in size till, perhaps, a fracture 
 occurs. But a crack in a barrel is worst of all, and is 
 the result of really bad manufacture. 
 
 In purchasing a secondhand gun, it is well to 
 minutely examine its barrels with a magnifying glass, 
 and probe with the point of a penknife any lines that 
 look like rust, or any crevices that it is possible may 
 have been levelled up with composition in order to 
 conceal the mischief lying underneath. To detect a 
 crack in a pair of barrels, remove the woodwork, hang 
 the barrels up by a string, and strike them with a 
 piece of hard wood. If sound, they will emit a bell- 
 like ring ; if damaged, they give out a comparatively 
 dull or jarring note. I have shot with an 8-bore 
 duck-gun that had a small hole in one barrel a foot 
 from the muzzle ; but such a defect, though, of course, 
 much against the shooting of a gun, is of little 
 moment, in the matter of safety, compared with what 
 even the smallest crack would be. 
 
 The barrels, however, are only one part of a gun. 
 There are the locks, the breech-fittings, the stock, and 
 the finishing all, in their way, requiring as much 
 attention. 
 
 No part of a gun varies more than its locks. 
 
1 6 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 There are many grades of lockmakers alone men 
 who make common locks, those who make fairly good, 
 good, and really first-class locks ; l and so it is with 
 every other detail of a gun. Locks can be purchased 
 from a few shillings up to several guineas a pair ; as 
 likewise can breech-actions, as well as the other 
 numerous parts of a gun. What care and excellent 
 arrangement the locks and mechanism of a good gun 
 require can be guessed by most; but few realise to 
 what extent these qualities are necessary. The stock 
 of a best gun is most carefully chosen from, perhaps, a 
 hundred rough outlines in walnut ; and, finally, the 
 gun is finished by a real artist in the trade one who 
 turns his work about, and looks at it on every side, 
 considering what is best and what is not, and who, in 
 fact, puts beauty and merit into every touch he gives 
 it with his tools. 
 
 How often have I heard it said by a shooter, that 
 he does not care to pay for the engraving of a good 
 gun. Little does he know that engraving is the 
 cheapest part of the weapon, and that a gun can be 
 smothered with scroll-work for a pound or so, though 
 the artistic outlines seen upon an expensive gun cost 
 more. I should never fear that engraving was put 
 on a first-class gun to hide inferior work ; it is applied 
 
 1 Because the locks are hidden from view, they are none the less 
 of exquisite workmanship in a good gun. In this line of business 
 ' Brazier,' of Wolverhampton, has been justly famous for 100 years 
 or more, though his name is better known to gunmakers than to 
 gun -buyers. 
 
n. CHEAP GUNS \j 
 
 as an ornament and finish as a frame to a picture. 
 But I always suspect engraving on a cheap weapon, 
 as by such means it is easy to conceal bad fittings 
 and materials. 
 
 To sum up. I consider that a high-class gun is 
 about as complete and lasting an article as a shooter 
 <jan buy, and in the long run it is much the least ex- 
 pensive, though it cost him 401. to 45Z. He may take 
 it for granted, if it be purchased from a well-known 
 gunmaker, that it represents all that is said of it, 
 and that every part stock, lock, and barrel is about 
 as perfect as human ability and lavish, though neces- 
 sary, expenditure can make it. I therefore strongly 
 recommend a first-class gun, from a good maker, as 
 being the most economical in the end ; for it will last 
 well, shoot well, work satisfactorily, and always be a 
 safe and pleasant companion to its owner. 
 
 CHEAP GUNS 
 
 Now a word concerning cheap guns those sold, 
 for example, at about 15Z. In the first place, it 
 is impossible to turn out a gun at this price with 
 profit, and at the same time employ the best work- 
 men and materials, or to spend one tithe of the 
 care and time over its manufacture and shooting 
 that a good gun requires. The barrels consist of 
 inferior metal, and they are bored and ground and 
 fitted by second-rate artisans ; they have little time 
 
 c 
 
1 8 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 wasted upon them, and are rarely shot at the target, 
 save as an experiment to see if they will shoot at 
 all true or evenly ; for they have to be made too fast 
 to allow of time being expended on their performances 
 or finish. 
 
 The locks and fittings and breech- actions are made 
 of common iron ; and so long as these work in a 
 rough-and-ready sort of way, delicate adjustment is 
 discarded, as requiring too great an outlay of time 
 and cost. The stock of such a gun has little care 
 bestowed upon it; for in this line of gun-making a 
 hundred stocks in the rough may have to be made 
 into a hundred finished ones to avoid a loss. These 
 stocks are often bought in a cheap market, improperly 
 seasoned ; hence the gaps that appear in cheap guns 
 round the edges of the metal fittings after a short 
 exposure to hot or cold weather. Even when the gun 
 is first bought, on close inspection cracks may fre- 
 quently be discovered in the stock filled in with paint 
 and varnish, and pieces of wood put in here and there 
 to replace bad material. 
 
 To put it plainly, the above class of gun is made to 
 sell, and not to last ; but is, nevertheless, quite good 
 enough for the shooter who knows nothing of what a 
 gun should do, or of its manufacture. For such a man 
 could never realise how it were possible that the 
 breech-action alone of a good gun can cost as much 
 as an entire gun of inferior make in its finished state ; 
 and yet such is the fact. 
 
ii. GENERAL ADVICE ON PURCHASING A GUN 19 
 
 GENERAL ADVICE ON THE PUECHASE OF A GUN 
 
 To any one who cannot afford to give more than a ' 
 small sum for a gun, and who yet must have a gun of 
 some sort, I would say : Purchase a secondhand one 
 by a good maker, as being the cheapest and most 
 satisfactory arrangement ; provided that, on showing 
 it to the maker, he speaks favourably of its history 
 and state of preservation. And bear in mind that, as 
 most people rush open-mouthed after hammerless 
 guns at the present day, many hammer-guns have 
 been sold and discarded for no reason other than a 
 change of fashion; and that there are numbers of 
 excellent weapons to be had for ' a song,' secondhand, 
 which would outlast a dozen cheap hammerless ones. 
 Eegarding the cost of guns we hear and read a 
 great deal of nonsense. It almost seems, at times, 
 as if the owner of a cheap gun abused the more 
 costly one merely because he could not afford its 
 purchase, and was too proud to admit it. And 
 perhaps there is a little, too, in the principle of the 
 1 grapes being sour ' ; for no amount of argument will 
 make bad workmanship on an equality with good. 
 Yet the old, trite statements are daily made, and 
 many shooters still inquire, in injured tones, ' What 
 is the use of going to a first-class gunmaker and 
 giving a high price, when a gun every bit as good can 
 be obtained from a second-class maker at a low 
 figure ? 
 
 c 2 
 
2O LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 What is the position of a first-class maker ? It is 
 this : he will not in fact, he dare not sell a gun 
 that is not as perfect as modern science can make 
 it ; or where would his reputation and custom be ? 
 These would soon crumble to pieces. The result is 
 that shooters, though they pay such a tradesman 20Z. 
 more than they do a comparatively unknown maker, 
 receive the full value of the extra cost in the satisfac- 
 tion of knowing they have as good a gun as money can 
 buy, or it would not be sold to them. 
 
 I have made many and careful inquiries as to the 
 actual cost a good gun puts its maker to before he 
 offers it for sale. I have gone into and considered 
 every part of a gun the cost of material and wages 
 of workmen, and the outlay expended in all details of 
 filing, boring, fitting, stocking, screwing, and finishing 
 and I can state that, on every gun sold by a really 
 good maker at 40L to 45L, a much smaller profit than 
 is generally supposed is his perquisite. I can also 
 assure the young sportsman that the profit on a 16Z. 
 gun is about the same as on the more costly one. 
 "Which is the better bargain I leave him to conjecture. 
 
 If a shooter cannot afford to give more than a 
 moderate sum for a gun, it cannot be helped ; and I 
 have endeavoured to advise him on that point. If, 
 however, he cannot hear of a good secondhand gun, 
 I should recommend him to procure his new gun 
 straight from Birmingham, where cheap goods are 
 the fashion, and where this class of article is made 
 
ii. GENERAL ADVICE ON PURCHASING A GUN 21 
 
 stronger and better than in London. Or, to put it 
 plainer, a fairly good weapon is sold at a lower price 
 in that town than it is in London, for a London 
 maker is loth to recommend a second-rate article. 
 In Birmingham, a shooter should obtain a safe, useful 
 gun for 20Z., which may prove a faithful servant, if 
 not a very polished or accomplished one ; and he will 
 find it well worth his while, if within reasonable 
 distance, to choose the gun himself, and see that it 
 fits him the expense of the journey will not be 
 thrown away. 
 
 If the shooter can afford from 40Z. to 451. for a gun, 
 London is the place to purchase it ; for the very best 
 class of Birmingham work is decidedly inferior to the 
 very best class of London work. It is a general, though 
 erroneous, idea that all London gunmakers have their 
 guns sent to London from their Birmingham factories 
 in a finished state and ready for sale. It is true a 
 large proportion of so-called London guns are made 
 and finished in Birmingham, even down to the name 
 of the seller of the gun in London, and his address. 
 Yet, though they may be few in number, still the 
 best that is, the elite of the workmen in the gun- 
 trade, or any other trade either, from tailors to tinkers, 
 live and work in London, whatever may be said to 
 the contrary ; and hence the fine work of that city, 
 when done in that city, as compared with other towns. 
 Without being invidious, I may say that the * king of 
 the gunmakers ' is still Mr. Purdey ; and that he, Mr. 
 
22 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER H. 
 
 Grant, Mr. Holland, Mr. Boss, Mr. Woodward, Mr. 
 Lancaster, Mr. Baker, Mr. Dougall, Mr. Kigby, and 
 Messrs. Cogswell & Harrison, do all their best work 
 in London or its district. 
 
LETTEB III 
 HAMMER, HAMMERLESS, AND EJECTOR GUNS 
 
 (WHAT THEY SHOULD DO, AND WHAT THEY 
 SHOULD NOT DO) 
 
 A GUN with outside hammers and the accompanying 
 old-fashioned side locks has one great advantage, 
 and that is, its simplicity and little chance of going 
 out of order. A hammer-gun is also easily re- 
 paired by any ordinary gunmaker or his assistant, 
 and the hammers are plain indications of the gun's 
 safety, or the reverse. I should, therefore, decidedly 
 prefer a cheap hammer-gun to a cheap hammerless, 
 as being the most reliable by reason of its simple 
 construction; and if foreign sport is intended, I should 
 strongly advise hammer-guns alone being taken. 
 
 At the same time, I believe a young shooter is 
 less liable to mischance with a hammerless than he 
 is with a hammer-gun, if the former is well made. 
 In a hammer-gun there are several movements to go 
 through, which in wet or cold always require care. 
 In a hammerless, one easy motion should ensure 
 perfect safety. 
 
24 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 HAMMEB-GUNS 
 
 All hammer-guns are now fitted with rebounding 
 locks that is, the hammers never touch the strikers, 
 or they, in their turn, the caps of the cartridges, except 
 when the triggers are purposely pulled. I am. con- 
 vinced the system of rebounding locks is one of the 
 safest inventions ever applied to guns, and one that 
 has saved many an accident ; and, as a secondary 
 consideration, it adds greatly to the speed of loading, 
 as it saves the time that would otherwise be lost in 
 half-cocking. 
 
 In old days, if a shooter in the act of cocking his 
 gun allowed the hammer to slip from his thumb, it 
 fell directly on the striker, and ' bang ' went the gun. 
 A rebounding lock prevents this risk ; as, if the lock 
 is properly made, a hammer should not be able to 
 fire a cartridge unless it be let down from full-cock 
 by the trigger freeing it. 
 
 Owing to its simplicity, a hammer-gun can be 
 sold cheaper than a hammerless ; and, for this reason, 
 the shooter who can but afford a moderate figure 
 should purchase the former. If a shooter has but 
 20Z. to spend, he should certainly choose a hammer- 
 gun ; and he may obtain for that sum a better, 
 stronger, and more reliable weapon than the same 
 amount expended on a hammerless. 
 
 Hammer-guns are now made much neater than 
 formerly ; the hammers are smaller, and lie flatter 
 
in. HAMMER-GUNS 25 
 
 when the gun is cocked, and are not seen in the act 
 of firing. They can, however, be too small; and 
 often are. They are then liable to slip from the 
 fingers in very cold weather, or with thick gloves. 
 The hammers should be broad and rough on the 
 comb or part that comes against the thumb to 
 enable them, though small and neat, to be at the 
 same time capable of safe manipulation. As to 
 shooting with a hammer-gun, handling them smartly 
 is, after all, only a question of practice. The two best 
 shots in England both use hammer-guns ; and, good- 
 ness knows, these gentlemen fire their guns quickly 
 enough ! l 
 
 HAMMEBLESS GUNS 
 
 Hammerless guns, before the advent of ejectors, 
 were considered the acme of perfection ; and so they 
 are now, if well made ; for what are termed ejectors 
 are but hammerless guns with the addition of ejecting 
 mechanism. A good hammerless of the present day 
 is about as perfect an article as a shooter could desire 
 to possess ; yet it is only within the past five or six 
 years that these guns have generally become reliable. 
 A few seasons ago, and the owner of a ' hammerless ' 
 was always sent first over a stile or through a hedge, 
 as these weapons not seldom exploded without warn- 
 ing, or failed in some less dangerous manner. 
 
 Now, every gunmaker of note has his own par- 
 
 1 Earl de Grey and Lord Walsingham. 
 
26 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTEB 
 
 ticular * bantling ' in the form of a special gun, 
 christened with what he considers a taking name 
 which often suggests that his gun is alone, of all 
 others, the safest and best ; though their patents are 
 nearly all modifications or downright imitations 01 
 the original invention of Messrs. Anson & Deely, 
 to whom honour is due as the earliest to introduce 
 good weapons of this description to the public. When 
 first invented, hammerless guns were extremely 
 complicated, and, from their numerous parts and 
 dependent mechanism, often signally failed in use ; 
 but latterly gunmakers have greatly simplified the 
 construction of these guns, and have reduced to a 
 minimum the number of pieces their locks contain 
 of course, adding much to their success and safety 
 thereby. 
 
 A good hammerless gun may now be relied on to 
 fire 5,000 shots a season for years without requiring 
 repairs ; and if it is capable of such a hard strain as 
 this entails, I do not see much more need be required 
 of it. The locks may run many years without repair, 
 and with very slight supervision in the way of clean- 
 ing and I have good proof of this in my own guns. 
 
 ' Hammerless ' are as safe as guns can be, pro- 
 vided they are fitted with a reliable intercepting block 
 that is always between the hammers and the cartridge 
 a safeguard that protects the gun from discharge 
 by a fall or jar, and which is only removed by the 
 shooter pulling the triggers. The first question a 
 
in. HAMMERLESS GUNS 27 
 
 young shooter should satisfy himself upon is whether 
 the gun he proposes to purchase, if it be a hammer- 
 less, has this block ; and let him have nothing to do 
 with it should it be without such a vitally important 
 protection from accident. 
 
 In purchasing a hammerless gun even supposing 
 it to be absolutely reliable and safe in every respect 
 there are other secondary qualities to be looked for. 
 It should work evenly, and without any perceptible 
 jerk, or undue exercise of leverage, in opening or 
 shutting ; else it will be found a slow gun to load in 
 a hurry, and not so quick as a hammer-gun in this 
 respect. It should easily and smoothly do the work 
 of compressing the mainsprings in cocking ; and, on 
 turning the opening lever, the barrels should drop 
 down of themselves to receive the cartridges. They 
 should do this almost as freely as those of a hammer- 
 gun, and without any noticeable pressure on them 
 from the left hand of the shooter a pressure which 
 means waste of time in loading. 
 
 The gun should open to the extent of at least an 
 eighth of an inch between the top of the false breech 
 and the lower edge of the extractors. A gun that 
 opens like this always does its work best ; for, from 
 the barrels falling well down, it obtains plenty of 
 leverage to divide the work of cocking over a con- 
 siderable space, and the power then used to compress 
 the springs is scarcely felt. When a gun opens but 
 a slight distance it feels stiff and heavy in the act of 
 
28 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 cocking, as its mainsprings have to be compressed by 
 a short and cramped movement, instead of by a long, 
 easy one. 
 
 Many hammerless guns are so constructed that 
 their barrels only just drop clear of the breech. A 
 shooter has then to carefully notice his gun every 
 time he loads, to see if it is far enough open for him 
 to insert a fresh cartridge. Some gunmakers leave 
 this opening space so narrow that, unless the barrels 
 are held perfectly level, and at their lowest angle, the 
 rim of the cartridge-case will catch against the top 
 edge of the breech, either in loading or unloading. 
 Of course, a gun on these lines is faulty; for it is 
 difficult to load and fire it as fast as a few quick shots 
 may at any time necessitate. A hammerless gun 
 should open well clear of the breech; there is then 
 no difficulty in placing the fingers, however cold, well 
 round the cartridges to pull them out, or, if neces- 
 sary, to enable an extractor to be applied with full 
 force. At the same time, the shooter should be care- 
 ful to choose a gun that cocks before it can be re-loaded, 
 or else the locks might not be fully cocked when he 
 wishes to fire. 
 
 In all hammerless guns the springs are compressed 
 when the gun is shut and ready for use ; and, as 
 gunmakers cannot well alter this state of things, they 
 tell us compressed springs are of no consequence. 
 That this is not the case stands to reason ; therefore, 
 at the end of the day, invariably insert dummy 
 
in. HAMMERLESS GUNS 29 
 
 cartridges fitted with springs in their centres, and 
 pull the triggers. Empty cases should never be used 
 for this purpose, as the strikers drive into the caps 
 after a few blows, and the points of the former are 
 then liable to wear and tear from the force required 
 to free them on opening the gun. 
 
 The sliding stud that moves the trigger-safety of a 
 hammerless gun should be fairly large ; it is then con- 
 venient to the touch. It is often made too small, 
 and safety and utility are sacrificed to unnecessary 
 neatness. This safety stud should be large enough to 
 be felt and manipulated easily with the thickest gloves 
 or the most benumbed fingers ; and, for my part, I 
 should prefer one that required a downward as well as 
 a sliding pressure, as a precaution against accidental 
 movement. 
 
 Of the various fastenings a gun requires to connect 
 the barrels and stock I will presently treat. I will now 
 speak of ejectors. 
 
 EJECTOR GUNS 
 
 These are hammerless guns fitted with extractors, 
 which, by means of springs, jerk out the exploded cart- 
 ridges. Here we have the last improvement in guns, 
 and one that is not yet perfected. 
 
 Every gunmaker has, of course, his own simply 
 infallible ejector, and, according to him, the only one 
 in the trade that really works properly. It is not, how- 
 ever what a picked gun in a shop will do in the hands 
 
30 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 of its inventor; it will there jerk out the cartridges 
 with force enough to put your eye out or break the 
 windows. What one requires to know is, what the 
 gun will do in the field with hard usage. I write 
 * hard usage ' advisedly, for a gun must stand that or 
 nothing, as we do not want guns that require extra 
 care or moderate use. They must all be to use a 
 school phrase as ' hard as nails,' and fit for anything. 
 There are only a few really reliable ejectors in the 
 market at present, and which do their work in a 
 manner that defies criticism ; and I consider the best 
 are those of Mr. Purdey, Mr. Holland, Mr. Greener, 
 Messrs. Westley-Eichards (Deely's patent), Mr. Lan- 
 caster, 1 Mr. Woodward, Mr. Grant, Mr. Boss, Messrs. 
 Cogswell & Harrison, Messrs. Eigby, and last, certainly 
 not least in its excellence, Mr. Maleham's. 
 
 That ejectors are the guns of the future there is 
 not the slightest doubt; for a shooter is quite as ready 
 to appreciate and patronise a decided convenience as 
 any one else. If a shooter can afford 40L to 451. , by 
 all means let him purchase an ejector, as for this 
 price he should be able to get a good one. I do not 
 believe a less sum could purchase one such as I should 
 
 1 Though Mr. Lancaster's guns are most admirably turned out 
 none better and his ' ejector ' is as good as any, it is only fair to state 
 that the mechanism of the latter, as well as of many other 'ejectors,' 
 is the invention of Mr. Perkes, of 14 Castle Street, Berners Street, 
 London, who deserves praise for contriving so simple and reliable 
 an ' ejecting action,' and one which can be fitted to almost any ham- 
 merless gun by the substitution of a new fore-end. 
 
in. EJECTOR GUNS 31 
 
 care to recommend ; for ' ejectors ' are still in their 
 infancy, as far as the trade of gun-making generally is 
 concerned, or they would be sold at a more moderate 
 sum than is now the case. 
 
 A well-made ejector one that works smoothly, 
 and does not require more leverage to cock it than 
 an ordinary hammerless can, without doubt, be 
 loaded and fired with great rapidity ; so fast, indeed, 
 that a dozen shots in quick succession out of each 
 barrel would make the gun too hot to hold. 
 
 The great advantage of an ejector is, that a man 
 who uses but one gun can, if occasion demand, shoot 
 nearly as fast as if he had two guns and a loader. 
 This, of course, means bagging more game. And it 
 is no very difficult feat for a shooter armed with an 
 ejector to drop three partridges, one by one, out of a 
 covey rising near him so quickly can he reload. 
 
 But an ejector needs be very perfect in every de- 
 tail ; and it is no advantage that it can be used as an 
 ordinary gun should its ejecting mechanism fail an 
 alternative sometimes described by its inventor as a 
 recommendation. If we give an extra price for an 
 ejector, we expect it to act as one, and not as an 
 ordinary hammerless ; and a statement of this kind 
 implies a want of faith on the part of the maker of 
 the gun in regard to its reliability. 
 
 Most ejectors, however well they eject, have one 
 decided disadvantage ; and that is, they do not with- 
 draw unfired cases far enough for the shooter con- 
 
32 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 veniently to unload with cold fingers, or to enable him 
 to extract a case which is at all tight. Many ejectors 
 do not draw back a loaded case more than a sixteenth 
 to an eighth of an inch, which gives a very small 
 edge for the fingers to grasp, particularly if the 
 barrels have dolls'-heads, or other unsightly projec- 
 tions to take up space, and shut out the base of the 
 cartridge from the fingers when it is wished to with- 
 draw the former. The extractors of an ejector should 
 project, when the gun is opened in an unfired state, a 
 full quarter of an inch. Messrs. Purdey's ejectors are 
 particularly good in this respect. 1 
 
 When about to purchase an ejector, be careful to 
 ascertain that, if the barrels compress the main- 
 springs on opening, the locks are cocked before the 
 cartridges are ejected. Open the gun very slowly, and 
 you will hear the locks cock by the clicking sound they 
 give, either before or after the cartridges are jerked 
 out, as the case may be. This is important in an 
 ejector, as the fact of the cartridges being ejected 
 gives, especially to an assistant, the idea that the gun 
 may be closed, and is ready for use. 
 
 For this reason I prefer an ejector that cocks as 
 
 1 Not long since, when examining an ejector, and pointing out 
 what a slight distance its extractors withdrew the unfired cases, I was 
 told, with an air of triumph : ' The great advantage of an ejector, sir, is 
 that you never require to unload, as the gun does that for you.' 
 This is all wrong ; for a man who values his life, as well as the lives 
 of others, will frequently have to unload in a clay's shooting ; and as- 
 suredly this act should be as easy ic its performance as it can be made. 
 
in. EJECTOR GUNS 33 
 
 the barrels are closed, after the cases are ejected ; there 
 can then be no possible doubt about the gun being 
 ready for firing. Perhaps the best ejector of all is the 
 one that half-cocks its locks on opening the breech, 
 and full-cocks them on closing it. The gun that does 
 this divides its work very evenly, and is pleasant in 
 use, as no particular exercise of strength is required to 
 charge it ; and it can certainly be fired and reloaded 
 faster than can a gun that compresses its springs in 
 the one motion of either opening or closing. 
 
34 LETTRES TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 LETTER IV 
 
 ON THE FIT AND CHOICE OF A GUN, AND 
 THE BEST GUN TO USE AS ADAPTED TO 
 DIFFERENT SHOOTEES 
 
 THE FIT OF A GUN 
 
 IN the actual choice of a gun, irrespective of its quali- 
 ties and mechanism, there is a good deal of judgment 
 required. A would-be purchaser may enter a shop, 
 and take up gun after gun till he has handled a score, 
 and yet feel conscious though he cannot tell why 
 that he has not even then had in his hands a gun 
 that seems to come up to his shoulder and eye as 
 pleasantly and satisfactorily as he is confident it 
 should do if it really suited him. 
 
 A clever gunmaker, who has made a specialty of 
 fitting guns, and has really succeeded in doing so, 
 tells by instinct as much as by rule the kind of 
 weapon to offer to individual shooters : he can note 
 the attitudes and detect the faults of a shooter's posi- 
 tion far better than can the handler of the gun him- 
 self ; and if the latter had a hundred guns from 
 amongst which to select, unassisted, a suitable bend 
 and cast-off adapted to his figure, he might doubt and 
 
IV. 
 
 THE FIT OF A GUN 35 
 
 hesitate, and in the end, perhaps, be no better off than 
 when he began to pick and choose ; though a gun- 
 maker, if an adept at fitting a gun, would at once put his 
 customer on the road to success. Therefore, if possible, 
 always get fitted with a gun by an accomplished gun- 
 maker ; and when he tells you the gun fits, and you 
 feel and prove that it does so, you may rest content. 
 
 It is of as much importance to a shooter that his 
 gun should fit him, as it is for it to shoot well ; as, 
 however well a gun may shoot, this good quality 
 cannot be taken advantage of unless, in the first place, 
 the gun is adapted to its user. It is impossible for the 
 best of shots to aim correctly if his gun misfits him ; 
 how much more such a deficiency would affect a bad 
 or even a moderate marksman may be imagined. 
 
 The broad principle of trying a gun's fit is for the 
 shooter to fling 1 it quickly up from the hip to the 
 shoulder, and, without the slightest hesitation, aim at 
 a small mark level with the eye some few yards dis- 
 tant. If he finds the sight comes fair on the mark 
 
 1 I purposely write fling, as this word implies just what a man 
 should do with his gun when about to fire at game, or even test it 
 at a target to see if it fits him. A good, quick marksman seldom aims, 
 in the sense of drawing a sight on his bird he has no time to do so ; 
 he flings his gun to the shoulder, directing it towards the game he 
 desires to kill, without really sighting his mark, or looking for the 
 muzzle of the gun. If his gun fits him perfectly, the shooter will 
 find that, by merely pointing the barrels at an object, the sight will 
 come up to his wishes almost without fail, whether in daylight or 
 dusk. It is usually the man who closes one eye who takes the steady 
 aim that, from the time expended thereon, so often results in a miss 
 behind at a crossing shot. 
 
 D 2 
 
36 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS- LETTER 
 
 time after time, without the aim requiring any cor- 
 rection, at the moment the gun reaches the shoulder, 
 it will not be, at all events, a bad fit, whatever its 
 shape; and though the shooter may not be able to 
 kill as well with the gun as he might do with a still 
 better-fitting one, he will not shoot badly, taking into 
 consideration, of course, his powers of marksmanship 
 and eye. But the gun needs to come up, when put to 
 the shoulder, straight on the mark chosen, whether 
 the latter be high, low, right, left, or centre. 
 
 The shooter should snap one lock the instant he 
 sights the mark, and notice if his aim is thereby 
 diverted, as the pull-off of the trigger often affects the 
 steadiness of the muzzle if the former is not suited 
 to the hand and finger of the sportsman. 
 
 The best object to aim at is a black seal, 1 inch 
 in diameter, set in the centre of a piece of white card, 
 8 inches square, with a red seal in each of its corners. 
 The shooter can then readily discover, when aiming 
 quickly, if the sight of his gun comes up fair on the 
 centre seal, or if it rests on either corner of the card, 
 high or low, to one side or the other. 
 
 A little practice of this kind, when trying a gun, 
 is of immense advantage, as it is obvious that, how- 
 ever good or bad a shot a man may be, if his gun does 
 not point accurately on the object he aims at he is 
 obliged to alter his sight in fact, to readjust it ; and 
 slow shooting is the natural result of taking two sights 
 instead of one. 
 
iv. THE FIT OF A GUN 37 
 
 THE FIT OF THE STOCK OF A GUN 
 
 It is worth remembering that, if a gun, on being 
 put quickly to the shoulder and snapped 
 
 (1) Points too low, or under the mark, then the 
 stock of the gun is either too short for the shooter or 
 too much bent. 
 
 (2) If it points high, the stock is too straight. 
 
 (3) If the gun points to the right, the stock is 
 cast-off too much to the right. 
 
 (4) If to the left, it has not sufficient cast-off to 
 the right. 
 
 Though the stocks of guns have to be bent some 
 much, some little to match the figure of the shooter, 
 he should recollect that, the straighter a stock he can 
 use, the quicker and more accurate will be his aim, 
 especially in regard to all overhead shots or driven 
 game. A long-armed or tall man generally requires a 
 gun with a long stock and well bent ; and a short man, 
 a short and straight stock. A broad-chested man 
 requires a stock with a fair amount of cast-off to the 
 right, so as to bring the barrels to the left, and in line 
 with his sight, instead of his having to bring his face 
 to the stock, as would be his case with a gun without 
 sufficient cast-off to the right. A narrow-chested man 
 will require very little cast-off, as his stock will be 
 
38 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 nearer to his face, and the barrels naturally more in 
 line with his eyes. 
 
 Though there are shooters whose marksmanship 
 does not improve, whatever alterations be made to 
 their guns, yet there is many a bad shot whose powers 
 of aiming correctly can often be much assisted by 
 merely altering the slope of the butt of his gun at the 
 heel, as well as by regulating the cast-off of the stock 
 to his figure. 
 
 If a gun shoots low, the slope of its heel can be 
 straightened with good effect. If it shoots too high, 
 the heel can be sloped more than it is, and the gun 
 thereby caused to come up level with the eye in con- 
 sequence of the alteration. But all this requires to 
 be done with great care and judgment, and most 
 cautiously, as a very little shaping of the heel makes 
 a great deal of difference in the fit of the gun. 
 
 When trying a gun, allow the coat to be buttoned 
 close and smooth over the chest. Out shooting, a 
 thin patch of leather on the shoulder is of great 
 service, and much assists in bringing the butt tightly 
 and evenly to the figure. Bear in mind, too, that a gun 
 does not really fit unless its entire butt comes fair and 
 square, in all positions of aiming, against the hollow 
 of the shoulder ; for, the better and more truly the butt 
 fits the shoulder, the more comfortable will the gun be 
 in use, and the less will its recoil be felt. 
 
 I have heard a shooter laughingly exclaim that he 
 could not shoot on such a day because he was wearing 
 
iv. THE FIT OF A GUN 39 
 
 his winter gun with his summer coat. This seems 
 absurd ; but still there is a certain amount of truth in 
 the idea, as a thin coat might appear to appreciably 
 shorten the stock of a gun, while a thick coat would 
 have a reverse effect. 
 
 The balance of a gun has also a good deal to do 
 with the recoil, for a badly-balanced gun will always 
 recoil more than one that is well balanced. Most 
 cheap guns are very inferior in the matter of balance, 
 their muzzles being too heavy and strong a sign of 
 rough workmanship, as the weight should be at the 
 breech, not at the muzzle; the latter only requires 
 to be strong enough to resist indentation. 
 
 Another thing which affects recoil is the handle of 
 the stock of a gun. In a common gun it is round, 
 and hence feels loose and clumsy, and the stock is apt 
 to turn in the hand, when the gun is put to the shoulder, 
 as a result. The handle of a gun should be egg- 
 shaped in its cross-section ; this part requires careful 
 finishing, but, when well designed, gives a comfortable 
 grasp and a firm and easy position to the right hand ; 
 for if the handle of a gun is thus correctly shaped, it 
 assists the shooter, as it causes the butt to come evenly 
 against his shoulder, and enables him to keep the gun 
 level when taking aim. 
 
 A bruised arm and face are sure to result if the 
 butt of a gun does not sit properly against the chest ; 
 and this is particularly the case when the top of its 
 heel projects over the top of the shooter's shoulder. 
 
4O LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 A gun that fits a shooter well requires less exer- 
 tion to aim with, and appears to weigh lighter, than 
 one that does not. It is this important attribute of 
 fitting a gun that our best makers succeed in bringing 
 to such perfection when a customer gives them 
 the opportunity of doing so ; and it is hard upon 
 a gunmaker's reputation when he does not have 
 the chance of obtaining success in this important 
 part of his business. Of course, hundreds of guns 
 are ordered straight from London or Birmingham 
 without a trial of any kind ; sometimes they fit, and 
 more times they do not ; and the consequence is, that 
 a gun is often blamed as a poor performer in the 
 field merely because it does not suit its owner's 
 figure, and, as a result, he is unable to shoot straight 
 with it. 1 
 
 It is not an unusual custom for a shooter to select 
 from the guns he sees in a shop one which he thinks 
 fits him ; he then orders an exact copy, and in due 
 course this is sent home. It has then to be taken for 
 better or for worse; it may give satisfaction, or it 
 may not, though with practice it will probably fairly 
 well meet his requirements. On the other hand, the 
 
 1 A London gunmaker has immense . experience in the matter of 
 different and unusual eyesight, as he is brought into frequent con- 
 tact with sportsmen who describe their peculiarities in this respect 
 with a view to correction. London has a great advantage over Bir- 
 mingham in this matter; but I must not say too much, or we shall 
 have the gunmakers of the latter town sitting in solemn conclave 
 to assure us that a man's eyesight can be judged from his hand- 
 writing. 
 
iv. THE FIT OF A GUN 41 
 
 shooter may consider the mechanism and requisite 
 capabilities of his gun in the first place, and trust to 
 his gunmaker fitting the gun to him properly when it 
 is near completion the latter being the best method 
 to adopt. 
 
 If a shooter is abroad, and wishes to have an exact 
 copy of a favourite gun, let him lay it on a thin, 
 smooth board, and trace its outline in pencil, after- 
 wards cutting the model out with a fine saw. This is 
 far better than trusting to measurements, which may 
 be right, and may be wrong. The model can be cut 
 in half, or even in three pieces, with a view to porta- 
 bility by post ; and at the time it is forwarded to the 
 gunmaker, measurements of the shooter's height, 
 length of arm, and especially his chest measurement 
 across the shoulders, should be included, so as to give 
 an idea of the amount of cast-off required in the stock. 
 
 There is no extra expense to a shooter in having 
 his gun made to fit him properly ; and care in this 
 respect is amply repaid after purchase. If a shooter 
 is conscious his gun is all that it should be in its fit 
 and performances, he knows that any fault of marks- 
 manship lies apart from the gun, and by practice and 
 perseverance may be cured. On the other hand, if 
 he has reason for doubting the quality and suitability 
 of his gun, he is inclined, and perhaps rightly, to blame 
 wood and iron more than hand and eye. 
 
 Most gunmakers have private ranges at which to 
 try guns. A shooter should visit one of these, and 
 
42 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 aim and fire quickly a series of shots at a black bull's- 
 eye in the centre of a 4 ft. square white target, and 
 after each discharge carefully notice if the centre of 
 the shot-circle covers the mark ; till this occurs the 
 gun does not suit him. 
 
 The distance in these experiments can be thirty 
 paces, so that the outline of the circle made by the shot 
 may be well defined. Before commencing, the gun may 
 be fired fair on the bull's-eye, as if it were a rifle, to 
 see if it acts its part and places the charge from each 
 barrel accurately ; for if the gun does not perform as 
 it should, all endeavours on the part of the shooter 
 will be so much time wasted. 
 
 When firing at a target with a new gun, it is well 
 to discover, on discharging the right barrel, if the 
 muzzle flies upwards to an undue extent though it 
 always will do so more or less. A friend looking on 
 can see if this occurs ; and the shooter can himself 
 ascertain if it does by firing both barrels rapidly in 
 succession at the same mark, without taking the gun 
 down from the shoulder, and then noticing whether 
 the pattern of the second shot is placed clear of the 
 first one ; if the latter occurrence takes place, the gun 
 jumps too much in the shooter's grasp, from being a 
 bad fit. 
 
 It is curious, to say the least, that a shooter will 
 often adhere to one style of stock in his gun all his life. 
 When he buys a new gun, off goes an old one to be 
 copied exactly, because it fitted him a score years before. 
 
iv. THE FIT OF A GUN 43 
 
 He then wonders why on earth he does not shoot with 
 his new gun as well as he did with his old one of long 
 ago, and the gunmaker is dubbed a careless fellow. The 
 shooter, perhaps, omits to consider that, in the course 
 of years, his outline is changed which necessitates a 
 changed outline in the stock of his gun and that the 
 latter will require to be adapted to the alteration in 
 his figure as much as does the fit of his clothes. The 
 tailor is given a chance of doing this, whilst the gun- 
 maker is overlooked. The very best contrivance ever 
 devised for discovering the style of gun that is 
 most suitable to a shooter, whatever his figure or eye- 
 sight, is Jones's ' Try Gun.' This capital invention is 
 a gun that can be altered by a twist here, and a screw 
 there, to any variety of shape in regard to cast-off, 
 slope of stock, bend, and so forth. As a natural result, 
 a shooter can blaze away with this article either at live 
 birds or at a target till his success shows him the try 
 gun fits him. All that is then necessary is a new gun, 
 or his old stock altered to the same shape an easy 
 matter. Let any young shooter give a call in at 
 Mr. Henry Holland's, 98 New Bond Street, and see 
 this ' dodge ' ; it is worth a visit. 
 
 THE SELECTION OF A GUN IN KEGAKD TO IT3 
 WEIGHT AND CHAKGE 
 
 I have so far spoken of the choosing of a gun 
 in regard to its fit ; but a good deal has to be 
 considered concerning the best gun for a shooter to 
 
44 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 use in the field in relation to his powers of aiming, 
 his strength, and the description of sport he expects 
 to enjoy. A gun, whether it be the usual 12-bore or 
 a smaller size, may, as far as mere fit goes, suit equally 
 well; but the shooter has to consider many things 
 besides this very necessary feature of his gun. For 
 instance, if a shooter is not of a strong build, he should 
 carry a gun to match his strength one that, when he 
 is a little tired, does not seem as if the barrels had a 
 lump of lead at the muzzle when put up for a shot. 
 There is no surer sign of a gun being too heavy than 
 if, at the end of the day, the muzzle points under the 
 mark, or when, on bringing it to the shoulder in the 
 evening, it seems a pound or two heavier than it did 
 in the morning. 
 
 A gun that is in the least degree too heavy for the 
 arms of a shooter is a sad failure, and implies incor- 
 rect aiming for the latter half of the day at least ; and 
 I strongly advise a young shooter, in purchasing a new 
 gun, to put it to his shoulder many times in succes- 
 sion, in order to discover whether he can keep its 
 muzzle on the mark he aims at when his arms are 
 more or less fatigued. 
 
 A shooter should be able to put his gun up and 
 down correctly at a mark quite thirty times as rapidly 
 as he can go through the movements of aiming and 
 shouldering ; and with a little practice he may do so 
 as many as forty times ; though it takes quite an 
 athlete to do so fifty times (try, and see !) Placing the 
 
iv. THE SELECTION OF A GUN 45 
 
 actual fit of your gun out of the question, you will 
 find such exercise as this, if regularly repeated, of 
 great advantage in strengthening the arms, and 
 enabling you to bring your gun in line with anything 
 you direct it towards. 
 
 If a gun is too heavy for a man's strength at first, 
 it will always be so, especially in regard to quick 
 aiming which means placing the muzzle fair on the 
 game, or the point chosen by the eyes, directly the 
 gun is put to the shoulder. 
 
 Of course, where money is not an object, a shooter 
 can, if he wishes, possess several guns. For instance, 
 a friend of mine uses a light gun in August and Sep- 
 tember for walking up partridges or young grouse, 
 with or without dogs ; he uses a still lighter one for 
 rabbits ; a fairly heavy gun for grouse-driving, and 
 one still more powerful for hares, pheasants, wood- 
 pigeons, or ducks. In the case of men who have a 
 good deal of shooting, a pair of guns are often in use 
 at the same time. So that a very extensive and costly 
 outfit might easily be selected, and yet all the guns 
 brought into use, on different occasions, by those 
 sportsmen whose pockets are well filled, and who, 
 taking a pleasure in possessing a regular ' armoury,' 
 do not mind carrying guns of unequal weights at 
 different seasons of the year. 
 
 But for average sport, a pair of guns, or even one 
 gun if but an occasional day's shooting be indulged in, 
 is amply sufficient: so that a good general gun or 
 
46 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 pair of guns for all-round sport throughout the season 
 is what most people need consider. For my part, I 
 am convinced that a shooter should avoid using guns 
 of varied weights on game, as nothing is more likely 
 to put him off his shooting than so doing; and 
 whether he has six guns or a pair, each and all should 
 balance and fit just the same, so that no divergence 
 can be detected when putting them to the shoulder ; 
 else an uncertain aim, and, of course, indifferent 
 shooting, may be the result. 
 
 I certainly recommend on all occasions a 12 -bore, 
 whether the gun requires to be light or heavy, or 
 whether small, moderate, or full charges have to be 
 fired. Depend upon it, this size is far the most 
 useful one for every bird or animal, in our game 
 list or out of it, which we are accustomed to meet 
 with during an ordinary day's sport; and that a 
 12-bore can be adapted to any shooter's require- 
 ments I am equally confident. 
 
 Guns of 16-, 20-, and 28-bore always handle and 
 feel pleasant, especially in a gunmaker's shop, and 
 give the idea that they must be easy to hit with as a 
 natural consequence ; but from numerous experiments, 
 both at the target and in the field, I can positively 
 state that any bore smaller than a 12 is not so effec- 
 tive on game, nor so easy to aim straight with, as the 
 latter size. Small-gauge barrels of necessity shoot 
 weaker than a larger size: they have a more open 
 pattern if cylinders, and a closer if chokes ; they do 
 
iv. THE SELECTION OF A GUN 47 
 
 not shoot so regularly, and, in proportion, recoil more 
 than do 12-bores. Of course, a 16 comes nearest to a 
 12 ; but even a 16 has these disadvantages, though 
 on a lesser scale than a 20 the latter being the 
 favourite weapon of the small-bore shooter. 
 
 I will therefore take a 20 as an example ; for not 
 only do the patrons of these guns vow they kill as 
 well as a 12-bore, but, some people will tell you, even 
 better. Until, however, I can be persuaded that black 
 is white, or the reverse, I will never believe that a 20, 
 firing a charge of three-quarters, or even seven-eighths 
 of an ounce of shot, can possibly rival in effectiveness 
 a 12-bore gun firing an ounce, or an ounce and an 
 eighth; any more than that a half-pound weight 
 dropping on one's toes can strike with as much force 
 as a weight of three-quarters of a pound. 
 
 There is, in every charge of shot fired from a 12- 
 bore, always a number of pellets that diverge, and 
 are, as a result, weak in regard to their striking 
 force. In the case of a 20-bore there are still more ; 
 and, from the charge being smaller, the 20 can, least of 
 the two, afford to waste any pellets, if its pattern is to 
 be a serviceable one. 
 
 When a charge of shot is fired from a gun, the top 
 pellets, being farthest from the powder, obtain the 
 least propelling power, and are chiefly driven out by 
 the pellets behind them, and so cannot be relied on 
 for regularity of flight and velocity. Consequently, 
 the closer the shot lies to the wads over the powder, 
 
48 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 the stronger are the pellets propelled ; and it is easy 
 to see that, the smaller the bore of a gun, the more 
 elongated in proportion is the charge of shot, and the 
 farther from the powder will the upper half of the 
 charge lie; hence the larger average of weak and 
 wasted pellets in a small-bore gun. 
 
 A small-bore gun, on account of the narrowness of 
 its barrels, is never so easy to aim with as one of 
 larger size and, of course, greater width; and the 
 more like aiming with a rifle, or a single-barrelled gun, 
 is the natural result. 
 
 Provided it is aimed perfectly true, a shooter may 
 place enough pellets into his game to kill it at 40 
 yards with a full-choked 20, or even 28, if the pene- 
 tration of his gun is equally satisfactory. But the 
 former is no easy feat to perform regularly, and the 
 latter attribute the gun cannot attain to the same 
 extent as a 12 -bore. 
 
 How often have I heard and read of shooters who 
 state that they have killed their game time after time 
 with a 20 as well and far as any one could do with a 
 12-bore, and who carefully quote, in support of such 
 imaginary performances, the occasional long shots 
 they have made. All I can say is, I have never seen 
 a 20 nearly equal a 12 for efficiency, though I have 
 tried this bore often enough. But with a 20-bore I 
 have seen game regularly and constantly wounded 
 that, if struck with a 12, would have dropped dead. 
 Often, too, have I heard a man shooting with a 20 
 
iv. THE SELECTION OF A GUN 49 
 
 say, ' I can't imagine how I missed that bird/ when 
 I had noticed that he had not missed his bird, but had 
 in reality wounded it. 
 
 It is worth remark that No. 5 shot contains too 
 few pellets to the ounce for the charge of a 20-bore 
 (unless the gun is a full-choke) ; and gunmakers, as 
 well as those who use these small weapons, admit 
 that, in order to obtain a fair pattern, No. 7 shot is 
 best suited to their capabilities. Now, if a man 
 wishes to wound at a long range, and spoil game at a 
 short one, he could not choose a more suitable size 
 than this. 
 
 I do not deny that a 20-bore will kill birds well 
 enough early in the season at moderate distances; 
 but I most emphatically declare that, for fairly wild 
 game, a 20-bore does not approach a 12 in general 
 usefulness or excellence. As to a 28, I merely regard 
 it as a contrivance to wound, save when used on 
 game at a short range ; and a gun that will only kill 
 well at a short range, and wounds at a fairly long one, 
 is not the class of weapon a shooter ought to carry. 1 
 
 In regard to all small-bores, it should be remem- 
 bered that long shots now and then go for nothing; 
 they are but chances that occur with any gun, as a 
 very long shot may merely result from one random 
 pellet chancing to take its flight into the head or 
 
 1 I will qualify the above by saying I have found a 28-bore a 
 useful little ' spitfire ' for killing water-rats, as well as for bagging 
 small birds to feed my trained hawks with. 
 
5o LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 heart of a bird ; and, to my mind, nothing shows the 
 decided inferiority of small-bores so effectively as a few 
 shots with them at strong, high pheasants or hares 
 crossing at a good distance. It is, in fact, impossible 
 for any shooter of an observant nature and unpre- 
 judiced mind not to remark the poor performance 
 of a 20-bore on such occasions, as compared with even 
 a light 12-bore. 
 
 It is often said when small-bore guns are dis- 
 cussed, that our ancestors used them successfully. 
 True, so they did ; but they used them on the tame 
 birds of long ago birds that generally rose at nearer 
 18 than 35 yards ; the latter being a usual distance 
 for game to be killed at in the present day when 
 rising in front of the shooter late in the season. 
 
 A favourite argument on behalf of small-bores is 
 that, for the old, the weak, or the young, they are, 
 from their lightness, easy to carry. But this argu- 
 ment does not really apply, as, if required, a 12-bore 
 can now be made as light as a 20-bore, and to shoot 
 the same charges as the latter size. This the 12-bores 
 undoubtedly do, with better penetration and pattern, 
 and with less recoil ; and, what is more, they are far 
 more easy to aim correctly with, and are also, to a 
 certain extent, safer as well, for the strain on the dis- 
 charge of a 20 is always more severe than is the case 
 with a 12-bore. 
 
 If a shooter requires a light gun, let him select a 
 light 12-bore, and he will shoot better with it than. 
 
iv. THE SELECTION OF A GUN 51 
 
 he will with a 20, or even with a 16 ; and this fact 
 I can with every confidence assert, after countless 
 experiments of my own, and after carefully noting 
 scores of shooters, using all sizes of guns, on all kinds 
 of game. 
 
 For a general gun suitable for English game 
 throughout the season, and adapted to an ordinary 
 shooter of fair marksmanship and moderate strength, 
 I should recommend a 12-bore gun of 6| lb., or a 
 trifle under, with 29 in. barrels, to fire 3 dr. of black 
 powder or 42 gr. of a nitro-compound, the charge of 
 shot l T Voz. of No. 6. 
 
 The gun for a man of weak physique should be one 
 of 6 Jib. weight, 28 in. barrels, the charge a light 
 3 dr. of black or 40 gr. of nitro-compound, and 1 oz. 
 of No. 6 shot. 
 
 For the shooter who cannot carry 6 J lb. with 
 comfort all day, and requires something still lighter, 
 a 12-bore gun can be easily built for him by a 
 good maker weighing 5 jib., which will be perfectly 
 reliable, and from which he can shoot 2| dr. of powder 
 and | oz. to 1 oz. of No. 6 shot both safely and effec- 
 tively, the barrels being 27 in. in length. With a 
 gun like this a shooter will be more successful than 
 with a 20-bore of 5J lb,, as the 12-bore will have better 
 penetration and pattern, will come up easier and more 
 accurately to the shoulder, recoil considerably less, 
 and in reality be just as handy and light to carry as 
 the 20. Any one who requires a lighter gun than this 
 
 E 2 
 
52 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 had better not shoot, unless he is remorseless in the 
 matter of wounding his game. 
 
 A powerful man can use a 12-bore of 7 lb., or a 
 trifle less, shooting 1 J oz. of No. 5 or No. 6 shot, and 
 3 dr. of black or 43 to 44 gr. of a nitro-compound. A 
 shooter in good health and of good physique should 
 not feel in the least tired from using a 7 lb. gun, even 
 at the end of a long day's sport ; and weight, when 
 unfelt, gives an advantage in the matter of strength, 
 recoil, hard hitting, and steadiness of aim. 
 
 It is worthy of notice that a shooter will do well 
 to avoid selecting a gun with a pistol-hand. This 
 arrangement is a good one for rifles, as it gives a 
 strong and firm grip, and assists in steadying the aim ; 
 but when applied to a shot-gun it is an undoubted 
 mistake, as it confines the right hand too much, and 
 hinders it from moving with the gun, or from quickly 
 grasping it to fire a snap-shot. A pistol-hand is also 
 in another way detrimental to quick shooting, for it 
 prevents the hand slipping back, as is intuitively done 
 by a shooter before he can fire the left trigger 
 the result being a slow second barrel after a miss 
 with the first. 
 
 Let me here remark that, for all-round shooting, 
 there is no advantage whatever in the traditional cus- 
 tom of having one barrel of a gun bored to fire a closer 
 pattern than the other, especially as regards driven 
 game, as in the latter case, taking the shots that offer 
 one with another, there is no constant difference in 
 
iv. THE SELECTION OF A GUN 53 
 
 the ranges at which the birds pass overhead; and, 
 even when walking up partridges or grouse, it generally 
 occurs that the first to rise are the old birds, as they 
 are the wildest, and hence a long shot to the right 
 barrel is as likely as to the left one. Gunmakers 
 seem to imagine that it is the constant habit of game 
 to rise in pairs, and offer a near and then a distant 
 shot in succession to each barrel as fired. If a shooter 
 fired all his life at pigeons sprung from traps, or made 
 it a rule to miss with his first barrel, it would be 
 another matter. 
 
54 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 LETTER V 
 
 THE CHOICE OF GUNS (continued), WITH 
 REMARKS ON THEIR FASTENINGS, THE 
 MERITS OF STEEL AND DAMASCUS, AND 
 THE LENGTH OF GUN-BARRELS 
 
 THE MECHANISM OF A GUN 
 
 WHEN choosing a gun, a shooter should very carefully 
 examine all the fastenings, large and small, that con- 
 nect the barrels with the metal-work of the stock, to 
 see if they work smoothly in opening and closing, and, 
 above all, fit perfectly, without any sign of a crevice or 
 symptom of a shake. 1 
 
 As to top fastenings, there are scores of them, 
 of all shapes and sizes, but very few that are of any 
 use ; for a good gun can be made just as strong and 
 safe without, and at the same time be more convenient 
 in use, less liable to damage, far easier to repair if 
 necessary, and a handsomer article into the bargain ! 
 
 Of course, gunmakers who have favourite top- 
 
 1 To test a gun to discover if it has any ' shake ' in its joints, hold 
 its heel in the palm of the left hand, and, grasping the handle of its 
 stock firmly in the right hand, move the gun several times strongly and 
 quickly from side to side, its barrels directed upwards. 
 
T. THE MECHANISM OF A GUN 55 
 
 fastenings of their own invention declare no gun is 
 safe without some such addition ; but it is rare to see 
 a gun with a dolTs-head, extension rib, cross-bolt, or 
 any other unsightly device of the kind, except when 
 it is of Birmingham make, or is sold at a low figure. 
 
 The few best London makers who add a top fasten- 
 ing always construct it as small and neat as possible ; 
 and if asked why they spoil the look of their guns in 
 this fashion, when they are sufficiently strong without 
 such a disfigurement, will reply : ' We are bound to 
 act thus, as the public fancy that the more fastenings 
 a gun has, the stronger it is ' ; and that, if a gun had 
 half a dozen * grips ' round the breech, many gentle- 
 men would imagine (they are sometimes told so) that 
 such a gun would be just six times as safe as a gun 
 with one fastening. 
 
 Putting three or four extra fastenings to the breech 
 of a gun is like using several threads for a bow-string 
 which do not pull together, instead of one strong 
 string that does ; the latter in this case being repre- 
 sented by the usual lumps under the barrels. 
 
 The only top fastenings I am aware of which really 
 add strength to a gun in some slight degree are those 
 of Messrs. Westley-Eichards and Mr. W. W. Greener. 
 The mechanism of the latter is preferable, but it has 
 the disadvantage that, with rough work, sand or rust 
 stops it from acting freely; and, though liking its 
 principle under conditions favourable to its success, I 
 have for this reason had to discontinue its use at sea, 
 
56 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LKTIBI 
 
 and even on shore when shooting where dust or 
 sand is blown about, as I have several times been 
 unable to close the lever of a cross-bolt gun in the 
 midst of a * drive ' through particles of grit having 
 lodged in the mechanism. At the same time, if a 
 shooter, for some private reason, persists in having 
 a top fastening to his gun, he cannot have a neater- 
 looking one than Mr. Greener's ; and I certainly 
 consider that Mr. Greener's guns approach nearer 
 in their general excellence to best London guns than 
 do those of any other provincial maker I am ac- 
 quainted with. 
 
 A cheap gun one about 151. or so is very rarely 
 made without a top fastening ; not to speak of other 
 unusual grips never seen in a best London, or even a 
 best Birmingham, gun. In a cheap gun the top exten- 
 sion and other intricate devices for holding the barrels 
 to the breech are usually of clumsy appearance ; and, of 
 course, when made of large size, as is then the case, 
 they are bound to have a certain influence on the 
 strength of the gun, especially when the lumps under 
 the barrels and the barrels themselves are badly fitted 
 and of inferior construction and design. Nevertheless, 
 a gun sold as having several * grips ' may always be 
 looked upon as being a second-rate piece of work, that 
 requires an extra amount of strength, real or imagi- 
 nary, to hold it together. 
 
 How often have I heard it asserted that no gun, 
 good or bad, is really safe without a top fastening, 
 
v. THE MECHANISM OF A GUN 57 
 
 and that a gun is far stronger with than without this 
 complex addition! How, would I ask, is it, then, 
 that I, and hundreds of others, who use guns devoid 
 of top fastenings, fire year after year thousands and 
 thousands of shots without these cumbrous contriv- 
 ances ? I confess I like facts ; and this is one that is 
 rather to the point. The advocates of top fastenings 
 sometimes give most amusing reasons for their use, 
 such as that they prevent the barrels of a gun 
 springing from the standing breech, or from moving 
 laterally ; as if the lumps secured to the barrels, 
 and that fit into the slots cut for them in the 
 metal-work of the stock, would not, if well fitted, 
 entirely obviate any such movements. If these lumps 
 were to break off, all the multitude of ' fancy grips ' 
 and top fastenings that could be put to a gun would 
 tear away like so much paper. 
 
 No ; a good gun does not require these popular but 
 little understood, and generally useless, additions, and 
 is amply strong enough without them ; and this I 
 can testify to from the experience of hard shooting 
 for a good many years. 
 
 That these projections are greatly in the way an 
 impartial observer can see for himself, especially if he 
 be out shooting when his fingers are cold or wet. 
 Indeed, it is scarcely possible to get a grip with an 
 extractor with some of these top-fastened guns, the 
 breech-end of their barrels being so blocked up with 
 hooks and knobs, and tags and bobs, and what not 
 
58 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 besides, that only about a quarter of the rim of a cart- 
 ridge is available to take a pull at. We cannot all afford 
 to purchase ejectors ; and even with the latter the same 
 arguments apply, when it is necessary to withdraw a 
 loaded case, should the gun be fitted with projections 
 of the kind I have alluded to. 
 
 The strongest, neatest, and simplest fastening for 
 a gun ever devised is Mr. Purdey's. It is one now 
 utilised by nearly every gunmaker in the kingdom ; 
 and a gun properly fitted with his ' snap -bolt action ' 
 will stand as hard work and last as long a time as 
 any gun can do. I have known many guns with the 
 Purdey action, and without any projection on the 
 breech to add to their safety, that have fired 5,000 shots 
 a season for years without a symptom of the shakiness 
 or other necessity for repair which the advocates of 
 the doll's-head and top fastenings declare is sure to take 
 place without these ugly and fanciful incumbrances. 
 
 Should a gun without a top fastening require 
 tightening up, it can be cheaply and easily set right ; 
 but if a gun with a top fastening wears loose, it is a 
 troublesome affair to even make it appear tight again. 
 I write ' appear ' because, in nine cases out of ten, 
 any such refitting cannot be really done at all, though 
 at first it may seem that it has been. 
 
STEEL AND DAMASCUS BARRELS 59 
 
 STEEL AND DAMASCUS BAEKELS 
 
 The best material for gun-barrels is an oft-discussed 
 question among sportsmen, more especially in relation 
 to the merits of Damascus and steel. There is only 
 one class of steel that a gunmaker should use in 
 the manufacture of his barrels, and that is the best. 
 Though there are several kinds of steel, of various 
 degrees of excellence, there is none nearly so good as 
 Sir Joseph Whitworth's Fluid Compressed. This is a 
 splendid material in every respect; its powers of 
 endurance and its immense strength are undoubted, 
 and well proved from experience. By reason of its 
 adamantine hardness, and consequent capability of 
 retaining a smooth surface under friction, barrels 
 constructed of this material are less liable to rust and 
 wear than barrels made on any other system I am 
 acquainted with ; and certainly, if well bored, no 
 barrels shoot harder or last longer in good condition. 
 
 A sportsman will, however, do well to make sure 
 he possesses this excellent steel in his barrels, as there 
 are inferior grades used for inferior guns. 1 I therefore 
 recommend a shooter who prefers steel barrels to pro- 
 cure his gun from a first-class maker whom he can 
 trust, and who has a first-class reputation to keep up ; 
 the purchaser may then feel confident that his barrels 
 are really of Whitworth steel, if he is assured by his 
 
 1 Whitworth steel is only made in one quality the best ; other 
 varieties of steel are, however, manufactured in different grades. 
 
60 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 gunmaker that this is the case. Though it is not 
 a common custom, I consider all harrels made of 
 Whitworth's compressed steel should be plainly lettered 
 to that effect, as a guarantee of their make ; for this 
 steel certainly has a plain appearance, and, for all the 
 shooter can discover, it might be common metal. 
 
 The Whitworth barrels cost some 3. a pair more 
 than the best Damascus ; but they are well worth the 
 extra outlay, as they will last with care almost a life- 
 time, and, to my mind, have the great advantage of 
 retaining their pristine excellence for a longer time 
 under hard use than barrels of any other material. 
 Many gunmakers declare that best steel barrels are 
 stronger than best Damascus, and can, in consequence, 
 be made lighter ; and, as some of them carry this 
 theory into practice with success, the surmise is pro- 
 bably a correct one. 
 
 There is one point, however, regarding steel barrels, 
 that I must refer to, which is more or less against 
 them. This is, that under rapid firing they certainly 
 heat more quickly than is the case with Damascus ; 
 though, on the other hand, they cool in a shorter time 
 the latter attribute being, however, of no particular 
 advantage. The report caused by steel barrels is 
 also a peculiarity, and, were a shooter to use a 
 couple of guns, one with steel and the other with 
 Damascus barrels, the difference of sound on firing 
 would be very noticeable so much so, that it would 
 be apt to put him off his shooting ; for an occurrence 
 
v. STEEL AND DAMASCUS BARRELS 61 
 
 of this kind is always liable to puzzle a shooter, and 
 affect the accuracy of his aim. 
 
 If a shooter values the look of his gun as many 
 sportsmen rightly do or if he grudges the extra cost 
 of Whitworth steel, then best English Damascus barrels 
 are the most suitable for him to use ; for not only are 
 they very handsome, but they carry evident proof of 
 their excellence in their appearance. That best 
 Damascus barrels are, practically speaking, as safe 
 and good as those of fluid compressed steel, is undeni- 
 able, though the latter may possess a few small 
 advantages, and are, besides, very fashionable at pre- 
 sent. As to the shooting capabilities of Damascus or 
 laminated steel barrels, they cannot be excelled; in 
 fact, in the latter respect, and particularly in regard 
 to regularity of pattern, I find these barrels are some- 
 times slightly superior to those made of fluid com- 
 pressed steel. 
 
 There is, however, some little uncertainty about our 
 English Damascus. Eeally good English Damascus 
 barrels, when they can be obtained, are superior to 
 Belgian ; but those of English make vary considerably 
 in their excellence. They are also produced in much 
 smaller quantities, and are often difficult to obtain 
 just as required. The Belgian Damascus are more 
 regular as to figure, and more free from ' specks ' and 
 ' greys,' than are the English, besides being softer, and 
 easier to work. For these reasons many of our gun- 
 makers find it simpler to procure their barrels from 
 
62 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 Belgium, as there is a very small percentage of inferior 
 quality imported from that country, and as many as 
 wanted can also be easily procured at short notice. 
 As it is the fashion of English sportsmen to imagine 
 that nothing good in the way of guns or barrels can 
 reach us from the Continent, Belgian Damascus, in order 
 to fall in with this popular delusion, is often sold as 
 English. Still, if a gun is fitted with best Damascus, 
 whether of English or foreign make, it is of small 
 consequence to the shooter ; but the fact remains, that 
 so-called English Damascus is frequently Belgian, and 
 that the Belgian barrels of this manufacture are, 
 generally speaking, more reliable than those made in 
 England. 
 
 The most ardent supporters of our old friends, 
 the Damascus barrels, have not yet been able to pick 
 a hole in their rivals of fluid compressed steel, save 
 that the latter are supposed to be more liable to 
 fracture under extremes of heat and cold. All I can 
 say is, that I have frequently fired steel barrels until 
 they were too hot to hold, and I have also fired them 
 from a duck-punt during severe frost, when, from 
 frozen water, they were more like lumps of ice than 
 gun-barrels, and I never knew them go wrong. For 
 actual sporting purposes, such tests as these are, in 
 my opinion, ample ; though how a barrel will behave 
 after being heated red-hot in a forge, or kept in a 
 refrigerator for a week, I do not know. Nor do I 
 consider its behaviour under such unusual tests would 
 
v. LENGTH OF GUN-BARRELS 63 
 
 affect the question of its safety in ordinary use, 
 though the blow-up which occurs under some such 
 extraordinary conditions may interest the experiment- 
 alist who endeavours to find out how many thousand 
 times more strain a barrel will stand, before it bursts, 
 than could possibly be applied to it by a shooter. 
 
 LENGTH OF GUN-BARRELS 
 
 I will now say a little about the length of the 
 barrels of a gun. Shortening the barrels without 
 having them re-bored is always a hazardous experi- 
 ment, as far as their subsequent performance is 
 concerned. In the first place, cutting down the 
 length of the barrels is certain to spoil the balance of 
 the gun, whatever be afterwards done in the way of 
 weighting the stock ; and it generally causes them to 
 scatter the shot more than they did before the altera- 
 tion, the result being a larger proportion of weak, 
 divergent, and hence useless, pellets. If a shooter 
 fancies short barrels, they should be made short in 
 the first instance, and bored to suit their length ; for 
 if he has his barrels shortened without their being 
 re-bored, he is sure to lessen his chances of killing his 
 game. I have had several barrels cut for experiment 
 g^nd of an inch at a time, in order to test them at the 
 target for pattern and force ; and these results have 
 invariably occurred. Personally, I do not believe in 
 barrels under 28 in., even when so constructed on the 
 
64 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTEK 
 
 gun being made, whether the gun in question be a 
 No. 12 or a smaller size. Though I have used and 
 seen used many guns with barrels of about 26 in., I 
 cannot say they were in several respects as successful 
 as those with barrels of 30 in. ; the latter length being 
 proved, by long custom and endless experiments on 
 the part of gunmakers and shooters, to be the most 
 suitable to a 12-bore, both in regard to the per- 
 formance of the gun and its load, and its practical 
 application to a steady and correct aim. 
 
 I am, however, ready to admit that I can discover 
 little difference in the actual performances of a gun 
 with 28 in. barrels from a gun with 30 in. barrels ; 
 but, once the length is less than 28 in., the pattern 
 and penetrative force suffer. And this falling-off in 
 power is particularly noticeable when a 12-bore gun 
 has barrels of not more than 26 in., though these 
 be most carefully bored and regulated on the gun 
 being made ; for they do not shoot nearly so well, 
 especially in regard to pattern, as a gun with 28 in. 
 or 30 in. barrels : and recollect, a long barrel will kill 
 as well at a short distance as a long one, but a short 
 barrel will not kill well at a long distance. 
 
 As to these short barrels being convenient in 
 aiming, this is open to question. If a shooter did 
 nothing but fire at rabbits in covert at short range, he 
 would find them handy enough, there is no doubt ; but 
 we do not require a weapon that is convenient for use 
 in one style of shooting and not so in another. At 
 
v. LENGTH OF BARRELS 65 
 
 close-lying birds rising before a shooter, a short 
 barrel, whether 25 in. or 20 in. long, would be equally 
 easy to aim with ; but let the shooter try a short 
 barrel one, for example, of 26 in. at overhead or 
 crossing birds, and he will soon see its defects. In 
 such shots the barrels seem to swing faster than you 
 wish, and the gun-muzzle to jump and frisk about the 
 sky. I certainly find a short barrel is awkward to 
 align at any but the easiest straightforward birds or 
 at rabbits at close quarters, and that it is particularly 
 difficult to place the muzzle of a short-barrelled gun 
 on fast-driven game. To give a somewhat far-fetched 
 illustration of the advantage of using a gun with a 
 barrel as long as a shooter can conveniently use, and 
 as long as is suitable to the load of a gun, I will 
 point out that if a shooter could wield a gun that 
 almost touched the game he aimed at, he could scarcely 
 miss hence, the shorter the barrel the less accurate 
 the aim, and the farther from the mark will any devia- 
 tion of the gun-muzzle cause the charge to travel. 
 Now, as a shooter cannot with comfort or manual 
 success handle and aim a gun with longer barrels than 
 28 in. to 30 in., and as this length is best adapted to 
 the shooting of a 12 -bore gun in regard to its charges 
 of powder and shot, its adoption has naturally become 
 general, in preference to a shorter and more un- 
 successful length. 
 
 A sportsman who has been in the habit of using a 
 gun with the long, swinging, easy balance given by a 
 
66 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER v. 
 
 30 in. barrel, will at once notice, when aiming, the 
 stumpy, unhandy, ill-balanced, tumble-about feel of a 
 gun with barrels of several inches less, though the gun 
 itself may weigh lighter in the scale. 
 
 Of course, a shooter may become accustomed by 
 constant practice to any length, however short ; but 
 if he uses barrels under 28 in. in a 12-bore gun, he 
 will not shoot so successfully at all-round game as 
 he would do with barrels of from 28 in. to 30 in. 
 in length. As to placing the muzzle of a short- 
 barrelled gun quicker on flying game than a long 
 barrel, this is an undoubted mistake. What does 
 happen, and what leads a shooter into an incorrect 
 supposition, is the power a short gun gives him of 
 putting it up with a quick jerk to his shoulder; but the 
 speed in this case has too much unsteadiness about 
 it, and has a bad effect on the barrels being aligned 
 with accuracy the latter an attribute of successful 
 aiming that belongs to a 30 in. barrel in a greater 
 degree than to one of several inches less length ; for, 
 the shorter the barrels, the more like pointing a 
 pistol does aiming become. 
 
LETTER VI 
 
 THE MERITS OF CHOKES AND CYLINDERS, 
 AS APPLIED TO THEIR EFFECT ON GAME 
 AND SUITABILITY TO THE SHOOTER 
 
 WE will suppose that a shooter has now found a gun 
 to suit him as regards weight, balance, and mechanism. 
 He has, however, to decide on its boring ; and this 
 feature of his gun is the one of all others, next to a 
 perfect fit and a suitable weight, that he will have to 
 consider most : for the question of whether his gun 
 should be bored a choke or a cylinder is a very in- 
 teresting one to the shooter, and is at all times a 
 subject of great importance in regard to his success 
 as a game-shot. 
 
 CHOKED BAKEELS 
 
 I need scarcely explain that a choke, by compress- 
 ing the charge of shot just before it leaves the muzzle, 
 throws it closer than does a cylinder the latter 
 having no contraction of the barrels for this purpose. 
 If the shooter decide on a choke, he will also have to 
 determine how much choke his barrels are to contain ; 
 that is to say, how many pellets he wishes them to 
 place on the regulation 30 in. in diameter circle at 
 
 F 2 
 
68 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 40 yards. Shooters are apt to look upon all choked 
 barrels as being full-chokes, and capable in the case 
 of 12-bores (to which I here alone allude) of making 
 a pattern of 200. This is a mistake, as a modified 
 choke makes a pattern, for example, of about 150 
 on the 30 in. circle ; and there is then little material 
 difference between a gun that acts thus and a cylinder 
 that makes a pattern of some score pellets less. 
 
 There is no doubt a choked gun shoots with more 
 force than a cylinder, though only slightly; but I 
 have never found this superiority exist to such an 
 extent as to cause any noticeable effect on game at 
 sporting-ranges, though at the target the full-choke 
 will penetrate at 40 yards a couple more sheets of 
 paper than the cylinder. 
 
 What a choke does is this : it carries its charge of 
 shot closer, and so, of course, puts more pellets into 
 the game than can a cylinder ; and this attribute at 
 a long distance naturally tells in favour of the choke, 
 provided the aim is sufficiently correct to place its 
 smaller shot-circle on the mark. Up to 35 or 40 yards 
 (the latter being a long shot), a cylinder or a slightly- 
 choked gun is far easier to hit with, and therefore a 
 more deadly gun to use, than a full-choke, and either 
 will place amply sufficient pellets in the game to stop it 
 well and neatly without wounding, even at a longer dis- 
 tance. At 35 yards a full-choke will place in the game 
 half as many more pellets than are required to kill, 
 which not only spoils its flesh for the table, but prevents 
 
vi. DISADVANTAGES OF FULL-CHOKED BARRELS 69 
 
 the bird being kept till fit for cooking, from its per- 
 forated condition. 1 
 
 I have, over and over again, seen full- chokes and 
 cylinders tried on game with a view to demonstrating 
 the great advantages of the former; and, on my 
 word, I cannot discover that any superiority exists. 
 In the case of ninety-nine out of a hundred shooters I 
 find that the chokes have more disadvantages than the 
 reverse. An average marksman such as nineteen 
 people out of every twenty are is certainly handi- 
 capped when using a full-choke ; for his gun requires 
 more accurate aim than if he were using a cylinder, 
 as it throws its shot in so small a circle ; and it 
 stands to reason that, at the distance at which game 
 is usually fired at, which is at a far shorter range 
 than many people imagine, it is easier to hit a mov- 
 ing mark with a fairly large circle of shot, covering 
 a good space, than it is to hit it with a small circle 
 covering a small space. 
 
 1 I have seen driven partridges birds which a shooter is often 
 obliged to fire at within 18 to 20 yards or not at all so shattered by 
 the mass of shot plastered into them by a full-choke that nine to the 
 dozen were best suited for ferret-meat ! Last season, for the sake of 
 experiment, I killed six driven partridges with a full-choke at the 
 ordinary range at which these birds come over a high hedge in a level 
 country, and on reaching home I counted the holes drilled through 
 their skins, which were respectively, 37, 33, 32, 29, 21, 19. The next 
 day I killed six more birds with a cylinder at the same stand, and at 
 the same average distances ; result in pellets to birds 17, 15, 12, 12, 
 9, 7. The latter six birds were brought down as clean as could be 
 wished, and dropped without a nutter. These were, however, all fit to 
 eat, the previous six being only fit to drink in the. form of soup. 
 
7o LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 If a shooter be a really first-class shot, he may do 
 wonders with a full- choke, as he will generally strike 
 his mark whether it is near or distant, and he will on 
 occasions bring down his game at very long ranges, 
 when with a cylinder, by reason of its wider-spreading 
 pattern, he might not do so. Yet even a first-class 
 shot, when using a full-choke, has to aim more accu- 
 rately at game at moderate distances than would be 
 required of him were he using a cylinder ; and 
 whether, for the sake of occasional long, brilliant 
 shots, that not seldom entice a man into a habit of 
 random shooting, it is worth while to carry a gun 
 that is not so easy to kill with at an ordinary range, 
 is more than doubtful. 
 
 In these days, when driving the game is so much 
 practised, the shooter, good shot though he be, who 
 handles a full-choked gun, is always at a disadvantage, 
 especially in regard to comparatively small birds, such 
 as partridges, and even grouse birds that generally 
 pass pretty close when driven towards him. It may 
 readily be understood that it is more difficult to hit a 
 bird flying directly towards you with a full- choke gun, 
 that carries its charge of shot concentrated in a space 
 you might almost cover with your hat at twenty paces, 
 than with a gun that has a spread of half as much 
 more, yet puts amply sufficient pellets on the mark to 
 kill, and at the same time shoots practically as hard 
 as any choke-bore. 
 
 At driven birds, such as pheasants, grouse or par- 
 
vi. DISADVANTAGES OF FULL-CHOKED BARRELS 71 
 
 tridges, which are generally killed at under 30 yards' 
 distance from the shooter, the cylinder-gun will kill as 
 well as the full-choke, without the drawbacks in regard 
 to the necessity of superior accuracy attending the 
 smaller pattern of the latter. Firing with a full-choke 
 at a driven partridge topping a hedge is almost like 
 discharging a bullet at a cricket-ball whizzing past. 
 Yet, in the hands of the exceptional performer, the 
 choke certainly gives him a remarkable power of 
 killing ; though in the hands of the average shot it 
 has an equally remarkable power of causing misses. 
 
 Putting on one side for the present the excep- 
 tional marksman, the only real advantages I can dis- 
 cover in favour of a full-choke are : First, when it is 
 in the hands of a slow shot, who habitually shoots 
 his game over dogs or walks it up before him. In such 
 case the game, in nine cases out of ten, goes directly 
 away from the shooter, and he has often plenty of time 
 to aim almost as with a rifle ; and he is, by using a 
 choke, enabled to take a surer and longer sight, as, 
 from the choke carrying its shot fairly close at a 
 long distance, the extra dozen yards the game has run 
 or flown whilst the shooter hesitates over his aim is 
 not of much consequence. Secondly, a full-choke is 
 useful to any one for walking up game if wild, with 
 or without dogs, as, when birds persistently rise at 
 about 40 yards, there is no doubt a choke will put 
 more pellets into them than a cylinder, and, of course, 
 succeed in killing them better as, provided the game 
 
72 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 is struck which in such shooting is a comparatively 
 simple matter it is as easy to kill it with a choke at 
 45 to 50 yards as it is with a cylinder at 85 to 40, 
 the pattern of the two guns being very similar in 
 spread at these distances ; though, if both are used 
 at shorter and more usual sporting-ranges, the 
 cylinder, whether in the hands of a moderate or a 
 good shot, will be found the more successful weapon 
 of the two. 
 
 I have always noticed, when experimenting at the 
 target, that full-choke guns are more variable in their 
 performances than cylinders, and are liable now and 
 then perhaps once in twenty shots to shoot patchy, 
 as well as to put the bulk of the shot in a cluster to 
 the right or left ; and then, however correct the aim, 
 such irregularitj 7 may cause what appears an unac- 
 countable miss at an easy bird. For example, if a 
 full-choke shows, as the result of fifty shots (I never 
 fire less to strike an average) , that its pattern is 210, 
 this average will be made up of shots that vary from 
 240 to as low as 120, with an occasional 100. If the 
 same number of shots are fired from a cylinder or a 
 medium choke, and the average in the former case is 
 130, and in the latter 150, the extremes will respec- 
 tively not vary more than cylinder, 120 to 135 ; 
 medium choke, 135 to 160. 
 
 There is no doubt that, even in the hands of the 
 fairly good shot, a cylinder is the most killing gun to 
 use for all-round shooting at ordinary game at sport- 
 
vi. THE ADVANTAGES OF CYLINDER BARRELS 73 
 
 ing-ranges ; and a full-choked gun is the most un- 
 suitable weapon for this purpose, and particularly so 
 in regard to all driven birds. 
 
 A good shot may use a gun of modified choke 
 that places 150 to 160 pellets on the 30 in. circle at 
 40 yards, and do well with it ; but I do not believe 
 there are five men in England who can drop their 
 game, both driven and springing, as satisfactorily 
 with a full- choke as they can with a cylinder or 
 medium-choke ; though, in the hands of the two or 
 three who can do so, a full-choke is the most effective 
 gun they can use. But then such first-class marks- 
 men as I have in my mind would almost kill their 
 game with a rifle-bullet, so accurate is their aim. 
 To such shooters as these a close or well-spread 
 pattern is a matter of small moment at a short range 
 (though the close pattern will surely disgust the 
 epicure and his cook), and at a long one the former 
 is to them the most effective. 
 
 CYLINDEK BAEEELS 
 
 It is an error to imagine that long shots cannot 
 be killed with a cylinder-gun. I have often seen 
 cylinders kill at as long a distance as any choke. 
 
 It may be said that a good cylinder, throwing a 
 regularly- spread pattern of 130 to 135, will kill 
 almost every time, if held straight, up to 40 yards ; 
 and that is a long distance if paced in the open, and 
 
74 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS , LETTER 
 
 farther than one in a thousand rocketing pheasants 
 pass overhead. 
 
 En passant I will remark there is no commoner 
 mistake made among shooters than the height of 
 rocketing pheasants. When these birds are seen to 
 fly at an unusual altitude, they are imagined to be in 
 the clouds ; and I have often heard on such occasions 
 the exclamation, after a miss, ' That bird must have 
 been quite 50 yards up ; I couldn't touch him.' 
 
 A pheasant 150 ft. above ground would appear so 
 small and far that few shooters of experience would 
 fire at him at all, especially if lower birds were on 
 the wing or expected. 
 
 If you see an overhead pheasant against the open 
 sky at, we will say, only 105ft., he will seem almost 
 any height 40 yards in your imagination at least ; 
 but supposing this wonderfully high bird passes by or 
 just over a tall tree, you will be surprised how much 
 lower his distance above ground really is, and how 
 much nearer to the top of the tree his flight takes 
 him than you could have fancied possible. I have 
 but taken a pheasant at 35 yards high as an example. 
 A bird flying at an elevation nearly half as high 
 again, as they are often said to attain, would indeed 
 be a * teazer ' to tumble down ! 
 
 The height good sporting pheasants fly when 
 driven overhead (unless, of course, the shooter is 
 posted in a deep valley) may be set down at 25 yards 
 to 30 yards, high birds at 30 yards to 35 yards, and 
 
vi. THE ADVANTAGES OF CYLINDER BARRELS 75 
 
 exceptionally tall ones at 35 yards to 40 yards J the 
 latter height being very rarely attained. 
 
 From this we can easily realise how it is a cylinder 
 should bring down ' rocketers ' at any reasonable 
 height, and how such birds are well within its reach, 
 though people may consider a full-choke would alone 
 be effective at the longer ranges. It is curious that 
 though a pheasant flying low appears within easy 
 range at 30 yards, yet the same bird travelling 30 
 yards above ground seems so much more distant as 
 a perpendicular shot. 
 
 I have seen shooters good shots, too purposely 
 armed with full- chokes, blazing away at rocketing 
 pheasants said to be too high for cylinders, and have 
 heard them say on missing, ' That bird was too high 
 for even my full-choke ' ; and I have on the same 
 occasion seen a man, certainly a first-class shot, stand 
 well behind and pull down bird after bird as dead as 
 need be, after they had been feathered by the guns in 
 front, his gun being nothing but an ordinary cylinder 
 making a pattern, as I afterwards tested myself, of 
 130 at 40 yards ! 
 
 I am aware these remarks concerning cylinders 
 and chokes will rouse the ire of those few gunmakers 
 who are still behind the age concerning the practical 
 uses of a gun in the field, and who advertise and 
 recommend a full-choke as perfection for everybody ; 
 but then, they take their arguments from the target, 
 which is in this case a decidedly unreliable mentor. 
 
76 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 An enthusiast on chokes will tell you that cylinder 
 12-bores which put 130 pellets or so on a round tar- 
 get of 30 in. diameter at 40 yards are quite useless for 
 killing game with certainty at over 35 yards. They 
 will also impress upon you that cylinder barrels which 
 are capable of placing 130 pellets on the 30 in. circle 
 are not cylinders at all, but are in reality barrels with 
 a slight amount of choke in them. This is certainly 
 an incorrect idea. It is true that what is termed a 
 cylinder-gun may not be a cylinder pure and simple ; 
 but, on the other hand, it may not have a vestige of 
 choke about it. However, to appease these sceptics, 
 let us suppose a so-called cylinder has an infinitesimal 
 tightening towards the muzzle, or recess choke in its 
 barrel, and makes in consequence a pattern of 130 to 
 135 it is this pattern, I maintain, that will kill, and, 
 for the ordinary marksman to use on all-round game, is 
 best adapted to kill, whatever the boring of the gun 
 be, if the shot is regularly spread over the target. 
 The advocates of chokes declare that a pattern of even 
 140 is too low a one for the shooter to kill well with, 
 save at a very moderate range. 
 
 I have seen many cylinder-guns make a pattern of 
 130 to 135 with great regularity; guns without a 
 symptom of choke in their boring rather the reverse, 
 as can easily be ascertained by the use of a gun- 
 maker's gauge. 
 
 The fact is, really good cylinder barrels are diffi- 
 cult to make, and, to get them up to a high standard 
 
vi. THE ADVANTAGES OF CYLINDER BARRELS 77 
 
 of shooting, they require most careful boring. On the 
 other hand, a choked barrel is simplicity itself in com- 
 parison, and can easily be regulated to bunch its shot 
 up to the target in a thick cluster. 
 
 A cheap cylinder-gun that will constantly make 
 a regular pattern of even 120 on the 30 in. circle at 
 40 yards is a rara avis ; but a cheap gun can be choked 
 to place 180 to 200 pellets with ease, as the latter 
 attainment requires far less care and expense to pro- 
 duce. And the dealer in inferior guns will generally 
 avoid, if he possibly can, selling a cylinder-gun, 
 especially to a shooter who wishes to see its perform- 
 ance at a target before purchase. The would-be 
 buyer will usually be told : ' Don't have a cylinder, 
 sir ; all good shots use chokes now, as they kill much 
 farther. 1 
 
78 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 LETTEE VII 
 
 THE MEEITS OF CHOKES AND CYLINDERS 
 
 (continued) 
 
 SOME of the advice given to shooters in the choice 
 of guns is very laughable. For example, Mr. Greener 
 writes in a recent book : ' The cylinder-gun must not 
 be used at distances greater than 30 yards ; to do so 
 is unnecessarily cruel.' Dear me ! If he could only 
 see grouse and pheasants, and other game, killed stone- 
 dead by a good shot time after time with a cylinder at 
 over 40 yards, as I often and often have seen, how he 
 would stare, to be sure ! He would probably say : 
 ' Well, if a cylinder-gun does kill so well, it ought not 
 to.' But that goes for nothing. It is what a cylinder- 
 gun can do and what I and many other shooters are 
 ready to vouch it will do, if properly used that gives 
 weight to the argument ; for an ounce of proof is 
 worth a ton of fancy. 
 
 For my part, I have killed hundreds and hundreds 
 of tough-plumaged birds, such as wild duck, and wild 
 geese, too, at 40 yards and more, with an old cylinder 
 12-bore * cripple- stopper ' by ' Eeilly ' that in its best 
 days could not put more than 120 pellets on the 30in. 
 
vii. THE ADVANTAGES OF CYLINDER BARRELS 79 
 
 circle at 40 yards, with 304 pellets of No. 6 the 
 charge I used, moreover, being 1 Joz. of No. 5 shot. 
 
 Mr. Greener also writes that he thinks especially 
 badly of cylinders, because when he tried one at a 
 stationary pigeon at 85 yards he failed to kill it. 
 What sportsman does not know how difficult it is to 
 kill with certainty a wounded bird running or squat- 
 ting on the ground, whether with a cylinder or a 
 choke, at even a less distance, merely because the 
 bird's body is protected as with armour by its closed 
 wings ? 
 
 I will, therefore, say to the young shooter : If your 
 aim is fairly true, you can, with a cylinder-gun, kill 
 your game at any range at which it should be fired 
 at, 1 and, taking all-round shooting into consideration, 
 
 1 How far is this ? Well, I should say no game-birds ought, as a 
 rule, to be fired at with a cylinder or medium choke beyond 45 yards, 
 or ground game at over 40 yards. Of course, a large bird like a 
 pheasant, that offers a good-sized target, may sometimes with a full- 
 choke be killed clean at 55 yards, if a crossing shot ; but it is far 
 more likely to be wounded. Partridges and grouse, however, being 
 smaller birds, will not receive so many pellets at 55 yards as a 
 pheasant does ; and though they might be struck every time, yet 
 they likely enough would not drop dead once to half a dozen hits, 
 even with a full-choke. Fifty yards is a long distance at which to 
 drop birds dead with any certainty ; and it is dead, never wounded 
 game, a true sportsman tries to bring down. People who talk of 
 killing their game regularly at 60 to 70 yards, simply talk nonsense. 
 I have never seen the man or gun that could do this. The 70-yard 
 shooter should test his gun for penetration at this range, and note the 
 result ; for, even should his gun be a full-choke, and make a fair 
 pattern on the target at 60 to 70 yards, yet this is no proof whatever 
 that it will kill at these distances, though it may pepper the game all 
 over. The pattern of a gun is very misleading at a long range at 65 
 
8o LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 very much better than you will with a full-choke, for 
 reasons I have tried to explain. And if your aim be 
 not true, the choke will certainly not help you to kill, 
 on account of its small shot-circle; whilst, on the 
 other hand, a cylinder, by reason of its larger pattern 
 covering more space, allows for some inaccuracy of 
 aim, and hence, without doubt, will be of assistance 
 in filling the bag, particularly in the case of all driven 
 game. 1 
 
 A cylinder 12-bore gun should, if it is properly 
 bored, place 130 pellets of shot on the 30 in. circle 
 at 40 yards with a charge of IJoz. of No. 6 shot, 
 containing 304 pellets, or 270 to the ounce. A full- 
 choke should place 200 to 220, and a modified choke 
 150 to 160 : and it should be borne in mind that a 
 constant regularity of pattern, and even distribution 
 
 yards, for instance as in reality only a part of the shot-charge then 
 reaches a moving mark ; the remainder quite one-third at 65 yards 
 straggles weakly up, probably after the bird aimed at is out of the 
 line of fire. In the case, however, of a stationary target, all the charge 
 is shown thereon, as if it arrived simultaneously, and the shooter is 
 too ready to accept this non-reliable pattern as evidence of what a 
 number of pellets his gun can place on game at 60 to 70 yards. It is 
 the shots under 40 yards that add up the bag. Let me see a man 
 kill these regularly and neatly, and I do not care what he does over 
 40 yards ; for the latter are the exception, and the former the rule 1 
 
 1 Lord de Grey uses a full-choke, and Lord Walsingham a gun 
 without any choke; yet both these gentlemen kill their game in 
 brilliant style, near or far. At the same time, this is no proof that the 
 average marksman would drop his game with a full-choke as well as 
 he would with a cylinder ; though it does show him what he might 
 do with a cylinder if he had the gift of using it with sufficient ac- 
 curacy. 
 
TII. THE ADVANTAGES OF CYLINDER BARRELS 81 
 
 of the shot all over the 30 in. circle, is a sine qua non 
 in the shooting of a good gun. 
 
 It is a sign of a badly-bored gun when it places a 
 high pattern on the target at one shot and a low one 
 at another ; and the gun is equally faulty if it places 
 a thick cluster of shot on one part of the target, 
 though this cluster be in the very centre, and spreads 
 the pellets thinly over the rest of it ; for it is a mere 
 chance if the shooter places the thick cluster of pellets 
 on his mark. And I may point out, that when the 
 pellets are close together in one part of the shot-circle, 
 they are proportionately scattered, and hence more or 
 less useless, in another part. 
 
 If a shooter is a fairly good shot a man, for 
 instance, who, at ordinary ranges, and firing only one 
 barrel, can pretty regularly kill seven out of ten 
 partridges rising before him, and perhaps five out of 
 seven pheasants passing overhead at a fair height 
 and pace, and say three out of five driven grouse 
 then he may, if he fancies his shooting will be 
 improved thereby, use a modified choke making a 
 pattern of 150 on the 80 in. circle at 40 yards. 
 Should he find that, with the latter gun, he kills near 
 shots as well as he did before making a change, he 
 will be a decided gainer in the matter of long shots ; 
 but should he advance another step, and take to a 
 full-choke, he will surely notice that, though he is 
 still successful at the long shots, the ones at ordinary 
 distances will be not seldom missed ! 
 
82 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 It is worth remark, that though the appliances for 
 boring cylinder barrels are just the same as eighty 
 years ago, yet, owing to the immensely-increased 
 popularity of shooting since the advent of breech- 
 loaders, the boring of these barrels, from the additional 
 care bestowed on their construction, has vastly im- 
 proved during recent years ; for instance, a cylinder 
 of thirty years ago was a rare good gun if it made a 
 pattern of 100 96 to 98 being the usual thing in 
 those days, and previously. The present improve- 
 ment in the shooting of cylinder-guns has often been 
 attributed to their containing a certain amount of 
 choke in their boring a supposition that may be 
 correct in some cases, but not generally, and especially 
 not in the case of first-class guns. 
 
 A 12-bore gun that will regularly and evenly place 
 130 pellets on the 30 in. circle at 40 yards is a first- 
 rate game-gun in every way for the average marks- 
 man; and I will say the perfect gun for general 
 shooting, and the use of a good shot, is the one that 
 will just cover a space representing a 30 in. circle at 20 
 yards of course, killing anything in that space, and 
 by such a spread giving the shooter a good chance of 
 hitting his mark (as in the case of small, driven birds, 
 such as partridges) and will put enough pellets into 
 a 36 in. circle at 35 yards to kill well within that space 
 at this distance. This a modified choke with a pattern 
 of 150 at 40 yards on the 30 in. circle should do. On 
 the other hand, a full-choke at 20 yards only covers 
 
vii. SHOOTING OF CYLINDER & CHOKED BARRELS 83 
 
 about half a 30 in. circle, and at 35 yards, though it 
 places more pellets in the 30 in. circle than the cylin- 
 der, it puts more than sufficient, the cylinder or the 
 medium choke putting in plenty to kill ; and more than 
 that we do not want. Again, if the aim be somewhat 
 incorrect, the pellets outside the 30 in. circle, in the case 
 of the cylinder or modified choke, assist the shooter ; 
 while, in the case of the full-choke, there is little assist- 
 ance of the kind, as very few of its pellets go outside the 
 circle, even at 40 yards. As an example, it can be 
 taken that, in the case of a shooter firing at a driven 
 partridge at 20 yards, he may consider he fires with 
 a cylinder a circle of shot nearly 30 in. wide ; with a 
 choke his circle is only 18 in. across ! 
 
 In connection with this letter I append some re- 
 duced patterns (scale, ^j-in. = lin.), which are useful 
 in showing the effect on game of cylinder and full- 
 choked guns at different distances, and which are the 
 average result of many hundred shots fired by me at 
 full- sized outlines cut in paper and pasted on the 80 in. 
 target. 
 
 In the case represented by Fig. 1, the shooter 
 would have killed his bird had it been, instead, in the 
 position of one of the outside birds shown, or 15in. from 
 the sight he took i.e. the centre of the shot-circle. 
 
 In Fig. 2, the shooter would kill his bird three 
 times over, and riddle it with shot, if he hits it at all t 
 If, however, the shooter had aimed 10 in. to one side 
 
 G 2 
 
8 4 
 
 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 or other, he might have clean missed his bird, or only 
 winged it, when, with a cylinder-gun, he would have 
 
 FIG. 1. CYIJNDER-GUN AT A DRIVEN PARTRIDGE 
 (distance, 20 yards). 
 
 Tartridges(and circle representing 30 in. in diameter) ^th full size. 260 pellets 
 inside 30 in. circle, and spread all over it ; 40 pellets outside 30 in. circle, within a 
 breadth of 9 in. 
 
 FlG. 2. FULL-CHOKED GUN AT A DRIVEN PARTRIDGE 
 
 (distance, 20 yards). 
 
 Partridges (and circle representing 30 in. in diameter) ^th full size. All the charge 
 of shot (304 pellets No. 6 = 1| oz.) in the centre of the 30 in. circle. 
 
 scored a kill (vide Fig. 1). It will also be seen, had 
 
vii. SHOOTING OF CYLINDER & CHOKED BARRELS 85 
 
 he shot at one of the outside birds, how near to the 
 mark his aim might have been taken without his 
 striking it. 
 
 In Fig. 3 we again have a shot-pattern that allows 
 some 15 in. for inaccurate aim, as, had the pheasant 
 been that distance from its position below, or the 
 sight taken by the shooter, as represented by the 
 
 FIG. 3. CYLIXDER-GUX AT A PHEASANT 
 (distance, 30 yards). 
 
 Pheasant (and circle representing 30 in. in diameter) 
 inside 30 in. circle ; 86 pellets outside 30 in. circle, wit 
 
 full size. 174 pellets 
 a breadth of 9 in. 
 
 centre of the shot-circle, it would have equally been 
 killed. 
 
 In the case of Fig. 4, the shooter will have to place 
 all his charge of shot right smack on his bird, or he 
 will probably wound it, as there are no pellets out- 
 side the actual width of the object itself to assist in 
 case of an inaccurate aim. 
 
86 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 A pheasant at 40 yards, crossing low, is a good 
 long shot ; a pheasant flying overhead at 40 yards is 
 
 PlG. 4. FULL-CHOKED GtTN AT A PHEASANT 
 
 (distance, 30 yards). 
 
 Pheasant (and circle representing 30 in. in diameter) ^th full size. 274 pellets inside 
 30 in. circle (sufficient to spoil, and many more than enough to kill) ; 21 pellets 
 outside 30 in. circle, within a breadth of 9 in. 
 
 Fio. 6. CYLINDER-GUN AT A PHEASANT 
 (distance, 40 yards). 
 
 Pheasant (and circle representing 30 in. in diameter) -jth full size. 133 pellets in 
 the 30 in. circle ; 100 pellets outside 30 in. circle, within a breadth of 9 in. 
 
vii. SHOOTING OF CYLINDER & CHOKED BARRELS 87 
 
 rarely seen : yet, from the example shown in Fig. 5, we 
 can realise that a gun placing 130 to 135 pellets on 
 the 30 in. circle at 40 yards should at the latter 
 distance make a live bird into a dead one. In this 
 case it will be seen that the pheasant would have 
 been killed had it been 15 in. in any direction from 
 the shooter's aim, as represented by the centre of the 
 shot-circle, as there are a very useful number of 
 pellets outside the 30 in. circle to assist him. A full- 
 choked gun would place 220 to 230 pellets inside the 
 30 in. circle at 40 yards, and about 60 to 70 outside, 
 within a radius of 9 in. The choked gun would, of 
 course, put more lead into the body of the pheasant 
 more, in fact, than required to kill the cylinder, 
 however, putting plenty for this purpose. The latter 
 gun gives 100 pellets, well spread, just outside the 
 30 in. circle to assist the shooter; the choke would 
 give but 60 to 70, irregularly placed, from their 
 number being less. 
 
 In Fig. 6, of course, the pattern is thin ; 
 still it is one that, in the case of a gun with good 
 penetration, might bring down the bird, though not 
 often, as a dead one, for at 50 yards the shot- 
 charge from any gun strikes with very much less 
 force than it does at even 40 yards. 
 
 In Fig. 7 we have a first-class killing pattern, and 
 which, at the long range of 50 yards, closely resembles 
 the pattern of a cylinder-gun at 35 yards, or a 
 medium choke at 40 yards. But then, nineteen out of 
 
88 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 FIG. 6. OYLINDER-GUN AT A PHEASANT 
 (distance, 50 yards). 
 
 Pheasant (and circle representing 30 in. in diameter) -^th full size. 78 pellets inside- 
 30 in. circle ; 90 pellets outside 30 in. circle, within a breadth of 9 iu 
 
 FIG. 7. PULL-CHOKED GUN AT A PHEASANT 
 (distance, 50 yards). 
 
 Pheasant (and circle representing 30 in. in diameter) ^th full size. 156 pellet* 
 inside 30 in. circle ; 104 pellets outside 30 in. circle, within a breadth of 9 in. 
 
viz. SHOOTING OF CYLINDER & CHOKED BARRELS 89 
 
 twenty birds offer shots at from 25 to 30 yards, and 
 few are killed at 35 to 40 yards. As to ground game, 
 their distance is generally nearer 20 yards than 30. If 
 birds or ground game habitually gave chances at 45 
 to 50 yards, then this pattern of the full-choked gun 
 would be invaluable, though at usual ranges the 
 cylinder-gun would be much easier to hit with, the 
 pattern of the latter being in such case more than 
 half as large again as that of the full-choke. How- 
 
 FIO. 8. FULL-CIIOKKD GUN AT A BABBIT CROSSING 
 
 (distance, 25 yards). 
 The aim is too forward, and the rabbit missed by a few inches only. 
 
 ever, even with the pattern shown in Fig. 7, to make 
 certain of killing his bird the shooter will have to 
 place the 30 in. shot-circle pretty fair on the mark, 
 as within the 9 in. radius outside this circle the pellets 
 are thinly scattered, and scarcely exceed in number 
 the pellets thrown by the cylinder-gun at the same 
 distance. One of the reasons why game is so often 
 wounded with a full-choke is because a shooter is so 
 apt to place the fringe of the pattern on the mark, 
 instead of the closest cluster of the shot, as per- 
 
90 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER vii. 
 
 forming the latter feat naturally requires an exact 
 aim on his part ! 
 
 The two examples represented in Figs. 8 and 9 
 (scale, ^-th full size) show how a cylinder assists a 
 shooter at an ordinary range, whether at ground game 
 
 PIG. 9. CYLINDER-GUN AT A EABBIT CROSSING 
 
 (distance, 25 yards). 
 
 The aim taken at the same spot as in Fig. 8, and also too forward ; yet, owing to the 
 wider spread of the shot, the rabbit is killed. 
 
 or birds, and how a full-choked gun has a contrary 
 effect, from the accurate aim it requires. Had the 
 shooter aimed a similar distance behind the rabbit, it 
 would have been wounded by the choke, though killed 
 by the cylinder. 
 
LETTER VHI 
 
 HOW TO SHOOT SAFELY, WITH EEMAEKS 
 ON LOADEBS, AND THE SAFE HANDLING 
 OF A GUN IN THE FIELD 1 
 
 I DO not propose to lay down a dozen or more rules 
 concerning how to use a gun safely, as such would 
 be quite unnecessary ; for using a gun safely merely 
 means that it should never be handled in a careless 
 manner, either in regard to its mechanism or, above 
 all, the direction of its muzzle. 
 
 The only living thing that should be in danger 
 from the gun is the game the shooter wishes to kill ; 
 and, whether a gun is at full-cock or half-cock, or 
 has this or that safety bolt, it is equally safe in the 
 hands of a careful man one with whom, for the sake 
 of illustration, did the gun fire accidentally a score 
 times a day, it would injure nothing but the earth or 
 the moon. 
 
 It is not, however, from the mere handling of a 
 
 1 I wish to point out that to shoot safely, and to shoot in a sports- 
 manlike manner, are, in my opinion, attributes of more real import- 
 ance to a young shooter (and especially to his friends) than are his 
 powers of accuracy ! I shall, therefore, give these two letters priority. 
 
92 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 gun, nor yet from wanton stupidity and recklessness, 
 such as crawling through a hedge with the muzzle 
 directed at somebody's hack in front, or pointing a 
 gun in joke (save the mark !) or firing it accidentally, 
 that serious accidents are wont to occur, unless with 
 downright idiots, who should shoot together (with a 
 view to their extermination), or not at all. It is more 
 frequently the case that an eye is put out or an 
 injury done in the excitement of shooting ; and 
 oftener than not, when an accident does occur, it 
 is caused by the shooter, in his anxiety to kill the 
 game, omitting to notice the presence of his com- 
 panions and their exact positions. It is curious, when 
 a man does pepper you, how apparently astonished he 
 is at the incident, and how he invariably remarks, he 
 cannot for the life of him understand how such a re- 
 markable accident occurred, as he is so particularly 
 careful with his gun at all times ! 
 
 If a gun, loaded or unloaded, is never pointed 
 dangerously at or near any person, or where any 
 person might be, no one can suffer injury. 
 
 You ask, how can an unloaded gun do harm, even 
 if pointed at man or dog? It can do great harm, 
 as a man cannot acquire two systems of safety with 
 a gun. If he points it dangerously when unloaded, 
 he will act in a similar way when it is loaded, 
 from mere force of habit. To see guns handled and 
 snapped in a gunmaker's shop as they often are, will 
 cause a careful sportsman to pop out into the street 
 
viii. ON SAFE SHOOTING 93 
 
 as quickly as he can at least, that is the effect on 
 myself. 
 
 Invariably treat a gun as if loaded and full- 
 cocked, and then, if some foolish fellow carelessly 
 hands you one as though uncharged, when in reality 
 loaded, it is equally safe in your hands, whether you 
 are alone or in a crowd. 
 
 There is always plenty of time for a shooter to 
 consider if every shot he fires is an absolutely safe 
 one, or the reverse. He can realise this instinctively, 
 without his caution in the least interfering with the 
 accuracy or rapidity of his aim, as it should be an 
 unfailing habit for a shooter, when placed in posi- 
 tion for driven birds, or for walking hi line, to at 
 once take a general view of his surroundings, and 
 make up his mind where he may fire, and where he 
 had better not ; he is then ready for the game, when 
 it appears or rises, in regard to the safety of every 
 shot. 
 
 I have heard a shooter remark, in apologetic tones, 
 after showering shot about the head of another 
 sportsman : ' My dear sir, I am so sorry ; but I could 
 not see you, and had no idea you were behind that 
 hedge ; and, though I did not feel quite sure at first 
 whether I was acting safely, the birds were breaking 
 out so fast that I was obliged to fire at them as hard 
 as I could, and really had not time to think of any- 
 thing else.' 
 
 A somewhat plausible excuse on the face of it, 
 
94 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 but it embraces in its area the whole question and 
 risk of dangerous aiming. 
 
 It is a golden rule never to fire unless you can 
 plainly see how far the shot is likely to reach. How far 
 this is few sportsmen are aware. I have known a 
 man's eye seriously damaged at 160 yards a distance 
 that was carefully measured at the time the accident 
 occurred. If you fire high I mean almost perpen- 
 dicularly, as at a pheasant flying overhead it is all 
 safe, as dropping shot can then do no harm ; but to 
 fire at a bird flying low, whether over a young plan- 
 tation or in a covert, may at any time be a very 
 dangerous shot, though quite unintentionally so. Of 
 course, there might be no risk ; but, by reason of the 
 former possibility, such shots should never, save 
 under exceptional circumstances as when a line of 
 shooters are walking out a covert with no guns posted 
 forward be indulged in ; and even in the latter case, 
 a beater placed as a ' stop ' might easily be brought to 
 bag. In the open country as when partridge or 
 grouse shooting it is, of course, another matter. 
 
 In rabbit shooting I have noticed more dangerous 
 shots fired than at any kind of game, especially when 
 the ground is undulating. A rabbit careering along 
 the top of a ridge can often be killed neatly and 
 to the satisfaction of the shooter, though perchance 
 the man out of sight in the hollow at the other side 
 of the ridge, coming up with the luncheon or spare 
 cartridges, may have reason to be less pleased. 
 
vin. ON SAFE SHOOTING 95 
 
 A really dangerous man at rabbits is the one who 
 prides himself on ' snap- shooting,' and says, ' I fire at 
 the least move in a bush ' ; and bang goes his gun, 
 whether his shot results in the death of a fine fox, 
 a dog, a pheasant on the ground, or the peppering 
 of a keeper's legs. 
 
 I am now alluding only to shooting in covert. 
 Babbit-shooting in the open, or at birds on the wing, 
 also in the open, and when driven forward, should 
 be safe enough under all circumstances if a good line 
 be kept, and the shooters are in full view of one 
 another. If this is not the case, and a tall hedge 
 chance to divide the line, notice should be given when 
 birds are being picked up on one side of the hedge, 
 or the guns on the other side may walk forward and 
 run risks in consequence. 
 
 Shooting rabbits in thick covert, or amid brambles, 
 young trees, gorse, or bracken, requires no little cir- 
 cumspection when men and dogs, and other guns 
 besides the young shooter, are to right and left of 
 him, and sometimes behind him. Shooting back 
 cannot be too strictly forbidden on such occasions, 
 for beaters will at times drop out of the line for 
 various reasons, as well as hang back, both from 
 fatigue and idleness ; and it is a habit of boys, and 
 even men, to throw themselves flat on a wounded 
 rabbit to hold it, as well as to chase, stick in hand, 
 even an un wounded one for a few yards with the 
 foolish idea of its capture. They are then, perhaps, 
 
96 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 for the moment, concealed from the shooter. Never 
 shall I forget the piteous shrieks of pain, combined 
 with shocking language, emitted by a fat French 
 cook who, for the first time in his life, had come 
 out to see 'le sport,' and who, lagging in the rear, 
 was shot ' too much behind ' as he lay in the fern, 
 face downwards, over a burrow, trying to extract 
 therefrom a wounded rabbit with a * fork.' 
 
 Few people are aware to what an extent chance 
 pellets of shot will sometimes diverge or ricochet 
 at 40 yards, even from a ' choke ' bore. I have 
 known a sportsman kill a rabbit at this distance in 
 a grass field half-way between two beaters who were 
 quite 30 yards apart, and yet he succeeded in pepper- 
 ing both men ; and though I should not have fired 
 the shot myself, I must confess it looked fairly safe 
 to do so. 
 
 It is always risky, under any circumstances, to 
 fire back in covert, unless you can see that, without 
 a shadow of a doubt, all is clear and safe on every 
 side ; and in covert this is rather a difficult thing to 
 prove on the instant. Firing back in thick covert, 
 or even in fairly thick covert, is most reprehensible ; 
 and firing through or straight at a hedge is, perhaps, 
 the most dangerous act a shooter can perform. If 
 you injure anybody on such occasions, it is not the 
 smallest excuse apologising on the score you did not 
 or could not see him, as you had no earthly right to 
 fire in the direction a person might by some unusual 
 
vin. ON SAFE SHOOTING 97 
 
 chance happen to be, though unseen by you ; nor is 
 it any excuse, after peppering people, explaining to 
 them they had no right to be where they were, as 
 they were out of, or had left, their proper position, 
 as the fact of another person committing an error 
 scarcely palliates a shooter's negligence in wounding 
 him. 
 
 Even on some fairly well- organised shooting-days 
 I have seen many risks run, especially if the placing 
 of the guns is left to the judgment of the keepers ; for 
 it is the primary object of these gentry to make a bag 
 and show a good list of killed, rather than to give the 
 game a chance. With this end in view, a fearful and 
 not unusual custom of theirs is to drive out a covert 
 in short beats, with one line of guns standing forward, 
 and another line marching up to the first line; the 
 ground game is finally hemmed in between the guns, 
 and, in the case of novices, both lines blaze towards 
 one another. 
 
 I have even seen this arrangement still further 
 complicated in its audacious risk by leaving guns 
 back, and a gun to walk forward on either side. But 
 on that day I did not feel well, and left for home, 
 though I was interested to learn afterwards that three 
 or four people were the worse for the fray. 
 
 There are in the case of some shooters habits of 
 carelessness that seem incurable, though it is charit- 
 able to suppose they do try to mend their ways. That 
 dreadful one of swinging a gun on game, when such 
 
 H 
 
98 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 aiming crosses dangerous points, is one of the worst 
 vices of a careless shooter, and has caused many sad 
 accidents. It is a habit that is especially dangerous 
 when birds that fly somewhat low, such as grouse or 
 partridges, are being driven towards the guns. For a 
 shooter to swing his gun on a bird from his front to 
 his rear (finger against trigger, in all probability), 
 crossing with the muzzle, in doing so, other guns 
 within range of his shot I would almost say within 
 sight of him is unpardonable, as it is just as easy 
 for him, when wishing to fire behind, to lift the 
 muzzle of his gun well over the line of his friends' 
 heads, afterwards dropping it on to the bird he wishes 
 to kill, so as to clear his companions, and ensure their 
 safety from accident. 
 
 The very nervous shooter is almost as dangerous 
 as the very careless one, as the former never seems 
 able to make up his mind, and is as likely at any 
 moment to fire a dangerous shot as a safe one. This 
 class of shooter should be placed at a distance from 
 his friends, and given at the same time careful in- 
 structions in which direction he alone may fire, and 
 as little discrimination allowed him as possible in the 
 use of his gun. 
 
 Though, let us hope, a careful shot yourself, invari- 
 ably keep a sharp eye on fellow-sportsmen, and you 
 will soon discover, and hence learn to give a wide 
 berth to, those among your friends who flourish their 
 guns about like a gardener sprinkling his flowers from 
 
Mir. ON SAFE SHOOTING 99 
 
 a watering-pot, or who, so long as they can bang off 
 at any game that rises near or far, will do so, even in 
 the case of doubtfully safe shots. If you cannot 
 retain a safe distance from such shooters as the above, 
 my advice is, go home to write important letters, for 
 'twere better to run the risk of giving offence than be 
 liable to have your eyesight damaged, or even to be 
 made a sieve of. 
 
 If you chance to be shooting for the first time 
 with a stranger, keep on his right-hand side, as it is 
 the usual practice indeed, natural habit to carry 
 guns pointing towards the left ; also, force on your 
 companion the compliment of preceding you, even 
 through the most prickly hedge; and recollect when 
 shooting with a farmer and it is not unusual in these 
 days to propitiate tenants by doing so 1 that if you place 
 yourself so that rabbits are liable to run between you 
 
 1 It is certainly wise policy, as well as kind behaviour, to bestow 
 on tenants such a well-deserved I may say, well-earned compliment 
 as a day's sport. On large estates it is becoming, I am glad to say, 
 an annual institution that those tenants who are fond of their gun 
 should enjoy a day or two's rabbit-shooting, with a few cock pheasants 
 included, for the benefit of the lucky holders of game licences. I am 
 sure such a day, with its good-fellowship, amply-provided refreshment 
 and equal division of the spoil, is considered not only a genuine treat, 
 but also some small return to the tenants, as the latter generally con- 
 tribute not a little to the sport experienced by the owner or lessee of the 
 land, by assisting his keepers in the preservation of the game. If a little 
 more generosity of this nature were the fashion, when feasible, we 
 should not hear such complaints as : ' My dear sir, I give you my 
 word, when I went over my shooting the other day there was a farmer 
 with a double-barrelled gun in one hand and a Kadical newspaper in 
 the other looking out of every house-door I passed.' 
 
 H 2 
 
ioo LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 and him, he, honest fellow, will consider killing, or, 
 at all events, firing at the rabbits, the first considera- 
 tion, and hitting you the second. 
 
 LOADEKS 
 
 Should you be enjoying such good shooting as to 
 require a pair of guns in use at the same time, of all 
 things avoid taking out a loader who is unversed in 
 the handling of a gun ; 'twere better to leave him at 
 home to brush your clothes or clean your boots, and 
 be content yourself with less sport. 
 
 To see an awkward squad of loaders, footmen, 
 valets, and under-keepers, as one sometimes does, 
 carrying their masters' guns in all positions, and at 
 all angles of danger, both to themselves and every 
 living thing near them, is perfectly appalling ; so give 
 your loader some careful drill before you venture to 
 accept his services at your side with a gun. 
 
 Teach him to stand on your right side, a little in 
 the rear ; to take the fired gun from your right hand 
 into his left as you hold it, muzzle pointing skyward, 
 and hand you the loaded gun from his right into your 
 left hand, muzzle also directed to the stars ; and, 
 above all things, make sure that, while in the act 
 of loading, your man never points a gun at anything, 
 except the ground immediately to his right front ; and 
 that, on closing the gun, he without fail hinges the 
 stock up to the barrels, instead of the barrels to the 
 stock the former being the only safe method for a 
 
vin. ON SAFE SHOOTING (LOADERS} 
 
 loader to practise, as he cannot then, by lifting the 
 barrels, cause risk to your companions or yourself 
 should the gun by chance explode. You should also 
 be careful to teach him that, in the movement of 
 raising the gun to hand it to you ready to fire, he 
 should sweep the muzzle clear of all dangerous 
 points. 
 
 If you have only fired one barrel, be sure that you 
 put your gun to ' safe ' if a hammerless, or let the 
 hammer of the unfired barrel down in the case of a 
 hammer-gun, before handing your weapon to be loaded. 
 J)o not omit this precaution on any account. Above 
 all things, never permit your loader to ' touch the 
 hammers or safety-bolt of your gun on handing it 
 to him that is a sine qua non ; then, if you follow the 
 above instructions, he cannot possibly fire it, or 
 give it back to you in a dangerous condition. 
 
 Do not hurry and flurry your loader by entreating 
 him to load quicker, and so, perhaps, cause him in 
 his anxiety to become careless of previous cautions as 
 to the safe handling of your gun. It is of no use 
 saying to him, * Hang it, man, look sharp ! Here's 
 another bird coming ! ' If he is not blind, he pro- 
 bably sees it as well as you, and is, may be, grinding 
 his teeth and skinning his fingers over a tight cart- 
 tridge, or at all events doing all he can as rapidly as 
 he is able. It is well, when using two guns, to carry 
 a half-dozen cartridges in your pocket for emergencies, 
 as by their assistance, just when most required, you 
 
^ : ETTJ?S TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 may down two or three birds whilst your man is 
 wrestling with and swearing at an obstinate fired case 
 that he cannot extract from your second gun. An 
 extractor dangling from a button by a thong of 
 leather (the latter at least Sin. long, and tucked into 
 an outside pocket) will be found very convenient for 
 occasions such as the above ; and let your loader be 
 similarly equipped. 
 
 An invariable rule, that should never be broken, is 
 for a shooter to extract loaded cartridges from his gun 
 when crossing a stile, a hedge, or a ditch. He should 
 act thus even in the case of an obstruction he can 
 almost step over. Out with the cartridges ; doing so 
 and reloading is but the work of a second, gives no 
 trouble, and makes your gun absolutely safe ; and 
 then, when you do catch your foot and fall though 
 such an accident may but occur once in several 
 seasons there is no danger of your gun firing from 
 the tumble you give it, and perchance causing an 
 accident you can never forget or cease lamenting. 
 
 However securely a loaded gun be held, and how- 
 ever good and reliable its action and safety arrange- 
 ments, yet a sprawling fall on the shooter's part might 
 disarrange its mechanism ; and, though the gun 
 chance to fire accidentally but once in your lifetime, 
 that once may, as I have said, do damage beyond all 
 repair. Hence, make it a rule to unload when cross- 
 ing obstacles, and you cannot inflict harm on your- 
 self or others. By not unloading there is always a 
 
vni. ON SAFE SHOOTING (LOADER g) 103 
 
 bare possibility of an accident ; and, however slight 
 such a chance may be, it is surely better to have none 
 at all when you can so easily put all vestige of risk 
 to one side. 
 
 Let a hundred shots be lost at birds that rise just 
 as you are scrambling to your feet on the far side of 
 a hedge, rather than cross it with a loaded gun, is my 
 advice. 
 
 Be most careful, also, to see that your loader, if 
 you happen to be using a pair of guns, pays as 
 much attention to safety on all occasions as you do 
 yourself. 
 
 If the loader, who has care of your second gun, is 
 a stranger to you, keep a very strict watch on him 
 till you are confident he is an expert ; and if he 
 shows by his behaviour he is not, do not allow him to 
 load at all only to unload, and then merely return 
 the gun ready for you to charge from your pocket as 
 required. 
 
 Sometimes a shooter cannot bring a loader with 
 him to a shooting party, and is then obliged to 
 borrow one from his host. Never shall I forget the 
 face of a particularly cautious old gentleman who, 
 through some mischance, had been forced to take a 
 strange assistant for the day to bear his second gun. 
 As the sportsman was cautiously climbing a stiff 
 fence and balancing on the top, he inclined a little 
 backwards. His loader, instead of using his hand, 
 propped his temporary master forward with the muzzle 
 
IO4 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 of the gun he carried ; and, in reply to an angry 
 expostulation, remarked : ' It's all right, sir : the gun 
 is only at half-cock, and I feared you were going to 
 fall.' 
 
 While alluding to the suhject of loaders, it is 
 worthy of note that the most dangerous position 
 which a shooter can be in is with an untrained 
 assistant in a grouse-box especially in a circular one. 
 The loader should, in such case, stoop on the right 
 side of the shooter, with the muzzles of the guns, as 
 he charges them, pointed to his front ; and he will 
 have to hand you your guns with his left hand or, 
 better still, stand them ready for you to take up as 
 required. If he loads with the guns pointing inside 
 the box as he must do in the case of a circular one 
 he will, unless well looked after, not only be liable 
 to sweep your legs with their muzzles now and again, 
 but will also be very likely to choke the ends of the 
 barrels with turf, for want of space. As a matter of 
 safety and convenience, when a loader is required on 
 the moors, and the shooter has to shift his position 
 for driven birds, there is no double grouse-box so safe 
 as one the ground-plan of which is like the letter H, 
 as here shown. Your loader can in this one half- 
 kneel at your right side, a little behind you, and 
 charge the guns with their muzzles directed towards 
 the open moor ; he cannot then blow off your feet, 
 and leave you to ' shoot upon your stumps ' for 
 the rest of your life. But the above subject, as 
 
VIM ON CARRYING A GUN SAFELY 105 
 
 well as how to protect the shooters from each other 
 and the best form of boxes, I shall, if I publish another 
 volume, include in a ' Letter on Grouse Driving.' 
 
 HOW TO CARRY A GUN SAFELY 
 
 I must not omit a few words concerning how to 
 carry a gun with safety. If you are placed on the right 
 flank of other shooters, be very careful, especially when 
 walking in line, not to cover your neighbours on the left 
 with the muzzle of your gun. Though an inexcusable 
 habit, it is one I not seldom witness at intervals 
 towards the end of a long day's sport when the shooters 
 are tired. Of course, if made a regular custom of, the 
 careless shooter who thus acted would be remonstrated 
 with, and rightly, by some one who objected to look up 
 his gun-barrels. 
 
 The pleasantest way of carrying a gun, when not 
 expecting many or sudden chances, or when walking 
 from place to place, is doubtless to carry it over the 
 shoulder, the top rib upwards ; but the safest method 
 is to carry it on your shoulder, top-rib downwards. By 
 adopting the former position for the gun, especially if 
 the shooter be of short stature or uneven ground be 
 traversed, the muzzle will now and again point quite 
 low, and therefore dangerously, though the owner of 
 the gun may not be aware of the fact ; by the latter 
 
io6 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 plan, the gun can only point at the weather-cocks in 
 the neighbourhood. 
 
 When walking in line at a good pace and expecting 
 game to rise now and again, carry a gun either under 
 the right arm, muzzle directed straight to the front, 1 or 
 else with the gun athwart your body, the muzzle point- 
 ing high across the left breast and well forward the 
 latter being the readier attitude of the two for a shot. 
 
 If walking slow with birds rising, or when drawing 
 up to a dog pointing, carry the gun with the muzzle 
 slightly raised, the barrels level, the left side of the 
 stock against the right hip-bone. 
 
 When standing for driven birds, hold the muzzle 
 well up, the butt resting against the front of the right 
 thigh, and the right barrel slightly inclined downwards. 
 
 If you see birds on the wing at a short distance 
 coming directly towards you, hold the gun a little away 
 from the body, the muzzle high, and the arms partly 
 extended, the heel of the stock just level with the 
 inside of the right elbow. You can then put the gun 
 instantly to the shoulder as the game comes within shot. 
 
 1 As this is rather a tiring way of carrying a gun, though a very 
 usual one, it will be found a considerable relief to the arm if the 
 shooter has a strip of material to match his dress, 2 inches broad 
 and 6 inches long, down the right side of his coat, just conveniently 
 placed for his right hand. The ends of the strip being sewn to the 
 coat, a loop is formed that acts like a sling to the hand, and greatly 
 eases the weight of the gun. 
 
vi IT. ACCIDENTS TO GUNS 107 
 
 If rabbit shooting in covert, hold the butt between 
 the arm and the right side, the right hand grasping 
 the handle of the gun, the left weft, forward along the 
 barrels, as it always should be when aiming (or even 
 when about to aim), the muzzle pointing downwards 
 and straight to the front. 1 
 
 Now a few lines about the actual safety of a gun 
 from accident through an obstruction in the barrels. 
 It is an error to suppose that a barrel will, as a matter 
 of course, burst through any foreign substance stop- 
 ping up its barrels. 
 
 What will burst a barrel is a stoppage representing 
 a certain amount of weight ; for instance, I have 
 known a barrel split from the joint of a cleaning rod 
 being carelessly left in the barrel by a keeper after 
 cleaning the gun, and which was unsuspectingly fired 
 off. I have also split a gun-barrel, for the sake of 
 experiment, by placing a charge of shot, wadded both 
 sides, half way up the barrel. A few inches of snow 
 or wet earth in a barrel will also burst a gun, as such 
 substances are compressed by the explosion of the 
 powder instead of being driven out in the form of a 
 bolt. 
 
 1 Do not allow your loader to carry a gun or guns over his 
 shoulder if the ground is rough or slippery ; as, should he trip up, 
 he may very likely smash a stock short off at the handle, and break 
 his head too 1 Guns are best carried at the ' trail ' over uneven ground, 
 then they can be dropped instantly in case of necessity : and without 
 damage, instead of being involuntarily jerked from the shoulder. 
 
io8 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTFRS LETTER vm. 
 
 I therefore advise the young shooter, before he 
 fires a shot on commencing a day's sport, to look 
 through his barrels without fail, and to make a point 
 of doing so should he have a missfire ; as sometimes 
 it has happened once to myself that with a nitro- 
 compound there had been no missfire, but the cap 
 had in some way failed to explode the charge, yet had 
 developed sufficient force to drive the wads and shot 
 partly up the barrel. Should another cartridge be 
 fired in such a case, an accident is more than prob- 
 able. 
 
 In concluding this letter, I will say that the first 
 and strongest recommendation of a young shooter is 
 his reputation for being an undeniably safe shot ; and 
 it is well for him to realise that to be an accurate shot 
 is not of nearly so much real importance, when shoot- 
 ing, as being a safe shot. Many shooters, I imagine, 
 will agree with me when I write that the number of 
 shots one sees fired from year to year that might have 
 been dangerous, and ought to have caused accidents 
 but which, by sheer good luck and nothing else, did 
 no t are more numerous than pleasant, more exciting 
 than interesting. 
 
109 
 
 LETTEE IX 
 
 ON KILLING GAME, AND SHOOTING GENE- 
 BALLY, IN A SPORTSMANLIKE MANNER 
 
 FAIR SHOOTING 
 
 BECAUSE a shooter is a crack shot, it by no means 
 follows that he is an accomplished sportsman ; as there 
 are men, downright bad shots, who are capital fellows 
 and real sportsmen in every sense of the word, whilst 
 there are good shots who are the reverse ; for though 
 a shooter may bring his game down with unfailing 
 accuracy, he may yet lack the qualities essential to a 
 true sportsman. Without doubt it is very pleasant to 
 kill with certainty, and it shows great skill to do so, 
 yet I do not envy the shooter, however straight his 
 powder may be, who is a mere ' killing machine,' and 
 who does not rejoice in observing the many elements 
 of instruction and pleasure incidental to a day's 
 shooting. 
 
 I cdnsider the first idea paramount in the mind of 
 a real sportsman is to avoid wounding his game as 
 much as lies in his power, and, when by mischance 
 
no LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 his game is wounded, to do his utmost to retrieve it 
 quickly, and thus prevent unnecessary suffering and 
 perhaps a lingering death. 
 
 A man who is endowed with a true feeling of sport 
 will always endeavour to give his game a chance I 
 can think of no better word to express what I mean 
 as much from the good old English feeling of fair play 
 to all and everything as from any other reason ; and 
 in a day's shooting it is curious how often this ques- 
 tion of fair play, whether to the game or to one's 
 fellow-shooters, comes to the front, and how easy it is 
 to detect a shooter who is imbued with the right feel- 
 ing of a sportsman from one who is not. But enough 
 of this moralising. Let me, instead, allude to how a 
 young shooter should behave to the game and to his 
 companions. Two important faults for him to guard 
 against are long shots and shots too near. Nothing 
 looks so bad, or of course spoils game more, whether 
 bird or beast, than killing it but a few yards from the 
 gun ; in the first case a cloud of feathers and a rag of 
 bones and flesh, in the second the front and hind 
 quarters held together by the skin of the back, or, 
 perhaps, the head blown half off an occurrence that 
 makes one long at the time to dig a hole and bury all 
 evidence of such a disgrace. 
 
 SHOTS TOO NEAR 
 
 Always allow a bird rising in front, especially a 
 large bird like a pheasant, to reach a fair distance, 
 
ix. SHOTS TOO NEAR in 
 
 say 25 yards, and, if possible, in the case of a rabbit, 
 18 yards. I mean, do not fire under these distances, 
 even if, by restraining your trigger, you lose a chance 
 of killing. It is far more sportsmanlike to allow the 
 game to escape, than, by too close shooting, to bag it 
 in a worthless state for food. In the case of driven 
 birds, such as grouse or partridges, it is another affair, 
 as they can be killed without risk of damage at a closer 
 distance, for, being small birds, they do not receive 
 many pellets, and when coming towards the shooter 
 their plumage is a great protection to them; but 
 recollect that at a range at which a driven partridge 
 or a grouse can be killed without spoiling, a pheasant 
 might be made mince-meat of, even with a cylinder- 
 gun. 
 
 In regard to rabbits, they have, I admit, on occa- 
 sions, to be killed somewhat near, especially if dodging 
 about in fern or brambles. In this case aim straight 
 for the head, and do not commit the cruel though not 
 uncommon enormity of firing at the place where you 
 see the leaves stirring, as you are then just as liable 
 to blow off the hindquarters of poor bunny as to hit 
 him in the head. A rabbit is a plucky and sporting 
 little beast, and, if he has to be killed, should be 
 treated mercifully with sudden death, yet not fired 
 at so near as to spoil his flesh for the table. 
 
 One- third, at least, of the rabbits that are shot 
 in covert are spoilt, and are worth little in con- 
 sequence. This often results from the system of 
 
ii2 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 * five hundred rabbits ought to be killed to-day, and 
 five hundred must be killed, if possible ' ; and killed 
 they are, whether at a fair distance or at the very toes 
 of the shooters, and a large amount of good food is 
 wasted from being shot to pieces. 
 
 If birds rise too near, it is an ugly habit to put your 
 gun up and follow them with the muzzle till they reach 
 a reasonable distance. Acting thus may, besides, 
 concentrate your attention on the aim to such an ex- 
 tent as to prevent you from noticing the position of 
 your friends, or any other shots that offer. Keep the 
 gun down till the game is at a sporting range ; then 
 put it up quickly and fire. If a fellow- shooter bangs 
 off whilst you are allowing a bird to reach a fair 
 distance, and afterwards remarks he imagined you did 
 not see it, or inquires why you did not fire, reply, 
 
 * Because I particularly dislike to see game spoilt by 
 close shooting, and I was giving it a little law before 
 bringing it down.' 
 
 SHOTS TOO FAB 
 
 I now come to long shots ; these are more cruel 
 than shots fired too close, and just as wasteful. Occa- 
 sionally a very long shot is a successful one, and this 
 encourages the shooter to continue in his thoughtless- 
 ness ; but he little knows, for every bird he kills at 
 long distances, how many he wounds that fly away to 
 die, or to waste into mere skeletons that are no use 
 for food when they are found limping about, or 
 
ix. SHOTS TOO FAR 113 
 
 perhaps, instead of being found, are worried by some 
 prowling cat or fox. 
 
 Even when very long shots seem successful, it is 
 frequently the case that the game is not gathered; 
 for, though the spectators on such occasions may 
 exclaim, * What a splendid shot it was ! ' no shot is a 
 splendid one when the game goes unretrieved, as, 
 oftener than not, is the case after these ' gallery ' per- 
 formances. If the admirers of a long shot troubled 
 to inquire at the time, they would generally find an 
 addition to the bag could not be counted ; and though 
 it is, no doubt, a sad spectacle to witness game blown 
 to pieces by being shot too near, yet I would much 
 sooner this occurred than see it escape in a wounded 
 condition ; for, at all events, in the former case the 
 shooter is the loser in the latter it is the game that 
 suffers. 1 
 
 1 Young shooters are rather prone to describe their supposed long 
 shots, and generally commence to do so with curious similitude of 
 phrase, such as ' You never saw in your life such a shot as I killed 
 the other day ! ' and, strange to say, all these long shots we hear of 
 are at 70 yards rarely under or over that distance. It seems as if 
 this was a general length that fitted them all. The fact is, there is 
 not one shooter in a score who can guess with approximate accuracy 
 the correct distance of a long shot. ' That bird was 50 yards, another 
 was 60 yards ; one I killed the other day, an extraordinary long one, 
 was 70 yards,' and so on, are statements we not seldom hear. A 
 pheasant, grouse, or partridge, perhaps rises or crosses at 45 yards, 
 is struck by the shot in fact, killed at 50 yards, and slopes down 
 wind to 65 yards. As it lies on the ground (though, if it does not 
 run, it may have rebounded or fluttered another 5 yards) it looks an 
 immensely long shot, and the happy shooter who killed it exclaims, 
 'Keeper, just step the distance from me to that bird.' Off goes 
 
ii4 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 The grand object with all winged game is to see it fall 
 dead to the ground, having died in the air the head 
 
 Velveteens with solemn face and tread, and shouts out when he 
 reaches the game, ' 80 yards, sir, every " hinch " of it,' the sly rogue 
 having probably added 10 yards or so, as he has no doubt a private 
 reason for gratifying the shooter's vanity. For the rest of the day 
 and half the night ' Did you see that wonderful shot that I made at 
 a cock pheasant? ' is a query often heard. I sometimes read, though 
 I have never seen such performances, of first-rate marksmen killing 
 regularly up to ranges of 50 and 60 yards, or even more. I only 
 hope I may live to see it done. Of course, very long shots can be 
 sometimes made at easy birds flying low and from the shooter, as at 
 partridges rising before him ; but it is simply nonsense to imagine that, 
 at all-round game, shots at such distances can be frequently effected 
 with success by anyone, I do not care who he is. Even at the long, low, 
 straight-away, or, easier still, at the low, slightly crossing 'birds, the 
 spot where the bird first dropped, as may be seen by the feathers on 
 open ground, is not generally within ten yards of the supposed dis- 
 tance. I do not consider a bird that flutters down, or drops in the 
 form of a runner, but one that falls dead i/nder the spot at which it 
 was killed. An old friend of mine (he will smile when he reads this, 
 as he is quite of my way of thinking now) used constantly to pace 
 his long shots, and, what is more, made pretty little diagrams of them 
 in a pocket book : and how often he fired these shots again over his 
 smoking-room fire is best known to himself; for, like the true sports- 
 man he is, he never paraded his success or made notes thereon in 
 the field, save when out alone. It occurred to me one day, however, 
 as bad luck would have it, to test his stride ; he is not a short man 
 either, being quite the average height. I induced him to pace 65 
 yards on level ground, in twelve different places, sticks being put to 
 mark each length as completed. The infallible measuring-chain 
 being run over the length, I found the supposed 65 yards in nine 
 cases averaged 58 yards, and in the other three cases 57 yards only. 
 That the above applies to the measurement of most long shots, par- 
 ticularly on uneven ground, I have no doubt. It is curious what 
 apparently long, and yet what really short paces, a man can step 
 when he wishes to measure a long shot fired by himself ; and yet 
 what very long steps the same man can stride when he is testing a 
 long shot by someone else. One of the first lessons for a young 
 shooter to learn is, when a long shot is likely to be a successful one,. 
 
ix. SHOTS TOO FAR 115 
 
 down, and the wings collapsed and clapped together 
 like the lid of a box. Birds that slope down and run, or 
 fah 1 at a distance wounded, are not fine shots, however 
 far the game and the shooter were apart when the latter 
 fired. These are merely half-killed birds, that probably 
 require the assistance of dogs and men to bring them 
 to bag to say nothing of the waste of time incurred 
 in searching for them. 
 
 Sometimes, I fear, the good marksmen are most 
 to blame in firing at game at impossible distances. 
 Such men, rarely failing to drop their game at ordinary 
 ranges, look upon a long shot as a subject for experi- 
 ment, similar to a difficult and uncertain stroke at 
 billiards. Their aim being true they seldom miss ; 
 but those three or four feathers that come floating 
 down after the shot is fired tell a sad tale to one who 
 knows. Very long shots, say at 60 to 70 yards, when 
 successful, are, after all, nothing but flukes, and are 
 small proof of a gun's power or a man's aim. The 
 pattern of the shot is so wide, at such extravagant 
 distances, that it is not difficult to hit the mark; 
 but if the game is killed on the spot, it is the result of 
 perhaps one peUet having struck the head a mere 
 accident that may occur once in twenty shots, though 
 the bird be wounded almost every time ; for there is 
 
 and when it is not, and, in the latter case, to restrain his trigger- 
 finger 1 For instance, a bird that offers a ' tail shot ' as it flies away 
 low will rarely be dropped dead at 40 yards, its vital parts being un- 
 assailable ; though the same bird crossing at that distance may fall 
 like a stone, from being struck in the head and neck ! 
 
 i 2 
 
n6 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 always a likelihood, even at 70 yards, of two or three 
 pellets striking the body of a bird, without sufficient 
 force to kill, yet with enough velocity to manufacture 
 a * cripple.' 
 
 The owner of an estate will usually take care not 
 to wound his own game by firing long shots ; and a 
 young shooter should be equally careful not to do it 
 for him. An inferior shot is always liable to wound 
 from incorrect aiming ; but this is excusable if he 
 fired at a reasonable range : and in his case it cannot 
 be helped, though he may be assisted by a good 
 marksman placed near him. But firing at game at 
 long ranges likely to wound, whether the sportsman 
 be a good or a bad shot, is unsportsmanlike more so 
 than shooting at game too near ; as in the latter case, 
 though it may be spoilt, it is, at all events, killed on 
 the spot, and saved needless suffering. 
 
 THE ETIQUETTE OF THE SHOOTING-FIELD 
 
 Fair play towards fellow- shooters is a good quality 
 in a young shooter. If, for instance, a bird rises 
 before him in covert, and offers a low and easy, I may 
 say stupid, shot, he should certainly not fire if 
 another shooter happens to stand forward ; as by the 
 time the game reaches the latter it will probably 
 afford him a high and sporting mark for his gun. 
 Such little compliments as these tend to good-fellow- 
 
ix. THE ETIQUETTE OF SHOOTING 117 
 
 ship out shooting, and are usually repaid with interest 
 when the time comes. 
 
 Be very careful not to fire at a bird that rises 
 nearer to another shooter than yourself; or which is 
 a fair shot for your friend and a long one for you ; 
 or at a bird that rises too far from or too near you, 
 and which, if left alone, will afford your neighbour a 
 fair mark. Above all things, avoid anything ap- 
 proaching jealous shooting, even though your com- 
 panions may be foolish enough to indulge in it; 
 jealousy makes shooting a rcrii dangerous sport. 1 
 
 On no account should you fire at game till the 
 man to whom the first chance at it properly 
 belonged has discharged both barrels. Then, if it 
 offers you a fair shot, you can have a try : though, if 
 you kill, you had better half-apologise for doing so, and 
 account for your success through the bird having 
 given you an easy chance ; for to ' wipe a man's eye ' 
 may be all very pleasant for you, but the man who 
 has had his ' eye wiped ' is not, perhaps, so satisfied 
 especially if he be a much older sportsman or con- 
 fessedly a superior shot to yourself. So, if you 
 are fortunate in doing this latter feat, do it delicately, 
 I advise. 
 
 It is well for a young shooter to recollect, if he is 
 one of a party, that he cannot always be in the best 
 
 1 I hate a really jealous man in the shooting-field 1 His motto is, 
 so long as he has his fling, and obtains plenty of shots, the game and 
 the other guns may go to the devil all go right or all go wrong. 
 
[iS LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 place for obtaining shots, and that he will have to 
 take his turn with the other sportsmen and trust to 
 his luck, and certainly not endeavour, if he is in an 
 unfavourable position, to try and better it without 
 directions from the person in authority. In a well- 
 organised shooting day it is the object of the host to 
 deal out the best places to his friends in turn, 
 whatever their rank or powers of marksmanship may 
 be ; and should a bad shot chance to enjoy the best 
 place, a good marksman can always be placed behind 
 him to back him up and prevent the game escaping. 
 I recollect hearing on one occasion of a head keeper 
 placing the noble lords continually in the best places 
 in a day's shooting, till at length one of the party, 
 without a handle to his name, losing patience at being 
 always sent to walk up with the beaters, exclaimed, 
 in a well-assumed injured tone, ' Where am I to go 
 this time, keeper ? Perhaps you are not aware I'm a 
 banker, and the fifth son of a bishop ! ' 
 
 It is very unsportsmanlike to edge up tp another 
 gun who is enjoying plenty of shooting, with the 
 object of sharing his luck and taking some of his shots, 
 unless your assistance is requested, as it may be, if 
 the game rises too fast for your neighbour to kill a 
 good percentage. Nor is it ever a correct proceeding 
 for a shooter to change his place, especially when 
 standing for driven birds, even should he be able to 
 kill more by doing so. It is best for him to previously 
 inquire if he may move in case of the game breaking 
 
ix. THE ETIQUETTE OF SHOOTING 119 
 
 away out of his reach ; else, should a young shooter 
 take it upon himself to alter his position, he may hear 
 hard words spoken to him for having intercepted the 
 birds from being driven in a proper direction for future 
 sport. 
 
 When walking in line, a shooter cannot well alter 
 his course, unless he does so wilfully. He should be 
 cautious to keep in line. Few lag behind, but some 
 men will gallop forward of the rest. Nothing seems 
 to cure them of this annoying habit ; whether they 
 do so under the mistaken idea that they procure more 
 shots, or for some other reason, has always been a 
 mystery to me. By walking ahead of a line of guns, 
 though but a few yards forward, a shooter generally 
 drives the birds, as they rise, to either side of him, 
 for the other guns to kill. This is of no consequence, 
 as it serves him right ; but he also often prevents his 
 companions from killing the game through his being 
 in the line of fire shots that neither he nor they can 
 safely take by reason of the irregular line caused 
 through one gun marching ahead of the others. 
 
 This sort of behaviour is always looked upon with 
 disapprobation by other sportsmen, as, whether 
 correct in their surmises or not, it gives them the 
 idea that the man who persistently walks forward of 
 the line is endeavouring to jockey his fellow- shooters, 
 and obtain more than his fair share of the sport. 
 
 It is not an uncommon habit with a young sports- 
 man, should a bird rise or fly past when two or more 
 
I2O LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER: 
 
 shooters are standing together, to be the first to blaze 
 off. Unless the game is palpably his shot, either 
 from its or his position, he should not fire. If it is as 
 much another gun's shot as it is his, he had better 
 leave it alone, and, to prevent the shot being lost 
 through mutual hesitation cry, ' Yours ' to his neigh- 
 bour just as when fielding at cricket a ' catch ' may 
 come to two fielders, either of whom could hold the 
 ball if left to do so without interference. 
 
 When out shooting with one friend, be sure you do 
 not fire at the same birds as he does, else your four 
 barrels may bring down but a brace out of a covey 
 rising between you, and these, moreover, so riddled 
 with shot as to be only fit for soup. Take the birds 
 in the covey that are nearest to you, whether you be 
 walking or standing. If you are on the right of your 
 friend you will take the right-hand birds,vand he the 
 left-hand ones, or the reverse, according to your 
 respective positions. When walking in line, this 
 equally applies to the gun on your right and the one 
 on your left. 
 
 It is from a little want of knowledge on the part of 
 shooters as to how the game, as it rises, should be 
 divided among their guns, that it so often occurs, when 
 a couple of fairly easy birds and one or two very 
 easy are flushed at the same time, that the contents 
 of the sportsmen's barrels are showered into the 
 latter, and the former fly away unharmed, when, by a 
 little exercise of judgment, all the birds might have 
 
ix. THE ETIQUETTE OF SHOOTING 121 
 
 been killed. For the above reason a man may be a 
 good shot, and yet not be so successful as another man, 
 of perhaps less accurate aim, who, from his better 
 discrimination of the position of the game, takes full 
 advantage of every chance that offers. 
 
 A young sportsman's reputation in connection with 
 shooting can be easily spoilt : one or two dangerous 
 or unsportsmanlike shots, and the argument of the 
 proverbial dog with a bad name holds good. There 
 is no excuse for the former style of shot ; though for 
 the latter an apology, and future care not to repeat 
 the mistake may set matters straight. 
 
 There are more people in a party of shooters who 
 watch with critical eyes the behaviour of an inexpe- 
 rienced shot than he suspects ; and let me tell him he 
 should take just as much care not to fire too near a 
 beater as if the latter were a * prince of the blood.' 
 One of the neatest hints I ever heard of to be more 
 careful in their aim was given to his friends by a host 
 who printed on his game cards, after the usual list of 
 pheasants, hares, rabbits, &c.. Keepers, beaters, dogs, 
 windows ! 
 
 I have seen shooters, who though they never 
 aimed near a friend's person, yet would kill rabbits all 
 round the legs of the beaters, as if the lives of the 
 latter were of secondary consideration. 
 
 The most unfortunate and unpleasant thing that 
 can occur to a young shooter, after he has fired a 
 careless shot, is to hear the cry of < Who fired that 
 
122 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOO TEX s 
 
 shot ? ' then to see a beater limping out of covert, and 
 be forced to admit who fired the shot, and have to 
 hand out a guinea as a solatium for the present, with 
 the chance of a doctor's bill looming in the future to 
 say nothing of the sportsman's reputation as a safe 
 marksman being irretrievably damaged. 
 
 In a day's shooting, the shooters are the actors 
 whose every act is criticised, and the assistants are 
 the audience in the theatre of sport ; and very critical 
 and capable observers the latter usually are too. 
 
 There are, however, many points of etiquette in 
 the shooting field that require to be learnt intuitively, 
 and from experience rather than from print. For 
 example, never call attention to your own skill ; this 
 can easily be seen by your friends without your im- 
 pressing it upon them ; doing so only leads to the con- 
 clusion that to shoot weD is an unusual and not a 
 frequent attainment on your part. Nor should you 
 make excuses for missing ; explanations of the latter 
 kind are absurd if you are a poor marksman, and if 
 you are a good shot they are not required, as every- 
 body fails to kill at times. Some shooters good 
 shots apparently look upon missing as a crime, and 
 fancy all present notice their failures ; though pro- 
 bably the other guns do not care 'a straw one way 
 or the other, and are much too intent upon their 
 own performances to criticise those of their neigh- 
 bours. 
 
 The shooters who are the worst marksmen gene- 
 
ix. THE ETIQUETTE OF SHOOTING 123 
 
 rally make the most excuses, as if it were quite an 
 exceptional occurrence for them to miss at all. I call 
 to mind the story of the gentleman a notably bad 
 shot who missed in fine style all day, and who, 
 grumbling furiously at every failure, finally lost his 
 temper completely, and exclaimed to his own keeper, 
 who was attending him, ' I can't shoot a bit to-day/ 
 and was met with the crushing reply, ' You shoots 
 well enough, Squire, but you hits nowt.' 
 
 There are certain rules you should always adhere 
 to when shooting. For instance, if you are walking 
 a covert out towards other guns posted forward outside, 
 never fire at low birds that rise in front of you, how- 
 ever tempting the shots appear ; nor should you even 
 fire at rabbits, unless they are near and the forward 
 guns are at a safe distance. In the same way, if a 
 forward gun yourself, on no account fire at low birds 
 coming towards you out of a covert, and only at 
 ground game between you and the guns walking up 
 when the latter are at a perfectly safe distance ; in 
 any case, it is better to stand quite still, and take 
 your shots as the game passes overhead or behind 
 you. 
 
 Counting the game you have killed at a stand, or 
 in a day's sport, and letting others know of your 
 success, is always unsportsmanlike, unless it is a 
 matter of general conversation or inquiry. Killing 
 more game than anybody else is oftener the result of 
 good luck than of good shooting. A young shooter 
 
124 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 seldom counts correctly, and the more he adds up as 
 his total (he does not often subtract), the less he 
 leaves for the other guns. I give an amusing example 
 of this that I can vouch for. One of the best shots in 
 England invited several young shooters to his grouse 
 moor ; the bag was a heavy one, and all save the host 
 were full of their own shooting, and what each gun had 
 killed as his share. After a deal of dispute as to how 
 this shooter had brought to bag fifty birds, and that 
 one sixty, they finally arranged everything to their 
 satisfaction a satisfaction somewhat marred when 
 the host, who had to every eye shot splendidly, 
 quietly remarked that ' he was afraid he should have 
 to give up shooting, because, during the day, he had 
 fired at least a hundred shots, and after subtracting 
 the bag accounted for by his friends from the real 
 total brought in by the keepers, it appeared that he 
 had only killed three birds.' 
 
 A young shooter needs cure himself of any ten- 
 dency to excitement in the field, such as may occur to 
 him when the game is in abundance. It is always the 
 man who is cool and collected who is not only the 
 safest shot, but the one who kills his game in the most 
 sportsmanlike style. However plentiful the game may 
 be, an absence of excitement will certainly enable a 
 shooter to use his judgment in discriminating between 
 safe and dangerous shots, and what he ought to fire 
 at and what he had best leave alone. Such a man 
 will also make up his mind instantly, whilst the 
 
ix. THE ETIQUETTE OF SHOOTING 125 
 
 nervous sportsman will point his gun and take it down, 
 and point it again, and then perhaps hesitate between 
 one bird and another, and finally pounce upon some- 
 body else's shot, or else fire at a bird too near or 
 too far, though a fair shot offered in front of his 
 nose. 
 
 It is thoroughly sportsmanlike behaviour of a 
 shooter who, being the host, takes a 'back seat,' 
 and places himself where he may rather have the 
 worst of the sport than the best. When he shoots 
 with his friends, he will probably have every chance 
 of a * front seat.' I like to see a host manage his 
 shooting, rather than participate in it, and throughout 
 the day arrange that his friends have the best of the 
 sport. To my mind, there is on these occasions just 
 as much, if not, indeed, more, pleasure in acting the 
 part of head keeper and seeing that all goes well, than 
 there is in slaying your own game. 1 
 
 Foolish and boasting wagers are most reprehensible 
 and unsportsmanlike, and are not seldom indulged in 
 by young shooters. Such talk as ' I'll back myself to 
 
 1 As far as the question of real sporting interest is concerned, and 
 putting on one side their respective values, I would sooner possess an 
 estate of fair size than own half a county. In the former case a landlord 
 can supervise the rearing and preservation of his game ; he will be 
 able to learn its habits and favourite localities, and hence realise the 
 amount of sport he is likely to show his friends. In the latter case, 
 a great deal has by necessity to be taken for granted, or is a matter 
 of surmise, as on very extensive properties the keepers alone really 
 know what the woods and fields contain in the way of game, espe- 
 cially in regard to distant beats. 
 
126 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER ix. 
 
 hit this or that mark,' ' Your gun does not shoot so 
 hard as mine,' and so forth, usually leads to ill-feeling, 
 if not risk. 
 
 I recollect hearing of two young sportsmen who 
 had a violent dispute as to the capabilities of their 
 guns, when finally one said, ' I dare stand behind the 
 corner of the house and hold out my hand, and I will 
 bet you a sovereign your gun will not put a pellet into 
 it at 50 yards, and here is one of my cartridges to try 
 with.' 
 
 Now this very clever youth had carefully drawn 
 the shot and substituted sand, and laughed in his 
 sleeve as his companion carefully paced the distance. 
 But his friend, being of a compassionate turn towards 
 what he considered the folly of his fellow-shooter, and 
 not wishing to hurt him, as he thought, more than 
 necessary for he felt confident in his aim and the 
 power of his gun substituted a No. 10 snipe cartridge 
 he chanced to have in his pocket instead of the one 
 supposed to contain No. 5 shot which his friend had 
 given him. The result may be imagined, though the 
 punishment was, I consider, deserved. 
 
127 
 
 LETTPJR X 
 ON COERECT AIMING- PRACTICAL 
 
 THE practice and theory of aiming correctly permits 
 of endless argument ; and next to aiming safely and 
 shooting generally in a sportsmanlike manner, the 
 gift of accuracy with his gun is of most importance to 
 a shooter's career ; for to kill his game with regularity 
 and neatness is probably the chief object of his 
 ambition the two former attributes being more 
 necessities than attainments. 
 
 It is all very well to talk of fine, old-fashioned sport 
 with setters and pointers, and of seeking your game 
 by their aid in what is often alluded to as if it 
 were the only sportsmanlike manner. That is well 
 enough ; but, on the other hand, we desire to kill the 
 game when found, and would do so every time we fire 
 were we able to ; and I expect that to nine out of ten 
 shooters the fact of bringing their game down dead is 
 the greatest pleasure they experience when afield, and 
 their failure to accomplish this their greatest disap- 
 pointment. 
 
 It is a very satisfactory thing to find, for instance, 
 a woodcock, or a wild pheasant, or a covey of par- 
 
128 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 tridges, after half an hour's hard work and careful 
 search ; but all the pleasure vanishes in a moment if 
 the shooter bangs off both barrels without success ; 
 and he then, likely enough, looks upon his previous 
 cleverness in hunting down his birds as so much time 
 wasted, though up to the moment of firing he held 
 quite another opinion. 
 
 There are people who will almost declare that the 
 pleasure of seeing their dogs work, and the mere 
 finding of the game, is about all they really care for, 
 and that skill with the gun is quite a secondary con- 
 sideration, a mere mechanical act, and an accessory 
 that cannot be dispensed with. I confess I am not 
 one of these one-sided enthusiasts. I like to see game 
 well brought to the gun, or the gun well taken to the 
 game, with equal pleasure ; but I do like to see the 
 game well killed, when the chance of killing does 
 occur. 
 
 Skill with the gun is in itself a delightful and 
 absorbing accomplishment ; and it is foolish to say 
 it is not, as it would be similar nonsense to insist 
 that there is no enjoyment to be derived from the 
 expert handling of a cricket bat, a billiard cue, a 
 racket, a bow, or any other implement requiring 
 dexterous use, which depends for its success upon the 
 excellence of the individual performer who wields it, 
 and which is often devoid of outside elements of 
 sport. 
 
 Some men shoot well from their first lesson with 
 
x. ON CORRECT AIMING (PRACTICAL) 129 
 
 a gun ; but such are born marksmen, and have not 
 so much acquired their skill by practice as by natural 
 gift. These few fortunates fire off their guns as if 
 they took no care in aiming, and yet drop their game 
 dead in fine style. On the other hand, there are 
 men who take the utmost care, and who are models of 
 perseverance, and hit next to nothing. To the 
 former, any alteration of style would probably ruin 
 their capabilities of shooting correctly ; in fact, they 
 want no teaching, and I do not write for such experts 
 as these, who, whether they handle a gun, a rod, a 
 bat, or a cue, appear to. take to it kindly and adroitly 
 from boyhood. It is a different matter, however, in 
 regard to the man or boy who, as an inferior shot, is 
 learning to shoot, or who, after years of practice, does 
 not improve or know how to do so; it is such as 
 these that I hope to assist. 
 
 How does a good shot aim ? He cannot tell you 
 himself, because so many personal attributes are 
 necessary to his success ; his hand, his eye, his figure, 
 and his brain all have their separate duties to 
 perform; and they are all performed momentarily, 
 without apparent consideration, though done instinc- 
 tively and together, and well-nigh methodically. 
 
 Your good shot picks up a gun and says : ' Now, 
 watch me ; I always stand like this. I put up my 
 gun, take no particular sight, and, bang ! down comes 
 the bird.' You do the same on the first opportunity, 
 
 E 
 
130 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 or think you do ; but, alas ! you nevertheless may 
 not notice much improvement in your shooting ; and 
 perhaps down the bird does not come as often as you 
 imagine it should do, considering the careful plans 
 you have matured for its execution. 
 
 It is never amiss, however, to copy a good model ; 
 and if you have the chance, observe the motions of a 
 first-rate shot, in the field, not in the gunroom, and 
 notice his style. It will very rarely be a bad style, 
 and imitation of it may assist you considerably. But 
 to do this successfully you need to be in figure and 
 height somewhat similar to your model; though, as 
 a short, stout man, for example, could never acquire 
 the easy and probably graceful attitudes of a tall, 
 slight one, the former will be obliged to do the best he 
 can for himself under different conditions. 
 
 Now, putting on one side, for the present, powers 
 of sight, readiness of hand and brain, and other ques- 
 tions, I may say that there are, at overhead and 
 crossing shots (the only really difficult ones), three 
 distinct methods of aiming, the causes and effects of 
 which I will endeavour to describe. 
 
 FIEST SYSTEM (a difficult one) 
 
 To aim ahead of the game in the first instance 
 without previously sighting it with the gun, and send 
 the charge of shot so as to intercept the mark as the 
 
x. ON CORRECT AIMING (PRACTICAL) 131 
 
 latter reaches the imaginary point in the atmosphere 
 which the shooter has decided to be the one where 
 the game and the shot from his gun should meet the 
 gun being stationary at the moment of firing. 
 
 SECOND SYSTEM (a good one) 
 
 To aim straight and fair at the game on first 
 putting the gun to the shoulder ; then to jerk the 
 muzzle the supposed necessary distance ahead, 
 according to pace and flight, and also pull trigger 
 with a stationary gun. 
 
 THIKD SYSTEM (the best) 
 
 To aim just forward of the head of the game at a 
 short range, and its own length ahead at a fairly long 
 one, and swing (in the case of shots at ordinary 
 ranges, jerk) the muzzle in line with the flight of the 
 object ; then fire, without stopping (there's the rub) 
 the quick, lateral movement of the gun, and without 
 dwelling a moment on the aim. 1 
 
 Except when game is fired at flying low towards 
 the shooter or going straight from him when killing 
 is an easy affair, and almost like a sitting shot 
 these three methods comprise the principles of aiming. 
 I will take them seriatim 
 
 1 The three \vords swing, jerk, and direct (as applied to a gun 
 when aiming), that occur in this letter, require some explanation 
 so as not to seem contradictory. The wort jerk and the word swing 
 
 K: 2 
 
132 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 COMMENTS ON FIRST SYSTEM OF AIMING 
 
 In the first example, the great difficulty is the act 
 of firing into space away from the game an unknown 
 space, too ; for it takes a rare good marksman to 
 judge in half a thought how many feet forward he 
 should fire at a bird flying across the sky when 
 he has to keep his eyes on the mark, in order to see 
 which way its flight inclines, and has also to decide 
 accurately on the imaginary point in the air which 
 he desires his shot to reach at the exact moment his 
 bird does so too. This is a difficult feat to accom- 
 plish with certainty in the case of a bird, though 
 with ground game a fairly easy one, as there is then, 
 from the nature of the surroundings, perhaps some- 
 what of a guide to go by in the matter of firing ahead. 
 
 This system is all very well in theory, but I believe 
 in practice it is seldom accomplished with regularity ; 
 and though shooters may fancy they achieve success 
 
 are practically similar in the sense in which I use them. For instance, 
 the gun-muzzle will have to be jerked to enable it to keep just for- 
 ward of the flight of a bird crossing rapidly at an ordinary distance : 
 to speak of swinging the gun in such case would imply too slow and 
 long a lateral movement of the barrels by the shooter. At a long shot, 
 however, the gun-muzzle can be momentarily swung with the line 
 of flight, as the longer the distance the more tune the shooter usually 
 has to aim, and the slower the game appears to fly ; hence the word 
 swing is then the more applicable expression to use. In regard to the 
 word direct, I use it to imply that the shooter should rather direct the 
 barrels of his gun toward the game he wishes to kill, than that he 
 should take a rifle-like aim with the actual sight of his gun. 
 
x. ON CORRECT AIMING (PRACTICAL) 133 
 
 by endeavouring to allow an exact distance forward of 
 their game, I expect that at the moment of pulling 
 trigger they rarely put their intentions into effect. 
 What is more, I am convinced that, by attempting to 
 fire into empty space just the supposed necessary 
 number of feet that the game will have traversed by 
 the time the shot should strike it, a shooter is very 
 likely to be led into acquiring a habit of pitching his 
 gun forward the same distance for nearly all the cross- 
 ing shots he fires, whether near or distant ; as it 
 would take a clever fellow to arrange during the 
 twentieth part of a second whether he should put 
 up his gun-muzzle so as to send the shot 4 feet, 
 8 feet, or 18 inches ahead of a crossing bird. 
 
 It is all very fine to say a correct judgment 
 of atmospheric space can be formed instinctively. 
 Though it may be done by long practice in the case of 
 first-rate shots, or by a fortunate chance in the case of 
 bad or average marksmen, still, the attempt to rule 
 out feet and inches in thin air is very liable to bother 
 a young shooter exceedingly, and to cause every shot 
 he fires to become an experiment, in the success of 
 which he does not feel confident. 
 
 Few can instantaneously decide the correct amount 
 to aim forward when this amount varies with every 
 shot, according as the game is parallel, slanting, 
 crossing, or overhead not to speak of such items 
 as pace of flight, strength of wind, distance, and 
 other considerations, all of which are most difficult to 
 
134 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 judge correctly on the instant, as there is so little 
 time for considering them. The fact is, a shooter 
 must act, not think, when aiming ; and the less he is 
 obliged to consider his shots the better will he shoot. 
 It is frequently the bird you see approaching in the 
 far distance, and that grants you as much leisure for 
 deliberation as a move at chess or a stroke at billiards, 
 and which you carefully prepare to slay with all the 
 certainty imaginable, that, when it does come within 
 range, seems to dash overhead without giving you any 
 time to carry out your well laid plans for killing it 
 as dead as a door-nail ! 
 
 How often do we hear the remark, after a clean 
 miss : ' If I had but fired 4 feet in front of that bird I 
 should have killed, but I only gave him about 3 feet.' 
 What the difference between 3 feet and 4 feet looks 
 like in front of a bird flying rapidly through the air 
 at 30 to 40 yards distance, I do not credit anyone 
 knowing. Nor do I believe the accurate calculation of 
 a forward space in the air is ever attempted by suc- 
 cessful marksmen ; or that the power of doing so is a 
 lesson that can be learnt by mortal eyes with sufficient 
 correctness to be of real service to a young shooter 
 when aiming. 
 
 The shooter who vows he aims in front of his 
 mark, and declares that he pulls the trigger when 
 there is a clear space of what he has pre-arranged it 
 is necessary to allow between his gun-muzzle and the 
 game, does not, I believe, really carry out his theory once 
 
^c. ON CORRECT AIMING (PRACTICAL) 135 
 
 in a score times ; but, from his habit of aiming well 
 forward, he is more likely to drop his bird though he 
 pull the trigger as its head is just crossing towards the 
 muzzle of the gun. That the shooter often fires his 
 gun actually at the point ahead of the game he fancies 
 he does, I do not credit. In this we see, however, 
 the difference between a bad and a good shot. The 
 former, even should he aim well forward, may fail to 
 fire till the mark has crossed the open space he has 
 allowed it ; the latter, besides hitting off the correct 
 line of the bird's flight, will fire so much quicker that 
 he actually does shoot more or less forward, or into 
 the head of the game (though not to the exact extent 
 he imagines), instead of shooting behind, by hesitating 
 over his aim and hanging on the trigger. 
 
 COMMENTS ON SECOND SYSTEM OF AIMING 
 
 That the first system of aiming is a quicker 
 method than the second, when a shooter can practise 
 it, there is no doubt ; as in the latter case he is forced 
 to take two sights at his game one when he first 
 covers it with the muzzle, and a second when he fires 
 at the spot in the air he hopes the object and his charge 
 of shot will reach simultaneously. At the same 
 time, the second system is a far more reliable one 
 than the first, and also easier to carry out, especially 
 in the event of driven birds passing overhead, as, 
 having once aligned the mark, and realised its correct 
 
136 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 line of flight, the shooter is more likely to hit it than 
 if he had taken no first sight at his bird. 
 
 COMMENTS ON THIKD SYSTEM OF AIMING 
 
 We now come to the third and best system, which 
 is, at ordinary sporting ranges, say up to 30 yards, 
 to aim just forward of the head of the game, and 
 jerk the gun with its line of flight, and pull the 
 trigger without checking the very short lateral move- 
 ment of the gun a plan that has one great advantage, 
 for no calculation is required of the shooter in the 
 matter of empty space, his gun muzzle being, as 
 regards aiming, close to the mark from first to last. 
 This system of aiming is thoroughly sound, if carried 
 out ; it is this carrying of it out that is the difficulty : 
 but then it is a difficulty that can, or at all events may, 
 be overcome by manipulation and not by calculation, 
 and is in consequence a system I strongly advise the 
 adoption of, and one which, by practice, will eventually 
 be the most likely to assist a young shooter in becom- 
 ing a good shot. 
 
 The hard part of the performance is to jerk th& 
 gun in line with the game, to fire quickly, without any 
 noticeable dwelling on the aim, and to fire without in 
 the least checking the lateral jerk of the gun as the 
 trigger is pulled. 
 
 You can easily test your power of doing this for 
 yourself. Direct two men to stand 30 yards apart, 
 and bowl a cricket-ball along the ground, so that it 
 
x. ON CORRECT AIMING (PRACTICAL) 137 
 
 passes, in line with its course, two upright sticks five 
 yards apart. You will probably find you can easily 
 follow the course of the ball from stick to stick with your 
 gun to the shoulder. Now aim in a similar way, and, 
 keeping the same swing on the gun as before, pull a 
 trigger when the ball is half-way between the sticks. 
 What happens? This. On snapping the lock the 
 muzzle of your gun will drop behind the ball ; and if 
 the ball had been a bird you would have * shot well 
 behind,' and not even feathered the tail of a cock 
 pheasant. 
 
 To acquire a correct habit of aiming with a ' lateral 
 jerk,' you should be able to see your gun-muzzle just 
 forward of the ball during its flight, after pulling the 
 trigger. If this occurs, it will prove you kept up the 
 necessary movement at the moment of firing ; then, if 
 the ball were the head of a bird at reasonable range, 
 you would have scored a kill. By frequent practice of 
 this kind, as well as at every bird you see on the wing, 
 small or large, you will eventually conquer the great 
 difficulty in all aiming at crossing game the perverse 
 tendency to check the lateral movement of the gun 
 on pulling trigger. 
 
 When you can keep up this ' swing,' or, rather, 
 'jerk,' throughout the flight of a ball (or of a bird) 
 moving fast or slow between two points a few yards 
 apart, and are able to pull both triggers quickly, and 
 yet not drop the gun-muzzle behind the mark on the 
 pull of either, you will find your shooting not a 
 
138 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER x. 
 
 little improved provided, of course, there was room 
 for improvement. 1 
 
 Do not allow the ball, when you are experiment- 
 ing, to be pitched in the air, as it then appears almost 
 stationary when at the summit of its flight. It is at 
 this turning-point that feats of aiming are performed 
 at pennies, stones, and such articles with a rifle ; they 
 are not nearly so difficult as they look, and are of no 
 service when practised with a view to attaining 
 accuracy at game with a gun. 
 
 1 The reason for snapping trigger at the ball as it passes between 
 two upright slicks placed in the ground in line with its course, and a 
 few yards apart, is in order to practise the shooter in firing without 
 any hesitation or dwelling on his aim. He should be able to sight 
 the ball with his gun as it appears past the first stick (the one 
 nearest the thrower), snap the lock, and see the muzzle for just an 
 instant ahead of the mark before the second stick is reached by 
 the latter. If a shooter merely aimed at the ball during any part of 
 its course between the two throwers, he would have no practice in 
 aiming and firing smartly, as is, of course, necessary at game, and he 
 would be sure to acquire the very bad habit of dwelling on his aim. 
 
 One of the most difficult shots to succeed in, and one I have never 
 seen regularly accomplished, is at a pheasant that flies high towards 
 a shooter (as he stands in the open) and then wheels at a good speed 
 (with a strong wind) back to the cover from which it was driven, 
 just as it comes into shot. Of course the pheasant that acts thus 
 is describing part of the outline of a circle in its flight, so that if 
 the gun is placed forward of the mark, however slightly, the latter 
 is sure to escape by reason of its twisting continually to one side of 
 the aim. 
 
 If the bird is ' dropping ' as well as ' curving ' it is a still more 
 uncertain shot. The only aim that is likely to be successful at a 
 nasty curving bird, such as I describe, is one that is directed towards 
 the point of the wing that is farthest from the shooter : namely, the 
 one that is inside the curve described by the pheasant in its course. 
 
139 
 
 LETTEK XI 
 
 / 
 
 ON COEEECT AIMING PEACTICAL (continued) 
 
 NOT a little of the success that pertains to jerking a gun 
 in line with crossing game is caused by a correct grasp. 
 Many shooters hold the left hand too near the breech 
 of the gun and the elbow in a cramped and stiff 
 position as a result. The left hand, when the shooter 
 is about to aim, should be stretched along the barrel, 
 the arm nearly straight, and, with a shooter of 
 average stature, the little finger just clear of the fore- 
 end of the stock. It is a bad habit to hold the fore- 
 end in the left hand, and, as the aim is taken, slide 
 the grasp forward, as this causes two motions, when 
 one would do, and be much quicker. The gun should 
 be brought up to the aim, with the left arm well ex- 
 tended, and the left hand clear of the fore-end ; and 
 the aim should be taken in this position. 
 
 Another thing worthy of notice about aiming at 
 crossing shots is, that it is not nearly so easy to direct 
 a gun and fire it when using both hands for this 
 purpose as when one hand is used for the former act, 
 and one for the latter. The duty of the right hand 
 
140 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 is to fire the gun in fact, pull the trigger ; of the left 
 hand, to point the muzzle. If both hands are occu- 
 pied in aiming the gun, as soon as the trigger has 
 to be pulled the right hand contracts and pauses, and 
 causes the left to check the barrels in their forward 
 motion in line with the game. The left hand can 
 easily be trained to do all the work of directing the 
 gun, whilst the right hand performs it's duty of firing 
 the charge ; and any shooter can easily prove this 
 fact for himself by snapping the locks of an empty 
 gun when moving it laterally. 1 
 
 At the risk of repetition, I will finally state that, if 
 a shooter is puzzled as to how or where to aim at 
 crossing or overhead shots at ordinary distances, he 
 should simply and invariably direct his gun just 
 forward of the ' head ' or ' beak ' according as ground 
 or winged game be the mark and endeavour on all 
 occasions to jerk his gun in line with his game, and 
 pull trigger without checking the muzzle at the moment 
 of firing looking fixedly at his object, with both eyes 
 wide open and head erect and he will thus kill more 
 game than by any other method. 
 
 1 Just the same argument applies when we throw a fly with a 
 salmon-rod or a double-handed trout-rod. With both hands held close 
 together we have little power to direct the top of the rod so that it 
 places the fly where we wish. With one hand stretched up the butt 
 of the rod we can cast as we please. 
 
xi. ON CORRECT AIMING (PRACTICAL] 141 
 
 At fairly long crossing or high overhead shots a 
 shooter will be equally successful if he aim forward 
 'the length of the bird or beast he wishes to kill, not 
 omitting to jerk his gun as before described. Judg- 
 ing this length is quite easy, 1 and a very different 
 affair from calculating feet and inches. 
 
 At long shots (should he fire such) the shooter can 
 easily train his eye to direct his aim forward the length 
 of a gun, swinging his barrels for an instant with the 
 game as a matter of course. 2 
 
 I consider the above is the easiest system of aim- 
 ing to inculcate in the mind of a young shooter or an 
 
 1 The length of a cock pheasant is about 3 ft., which is an ample 
 allowance forward for him as a crossing bird up to 30 yards, always 
 provided the trigger is pulled without checking the jerk of the gun- 
 muzzle in line with his flight. 
 
 2 A shooter should be able to form a very good idea of what a gun- 
 length is in front of a bird, though if he endeavoured to rule out 
 4 ft. in the air in his mind's eye he might fail to do so. The 
 length of a gun is something material for the imagination to seize 
 upon, as this length is one we are familiar with. Of course, to aim 
 a fixed length forward of long crossing birds that vary in their pace 
 and distance would never do if the gun is stationary when the trigger is 
 pulled ; on the other hand, if the shooter aims and retains a fixed 
 length ahead of such shots, and this length is about 4 ft., he will kill 
 oftener than miss 7/he swings his guninstead of keeping it stationary, 
 and fires without checking its lateral movement. It is worth remark, 
 too, that we do not fire a bullet at our game, but in the case of a 
 cylinder or medium-choked gun a large circle, that allows for some 
 inaccuracy of aim. See Fig. 6, p. 157. 
 
142 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 inferior shot, as it is a practical one, and free from con- 
 fusing theories of speed and other allowances. In what- 
 ever direction the game crosses, whether in the form 
 of rabbits in covert, grouse over dogs, high rocketing 
 pheasants, or driven partridges (the latter the most 
 difficult shooting of all), this advice is equally applic- 
 able ; and the marksman will at all events feel, if he 
 misses, that his want of success was caused, not by 
 bad judgment of the pace and flight of his game 
 theories he may never learn the rudiments of but 
 rather from errors arising from want of practice and 
 confidence in the handling of his gun faults that are 
 capable of correction. 
 
 Shooting behind or pulling the trigger when an 
 overhead or crossing bird has passed the sight taken 
 by the shooter (though his aim be true enough 
 in the first instance) is one of the most difficult 
 faults to cure, but is one that is well worth taking 
 great pains to rectify. Perseverance in this re- 
 spect is well repaid a good deal on account of the 
 satisfaction of making clean kills, and a good deal 
 more in order that a shooter may not see that most 
 unsportsmanlike and unpleasant of sights, birds 
 going away with legs hanging down, or falling winged, 
 and ground game creeping forward or to shelter with 
 hind-quarters dragging after them. 
 
 How often are we conscious of firing too far in 
 front ? Precious seldom, I take it. 
 
 Aiming too much ahead is, of course, possible, but 
 
xi. ON CORRECT AIMING (PRACTICAL) 143 
 
 not probable ; it is, however, a good fault, as by doing 
 so the shot may strike the game. But shooting at the 
 body, and not the head of game, nearly always means 
 that the shot is too late in reaching the mark, and 
 only wounds with the weak and straggling pellets that 
 fringe the shot- circle. 
 
 The very act of always striving to direct the muzzle 
 of the gun just clear of the head of every bird or beast 
 will, in the case of crossing shots, of itself be the means 
 of giving a forward inclination to the aim. 
 
 In reference to jerking a gun in line with the mark, 
 I do not in the least intend to convey that the 
 shooter is to dwell on his aim, and practise the intoler- 
 able and dangerous habit of following the game with 
 his gun to the shoulder ; for, in the case of a low shot, 
 it would then be possible for him to cover with the 
 sight the dogs and men in his vicinity. That is 
 quite a different thing from moving his gun with a 
 quick, dashing jerk in line with his mark, and pulling 
 trigger as soon as he realises the muzzle of his gun is 
 forward of the head of the game he desires to kill. 
 
 In the case of firing a gun with a lateral jerk on 
 crossing game, if the shooter can do this in the manner 
 I have described, there is no necessity for him, at 
 ordinary distances, to aim several feet in front of the 
 fastest birds that fly past or over him, as the result of 
 giving this swing to the gun is the same in effect 
 as aiming forward. 
 
144 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 EASY SHOTS 
 
 It is well for a shooter to know that, though a bird 
 may, to all appearance, be flying directly from him, if 
 its head can be seen it is really flying towards the 
 side on which the head appears. A straight shot at 
 the bird might not then bring it to bag. In this case 
 the head should alone be aimed at, so that the shot 
 may meet the real line of flight, as, though the bird 
 may appear to be going straight away, you may 
 depend upon it it is going to the right or left in a curve. 
 
 Birds that rise before the shooter and fly straight 
 away are, however, really the simple ones, and are 
 easier at a fair range, owing to the wider spread of the 
 shot, than they are at a short distance especially with 
 the bullet-like charge thrown by a full- choked gun ; 
 such shots require no calculation as to aiming ahead, 
 and little dexterity in pulling trigger so as to kill. 
 Before the era of driven game, easy straightforward 
 shots were the rule ; and I can quite understand that 
 the best marksmen of fifty years since killed these with 
 just as much certainty as our best men do now. 
 
 Though, at a fairly long range, a wounded bird 
 may result from a straight-away shot, by reason of its 
 being struck behind, still, a clean miss should rarely 
 occur ; and till a young shooter can make certain of 
 killing birds flying away from him, at fair range, 
 seven out of every ten times he pulls a trigger, he will 
 
xi. ON CORRECT AIMING (PRACTICAL) 145 
 
 not have much success in bringing down driven birds 
 or birds crossing him ; for these straight- a way shots 
 usually consist, to attain success, in merely placing 
 the sight fair on the object, without any other condi- 
 tions of aiming ; and, for this reason, there are no 
 shots more useful in testing the fit of a gun. 
 
 It looks well, no doubt, to see a man stop thirty 
 or forty rabbits with scarcely a miss in a level field, or 
 drop dead a score birds in succession that rise in front 
 of his toes as is the case with grouse or partridges 
 when they sit well at the beginning of the season. 
 But this is no real proof of a good marksman : a 
 moderate shot might do almost as well ; for the man 
 who can kill easy, straightforward birds time after 
 time, may be, nevertheless, a poor performer at all- 
 round game, and frequently miss what to experts 
 would be easy chances. 1 
 
 1 The shooter who neatly kills a score of easy, straightforward 
 shots in succession is apt to say, ' What a good shot am I,' and 
 to flatter himself that really no one could be a much better one ! 
 Let our gentleman be placed, however, near a first-class marksman, 
 in a position where all varieties of shots offer, and he will soon have 
 to eat ' humble-pie.' The misses that will occur, and the number of 
 double shots he will have to fire, when firing at rabbits dodging about 
 in turnips or high fern, for instance, will surprise him ! Woodcocks 
 darting between trees, wood-pigeons now and then dashing overhead, 
 some driven partridges that almost knock his hat off before he sees 
 them, a few really tall pheasants passing to one side of him down 
 wind across a small open space in a thick wood, or maybe some driven 
 grouse flying high in a strong breeze down hill, and what becomes of 
 the high average of dead birds to single shots that our friend can 
 maintain, when firing at partridges in September in good cover ? In 
 all-round shooting, fifteen kills to twenty shots is rarely done. Of 
 
146 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS I,ET 
 
 Many of the shots that pigeons offer when flying 
 from traps are straight-away shots of the simplest 
 description ; though if the shooter is placed well back, 
 and has to fire very quickly at a fast- springing bird 
 that, on rising, at once inclines its flight to right or- 
 left, it is another matter. But it by no means follows 
 that a crack pigeon-shot is successful at game, as in 
 regard to the latter there are many angles of flight 
 which he is unaccustomed to. I have known several 
 examples of this. On the other hand, a good game- 
 shot, with a little practice, is sure to succeed at 
 pigeons from traps, as there is no angle in the flight 
 of the bird which he has not had experience of. 
 
 ON THE ATTITUDE OF A SHOOTER 
 
 I have before alluded to the fit of a gun, and will 
 now take it for granted that a shooter's gun fits him ; 
 for, unless it does, no amount of practice will make 
 him a first-rate shot. I have known men who could 
 shoot fairly well with a gun of any shape, but I never 
 knew a really good shot who could shoot his best 
 unless his gun fitted him perfectly ; as the latter is 
 
 course, if a shooter obtains a series of chances at even fairly high 
 birds that offer shot after shot at a similar angle and pace, he 
 becomes what may be termed ' set,' just as a batsman masters the 
 pitch of a bowler who does not vary his delivery of the ball ; yet a 
 sudden change in the flight of the game, and a full pitched ball, or 
 one that ' shoots,' and the ' gunner ' and the cricketer may respectively 
 fail to ' score ' ! 
 
xi. ON CORRECT AIMING (PRACTICAL) 147 
 
 so completely in touch with his gun that it seems to 
 him almost to come up accurately on the aim of its 
 own accord when he uses it. I merely allude to this 
 subject again in order to impress upon the young 
 shooter how careful he should be to obtain a gun that 
 fits him; this he will soon discover for himself by 
 taking notice if the muzzle comes up easily on his 
 game, whatever the position of the latter may chance 
 to be, whether he takes a steady aim in broad day- 
 light, or whether he has to fling his gun to the 
 shoulder at a passing duck in the dusk without seeing 
 the muzzle at all. 
 
 It is also necessary I should point out that an 
 easy, natural position is essential to good aiming, and 
 a shooter should practise to attain it; as the man 
 whose limbs are loose and free will be much more 
 ready with his gun than will the man who stands like 
 a statue when aiming ; for stiffness of the figure is 
 most detrimental to quick and correct shooting. 
 
 For instance, a shooter who plants both legs firmly 
 on the ground, and, when he fires, grasps his gun as 
 if it were an iron bar, can never change his attitude so 
 rapidly as to direct his aim here and there, as required 
 by the position of the game, with anything like the 
 success of the man whose limbs and muscles are 
 pliable. 
 
 Of course, a shooter should be firm on his legs ; 
 but this firmness may be the strength of a light and 
 safe balance, rather than the solidity of a young oak ; 
 
 L 2 
 
148 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 the left leg always forward, whether for a shot in front, 
 a high-driven shot, or a shot to the right or left. 
 
 If you notice a good marksman, you will observe 
 that, in the act of firing, his weight is thrown on the 
 left leg, and that the foot of the other leg acts as a 
 pivot, and but lightly touches the ground. He is not 
 in the least unsteady therefrom, but in reality per- 
 fectly balanced, and more or less as it were on 
 springs that enable him to turn his figure to fire 
 quickly in any direction. 
 
 The shooter who acquires a stiff attitude will be 
 sure to feel the recoil of his gun more than will the 
 man who is easy and natural in his movements. This 
 is especially noticeable when firing at overhead birds 
 rocketing pheasants, for instance. In such cases, 
 practise the habit of standing as loosely as possible 
 consistent with a safe balance, so as to offer a yield- 
 ing spring, to absorb the recoil of your gun. I have 
 known a shooter's collar-bone to be smashed from 
 the mere fact of his stepping on to a stone, off soft 
 ground, to save wet boots, whilst shooting at ducks 
 flying high over ; and this, too, with a 12-bore 
 gun. If my friend had remained on the soft, yielding 
 ground, his bones would not have suffered ; and the 
 principle applies equally to a rigid attitude when shoot- 
 ing at all birds overhead. 
 
xi. ON CORRECT AIMING (PRACTICAL) 149 
 
 THE TEIGGEES, AND A BRUISED FINGER 
 
 The pull of the triggers of a gun is a question of 
 great importance in connection with correct aiming. 
 If these offer too much resistance to the finger of a 
 shooter, they will certainly have the effect of causing 
 him to fire ' too late/ and thus to ' shoot behind ' ; 
 for the extra pressure they require, beyond what is 
 adapted to his touch, results, during his delay in firing, 
 in the game travelling a closer distance than he bar- 
 gained for towards the point he intended his shot to 
 reach. On the other hand, if his triggers pull too 
 easily, they may cause him to fire before he has com- 
 pleted his aim the result being then as unsuccessful 
 as dangerous. 
 
 Alteration of the pull of the triggers of a gun is an 
 easy matter, and a shooter will soon feel for himself 
 if his gun fires ' too soon ' or ' too late/ and return it 
 to his gunmaker for readjustment. The usual pull-off 
 for the triggers is, right 4 lb., left 4| Ib. ; and the way 
 to test them is with an ordinary spring balance, such, 
 for instance, as is used by a trout-angler for weighing 
 his fish. The left trigger should always pull off heavier 
 than the right, as the finger has more leverage against 
 the second trigger ; and the extra f lb. given to the 
 latter equalises the pull of both triggers to the touch 
 of the shooter. 
 
 The triggers of a gun, whatever their resistance, 
 should pull off short and sharp, without any draw. 
 
150 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 in an inferior gun it sometimes happens that a trigger 
 can be pressed back when the shooter aims without 
 firing, and will remain in this very dangerous condi- 
 tion. Then, when a shot is fired, bang goes the gun 
 as if it had a ' hair-trigger.' 
 
 Whilst alluding to the triggers of a gun, it is 
 worthy of remark that that greatest of all nuisances, 
 ' a sore finger,' is, nine cases out of ten, the result of 
 a bad-fitting gun. A gun too long in the stock, or too 
 short, will equally cause this unpleasantness. If the 
 bruise is on the second joint of the second finger a 
 very usual place it may be caused by the trigger- 
 guard not being sloped sufficiently to slide through the 
 right hand on the recoil taking place, its steep outline 
 striking against the finger instead of sliding over it. 
 A. downright bad-fitting gun will, from its being able 
 to jump in the shooter's grasp, be always liable to 
 knock his fingers about. 
 
 A gun with a round instead of an oval handle to the 
 stock, as may be seen in secon'd-class workmanship, 
 will also cause bruised fingers, as such a gun is liable 
 to turn in the hands, and then, from not being in a 
 level position, ' bounce ' when put to the shoulder 
 and fired. 
 
 I have known a friend have his first finger badly 
 bruised from contact with the front trigger on his 
 firing the second. Nothing seemed to remedy this 
 till I had his front trigger put on a hinge, so as to 
 fall forward on being touched. This is a good method 
 
xi. ON CORRECT AIMING (^PRACTICAL) 151 
 
 in such a case, when all other means fail, and can be 
 easily arranged without in the least affecting the 
 usefulness of the gun or the convenience of the 
 shooter. 
 
 A pistol-handle is a certain cure for a sore second 
 finger, as, from the firm grasp it gives, the hand of 
 the shooter recoils with the gun ; though, as I have 
 described in a former letter, a stock thus shaped is 
 detrimental to quick shooting. 
 
 I have now treated of the practical part of aiming 
 I have found it a subject most difficult to elucidate 
 as clearly as I would wish. At all events, I have 
 done my best, such as it is, to prevent a young shooter 
 from being known as a three-barrel man or bang, 
 bang, d n ! 
 
152 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 LETTEE XII 
 
 COEEEGT AIMING (continued) THE OEETICAL. 
 (INTENDED TO BE MOEE GUEIOUS THAN 
 INSTRUCTIVE] 
 
 HAVING described in the two previous letters the best 
 method in my experience for the young shooter to 
 adopt to become a successful shot, I will write a little 
 for the particular benefit of those shooters who can- 
 not acquire a habit of jerking the gun just forward 
 of the game in its line of flight, and firing without 
 checking the lateral movement of the muzzle. 
 
 This last class of shooter, however difficult or 
 uncertain such a proceeding may be, must aim ahead 
 in the case of crossing shots, or he would, of course, 
 fire several feet behind his mark did he aim straight 
 at the latter without any swing on his gun. 
 
 The speed of all flying game is very similar, 
 though some birds appear to fly slower than others 
 because they are large, like pheasants, and others 
 seem to fly faster because they are small, like grouse 
 or partridges. Nothing is more deceptive than the 
 
XH. ON CORRECT AIMING (THEORETICAL) 153 
 
 pace a bird flies at. I will give an instance. I have 
 often, when wildfowl shooting, seen swans flying, to 
 all appearance, slowly and heavily across the horizon, 
 and in company with them a few ducks, going along 
 as hard as they could, and yet dropping gradually 
 behind and we all know a wild duck can travel at 
 a good speed ; yet a swan never appears to fly at the 
 speed of a wild duck, on account of its great size. I 
 have made many experiments connected with this 
 subject by taking, with a stop-watch, the time occu- 
 pied by different birds in crossing a field the width of 
 which I knew exactly beforehand, standing myself at 
 one hedge, and a man signalling, by raising a flag at 
 the opposite one, the moment the bird I was timing 
 passed him, and between two posts in line with his 
 eye. 
 
 But to revert to rny subject. I find a cock pheasant 
 that has been fired at not to kill, but to alarm will 
 fly time after time, on a calm day, at the rate of 55 ft. 
 to 65 ft. per second. I will take 60 ft. as his average 
 pace, as this represents just 40 miles an hour, and 
 simplifies my illustration. Now, a charge of 1 oz. of 
 No. 6 shot, driven by 3 dr. of powder, travels, up to 40 
 yards, at the mean velocity of about 840 ft. a second ; 
 so that, without going into fractions, it may be said 
 that the cock pheasant in question will have flown 
 8 ft. 6 in. while the shot is travelling from the gun to 
 the bird, provided the latter is crossing the shooter at 
 right angles at 40 yards. 
 
154 
 
 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 ffi 
 
 s 
 
xii. ON CORRECT AIMING (THEORETICAL] 155 
 
 This 8 ft. (we will drop the 6 in.) ahead of a fast 
 crossing bird at from 30 yards to 40 yards is a 
 pretty reliable rule provided the shooter does not 
 hesitate in the slightest' degree over his aim. A bird 
 flying somewhat on a slant with the shooter will 
 not, according to its deviation from the right angle, 
 require so much as an 8ft. allowance; but, on the 
 other hand, the slanting bird runs more risk of being 
 hit, as it does not travel straight through the circle 
 of shot ; for the latter partly follows it up, as the 
 shot-charge from a gun travels in the form of an 
 oval. 
 
 PIG. I. A. is the point at which aim was taken by the shooter, so as to allow 8 ft. for 
 the pace of the bird, or the distance it would fly during the actual transit of the 
 shot from the gun. 
 
 FIG. II. A, the point at which aim was taken (as in Fig. I.) ; but from the shooter 
 dwelling on his trigger one-eighth of a second, by the time the shot left the gun 
 the pheasant would arrive at A ; and before the charge could reach the line of 
 flight of the bird the latter would have flown another 8 ft. forward to B, and the 
 shot would arrive at A, just 8 ft. behind thebird, which will have flown 16 ft. from 
 its original position at A A along the line to B. This shows us how easy it is to 
 fire 'too late.' 
 
 FIG. III. It may be asked, ' Why not fire at D, or 16 ft. forward, in the first instance, 
 and allow the" 8 ft. from the pheasant to C for hesitation in pulling trigger, and 
 from to D (also 8 ft.) for the distance the bird would travel during the time ex- 
 pended by the shot in transit, so that bird and charge might meet at D ? ' 
 FIG. IV. The answer to this suggestion is, that the point D (or 16 ft. ahead of the 
 mark) is too far forward to aim accurately, as the bird may rise or fall to E or F, 
 though apparently flying direct for D when aim was first taken. A miss might 
 then easily occur, as shown by the circle representing the spread of the shot 
 atD. 
 
 FIG. V. To obtain the correct line of flight, and allow for hesitation in pulling trigger, 
 ignition of the powder, and passage of shot up the barrel, the first sight should be 
 taken at G, or 8 ft. ahead of the bird ; and the shooter should then instantly jerk 
 his gun-muzzle for ward as far again, or what appears as far again, and fire at H, and 
 he will probably kill the pheasant. 
 
 Though, in order to be on the safe side, I have given 8 ft. ahead of the pheasant 
 as an allowance for hesitation over the aim and other items of delay, I may say this 
 is an outside estimate, save for a really slow marksman. Half as much, or a gun- 
 length, would be sufficient for a fairly quick shot to allow between the bird and his 
 first sight. 
 
 If the shooter, however, takes two sights, as I have recommended, he will aim 
 much more accuratel}', but not so quickly, as if he took one aim, ami fired the whole 
 distance forward on putting In* gun to the shoulder. If he acts the latter part, about 
 10 ft. ahead would be sufficient allowance for the bird from 35 to 40 yards, in the case 
 of the man who does not dwell much on his trigger, and 12 ft. for the man who 
 hesitates before firing his gun. 
 
1 56 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 But the great difficulty when aiming ahead is to 
 know what 8 ft. in the air forward of a crossing bird 
 is, as there is nothing to suggest the distance. 
 
 What usually occurs to a young shooter when he 
 aims in front, of his game without any swing on his 
 gun, and at the same time dwells on his trigger, and 
 the best way for him to try and correct this sad state 
 of affairs, is shown by the diagrams on page 154 and 
 by the notes appended opposite thereto. 
 
 I have in these illustrations considered the shooter 
 as striking his mark with the centre of his shot-circle, 
 as if he fired a bullet at his game. He may, how- 
 ever, console himself with the fact that he does not 
 fire an arrow or a bullet at the pheasant, but a large 
 disc of shot some 4 ft. across, so that he has a 
 considerable margin for inaccuracy. From the sketch 
 given (fig. 6) it will be seen that, if the shooter fires a 
 well-filled 30 in. circle of shot he can place his charge 
 on all sides of his game at 40 yards, and yet kill it ; l 
 and that the actual killing-circle of his gun is, in 
 consequence, a very wide one, and would almost 
 include the four 30 in. circles shown in Fig. 6 
 that is to say, the hen pheasant depicted would 
 be killed anywhere within this large area. For this 
 reason we may, I believe, aim the same distance ahead 
 
 1 The effect is very similar to that which occurs in making a 
 cannon at billiards, for which purpose great accuracy is not neces- 
 sarily required, as the result may be attained by the player's 
 ball striking on either the right or left side of the ball that is 
 played at. 
 
xii. ON CORRECT AIMING (THEORETICAL) 157 
 
 at from 30 to 40 yards at a crossing bird that is, if 
 we shoot forward of our game at an imaginary point 
 
 FlO. 6. 
 
 in the air, with a stationary gun at the moment of 
 pulling trigger. 
 
 I will now say something on a subject which has 
 always interested me very much, and which is, ' the 
 lateral movement of a gun in the hands of a shooter, 
 and the corresponding intervals at which the charge 
 of shot will strike along a line parallel with the 
 earth, as in the case of firing at an overhead bird or 
 
158 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 one crossing at right angles.' The earliest experiments 
 of the kind I undertook were carried out by placing 
 a gun on a pivot close to the ground, with a foot- 
 rule under the barrels, and sighting the latter at a 
 stick placed upright 40 yards distant. I then moved 
 the sight laterally half an inch at a time, placing 
 fresh sticks at right angles to the line of fire to 
 mark the aim in each position. This gave me the 
 divergence of the centre of the charge of shot at 40 
 yards, according to the lateral movement of the 
 muzzle of the gun; and it was an easy matter 
 to stretch strings from each mark, to the first 
 position of the sight of the gun, as when directed 
 towards No. 1 stick, so that the intermediate measure- 
 ments between the strings were easily ascertained, 
 according to the displacement of the barrels from 
 their original line of fire. 
 
 As I had doubts concerning the accuracy of my 
 deductions, I consulted Mr. F. Toms, and he has 
 most kindly worked out the annexed table for me 
 from the records of experiments which have been 
 published by Mr. E. W. S. Griffith ; and the figures 
 agree with my own calculations. 
 
 In these calculations the flight of the bird is stated 
 to the nearest inch, and the movement of muzzle to 
 the nearest tenth of an inch, in order to show the 
 gradual variations ; but for ordinary practical pur- 
 poses it would suffice to consider the nearest foot in 
 the one case, and the nearest inch in the other. 
 
ON CORRECT AIMING (THEORETICAL) 159 
 
 TIMES, VELOCITIES, &c., 
 
 , WITH 3 DR. AND 1 OZ. OF No. 6. 
 
 
 
 
 Lateral 
 
 Distance 
 of bird 
 
 Time 
 taken by 
 shot in 
 transit 
 
 Mean 
 velocity 
 of shot 
 
 movement 
 Plight of bird, at by the 
 40 miles per hour, shooter 
 during transit of the 
 
 
 
 
 of shot. muzzle of 
 
 
 
 
 his gun 
 
 
 sec. 
 
 feet per sec. 
 
 ft. in. inches 
 
 15 yards . 
 
 . -0411 . 
 
 . =1095 . 
 
 .25. .2-4 
 
 20 
 
 . -0568 . 
 
 . =1056 . 
 
 .34. .2-5 
 
 25 . 
 
 . -0743 . 
 
 . =1009 . 
 
 .44. .2-6 
 
 30 . 
 
 . -0'.32 . 
 
 . = 966 . 
 
 .56. .2-7 
 
 35 . 
 
 . -114(3 . 
 
 . = 910 . 
 
 .69. .2-9 
 
 40 . 
 
 . -1377 . 
 
 . = 872 . 
 
 .81. .3-0 
 
 45 . 
 
 . -1625 . 
 
 . = 831 . 
 
 .96. .3-2 
 
 50 
 
 . -1909 . 
 
 . = 786 . 
 
 . 11 2 . .3-4 
 
 55 . 
 
 . -2231 . 
 
 . = 740 . 
 
 . 13 1 . .3-6 
 
 60 
 
 . -2614 . 
 
 . = 689 . 
 
 . 15 4 . .3-8 
 
 N.B. No time-allowance included for pull of trigger or passage 
 of shot up the barrel. 
 
 TIMES, VELOCITIES, &c., 
 
 WITH 3 DR. AND 1^ OZ. OF No. 6. 
 
 Lateral 
 
 Distance 
 of bird 
 
 Time 
 taken by 
 shot in 
 transit 
 
 Mean 
 velocity 
 of shot 
 
 movement 
 Flight of bird, at by the 
 40 miles per hour, shooter 
 during transit of the 
 
 
 
 
 of shot muzzle of 
 
 
 
 
 his gun 
 
 
 sec. 
 
 feet per sec. 
 
 ft. in. inches 
 
 15 yards . 
 
 . -0431 . 
 
 .- =1044 . 
 
 .26. .2-5 
 
 20 
 
 . -0596 . 
 
 . =1007 . 
 
 .36. .2-6 
 
 25 
 
 . -0776 . 
 
 . = 966 . 
 
 .47. .2-7 
 
 30 . 
 
 . -0975 . 
 
 . = 923 . 
 
 .59. .2-9 
 
 35 . 
 
 . -1192 . 
 
 . = 881 . 
 
 .70. .3-0 
 
 40 . 
 
 . -1429 . 
 
 . = 840 . 
 
 .85. .3-2 
 
 45 . 
 
 . -1689 . 
 
 . = 800 . 
 
 . 9 11 . .3-3 
 
 50 . 
 
 . -1979 . 
 
 . = 758 . 
 
 . 11 8 . .3-5 
 
 55 . 
 
 . -2329 . 
 
 . = 709 . 
 
 . 13 8 . .3-8 
 
 60 
 
 . '2779 . 
 
 . = 647 . 
 
 . 16 4 . -4-1 
 
 N.B. No time-allowance included for pull of trigger or passage 
 of shot up the barrel. 
 
160 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 LETTER 
 
 Besides the relative velocities of shot and bird 
 there are two other matters deserving consideration, 
 though they are commonly overlooked. One is the 
 time that elapses between the pulling of the trigger 
 and the passage of the shot out of the muzzle of the 
 gun ; and the other is the amount of time taken by the 
 shooter in the operation of pulling the trigger. 
 
 For ordinary purposes it will be near enough to 
 say that the time occupied from the actual fall of the 
 hammer to the shot quitting the muzzle is the hun- 
 dredth part of a second ; and in the hundredth part 
 of a second a bird flying at the rate of 40 miles an 
 hour would move just about 7 inches. Again, a man 
 who has quick nerve- action also takes about the hun- 
 dredth part of a second to pull the trigger after he 
 has made the resolve to do so. 1 This means another 
 7 inches added to the distance the bird will have 
 flown, or 14 inches in all, after the aim and intention 
 to fire had been decided upon by the shooter. 
 
 Though a bird flying at 40 miles an hour, 
 whether its distance from the gun is long or short, 
 always moves this 14 inches during the pulling of the 
 trigger and passage of the shot up the barrel, yet 
 such a space requires no appreciable addition in the 
 lateral motion of the muzzle by the shooter ; for if 
 he shoots quickly at first sight, he need only allow a 
 forward space to his bird in relation to the time 
 
 1 The particulars relative to the quickness or otherwise of nerve- 
 action are derived from an article on ' The Physiology of Shooting,' 
 by Dr. W. J. Fleming. 
 
xn. ON CORRECT AIMING (THEORETICAL) 161 
 
 taken, according to distance, by the shot in travelling 
 from the muzzle of the gun to the game. 
 
 I have alluded to the shooter who fires his gun 
 without any hesitation, and pointed out the great 
 advantage such a power gives him in regard to a 
 forward aim. It is a very different affair, however, 
 when a man hangs on his trigger, for his bird may fly 
 several feet whilst he is converting thought into action. 
 
 There is a great difference in the quickness of 
 touch in different persons, and its consequent effect 
 on the allowance to be made in firing at crossing 
 birds is very considerable. For instance, one man 
 might pull the trigger in the hundredth part of a 
 second, when other men would take longer times, 
 varying from one to six hundredths of a second ; con- 
 sequently, though the bird might fly 7 inches only in 
 the case of the quick man, it might move 3 to 4 feet 
 in the case of the slow shooter. 
 
 From this we may see how easy it is for a slow, 
 pottering marksman to miss crossing birds, unless he 
 keeps the muzzle of his gun moving forward of his 
 game till the shot is out of the barrel, as described in 
 my previous letters on aiming. If the shooter, how- 
 ever slow he may be, can do this, the space the bird 
 flies while the trigger is being pulled is eliminated, 
 and all that takes effect is the time expended by the 
 charge between the gun and the game. 
 
 A table of figures in relation to whether a shooter 
 fires quickly or slowly is here given. 
 
 M 
 
[62 
 
 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 FLIGHT OF BIRD, AND LATERAL MOVEMENT OF MUZZLE, WHEN 
 PULL OF TRIGGER is QUICK AND WHEN SLOW. 
 
 (Charge, 3 dr. and 1 oz. of No. 6 ; bird flying at 40 miles an hour.) 
 
 Distance 
 of bird 
 
 Quickest Pull of Trigger. 
 
 Flight of bird during 
 transit of shot 
 
 ft. in. 
 
 15 yards . . .38 
 20 ...48.. 
 
 25 ...58.. 
 
 30 . 6 11 
 
 35 . . .82 . . 
 
 40 ...97.., 
 
 45 . 11 1 
 
 50 . 12 9 
 
 55 . . . 14 10 
 
 60 . 17 6 
 
 Times included : 
 
 For pull of trigger '01 
 
 For passage of shot up the barrel . . '01 
 
 Lateral movement 
 of gun-muzzle by the 
 shooter 
 inches 
 . 3-7 
 . 3-5 
 . 3-4 
 . 3-4 
 . 3-5 
 . 3-6 
 . 3-7 
 . 3-8 
 . 4-0 
 . 4-3 
 
 Slowest Pull of Trigger. 
 
 02 sec. 
 
 Distance Flight of bird during 
 of bird transit of shot 
 
 ft. in. 
 
 Lateral movement 
 of gun-muzzle by the 
 shooter 
 inohes 
 
 15 yards 
 
 .68 
 
 . 6-6 
 
 20 . . 
 
 .77 
 
 . 5-7 
 
 25 . . 
 
 .88 
 
 . 5-2 
 
 30 . . 
 
 . 9 10 
 
 . 4-9 
 
 35 . 
 
 . 11 1 
 
 . 4-8 
 
 40 . . 
 
 . 12 6 
 
 . 4-7 
 
 45 . . 
 
 . 13 10 
 
 . 4-7 
 
 50 . 
 
 . 15 9 
 
 . 4-7 
 
 55 . . 
 
 . 18 2 
 
 . 4-9 
 
 60 . 
 
 . 20 5 
 
 . 5-1 
 
 Times included: 
 
 
 
 For pull of trigger 
 
 . 
 
 . -06 sec. 
 
 For passage of shot up 
 
 the barrel . 
 
 . -01 
 
 07 sec. 
 
xn. ON CORRECT AIMING (THEORETICAL) 163 
 
 A curious point in connection with the very slow 
 shooter (as may be seen by reference to the second 
 column of the opposite table of figures) is, that instead 
 of increasing his allowance for distant birds, he should 
 reduce it, and give about 2 inches more lateral move- 
 ment to his gun at 15 yards than he does at 40 or 50 
 yards. This apparent anomaly results from the fact 
 that the effect of the lateral movement of the gun- 
 muzzle gradually increases with the length of the 
 radius or, in other words, with the distance of the 
 crossing bird that is fired at ; whereas the time taken in 
 pulling the trigger is equal for all distances, and there- 
 fore its comparative influence diminishes with the in- 
 creased distance of the bird, and the consequently longer 
 time taken by the shot in reaching its destination. 
 
 Even in regard to the quick shooter, a similar 
 deduction applies, but only to a very slight extent, as 
 the lateral movement of the gun -muzzle in his case is 
 practically about 3 in. for all distances from 15 to 50 
 yards. 
 
 The woodcut below represents a good flying shot 
 made at a * martin ' (just as here drawn from the 
 original arrow and bird) by my friend, Mr. G. Dunbar 
 
 Whatman, when a boy of twelve, and shows an accuracy 
 of aim that he certainly now possesses with a gun 
 in a remarkable degree, as I can testify from experience. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 LETTEE XIII 
 
 SOME REMARKS ON CORRECT AIMING, IN 
 REGARD TO THE EYES 
 
 I WILL now say something about the 'eye question.' 
 Everyone knows how often this subject has been dis- 
 cussed, and with what poor results. As I am not an 
 oculist, I do not propose to enter into the scientific 
 bearing of defective sight, but only to make a few 
 observations relative to eyesight in a general way, as 
 applicable to nine people out of ten. The gentleman 
 who imagines that he is blessed, or the reverse, with 
 such extraordinary vision as to see a pair of guns, 
 in the act of aiming quickly, when he is handling 
 one, and so forth, as some theorists try to per- 
 suade us is possible, must seek elsewhere for in- 
 formation. 
 
 When the subject of aiming is discussed among a 
 party of shooters, inquiries are frequently made as to 
 whether this or that sportsman aims with one eye or 
 both. 
 
 For my part, I cannot see how it is even possible 
 for a man with ordinary sight to aim with both eyes, 
 
xni. EYESIGHT, AND ITS EFFECT ON THE AIM 165 
 
 even when his left eye is stronger than his right. 
 Take, for example, a gun in your hands, and point it 
 at a mark with both eyes open; you will find that 
 your right eye is in reality the one that takes aim. 
 Shut your right, and you will at once perceive it is 
 impossible for your left eye to even look along the 
 barrel, much less to align the sight ; still, your left 
 eye, in its way, should be as useful to you as your 
 right when aiming at game, as I shall presently 
 explain. No doubt the origin of shooting with one 
 eye closed was from the constant custom, in days 
 gone by, of firing only at animals sitting or at game 
 flying straight from the shooter. When driving game 
 came into fashion, the shooter soon discovered he had 
 not then time to ' draw a bead ' on his bird, and 
 necessity in this case was again the mother of inven- 
 tion, and introduced the practice of shooting with both 
 eyes open. 
 
 ' My left eye is the stronger of the two,' exclaims 
 a shooter. 
 
 ' What does that matter, my good sir ? Provided 
 you suffer from no peculiarities of vision, you cannot 
 aim with it under any conditions, unless you put your 
 gun up to your left shoulder. As to one of your eyes 
 being more powerful than the other, why there is not 
 one man in a hundred whose eyes are of equal 
 strength.' 
 
 If, for curiosity, you wish to discover which eye is 
 the stronger, it is easily ascertained. Open a sheet 
 
1 66 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 of note-paper, lay a coin (such as a shilling) in the 
 centre, trace the coin round with a pencil, and cut 
 out the hole. Now hold the paper at arm's length 
 fair in front of your face, and, with both eyes open, 
 look at a mark (such as the face of a clock on the 
 mantelpiece) through the hole. If, on closing the left 
 eye, the hole cut in the paper jumps to the left, 
 and you cannot see the mark through it with the 
 right eye, the left is, of course, the eye that took 
 the sight, and is the stronger one, as it overpowers 
 the other ; if this result is reversed, the right eye is 
 the master. But how all this can affect aiming, 
 when the aim is forced on the right eye, whether or 
 no, whatever its comparative power may be, I do not 
 realise. 1 
 
 A man should say, * I shoot with both eyes,' not 
 * I aim with both eyes,' if he wishes to convey that 
 he keeps both his eyes open when taking aim. 
 
 The above is the simple and ordinary view of the 
 question of aiming. The exceptional and more com- 
 plicated one is as follows : 
 
 About one shooter in thirty has unusual sight; 
 such as when, with both eyes open, the left eye 
 appropriates the aim and draws the muzzle of his 
 gun to the left, whether the shooter is conscious of the 
 
 1 A hole in a piece of paper is a far better test than a ring in 
 any form : with the latter the eyes are apt to be confused through 
 seeing other objects at the same time ; with the paper this cannot 
 occur. 
 
xin. EYESIGHT, AND ITS EFFECT ON THE AIM 167 
 
 fact or not. And it is generally the men thus circum- 
 stanced who cannot, for the life of them, make out 
 what is wrong, and why; though they apparently 
 take deadly aim, they do not drop their game as they 
 feel they should do. 
 
 In such cases a good gunmaker will be of great 
 assistance, and very likely vastly improve the shoot- 
 ing of such unlucky folk. 
 
 The first thing is to find out where the fault lies, 
 and then to correct it by using a suitable gun, or 
 adopting a system of aiming amenable to the peculiar 
 vision in question. I will take a not uncommon case. 
 We will suppose a gentleman who is not a good shot, 
 and who yet is conscious he should often kill game 
 when he does not, comes to his gunmaker for advice. 
 I will in this instance place myself in the position of 
 the gunmaker. Now, sir, stand opposite me across the 
 room, open the breech of your gun, and look through 
 the barrels just as a matter of form a habit, by the 
 way, that every shooter should acquire when aiming 
 with a gun for the sake of experiment. You aim with 
 your right eye, do you ? Very well ; keep both eyes 
 open, and aim quickly at the small hole (the size of a 
 sixpence, with a black rim round it) in the centre of 
 the large sheet of paper I hold before my face. You 
 bring up the gun true enough when aiming quickly, 
 but I notice that, if you dwell on the aim, however 
 slightly, you pull the sight slightly to your left, 
 and doing this would often either put the shot off 
 
1 68 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 your game at 30 yards, or else cause you merely 
 to feather it with the outside of the circle of the 
 charge. 
 
 The fact is, by some complex arrangement of 
 vision, not fully understood, your left eye draws the 
 muzzle of the gun to the left, though you imagine 
 your aim is true on the mark, and that you take a 
 sight with your right eye. 
 
 This is the more puzzling to you because I notice, 
 when you aim with speed, that you direct the barrels 
 fair and true, your right eye being then forced to take 
 aim. It is, however, when you dwell a trifle on the 
 aim that your left becomes the master-eye and takes 
 the lead, though it does not follow that it is the 
 stronger eye of the two. You might shoot all your 
 life and never discover this defect, for aiming at a 
 mark will not assist you as will aiming at the eye of 
 another person, who from practice can detect the 
 slightest deflection in the direction of your gun-muzzle 
 when pointed towards him. The only method by 
 which sight like yours can be corrected is, either to 
 close your left eye when aiming, and put it hors de 
 combat ; to shoot from the left shoulder ; or to use a 
 gun that, by the stock being much cast over from 
 right to left, brings the barrels in line with your 
 left eye. 
 
 I strongly advise the former plan, as a cross-eyed 
 gun is an ungainly weapon to shoot with, and shooting 
 from the left shoulder by no means easy to learn ; and 
 
xni. EYESIGHT, AND ITS EFFECT ON THE AIM 169 
 
 you may console yourself with the fact that there are 
 many very good shots who entirely close the left eye. 
 Though a man who closes one eye may never be a 
 really brilliant marksman, it is a great mistake to 
 think he cannot be an excellent and steady shot. It 
 is true various sporting authorities have lately dis- 
 covered that a one-eyed shooter is always a slow, pok- 
 ing shot ; but I cannot, for my part, agree with them, 
 as I have known numbers of shooters who closed their 
 left eyes to be quite the contrary. 
 
 I will not enter into the perplexing theory of 
 seeing two objects when you aim the real one, and 
 one that appears like a shadow of it. It is always 
 possible, whatever the sight may be, to see images if 
 you look long enough, whether it be the muzzle of the 
 gun, or your finger held before your nose ; but I do 
 not believe it is practicable, when taking a quick shot, 
 to see a duplicate image of either the gun or the 
 game, as there is not then time for such phantoms to 
 appear. 1 
 
 If a shooter wishes to test his sight, let him aim 
 
 1 I have heard tell of a shooter who complained that when a 
 single bird rose he saw two, and often fired at the wrong one ; but I 
 imagine that luncheon must have had something to do with such a 
 lamentable state of affairs. A heavy luncheon is very detrimental 
 to straight shooting even the difference between a hot midday meal 
 and a cold one has an influence sometimes on the way the birds 
 come down to the guns in the afternoon. I do not for a moment in- 
 tend to convey that liquid refreshments are to be blamed for this, 
 but that a menu of puddings and pies, and strong cigars, perhaps in 
 a hot room in a farmhouse, are quite suilicient to put a shooter off 
 his aim at any time. L once heard a keeper remark, in reference to 
 
170 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 quickly at a mark, with both eyes open, as I have 
 directed him to do when trying the fit of his gun. 
 Supposing the gun does fit him, and he covers 
 the object with accuracy, then let him close his left 
 eye, and notice if his aim is still fair and true with 
 the right eye ; if so, his sight is all that he need wish 
 it to be. But if the shooter has doubts, let him ask a 
 friend to test his sight for him, by means of a hole in 
 a large piece of paper, in the manner I have explained ; 
 for though the shooter may readily discover for him- 
 self if a gun fits him, by observing if he is able to 
 bring it accurately up to a mark time after time, still 
 I am convinced that, when the question of eyesight as 
 applied to aiming at game is concerned, no methods 
 he can personally apply, should his vision be peculiar, 
 will be of any real assistance to him in comparison 
 with consulting a good gunmaker, as the latter can 
 detect irregularities in aiming which the shooter can- 
 not possibly see for himself. 
 
 ON SHOOTING WITH BOTH EYES OPEN 
 
 Shooting with both eyes open is a great advantage 
 in many ways, as it enables a man to see on all sides 
 at the moment of firing. Even in the act of pulling 
 trigger a shooter can realise the presence of another 
 bird or rabbit close to his left, or coming from that 
 
 this subject and the unnecessarily luxurious midday meal provided 
 
 by a former employer, ' Oh ! Mr. would scarce miss a snipe in the 
 
 morning, but he wouldn't " shoot a bull a-flying " in the afternoon.' 
 
XIH. EYESIGHT, AND ITS EFFECT ON THE AIM 171 
 
 direction, and so fire his second barrel quicker than 
 he could did he close his left eye on aiming, and as 
 a result shut out all the parish on that side of his face 
 from his view ; he can, too, instantly notice if the 
 effect of his first barrel was good, especially if the game 
 was crossing to his left, and whether another shot is 
 necessary ; he can also sight his game a good deal 
 quicker with both eyes open than if he merely used 
 his right, which is principally employed in aiming, 
 and apt to consider nothing for the moment but the 
 part it is performing. 
 
 It may be said of the shooter who keeps both eyes 
 open, that his right is employed in aiming the gun, 
 while his left takes in the situation generally. No ; it 
 does not follow that the eyes are looking in different 
 directions ; it means the extent of vision is doubled, 
 and the addition is a very useful and safe one too, in 
 many ways. 
 
 I do not for a moment say a man who only 
 utilises his right eye cannot be a good shot, for, as I 
 have said/ 1 know some really good shots who shut the 
 left eye ; but I advise a young shooter, if he can point 
 his gun accurately with both eyes open, to keep them 
 so while aiming, for reasons I have given. On the 
 other hand, if he shuts his left eye, either from habit 
 or necessity, let him bring his gun up to his game 
 with both eyes open, and then close the left just at the 
 instant of pulling trigger. 
 
 It is worth a shooter's while, in order to test his 
 
172 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER xm. 
 
 sight, to take a few easy shots, with both his eyes open, 
 at rabbits sitting. If he finds he can kill these shots 
 with certainty, he may feel assured that, as far as 
 shooting with both eyes open is concerned, he is all 
 right, and that his success on winged game with a 
 similar style of aiming is only a matter of practice 
 and skill. 
 
173 
 
 LETTEE XIV 
 
 ON THE CAEE AND CLEANING OF GUNS 
 (THEIR LIABILITY TO DAMAGE, AND 
 GENERAL SUPERVISION) 
 
 THERE are a good many sportsmen who, though they 
 shoot in first-rate style, look upon a gun as merely a 
 machine to kill with, that requires very ordinary care, 
 and ought, with a little oil outside and a little tow at 
 the end of a stick inside, to last in perfect condition 
 for ever. 
 
 Though a gun may serve its owner well, and per- 
 haps undergo an immensity of hardship, yet at night 
 it has, I expect, sometimes to take its chance un- 
 cleaned, or, what is almost worse, is handed over, at 
 the conclusion of a day's sport, to the tender mercies 
 of an attendant, whose chief idea of cleaning a gun is 
 to rub the barrels through a couple of times in care- 
 less fashion with a hard lump of powder-begrimed 
 tow, and then smear them down outside with a damp 
 and dirty cloth. 
 
 A gun that is in good order to start with can 
 be kept so by a very simple application of cleaning 
 
174 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 materials ; and provided it does not break down from 
 sheer carelessness or rough usage, and obtains a wipe 
 out every evening, and a thoroughly good cleaning 
 inside and out at the end of each week, it should be 
 in as perfect a state at the close of the season as it 
 was at the commencement. 
 
 It is the laying a gun by without supervision for 
 several days after it has been used that does the 
 mischief. When a gun is in daily use, it will not 
 suffer if the barrels obtain a fair amount of attention, 
 as, whether one shot or a thousand be fired out of 
 them, they do not hold in the latter case more residue 
 than in the former. 
 
 A gun may keep in order for many years without 
 repair if properly looked after, but it will go wrong at 
 once if unfairly treated. 
 
 ON THE GENERAL TREATMENT OF A GUN WITH 
 A VIEW TO ITS PRESERVATION 
 
 Putting on one side, however, for the present, the 
 effect of actual neglect in the cleaning of a gun, there 
 are many other ways in which it can be injured by 
 those shooters who look upon it as an indestructible 
 piece of goods. 
 
 I have heard a shooter remark : ' Oh ! I never 
 take any particular care of my gun, and yet it is just 
 as good as when I bought it.' Is it, though ? that is 
 the question ! How about those dents in the barrels, 
 
xiv. THE CARE AND CLEANING OF GUNS 17$ 
 
 that crack in the handle of the stock, that bulge from 
 a tight cleaning rod, that minute but serious indenta- 
 tion of the muzzle of one barrel or both, not to speak 
 of the corrosion at the end of the powder-chamber 
 and the pits in the barrels all of which defects a 
 gunmaker will point out in an instant, though their 
 presence be totally unsuspected by the shooter ; 
 defects which cause his gun to be not quite such a 
 sound and valuable weapon, or nearly such a good 
 shooter, as its owner imagines it to be ? 
 
 If you have good guns, send them to their maker 
 for an overhaul at the end of every season. It will 
 pay you well to do so, just as much as visiting that 
 unpleasant but necessary gentleman the dentist once 
 a year will, in the long run, serve you better than a 
 visit every three or four. 
 
 I hear you say : ' If I take my guns to a gun- 
 maker, he will want me to order a new pair.' If he 
 did not make them, it is possible he may do so, as in 
 the gun-trade no man seems to have a good word for 
 a rival's handiwork; but if you take your guns to 
 their manufacturer, he will have an interest in keep- 
 ing them in good order and causing .them to last as 
 long as possible, as it is to his advantage to sell to 
 the public guns that wear a long rather than a short 
 time. 
 
 The shooter who really takes care of his gun is 
 the man who is proud of it as an accessory to his 
 sport. Such a man looks upon it as a friend, and 
 
1 76 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 grudges giving it the smallest blow or scratch outside, 
 and keeps its barrels inside as smooth and bright as 
 mirrors. 
 
 A man who treasures his gun will never apply the 
 slightest force. If any of its parts do not fit, 'he 
 will persuade their obstinacy to relax by coaxing 
 rather than by pressure.' Undue pressure in putting 
 a gun together, or taking it apart, means wear and 
 tear ; and that eventually leads to loose joints. 
 
 The young sportsman should never even allow 
 the barrels to drop down with a jerk to their full 
 extent when loading, as doing so causes unnecessary 
 jar, to the detriment of the mechanism of his gun. 
 He should ease the barrels down in his left hand 
 when opening the breech, whether to load or un- 
 load. 
 
 All such little attentions to guns cause them to 
 last far better than the weapons which are not so 
 carefully treated. 
 
 For example, when a party of shooters are resting, 
 or at luncheon, the careless will place their guns 
 anyhow, and have little regard to their safety from 
 damage. The careful shooter will seek hither and 
 thither till he has found a snug corner for his gun, in 
 which he is confident it cannot possibly come to harm. 
 A gun is safer when laid on the ground than leaning 
 against a wall, should dogs be about ; I have seen a 
 couple of quarrelling dogs send a row of guns clattering 
 like ninepins down on the stones. 
 
xiv. THE CARE AND CLEANING OF GUNS 177 
 
 The muzzles of gun-barrels are easily bruised 
 when rested against a wall ; and as keepers and 
 loaders are apt to descant on the merits of a number 
 of guns, according as they favour their individual 
 masters, while the latter are, perhaps, busily engaged 
 in refreshment, the weapons may then be handled in 
 anything but a gentle manner ; and the clashing of 
 two pairs of barrels, brought in violent contact by a 
 couple of assistants swinging them about as they aim 
 at imaginary game in the sky, is no unusual occur- 
 rence should the sportsmen be out of sight. 
 
 For my part, if I am obliged to lean a gun against 
 a wall, I invariably pull a glove over the muzzle as a 
 protection thereto, and as a capital plan to hinder it 
 from slipping, as well as a gentle hint that the gun 
 is not to be meddled with. Placing a gun in a cart 
 or carriage without its being guarded by a strong 
 case, with stock and barrels asunder, is also a sure 
 way of injuring it sooner or later. 
 
 Guns are sometimes used in an extraordinary 
 fashion. I have seen a shooter strike a dog with his 
 gun, beat a bush for a rabbit with it, use it as an 
 alpenstock when ascending a hill, push a boat from 
 shore by pressing the muzzle against a quay ; and it 
 is a not very rare occurrence to see a shooter take his 
 gun sideways and throw it across a ditch, to be caught 
 or not by an assistant on the further bank ! 
 
 Whether the sport enjoyed be rough and wild, 
 as when seeking wildfowl, or the reverse, as in game- 
 
 N 
 
178 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 shooting, still a gun can be kept in equally good 
 order with ordinary attention, for a little care bestowed 
 on it to avoid rough usage, and a little cleaning 
 inside and out as required, will keep it in proper con- 
 dition as long as its stock and barrels hold together. 
 A little neglect, and the gun has to be sent for repair, 
 or, worse still, is irretrievably damaged. 
 
 The state of a gun outside will readily tell a 
 critical observer how its owner treats it, and enable 
 him to form a pretty correct opinion of its inside ; 
 for the shooter who is careful of the general appear- 
 ance of his gun is certain to take good care of its 
 important parts, though the latter are not so easy of 
 inspection by his friends. 
 
 The stocks of some shooters' guns are scored all 
 over from being dragged against thorns as their 
 owners scramble through hedges ; it is true this is 
 but a matter of looks, but, as I have said, the man 
 who is not careful of his gun in one way, is likely to 
 neglect it in another and more serious respect. 
 
 THE BARRELS AND ACTION 
 
 The barrels of a gun really require the greatest 
 supervision, for on these its actual usefulness depends; 
 the locks and fittings, though they should not, of 
 course, be disregarded, are but accessories of second- 
 rate value in comparison with the barrels. 
 
 If a gun is in good order, nothing is better to 
 
xiv. THE CARE AND CLEANING OF GUNS 179 
 
 keep it so than vaseline it being the very best com- 
 position ever devised for this purpose ; it may be rubbed 
 on every part of the inside or outside of a gun, the 
 locks included. Vaseline is also a splendid preservative 
 for wood, making it pliable and waterproof. 
 
 When a gun is in daily use, be careful to avoid 
 a surplus of lubricant, as, if there be an excess of oil left 
 on, it will clog the mechanism of the gun and collect 
 dust and grit the presence of the latter being very 
 detrimental to its wearing parts. If a gun has been out 
 in the wet, it should be thoroughly dried with cloths in 
 every part, finished off with an old silk handkerchief, 
 and then brushed over lightly with vaseline. 
 
 Push some clean tow several times through the 
 barrels of a gun after using it, then an old piece of soft 
 cloth, and lastly some tow soaked in vaseline. The 
 next morning, if the gun is to be used, rub out the vase- 
 line ; if the gun is to be laid by, clean again thoroughly 
 with tow and cloth and finish with vaseline as before. 
 
 By putting vaseline on a gun at the end of a day's 
 shooting any rust will be softened by the following 
 morning, and can then easily be removed without all 
 that elbow-grease that is often bestowed on a gun 
 with a view of polishing it up over-night, and which, 
 by the amount of friction given whilst grit and rust 
 may be present, is no good thing for its fittings and 
 barrels. In the care of his guns, the object of the 
 
 N 2 
 
i8o LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 shooter should be to keep them in such good order 
 that they can be cleaned with ease instead of by 
 violent exercise. 
 
 The action of a gun and its bolts and lumps are 
 made to fit so close and air-tight that the less rubbing 
 they get the longer will their parts fit without a shake, 
 and as they did when the gun was new. 
 
 If possible, the action and working parts of a gun 
 should never be cleaned save with a wad of tow, a 
 soft cloth, or an old silk handkerchief; for rubbing 
 and scrubbing their interstices and angles with a piece 
 of stick, a wire brush, and (heaven preserve the gun !) 
 with emery in any form, are methods always to be 
 avoided. It is not that a piece of stick in itself could 
 wear the fittings of a gun ; it is the atoms of rust or 
 grit that the application of the stick grinds, almost 
 like sandcloth, against the metal-work. 
 
 THE LOCKS 
 
 The locks of a well-made gun are so completely 
 sheltered from the atmosphere that they will keep 
 clean and dry in the worst of weather, and should be 
 as little interfered with as possible a thin coat of 
 vaseline over their flat surfaces, and touching their 
 working parts very lightly with a fine, soft, paint-brush 
 dipped in sweet oil once during the year, should be 
 enough for them. If gun-locks are rusted, no ama- 
 teur can possibly set them right again. He may, 
 
xiv. THE CARE AND CLEANING OF GUNS 181 
 
 however, soak the affected parts in paraffin, and, after 
 rubbing this off, scrub them in hot soap- and 
 water, and when quite dry apply a little sweet oil. 
 By doing this they can be kept in order for a time ; 
 but where rust has once eaten in, it cannot be taken 
 out properly except by a gunmaker, who will repolish 
 the sore places. 
 
 Taking the locks of a gun off will eventually cause 
 their accurate fit into the woodwork of the stock to 
 suffer, and minute crevices will appear round the 
 edges of the lock-plates, and water and air will be ad- 
 mitted, and rust be the result, though the said crevices 
 would scarcely admit the point of a needle. 
 
 Bound the edges of the metal-work is one of the 
 first places where an inferior gun will fail, and show 
 gaps, very often through the wood of the stock shrink- 
 ing from improper seasoning, as well as from the lock- 
 plates themselves, or the metal, being incorrectly fitted. 
 
 Vaseline, well rubbed in all round the lock-plates 
 or edges of the metal- work of a gun will prevent the 
 wood from swelling or shrinking ; and, should there 
 be a slight gap, it can be filled up with a little bees- 
 wax, so as to keep out the air and, hence, the moisture 
 and rust that would otherwise surely percolate through 
 the opening. 
 
 ON TAKING A GUN TO PIECES 
 
 Should it be necessary to take any part of a gun 
 to pieces, act slowly and deliberately, taking care to 
 
1 82 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 have a couple of saucers handy, in which to place 
 the screws as they are removed. Be careful to 
 select screwdrivers of proper size; if used too large 
 for the notches of the screws, the former will slip 
 about over the metal of the gun and cause scratches, 
 and every scratch will form a receptacle for rust, not 
 to speak of its unsightliness. Be sure the screws are 
 turned in again, when replaced, just the right dis- 
 tance, with their notches all level with the line of the 
 barrels. 
 
 Before putting a screw back into its hole, rub it 
 over with an old tooth-brush to clean its threads, after- 
 wards with an oiled rag; and clean out the hole it 
 fits into with a small twist of fine tow. And make it 
 a golden rule never to force anything back into its place 
 that sticks, for depend upon it it is not meant to do 
 so ; rather send the part to a gunmaker, as it will be 
 cheaper to do this than to replace damages. This 
 advice is especially applicable to a first-class gun, as 
 in its case every screw and piece is so beautifully 
 made and fitted that a breakage is a costly affair. 
 
 Here is a hint as to how to untwist a stubborn 
 screw. First of all, see that your screwdriver fits 
 well into the bottom of the notch of the screw in ques- 
 tion ; in case it does not, a file will soon make it. 
 Having soaked some paraffin round the head of the 
 screw, press the screwdriver well home, and, taking 
 a stout pair of pincers, or, better still, a small wrench, 
 seize the screwdriver just above where it enters the 
 
MY. THE CARE AND CLEANING OF GUNS 183 
 
 notch of the screw ; then, by pressing on the handle of 
 the former, and using the pincers as a lever, you will 
 very likely start the screw. If this method fails, call 
 in professional assistance. 
 
 Never put any part of a gun-lock in a vice without 
 previously protecting it with a piece of soft, thick 
 leather, doubled two or three times at least. Even 
 with this precaution very few amateur artisans will 
 avoid doing some slight injury to the parts held. Let 
 me impress upon the young sportsman that he should 
 not, on any account, place the barrels of his gun in 
 a vice. A friend of mine once bought a vice for his 
 gun-room, as he said it would be so convenient for 
 holding a gun should any portion of it require un- 
 screwing. I really believe that vice cost him eventually 
 as much as a pair of new guns, owing to the damages 
 resulting from its improper application. I do not 
 believe that any sportsman's home is complete if it 
 does not possess a workshop, or, at all events, some 
 corner in which he can keep his tools in readiness for 
 the many odd jobs that will be necessary in relation 
 to his outfit of guns and rods, and other implements 
 of sport ; but at the same time I would advise him to 
 very carefully feel his way before brandishing his tools 
 about on such a fine piece of workmanship as a high- 
 class gun. 
 
 As to keepers, nine out of ten are a rough-handed 
 lot when they come to clean a gun, or take it to pieces ; 
 
1 84 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 and many of them seem to imagine that, because a 
 gun is made of wood and iron, it is as strong as a 
 field-piece. 
 
 Cleaning guns well and carefully should be an 
 accomplishment as much a part of a keeper's duty as 
 rearing his game or breaking his dogs. 
 
 For a shooter to use a costly gun all day, and then 
 in the evening hand it over to the tender mercies of 
 everybody or anybody to look after its interests, is 
 almost as bad as if a hunting-man, on his return home 
 after a run with the hounds, were to give up his horse 
 to be groomed and fed by a careless or inexperienced 
 stableman. Sooner than act the former part, I 
 would take my guns upstairs and put them to bed tiii 
 I could clean them myself; for 'twere better if a 
 shooter's guns were well cleaned but twice a week by 
 himself, than if carelessly attended to every evening 
 by his attendant. 
 
 It is best for a shooter, should he not clean his 
 guns himself, to give them into the charge of one 
 servant only, with strict orders that no one else should 
 even touch them ; and remember, a case with lock 
 and key will best enforce that precaution. The 
 shooter should, of course, take care that his servant 
 is well drilled concerning how to treat a gun, how to 
 clean it, how to take it to pieces and coax it together 
 again without using force, how to ease down its springs, 
 how to lay it down safely and stand it up without 
 chance of injury ; and let it be remembered that, when 
 
xiv. THE CARE AND CLEANING OF GUNS 185 
 
 not in actual use, a gun is never so safe or keeps better 
 than when locked up in its leather case, its stocks and 
 barrels apart. 
 
 A fine pair of guns are well worth looking after 
 properly ; and I really believe, if some shooters took 
 as much care of their guns as they do of other articles 
 costing some fifty tunes less their umbrellas, for 
 instance the former would last just half as long 
 again as they do. 
 
 If you have a servant to look after your guns, 
 inspect the latter with a critical eye when taking 
 them into your hands on the morning of a day's 
 sport ; for by your acting thus an assistant will realise 
 that his master is ready to notice any delinquencies in 
 the matter of rough usage or careless cleaning of guns, 
 and he will probably bestow care on, and take pride in, 
 their state of preservation in consequence. 
 
 PITS IN BAKRELS 
 
 I have described how easy it is to keep a gun 
 properly when it is in a good state to start with ; but it 
 is the gun that has suffered by neglect that is so 
 difficult to keep in order. 
 
 Eecollect that damp and zvet are the most insidious 
 and dangerous enemies that guns have to contend 
 with. If a gun could be kept absolutely dry after 
 being thoroughly cleaned, it would never rust, pro- 
 vided it had never shown symptoms of rust in its past 
 
1 86 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 history ; therefore, the nearer we can approach this 
 state of safety from rust the longer will our guns 
 retain their good condition. 
 
 The barrels of an unused gun are so hard and 
 smooth inside that there are no irregularities, how- 
 ever minute, for rust and dirt to adhere to ; but once 
 a gun has been shot with, even but a score times, 
 this bright, mirror-like surface becomes tarnished and 
 imperceptibly made rough by the action of the powder 
 and shot ; then, if unchecked, rust and dirt will find a 
 natural lodgment in the barrels, the bad effects of 
 which are unnoticeable at first, but evident enough in 
 course of time. 
 
 It is the little * sores ' I can use no better word 
 known as ' pits ' that ruin the barrels ; and I need 
 hardly point out that the barrels of a gun are its most 
 important parts. Its other belongings can be reno- 
 vated piecemeal, and the gun be as good as ever. Not 
 so in regard to its barrels. These will have to be re- 
 placed entire if much damaged ; and, in the case of a 
 good gun, a precious costly job will their renewal be. 
 
 The ' pits ' that form in a barrel, though they 
 begin but as minute specks, which could then easily 
 be rubbed out, result from neglect and carelessness in 
 cleaning, and are a special punishment for leaving a 
 gun unexamined when laid aside out of use. 
 
 If a young shooter values his gun, he should 
 watch for the appearance of the small specks that are 
 certain to appear in course of time in his gun-barrels, 
 
xiv. THE CARE AND CLEANING OF GUNS 187 
 
 and out with them at once with a brass wire brush 
 and plenty of subsequent cleaning. These specks 
 will surely blossom into * pits ' if disregarded, and are 
 then real cankers in the life of the gun. 
 
 1 Pits/ when shallow, as in their early stage, can be 
 bored out by the gunmaker ; but when pretty deep 
 and they are not generally discovered before they repre- 
 sent serious mischief there is no getting rid of them. 
 They will, nolens volens, go from bad to worse ; and 
 though with their presence the gun may be perfectly 
 safe for many seasons, or may reach a dangerous stage 
 in a short time, it will never shoot properly again. 
 
 When once these abominable ' pits ' in fact, holes 
 have formed, they will always retain moisture in their 
 cavities. You may rub and scrub, and oil and wash 
 for a week, but you won't get rid of the moisture 
 at the bottom of the ' pits ' ; there it will remain 
 in spite of all your efforts : for your brushes and cloths 
 will all pass over, not into, them, and probably fill 
 them with moisture at the very time you are employed 
 in cleaning the barrels ; and, do what you will, these 
 pits will ever be traps for holding the very concomitants 
 that you are most anxious to dislodge from your barrels. 
 
 To refer to the dentist once more. He can fill a 
 hollow tooth for you, after first cleaning out the cavity : 
 and could you fill up the ' pits ' in your gun-barrels in 
 a similar way, all would be well ; but, as it is, you can- 
 not do so, and the injury caused by their presence 
 will steadily increase. 
 
1 88 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER xiv. 
 
 I will not enter into the chemical causes that 
 bring these * pits ' into existence ; it is sufficient to 
 know they do come, and quickly enough, too, if 
 common care be not taken to keep them in check, 
 whether a chemical or a black powder be used, 
 though the former compound does not injure the 
 barrels of a gun that is neglected so quickly as the 
 latter. 
 
189 
 
 LETTEE XV 
 
 THE CARE AND CLEANING OF GUNS 
 (continued) 
 
 HOW TO PEESEEVE A GUN IN GOOD OEDEE, AND HOW 
 TO PEEVENT A GUN IN BAD CONDITION FEOM 
 BECOMING STILL WOESE 
 
 DURING the last few seasons, when wildfowling on salt 
 water, I have kept my big and small duck-guns in 
 beautiful order by applying a plentiful allowance of 
 thickly-mixed boiling water and soap. It struck me 
 if I could keep guns at sea 1 the severest trial they 
 can undergo in proper trim by such simple means, 
 there was no reason why I should not treat my game- 
 guns in the same way ; and the result has amply re- 
 paid the experiment. Yet, simple and effective as 
 
 1 Eaw linseed oil is rare stuff to smear over guns when at sea ; 
 and mercurial ointment brushed over game-guns before putting them 
 on one side after the shooting season will keep them in a good state 
 for at least a couple of months. In fact, anything, whether it be in 
 the shape of oil, tallow, grease, varnish or lard, that will form a 
 waterproof skin or coating between the metal and the atmosphere, 
 will shut out rust from attacking the gun. 
 
190 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 this treatment is, it is one I have rarely seen 
 practised. 
 
 On the face of it, it appears so easy to clean 
 breechloaders, that I really believe this supposition 
 accounts a good deal for the way they are neglected. 1 
 
 The use of hot water and soap has not the effect 
 of cleaning the barrels merely as a ' washing mixture/ 
 as the strongest recommendation for this application 
 is that the properties of the soap eradicate the 
 harmful acids left in the barrel by the combustion of 
 the powder acids which a flood of oil would not 
 remove. 
 
 When you see by the presence of ' specks,' or even 
 feel conscious your gun-barrels ought to require a 
 downright good cleaning, give them hot water and 
 soapsuds, and a scrub through with a brass wire 
 brush, finishing off with clean hot water and pieces of 
 flannel ; and when the barrels are quite dry, though 
 still warm to the touch, rub in a light coat of vaseline, 
 which can be rubbed out again before next using the 
 gun. 
 
 Keep a score pieces of coarse-textured flannel for 
 cleaning purposes, some 3 in. or 4 in. square, with a 
 small hole in the centre of each, so that they can be 
 strung on a piece of wire when not in use ; they can 
 
 1 Before the era of breechloading guns, muzzle-loaders were 
 usually cleaned by the use of hot or cold water and soap. For the 
 sake of curiosity, I the other day removed the screw-plugs of several 
 old flint-guns I possess, and, on my word, the barrels were in a better 
 condition than those of many a modern gun I have seen. 
 
XV. 
 
 THE CARE AND CLEANING OF GUNS 191 
 
 be washed as necessary. One-half of these pieces of 
 flannel can be applied to the dirty part of a gun's 
 cleaning, and the other half for finishing off with. 
 The best stick to use for this purpose I give an illus- 
 tration of. Such a one has nothing about it that can 
 possibly injure the barrels. 
 
 End of cleaning-rod for a 12-bore gun (full size). By tying the string of the stick 
 tight, after placing in the slit a piece of flannel, the material will not move 
 
 End of cleaning-rod (reduced), showing flannel in position for cleaning a gun. 
 
 When washing barrels out, use a piece of wood, 
 with two upright, quadrangular projections on it (see 
 next page) ; then the soap-and- water will pass freely 
 up the barrels as you wash them, with their muzzle- 
 ends downwards, in a pail. All this may seem as if it 
 entailed a lot of trouble ; but the trouble is little in 
 
192 
 
 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 LETTER 
 
 comparison to making a gun last in as good order for 
 a score years as when new ; and it is for the young 
 shooter who wishes to keep his gun in such good con- 
 dition that I have set down these details. 
 
 The application of the brass wire brush, with the 
 aid of soap-and-water, is the only method I know 
 
 To be screwed to a piece of round wood 6 in. in diameter. 
 
 The dotted lines show outline of barrels (reduced) when in position for cleaning. 
 
 that will really remove specks, dirt, rust, and lead 
 from the barrels of a gun in bad condition. In the 
 case of a gun in good order, turpentine will loosen the 
 lead that is smeared inside the barrels, and which a 
 cloth would pass over, or but partially efface ; but this 
 liquid, being very sticky, must not on any account be 
 rubbed on the working parts of a gun. To remove 
 
xv. ON CLEANING GUNS 193 
 
 the lead from a barrel that is new, or bright and 
 smooth from being in good order, is an easy matter 
 compared with taking it out of one which through 
 neglect has become rough and * pitted ' inside. 
 
 If the barrels of a gun are in a bad state of dirt, 
 give them in the first place a swab out with cold water, 
 and the use of the wire-brush at the same time ; after- 
 wards repeat with boiling water and soap, and finish 
 with clean boiling water. By acting thus you can make 
 a gun in very bad order as clean as it can be made. 
 The cold water will, with the friction of the brush, have 
 an effect in loosening dirt that the hot will only soften ; 
 and though cold water cannot really clean the barrels, 
 it will prepare them for the final operation of hot water 
 and soap the latter being the only treatment that 
 will partly check the acids of the powder from further 
 damaging barrels that are pitted already, and will also, 
 if applied now and then during the season, prevent 
 these pits from forming at all. 
 
 A couple of nail-brushes and two or three tooth- 
 brushes, kept especially for removing (with the aid of 
 hot water and soap when necessary) any obdurate 
 patches of rust from the outside of a gun, or the 
 working parts of the action, will be found most 
 useful. The brushes should not be used with much 
 oil, or they will become too clogged to be of service. 
 
 Though a gun should never require paraffin, if 
 
 o 
 
194 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 kept in fair condition, it is well for the shooter to 
 know that paraffin put on a gun, inside and out, for 
 a few hours, or at most a night, and then rubbed off 
 with a cloth, is the best way to remove a slight 
 amount of rust ; but if paraffin is left on a gun with 
 the intention of preventing rust, it will have a con- 
 trary effect, as this oil contains so much water that 
 after a time rust will form wherever the paraffin has 
 been applied to the metal. 
 
 SOME CONCLUDING EEMAKKS ON CLEANING A GUN 
 
 To retain a gun in good order when put aside for 
 some time without attention, treat the barrels with 
 hot water and soap as I have described, and then 
 cover the gun (lock, stock, and barrels) with refined 
 neatsfoot oil by refined I mean that all the water 
 has been taken out of the oil. Neatsfoot, though nasty 
 to handle, is capital stuff to put on a gun, and is a 
 most useful and successful preservative. 
 
 I have kept guns in fine order at sea, when not in 
 everyday use, by merely filling their barrels with 
 clean tow that had, in order to perfectly dry it, been 
 previously heated before a fire inside a tin ; the damp 
 is then absorbed by the tow, and prevented from set- 
 tling on the metal of the barrels. 
 
 When cleaning a gun, be very jealous of any sedi- 
 
xv. ON CLEANING GUNS 195 
 
 ment or moisture lurking in the end of the cartridge- 
 chamber ; never omit to clean this part very thoroughly 
 it is the most vital part of the barrels. A wire- 
 brush attached to a short handle, the latter some 
 8 in. long, with a knob to lay hold of, to prevent the 
 brush going too far up the barrels, will be found a 
 convenient dodge for this particular purpose. 
 
 Do not forget, whilst cleaning a gun, to rub the 
 faces and angles of the breech, and all the parts that 
 work in one with another, with an oiled rag, to 
 remove grit, as the presence of the latter soon causes 
 loose joints, and is particularly liable to accumulate 
 about a gun on windy days when the soil is dry and 
 sandy. 
 
 If your gun is in a sticky, dirty state after 
 being laid by for some time, from the excess of 
 lubricant put on for its preservation, you will find 
 nothing equal to petroleum for removing the clogged 
 oil, and polishing the gun up again ready for use. 
 
 Before quitting this subject of cleaning, I will 
 say that, previous to the application of vaseline, a 
 gun's barrels should be so clean and dry inside that 
 a fine cambric handkerchief can be passed through 
 them without the symptom of a stain ; and I will add, 
 that a large silk handkerchief heated before the fire 
 is the very best thing to pull through a barrel after 
 
 o 2 
 
196 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTEH 
 
 it has been cleaned and dried, to remove the least 
 remnant of moisture, and to give the surface that 
 brilliant polish- inside which is the only real antidote 
 to rust. 
 
 THE WIKE-BKUSH 
 
 I now give a hint on cleaning a barrel with the 
 wire-brush. In nine cases out of ten, when this 
 brush is applied to the gun, the operator pushes 
 it in through the chamber of the barrel, and, hold- 
 ing the handle of the cleaning-rod, works the brush 
 up and down inside, entirely ignoring the fact that, 
 instead of removing the powder- scale, or rust, he 
 is merely smearing it all over the interior of the 
 barrel. The proper method is to place the handle- 
 end of the cleaning-rod in first, and draw the brush 
 after it out at the muzzle, as the latter is held down- 
 wards then the dirt is really removed ; yet how 
 seldom is a barrel thus treated ! Nothing equals a 
 rub through with the wire-brush when a gun is 
 not in use, as the brush will break up at once any 
 specks or rust that adhere to the metal. Though 
 cloth and tow will polish and cause a barrel to look 
 clean, neither will really eradicate specks of rust. 
 A brass wire-brush cannot possibly score the inside 
 of a barrel you might as well endeavour to scratch 
 glass with the thumb-nail. A steel brush will in 
 time score the surface of a barrel, and has the dis- 
 advantage that, now and then, small pieces of the 
 
xv. WIRE-BRUSH FOR CLEANING GUNS 197 
 
 wire snap off, and when they drop by chance into the 
 action of the gun are quite capable of causing loose 
 joints and other damage. 
 
 A wire-brush should be of large size those 
 usually sold by gunmakers are not of much use , and 
 I give below a full-scale drawing of what I have 
 found the most suitable form, and one which will 
 
 FIG. 21. 
 
 Brass-wire t -ratch-hrush for 12-bore .gun. Full size. N.B. When the brush becomes 
 foul, hoM it over the flame of a lamp or candle for a few seconds, and it will be 
 effectually <.! 
 
 clean out a barrel thoroughly and quickly, Messrs. 
 Pape, gunmakers, Newcastle-on-Tyne, make these 
 brushes for me as well as can be desired, both strong 
 and lasting. 1 
 
 1 Here is a useful dodge to assist you to clean your gun when 
 away from home. Carry in your gun-case, in a small water-tight 
 box, a piece of sponge, previously soaked in rangoon or other oil. 
 You can then ' dab ' the oil on your gun as required, and you can 
 keep sufficient lubricant on a piece of sponge no larger than a small 
 apple to last a season ! 
 
198 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 LETTEE XVI 
 ON THE LOADING OF GAME-GUNS POWDEE 
 
 BLACK POWDEE AND NITKO-COMPOUNDS 
 
 POWDEE is naturally a subject of great interest to 
 shooters. The ordinary black powder, such as No. 4, 
 has been proved to kill as well as any chemical com- 
 pound, but the amount of smoke that results from its 
 combustion is a decided drawback to its use. 
 
 I have often seen shooters on a calm day, in a 
 grouse-box, or when firing in covert, so enveloped in 
 the smoke caused by black powder that it was impos- 
 sible for them to see to aim successfully in the first 
 case, till the smoke had settled ; in the second, till 
 they had walked clear of it ! 
 
 In the event of driven game, it is a great gain to use 
 the smokeless powder, as it does not intercept the aim of 
 the shooter, after he has fired, in regard to other birds 
 approaching him. The serious disadvantage of black 
 powder is that, in calm weather, under all conditions 
 of shooting, it is liable to conceal the effect of the 
 first barrel, if game has been wounded and ought to 
 
xvi. THE LOADING OF GUNS POWDER 199 
 
 receive another shot. 1 The smoke from black powder 
 will also frequently hinder a shooter from firing his 
 second barrel quickly, should a couple or several birds 
 rise together ; and when the smoke hangs in a cloud, 
 its presence certainly makes driven game suspicious of 
 danger, and turns it from passing within shot of the 
 man who uses this powder in his gun, to the benefit 
 of those sportsmen present who chance to burn a 
 nitro- compound. 
 
 The report of black powder is another drawback, 
 especially on a small estate, for the loud, earth- 
 quaking, long-drawn-out concussion it causes will 
 start game running, when the short, sharp, rifle -like 
 crack of a nitro-compound will have but little effect. 
 I have frequently noticed this fact when posted at the 
 end of a covert ; and the difference between the way 
 in which hares, and, late in the season, cock 
 pheasants, will break out when the shooters are using 
 the noisier powder, is very noticeable. As an instance, 
 I may state that I often shoot wood-pigeons with 
 * Schultze ' only a few hundred yards distant from my 
 duck-decoy ; whilst if I fire a few shots with the black 
 powder, as I have done for experiment, off go the wild 
 ducks at once. I must not, however, deny to the 
 
 1 You can almost fancy you see your shot strike when using a 
 nitro-compound ; at all events, you can see the feathers fluff off your 
 bird when it is struck, which is pretty nearly the same thing an 
 occurrence very likely to give you some useful information as to where 
 the charge of shot strikes hints that the smoke resulting from black 
 powder would conceal from view. 
 
2oo LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 black powder the advantages it does possess no small 
 ones either. It is very even and reliable in its 
 shooting, and hence gives a more regular spread to 
 the shot than its chemical rivals, though not as a rule 
 such a close pattern ; it is very safe certainly more 
 so than EC or Schultze ; 1 and it is also practically 
 free from deterioriation by age or climatic in- 
 fluences. 
 
 Though it is a fact that the nitro-compounds 
 have less recoil and, strange to relate, burn more slowly 
 than the black powder, I do not find these advantages 
 are noticeable so far as the effect on the shooter is con- 
 cerned if a number of shots be fired, as the sharp crack 
 which results from the explosion of a chemical com- 
 pound is in such case just as liable to cause headache as 
 the combustion of the black grain ; and, after firing, 
 on many occasions, from 500 to 600 cartridges in a day 
 at game with black and chemical powders, I am con- 
 fident that a charge of 82 gr. of Messrs. Curtis & 
 
 1 Some of the most notable marksmen in our islands use black 
 powder. Lord de Grey informs me that he invariably shoots with 
 Curtis & Harvey's Diamond Grain No. 2, and adds, that he is confident 
 that no nitro-compound ever shot as well as the best fine black 
 powder, and that he has converted many of his friends to the same 
 views. As Lord de Grey's excellence as a game-shot and experience 
 of the gun is unsurpassed, this supposition on his part carries great 
 weight. I will add, it is a well-proved fact that a fine powder does 
 shoot harder, and, of course, kill farther, than the usual grain, as 
 No. 4 ; but at the same time it causes a considerable increase of recoil, 
 and strain to the gun, though it has an advantage, in the matter of 
 smoke, over a coarser grain, for, the coarser the powder, if black be 
 used, the more the smoke and dirt ! 
 
xvi. THE LOADING OF GUNS POWDER 201 
 
 Harvey's No. 4 does not jar one's system to a greater 
 extent than 42 gr. of Schultze or EC. 1 - 2 
 
 Our trusty old friend the black powder has gone 
 much out of fashion since the introduction of Schultze 
 and EC ; yet its only real disadvantage though cer- 
 tainly a serious one to the shooter is its excessive pro- 
 duction of smoke as compared with its chemical rivals. 
 
 The great advantage of a chemical compound is 
 the power it gives the shooter of taking a second shot, 
 
 1 Gun Headache. On this troublesome annoyance, the most dis- 
 tressing penalty a shooter has to undergo, I consulted Dr. Quain ; 
 for I was aware that, besides being famous in his profession, he had a 
 long and varied experience insJiooting. Dr. Quain very kindly explained 
 to me his suppositions on the subject, and wrote : ' There are a certain 
 class of nerves which are intimately associated with the digestive 
 organs, and are also intimately associated with the circulation of the 
 brain, and when digestion is taking place these nerves are very 
 susceptible to a shock (such as the tiring of a gun), and therefore 
 through them the circulation of the brain may be disturbed.' Dr. 
 Quain added that 'it is possible after a "heavy luncheon"'; the 
 nerves he alludes to are particularly affected by an unusual shock, not 
 only during the digestive process, but subsequently, and 'the remedy 
 would seem to be, Take care of the digestive functions, avoid over- 
 excitement, and watch the circumstances that appear to produce "gun 
 headache," and avoid the causes.' 
 
 2 I have met more shooters suffering from gun headache since the 
 nitro-compounds came so much into fashion than was the case 
 previously. Nitro-compounds are nothing but dynamite ! The 
 latter is their real description ; and it is worthy of remark that all 
 artisans who work in dynamite are cautioned against handling or 
 smelling this explosive more than is absolutely necessary, as being 
 very liable to cause severe headache ! However here is my idea of 
 gun headache framed in simple language : 
 
 Many good things \ / Gun headache, 
 
 Much smoking L = -I Bad marksmanship, and 
 
 Sitting up late at night ) (.Loss of temper. 
 
2O2 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 or, if necessary, of firing a succession of quick shots, 
 through the absence of any noticeable smoke. 
 
 As to safety, nothing can be safer than the black 
 powder ; yet I am bound to admit that, during the 
 past half-dozen years I have fired over 60,000 cart- 
 ridges loaded with Schultze without misadventure; 
 though I have nevertheless had, I believe, three or 
 four out of that number that, for some reason, 
 nearly sent my gun flying out of my hands from 
 excessive recoil, and seemed to loosen all the teeth 
 in my head. If, however, a shooter obtains his 
 cartridges from a reliable firm of gunmakers, and 
 is careful his powder is not kept at too high a 
 temperature, he is quite safe with Schultze or EC. 
 But I would advise the sportsman who cannot 
 answer favourably on such points as these to use 
 black powder, as then no accident is ever likely to 
 occur, save from some defect in his gun. 
 
 It is that one cartridge in, perhaps, several thou- 
 sand, that explodes with a crash, which with a nitro- 
 compound is to be dreaded, and gives such a disagree- 
 able reminiscence for many days, and at the time 
 makes you feel as if you had been blown up a feeling 
 that, if you are using an inferior gun may be more real 
 than imaginary. 
 
 Personally, I prefer a nitro-compound Schultze 
 for choice as I find from experience the latter has 
 within the last couple of years become very reliable, 
 though in reality there is but little to choose between 
 
xvi. THE LOADING OF GUNS POWDER 203 
 
 it and EC for general excellence ; and I am willing 
 to risk an occasional cartridge that kicks like a horse, 
 rather than give up the advantage of burning a powder 
 almost devoid of smoke a great boon, and one that 
 is not enjoyed at intervals, on rare occasions, but con- 
 tinually, and in almost every shot that is fired from the 
 beginning to the end of a day's shooting. At the same 
 time, I take good care my cartridges are thrown away 
 when wet, to avoid any risk of their being over-dried, 
 through some kindly officious person roasting them 
 on the hob at home ! I also see they are not kept 
 in too warm a room, and are removed from my gun 
 at the close of a drive, or at the finish of a hot 
 corner, as leaving cartridges loaded with a chemical 
 powder in the barrels, when the latter are in a 
 heated condition, is just as injudicious as placing 
 them too near a, fire. 
 
 Black powder requires no supervision other than 
 preserving it from damp ; and, should it suffer 
 from this cause, it can be easily dried without risk, 
 and almost at any temperature. On the other hand, 
 putting on one side the danger of over-heating, a 
 slight, and usually quite unsuspected, degree of damp 
 ruins the efficiency of nitro- compounds, as, in spite 
 of the improvements of late years in waterproofing 
 them, they are still materially affected by damp 
 far more so than is the case with black powder. 
 
2O4 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 Nitro-compound cartridges that have merely been out 
 on a damp day are liable to become weak and irregular 
 in their shooting unless carefully dried for future use. 
 As a shooter cannot at all times watch his cartridges, 
 he should be most cautious that some blundering 
 assistant does not take upon himself to dry a few 
 before a hot fire, should they be wet, as then may 
 come, in the case of nitre-compounds, the terrific 
 recoil that will cause their strongest advocates to 
 eschew them for ever. 1 
 
 In the case of a good, safe gun, there is no powder 
 so pleasant to use or easy to kill with as Schultze 
 or EC ; and it is worthy of note, that the unpleasant 
 habit these powders sometimes have of filling the eyes 
 with particles that cause one's optics to smart and 
 
 1 There are other causes besides over-heating that result in exces- 
 sive recoil, such as the use of too powerful caps by the cartridge-case 
 maker, or the addition of a priming of fine black powder, or excessive 
 compression in the turning down of the cases by the person who 
 loads the cartridges. These details regarding safety are, however, 
 the business of the manufacturer rather than of the shooter, and the 
 latter, if he procures his cases from experienced dealers, may feel satis- 
 fied they are right enough in their contents when delivered. The EC 
 cartridges supplied by Mr. C. Lancaster, and the Schultze by Messrs. 
 Cogswell & Harrison both of Old Bond Street are particularly 
 good in every way ; and there is no doubt some firms, such as those 
 I name, have acquired a specialty in turning out superior cartridges, 
 and are deservedly patronised in consequence. Beyond doubt, 
 all nitre-compounds require some care in loading, and differ 
 materially in the way they should be treated. For instance, the EC 
 requires a good amount of pressure to develop its force, and JB wants 
 more pressure than EC; but Schultze's is virtually 'killed' when 
 caked by excessive pressure. As to black powder, there is no dilii- 
 culty of any kind in connection with loading cartridges with it. 
 
xvi. THE LOA.DING OF GUNS POWDER 205 
 
 blink just, perhaps, when game is flying thickest, is 
 merely the result of imperfect combustion caused by 
 improper loading. The other chemical powders are, 
 in my opinion, not to be named with these two. 
 
 The most suitable black powders, in my experience, 
 are No. 4, and Curtis & Harvey's medium grain, the 
 latter size being between No. 3 and No. 4. They are 
 both admirably adapted for use in game-guns, in regard 
 to hard hitting, even strength, and regular pattern - 
 the latter quality a very necessary one in a gun, and 
 which black powder possesses to a greater degree 
 than any chemical compound. At the same time, I 
 strongly recommend the shooter to use Schultze 
 or EC on all occasions, if his gun is a reliable one, if 
 he can ensure his cartridges being properly loaded, 
 and if he can depend upon them being kept at a 
 correct temperature ; and I will add, that a shooter 
 should often seek nearer home than he imagines 
 possible for the cause of weak force or excessive recoil 
 in his nitre-compound cartridges, instead of at once 
 laying the blame on his gunmaker. 
 
2o6 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 LETTEK XVII 
 
 ON THE LOADING OF GUNS SHOT 
 
 GENEEAL BEMAEKS ON SHOT SOFT v. HAED SHOT, 
 AND THE GLANCING OF SHOT ON LOADING FOE 
 LONG SHOTS EECOIL 
 
 IN the matter of shot there is not much to puzzle the 
 shooter. Nos. 5 and 6 the latter for preference are 
 the usual and correct sizes to use on game. Anything 
 smaller, such as No. 7, is best adapted for a small- 
 bore, such as a 20. Sizes such as 8 or 9 are suitable 
 for snipe-shooting only, and a larger size than 5 for 
 wildfowl ; and then only in a wider bore than a No. 12. 
 
 Taking into consideration all-round shooting in the 
 British Islands, there is far more game killed with No. 
 6 than with any other size, as the experience of a 
 large majority of sportsmen and experimentalists has 
 proved that No 6 is, for general shooting and the 
 average marksman, the most suitable in every way, 
 not omitting the requirements of the gun itself. 
 
 No. 6 gives such a good pattern that, if a gun 
 be held fairly straight, no game can escape being 
 killed within a sporting distance. It has also ample 
 penetrative power, and 1 oz. of No. 6 from a good 
 
THE LOADING OF GUNS SHOT 207 
 
 No. 12 cylinder-gun, and 1^ oz. from a medium 
 choke, should drop game dead up to 40 yards, and, 
 under certain conditions as in the case of crossing 
 shots even farther. An ounce only of No. 6 con- 
 tains enough pellets to kill with equal certainty from 
 a full-choked gun, if the shooter can aim with suf- 
 ficient accuracy to enable him to strike his game with 
 the concentrated pattern thrown by a choked barrel. 
 
 No. 5 is a heavier shot, and, pellet for pellet, would 
 kill farther than No. 6 ; but as it contains fifty-two 
 pellets less to the ounce than No. 6, it of course gives a 
 more scattered pattern. Theoretically, one pellet of 
 No. 5 would, or, rather, might kill a bird when a pellet of 
 No. 6 might not ; but then a bird could easily be struck 
 by four or five pellets of No. 6 when, perhaps, not more 
 than three of No. 5 would do so, and the aggregate 
 force of the blow given by the former size would then 
 disable it as effectively as would the fewer, though 
 heavier, pellets of the latter. So that there is not, I 
 believe, any real difference in effect between the two 
 sizes at the average distance game is fired at. 1 
 
 But if we can put several pellets of No. 5 into the 
 mark at a long range sufficient, that is, to kill then 
 this shot, from its superior weight and penetration, 
 would in such case certainly drop the game cleaner 
 
 1 "When I write that No. 5 will kill as well as No. 6, it should be 
 understood 1 refer to the effect only of the shot itself on the game, 
 without considering, as I afterwards do, which size is best for the 
 shooter to use in regard to striking his mark. 
 
208 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 than No. 6 ; but, save with a full-choked barrel, this 
 cannot be regularly done : and I have in a former 
 letter pointed out the disadvantage of a full-choke and 
 the drawbacks attending its use. 1 
 
 It is only when we can place an ample number of 
 pellets of No. 5 shot into our game, so as to kill it 
 with certainty as, for instance, at rabbits, or at 
 driven grouse or partridges, or close-lying birds that 
 I consider No. 5 is a superior shot to No. 6 to use in 
 a cylinder-gun. 
 
 Depend upon it, the most deadly charge of lead 
 for an average, or even a good shot to use, from 
 ordinary 12-bore game-guns, that make patterns of 
 from 130 to 150, is 1| to ly 1 ^ oz. respectively of No. 
 6 shot (270 pellets to the ounce). 
 
 A perfect charge for a medium-choked 12-bore 
 gun is Sy 1 ^- dr. of black or 42 gr. of chemical powder 
 and l 1 - oz. of No. 6 shot. 
 
 With a cylinder-gun, Sy 1 -^ to 3^ dr. of black or 43 gr. 
 of a chemical powder and 1^ oz. of No. 6 shot will 
 kill game at any distance a 12-bore should be fired at. 
 
 1 Lord de Grey uses No. 5 shot in full-choked guns. The small 
 pattern that results from this combination in no degree handicaps 
 such a deadly marksman, but, instead, gives him increased power of 
 killing his game an advantage in no way likely to be enjoyed, how- 
 ever, by an average good shot. 
 
NYU. ON THE LOADING OF GUNS SHOT 209 
 
 From a full-choked gun, in the hands of a first- 
 class shot, 1 oz. of No. 5 with 3^ dr. of powder will 
 kill splendidly, as this charge has more penetration 
 than 1J oz., or than 1 oz. of No. 6, but is not, of 
 course, nearly so easy to hit with, as the shooter 
 will have to strike his mark with a shot-circle of 
 narrow width, which, of course, implies very accurate 
 aiming. 
 
 A gun must, however, be bored and regulated to 
 shoot 1 oz. of shot with a regular pattern ; a gun 
 built for 1J oz. will, likely enough, not do so. 
 
 It is a not unusual custom for shooters to vary the 
 loads in their guns. This is an error ; for a good gun 
 is regulated with great care to shoot a certain charge, 
 which, in a 12-bore, is generally 3 dr. or 3J dr. of 
 powder and 1 oz. of No. 6 shot. 
 
 Putting on one side the effect on the performance 
 of a gun by using in it charges for which it was not 
 intended, the substitution of one size of shot for 
 another is only worth considering when one kind of 
 bird or ground game is likely to be met with for an 
 entire day (a somewhat rare occurrence) ; and carry- 
 ing several batches of differently-loaded cartridges in 
 separate pockets or bags is certain to cause confusion 
 and annoyance, and is a terrible bore in the field as 
 well. Babbits may, however, be treated exceptionally, 
 and 2} dr. of black or 38 gr. of a chemical powder 
 
2io LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 and | to loz. of No. 5 shot will do for them, even with 
 a cylinder-gun. 
 
 For ordinary all-round sport with a cylinder or a 
 medium-choked gun I strongly recommend the young 
 shooter to adhere to No. 6 shot throughout the season. 
 When once a shooter has acquired a successful system 
 of loading his cartridges to suit his gun and himself, 
 the less should he be inclined to change and experi- 
 mentalise. 
 
 If a shooter invariably fired at pheasants, I should 
 advise him to use a gun bored for No. 5 shot. If 
 partridges and grouse were his only game, and he 
 habitually walked for them, No. 6 would be his best 
 size; for as these are comparatively small birds, 
 plenty of pellets are required in the charge that is, 
 if they are to receive their proper allowance when 
 they offer shots at over ordinary ranges. On the 
 other hand, pheasants present a larger target, and a 
 charge of No 5 will generally put plenty of pellets on 
 the mark to kill, if the aim be correct ; and a pheasant 
 can now and then be brought down at a farther range 
 with No. 5 than with No. 6. For rabbits, No. 5 is the 
 best size, as rabbits are usually killed at a moderate 
 range, and No. 5 will not, in such case, smother them 
 with pellets to the same extent as No. 6 ; and what I 
 have written about the rabbit equally applies to driven 
 grouse, as well as driven partridges. For hares, there 
 is no doubt No. 5, or even No. 4, is the killing-size. 
 
xvn. ON THE LOADING OF GUNS SHOT 211 
 
 However, as we cannot pull out of our pocket a cart- 
 ridge loaded for hares, another for partridges, and a 
 third for pheasants, according as each variety pre- 
 sents itself to our aim, we make a compromise, and 
 that is to use No. 6 shot ; and there is no doubt this 
 size will kill in good style everything in the form of 
 game in our islands, rabbits, hares, and wild duck 
 included. 1 
 
 CHILLED v. SOFT SHOT 
 
 Chilled shot is now in general use, as it is of better 
 construction than when first introduced. 
 
 There is an impression, however, among sports- 
 men that chilled shot ricochets more than soft, and is 
 therefore more likely to cause accidents a theory 
 uncommonly hard to prove. For my part, after 
 making many experiments, I cannot discover that 
 there is the least difference between the two in this 
 respect, and I have fired at all sorts of objects, stone, 
 iron, and wood, with paper placed at all angles near 
 to receive the pellets. I find the soft and the hard 
 will both glance at equally acute angles, and are just 
 as ready, one or the other, to glance off a hard, or 
 even, at times, a soft substance, if they strike it with 
 
 1 For some seasons a fit of experimenting seized hold of me, 
 and I carried all sorts of cartridges for all kinds of game ; and this 
 usually ended in my having to use up the loads intended for early 
 partridges on pheasants, and those intended for ducks on early par- 
 tridges of the following season. 
 
 P 2 
 
212 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 the necessary inclination, and I imagine a pellet in the 
 face from either size would be equally disagreeable. 1 
 
 The irregular pellets found in game, whether hard 
 or soft shot be used, result from the shot being 
 crushed out of shape through the violent hustling it 
 undergoes in the barrel on the charge being fired ; 
 and it is generally imagined that the considerable 
 percentage of every charge that diverges from the 
 true line of flight, and travels wide both of game and 
 target, consists of the more misshapen pellets, which, 
 from their loss of a spherical form, fly in eccentric 
 directions. 
 
 This is a puzzling question ; and it is a matter 
 for conjecture how it is we find so many irregular 
 pellets in game if, as imagined by theorists, the 
 damaged ones cannot travel in a straight line to the 
 mark aimed at. That the shot does not become 
 irregular from contact with the game, is proved by the 
 many dents and faces that appear all over the former 
 instead of its being merely flattened on one side. 
 
 I am of opinion that the accuracy of the flight 
 of shot is not, practically speaking, affected by its 
 being crushed out of its spherical shape inside the 
 barrel of the gun, and that the pellets which diverge 
 most, and do not travel within 3 ft. or 4 ft. of the 
 
 1 I recollect a sportsman entering the shop of a well-known gun- 
 maker, and inveighing in strong terms against the use of chilled shot 
 as being dangerous, and finally declaring he would never use it again. 
 ' Sir,' said the gumnaker, 'you must bear in mind that will not pre- 
 vent your friends using it. ,' 
 
xvii. ON THE LOADING OF GUNS SHOT 213 
 
 object aimed at, have their direction changed by 
 contact with the bulk of the charge as it leaves the 
 muzzle ; for on examining these wide-strewn pellets 
 as they appear in a soft wood target or clay bank, 
 I do not find them of a more uneven shape than 
 most of those that reach the centre of the mark 
 aimed at. 
 
 Now, though soft shot always becomes misshapen 
 to a greater extent than hard, and the latter in con- 
 sequence penetrates somewhat deeper, yet it does not 
 kill better than the former, which penetrates suffi- 
 ciently, and, from its superior weight, deals a heavier 
 blow. 
 
 In regard to the choice of shot, hard or soft, I 
 will write a few lines. If, as I maintain, the fact 
 of shot becoming misshapen on its being fired has 
 little, if any, effect upon its accurate flight, then, 
 theoretically, I advise the use of soft shot, by reason 
 of its being the heaviest; for across a strong wind 
 its course is less affected than is the case with hard 
 shot, as I have found by firing both kinds in a good 
 breeze at a target 50 yards distant. The course of 
 the hard, or lighter shot, is then deviated, as can be 
 seen by the way its pattern is pulled off to right or 
 left of the centre aimed at, according to the direction 
 of the wind ; whilst the flight of a charge of soft shot 
 is not affected to a similar extent. At the same time, 
 writing from experience in the field, I cannot, as they 
 
214 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTEK 
 
 are now made, discover the slightest difference 
 between soft and hard shot in their power of killing 
 game up to 40 yards ; so that if a young shooter 
 chances to be using the one kind, he need not imagine 
 he would kill better with the other. 
 
 THE GLANCING OF SHOT 
 
 I have often heard it argued whether shot will 
 glance off game. I can answer this in the affirmative. 
 The question of the glancing of shot first attracted 
 my attention when watching a friend shooting at 
 some duck flying low over a lake on a perfectly calm 
 day. I noticed that, after each bird was struck, 
 pellets seemed to drop in the water right and left, at 
 an interval, after the charge had passed forward and 
 the bird was killed. 
 
 It was a mere chance, and from my being favour- 
 ably placed for observation, that I remarked these 
 stray pellets fall. However, I determined to know 
 more about it, so on the first opportunity I tested the 
 question by suspending a dead pheasant on a string 
 a couple of yards in front of a 10-ft. square sheet- 
 iron target. I then fired several shots at the bird 
 whilst swinging on its string result, pellets diverged 
 to the right and left in the form of splashes, showing, 
 from their position well outside the ordinary circle 
 of the shot-pattern, they were ricochets. Some of 
 the pellets even struck my flanking targets almost 
 
xvii. ON SPECIAL LOADS FOR LONG SHOTS 215 
 
 at riglit angles to the bird! This proved at all events 
 to my satisfaction that shot might easily glance off 
 the smooth plumage of a bird in rapid motion with 
 sufficient force, and at an angle acute enough, to 
 explain some of the unaccountable accidents we hear 
 of in field and covert. 
 
 What shooter, particularly in the case of driven 
 grouse and partridges, has not frequently heard his 
 shot rattle against the bird on its being struck, 
 almost like peas thrown against a window ! Depend 
 upon it, this rattling is caused by the shot meeting 
 hard substances, such as the quills of the wing- 
 feathers, and perhaps the skull, bill, and legs, and is, 
 to my mind, an evidence of glancing shot, the result 
 very often of bone or quill in rapid motion being 
 struck at an angle. Why, firing at a driven grouse 
 flying down wind towards the shooter, is almost like 
 firing at a stone, so far as the liability of some of the 
 shot to glance off the hard and close-laid plumage of 
 the bird is concerned ! 
 
 ON SPECIAL LOADS FOE LONG SHOTS 
 
 For long shots (I do not mean very long shots 
 there is no use giving directions concerning them, as 
 they are but chances) we must be able to put several 
 pellets into the game. Accurate aiming is of no use 
 if the pattern of a gun is so open at a long range that 
 the game can fly through it without being struck. For 
 
216 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 long shots, from 45 to 50 yards for instance, 1 oz. of 
 No. 5 gives a much too scattered pattern when fired 
 from a cylinder-gun; whilst the same measure of 
 No. 6 gives us a pattern from which a bird would be 
 far less likely to escape. 
 
 A shooter should bear in mind that to kill long 
 shots he need never increase his powder and shot ; he 
 should either increase his powder, if using a cylinder, 
 or, in the case of a choke, without altering his powder, 
 reduce his shot. If his gun is properly bored, he can 
 do this without its pattern suffering much. In both 
 cases, however, an increased velocity is obtained, and 
 that means additional penetration at a long range, if 
 the game be struck which, through loss of pattern 
 to some extent, is not then so easy of achievement. 
 
 Increasing the powder is in some guns more 
 likely to scatter the pattern than reducing the shot 
 and leaving the powder alone; and if velocity is 
 gained at a decided loss of pattern, there will, of 
 course, be no advantage to the shooter in respect to 
 long shots. 
 
 This loss of pattern is caused by the increased 
 proportion of powder driving the shot at such a high 
 rate of speed that a larger percentage of the charge 
 than usual whirls off at a tangent on leaving the 
 muzzle, instead of travelling up to the game, as it 
 should do, in an even cluster, without a fringe of 
 diverging pellets which latter are, of course, wasted 
 from being wide of the mark aimed at. 
 
xvn. ON SPECIAL LOADS FOR LONG SHOTS 217 
 
 But if the shooter, by reducing his load of shot, 
 can do away with these scattering and useless pellets, 
 and still send up to the 30 in. circle as many, 
 or very nearly as many, pellets as he did before 
 making a change, and with a considerably higher 
 velocity, he will then kill his game well at long 
 distances. But he will have to prove this on his 
 target before experimenting on game. He may take 
 it for granted that the velocity of his shot is in- 
 creased by reducing its bulk. The only thing for 
 him to satisfy himself on is, whether his gun still 
 makes a useful pattern on the target. 
 
 . of powder and 1 oz. of No. 6 shot in a 
 medium-choked 12-bore gun will kill game, if the aim 
 be true, at unusual distances, and without undue 
 recoil always provided the gun is able to retain a 
 regular spread with this charge. 
 
 3Jdr. of powder and loz. of No. 5 would not 
 answer in a cylinder, or even in a medium-choked 
 gun, on account of the considerably less number of 
 pellets this size of shot contains than does loz. of 
 No. 6 ; but in the hands of a first-rate shot, armed 
 with a /ZZ-choke, some wonderful feats of shooting 
 may be made with this load. 
 
 A very effective charge to use from a medium or 
 full-choked 12-bore, 6J Ib. gun, for long shots and it 
 
218 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 were worth while to load for them is 3 dr. of powder 
 and 1^ oz. of No. 4 shot. A heavy shot like No. 4 
 has great striking force, and travels very fast to the 
 mark, and with it the shooter need not, therefore, aim 
 forward at long ranges to the same extent as when 
 using No. 6. IT% Z - f No. 4 contains but twenty- 
 four less pellets than 1 oz. of No. 5, and gives a 
 similar pattern, but is, of course, much superior to 
 the latter in killing at long ranges. The larger the 
 shot the less the recoil, and l T %oz. of No. 4 will not 
 be felt by the shooter more than 1 oz. of No. 6 ; and 
 though the above charge might be rather a smashing 
 one for game, yet for occasional shots at hard- 
 plumaged birds, such as wildfowl, it is well suited. 
 
 Few guns can, however, shoot No. 4 satisfactorily, 
 so as to give a serviceable pattern, without being 
 specially bored for the purpose, and then they may 
 not perform so well as they ought with a usual size. 
 
 I have known shooters carry a couple of dozen or 
 more cartridges, in a separate pocket or bag, espe- 
 cially loaded with an extra amount of powder and 
 shot for very high birds, when they were aware of 
 some spot during the day's sport where such were likely 
 to occur. This is an error, as overloading a gun 
 invariably means a weak and irregular pattern, when 
 by leaving the powder alone, and merely reducing 
 the amount of shot, or else increasing the powder 
 only, the high or wild birds would be more likely to 
 
xvii. THE RECOIL OF A GUN 219 
 
 come down. Some of the tallest pheasants I ever 
 saw killed were stopped with J oz. of No. 4, fired from 
 a full-choked gun, the charge of powder being 8 \ dr. 
 
 It will be understood from what I have written 
 that, when using a medium or full-choked, gun, a shooter 
 can afford to reduce his load of shot, and in this way 
 gain superior penetration, without any increase of 
 recoil, or noticeable loss of pattern inside the 80 in. 
 circle. On the other hand, in regard to a cul^fer- 
 gun, he cannot spare any of the pellets in its charge, 
 as the pattern of the * cylinder ' is more widely 
 distributed than is that of the * choke ' at a long 
 range ; so that in the case of the cylinder we are 
 forced to add to the powder without decreasing the 
 shot, and to endure a slight increase of recoil to attain 
 a superior velocity, and at the same time retain a 
 good proportion of the usual pattern. 
 
 KECOIL 
 
 I have heard a few old-fashioned shooters, am 1 
 especially keepers, remark that they like to feel a gun 
 give a good kick on firing their idea being that such 
 is a proof the gun shoots hard. 
 
 This is quite wrong, as, with proper loading, undue 
 recoil implies that the gun is a bad fit, and, for this 
 reason, cannot be correctly held by the shooter when 
 aiming; it then jumps in his grasp, and an erratic 
 aim is a natural consequence. If a gun is too heavily 
 
22o LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER xvn. 
 
 charged, especially in the matter of shot, excessive 
 recoil will, of course, result ; and an overcharged gun 
 will never shoot hard, though it may kick most un- 
 pleasantly. Small-bore guns recoil more in propor- 
 tion than 12-bores, for various reasons ; one being 
 that they are, as a rule, overloaded with shot, with a 
 view to obtaining a good pattern, which, if they do 
 possess, it is always at a loss of penetration. If a 20- 
 bore, for example, has the penetration of a No. 12, 
 its pattern is much inferior. On the other hand, if 
 its pattern resembles that of a No. 12, its penetration is 
 inferior. A gun must be of a suitable weight in order 
 to absorb the recoil of the charge of shot, if the latter 
 is driven out with force to kill well, and at the same 
 time contains enough pellets to make a useful 
 pattern. It is in their efforts to attain these qualities 
 in very light guns that the makers of the latter fail so 
 signally ; for they attempt an impossibility, and ex- 
 cessive recoil is the usual result ! 
 
221 
 
 LETTEK XVIII 
 
 A FEW SIMPLE DIRECTIONS IN TARGET 
 EXPERIMENTS,. SUCH AS MAY BE OF 
 USE IN TESTING TEE EXCELLENCE, OR 
 THE REVERSE, OF A GUN'S SHOOTING. 
 
 TARGET practice is of great service to a shooter, as by 
 its means he can soon learn how a gun performs, and 
 hence what may be expected of it in the field. Target 
 experiments are the foundation of all real knowledge 
 of a gun's game-shooting qualities, and without their 
 aid we should be quite in the dark thereon. 
 
 A gun may be considered exceptionally good, but 
 this reputation may merely result from the owner 
 holding it straight. Often have I heard it remarked 
 of a very ordinary shooting-gun that it was a wonder- 
 ful killer, for shooters are fond of praising a gun to 
 which they have taken a fancy, either from personal 
 use, or from remarking how its owner probably a 
 good shot drops his birds. All praise, or even blame, 
 that a gun receives consequent on its performances 
 at game is, in nine cases out of ten, bestowed for some 
 reason having nothing to do with the actual shooting of 
 
222 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 the gun ; that depends upon a variety of circumstances 
 that are usually not taken into consideration by the 
 critic a-field. 
 
 Perhaps the most ludicrous example I can give of 
 the sort of way in which the shooting of a gun is some- 
 times judged occurred to me when killing some low- 
 flying partridges in a turnip-field. A keeper, supposed 
 to be above his fellows in his knowledge of guns and 
 their merits, remarked, with a wise wag of his head, 
 after I had fired several such shots : 
 
 ' Sir, your gun shoots very hard. I can always 
 tell a hard- shooting gun by the way in which the 
 pellets rattle on the leaves of the turnips ! ' 
 
 Now, at a target a good or a bad shot can with equal 
 confidence test the powers of a gun, and put out of 
 the question all the many chances that occur for and 
 against him when trying his gun on game. 
 
 ON LOADING FOE EXPEEIMENTS 
 
 In all target experiments the cartridges should be 
 carefully loaded if possible, by yourself. It is not 
 of such consequence that you should load the powder, 
 if your gunmaker vouches for the correctness of the 
 charge; but you should certainly count the number 
 of pellets in every charge of shot. If your gunmaker 
 can be depended upon, let him send you a hundred 
 or so best cases loaded with powder only and properly 
 wadded. Test two or three of the cartridges, to see 
 
xvm. ON LOADING FOR EXPERIMENTS 223 
 
 they are correct, and fill them with shot as required 
 for use. 
 
 Now, as it would take you all day to count the 
 pellets of each charge of shot, should you fire even a 
 moderate number, and as all shot measures are more 
 or less inaccurate, and depend very much on how 
 they are filled, you should purchase a shot counter, 
 by using which all chance of a mistake from putting 
 too many or too few pellets into a cartridge is avoided. 
 
 A shot counter can be regulated to one pellet, so 
 as to hold exactly 1J oz. of No. 6 shot, or any other 
 load desired ; and it can be obtained for a small sum 
 from a gunmaker. 
 
 To use the shot counter, all you have to do is to 
 plunge it into a basin full of shot, rattle the pellets 
 about till each hole has found an occupant, and then 
 pour the surplus shot into the basin, and put the 
 counted charge through a funnel into the cartridge. 
 By this means every load of shot fired at the target is 
 precisely similar. Without such being the case, 
 experiments regarding the pattern of a gun, or com- 
 parisons taken between guns, are inaccurate, and, of 
 course, unreliable. 
 
 The powder-charge, though not so important as 
 far as a few grains go, one way or the other, still 
 requires careful measurement in order to attain the 
 exact quantity. 
 
 When measuring powder, the best plan is to take a 
 
224 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 strong, new, empty cartridge-case, put a soft wad 
 down on its base, inside, and over the latter a hard, 
 thin wad. Carefully iveiyh in small glass scales just 
 the powder-charge required, place it in the case, and 
 shake it down with a few raps against the table. 
 Next measure, with a piece of round wood that just 
 fits inside the case, the height of the powder, and cut 
 the case through level at that point, and you have a 
 sufficiently accurate gauge for your powder; and 
 several similar measures, marked outside with white 
 paint, can be kept for various loads. 
 
 When testing a 12-bore, the charge of shot should 
 be 1 J oz. of No. 6 that is, 304 pellets, being 270 
 pellets to one ounce. The charge of powder is 
 optional, but usually consists in a 12-bore of 3 dr. or 
 3 J dr. of black, or 42 gr. of a nitro-compound. 
 
 Eightly enough, there is no exact definition for the 
 powder-charge, as what we wish to obtain is the best 
 pattern and penetration we can with the shot, and we 
 have to discover a charge of powder that will do this. 
 Some guns shoot well with less powder than others, 
 and some with more ; and whatever charge of powder 
 the gun performs best with without undue recoil, that is 
 the charge for the sportsman to use ; for, so long as we 
 confine the number of the shot-pellets when experi- 
 menting with one gun against another, the trial will 
 be a perfectly fair one, for a gun falls off in its shoot- 
 ing when loaded with an excess of powder just as 
 much as if loaded with too little. 
 
TARGET EXPERIMENTS PATTERNS 225 
 
 PATTEENS OF GUNS 
 
 To commence, I will first allude to the pattern of 
 a gun. It seems scarcely necessary, but I nad better 
 explain, that the pattern of a gun is the spread of 
 the shot on the target which pattern is good or bad 
 according to the number of shot-marks the target 
 contains, and the manner in which they are placed, 
 whether regularly or the reverse. The regulation size 
 of target at which guns are tried and compared for 
 pattern is a circle of sheet-iron the diameter of which 
 is 80 in., the regulation distance being 40 yards from 
 the shooter's feet to the target. 
 
 The pattern a 12-bore cylinder-gun should put 
 on a 30 in. circle at 40 yards will average about 130 
 pellets a score shots being fired, each barrel alter- 
 nately. 
 
 A bad-shooting cylinder-gun will place but 110 to 
 115 on the circle; a really good cylinder, from 130 to 
 135. I have had cylinder-guns that put an average 
 of 135 pellets on the 30 in. circle, but these were 
 exceptional weapons, and immense care had been ex- 
 pended on the boring of their barrels to cause them 
 to behave so well. A gun that will regularly put 140 
 is never a pure cylinder, but is, at all events, one that 
 throws the very best pattern for all-round shooting. 
 
226 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 A medium- choked gun should place 150 to 160 
 pellets on a 30 in. circle, and a full-choked gun, 190 to 
 210, or even more. I have had guns that would 
 make a pattern of 220 to 230 ; hut by reason of the 
 close patch of shot they threw up to the target, 
 and the irregular way in which it flew first to the 
 right, and next to the left I found it a very uncertain 
 feat to kill birds on the wing at ordinary game-shoot- 
 ing distances. Clean misses occurred too often to 
 please me, and birds riddled like a sieve or made 
 rag-pie of when they were hit, did not please my 
 friends when shooting with them, or myself when 
 sporting at home. These very close-shooting guns 
 are nonsensical for game-shooters to use, unless the 
 latter desire to make the killing of what they aim at 
 as difficult as possible ; though, perhaps, if such guns 
 were invariably fired at sitting game, they would be 
 useful, as with care, combined with the aim of a rifle- 
 man, and, maybe, the advantage of resting the barrels 
 on the top rail of a gate, the close patch of shot they 
 throw might be put on the mark sighted. 
 
 A No. 16 cylinder should place from 115 to 120 
 pellets on the 30 in. circle at 40 yards, with 1 oz. of 
 No. 6 shot and 2| dr. of powder. 
 
 The same gun, medium-choke, 140 to 145 pellets ; 
 full-choke, 170 to 180 pellets. 
 
 A No. 20 cylinder should place 95 to 100 pellets, 
 with | oz. of No. 6 shot and 2 J dr. of powder. 
 
TARGET EXPERIMENTS PATTERNS 227 
 
 A No. 20 medium-choke, 130 to 135 pellets ; full- 
 choke, 160 to 170 pellets, on the 30 in. circle. 
 
 It is worth notice here, that many small-bore guns, 
 when put on their trial, are loaded with a coarse powder, 
 such as No. 6, in order to obtain a good pattern, which 
 they will then make, at a loss of penetration. 
 
 When a shooter orders a new gun, and requires 
 it to make a particular pattern to his fancy, he 
 should stipulate that it is to be tested with No. 4 
 black powder, or a nitro-compound (the former for 
 preference), and No. 6 shot, of 270 pellets to the ounce. 
 The latter condition he should not fail to enforce, or 
 his gun may be credited with a fictitious pattern from 
 the use in its trial of a size of shot containing more 
 than 270 pellets to the ounce. 
 
 Even supposing the above guns .make the required 
 pattern of so many pellets on the 30 in. circle at 40 
 yards, there is still a good deal to notice in regard to 
 their even spread of the charge of shot on the target, 
 and also in regard to their accurate shooting to the 
 centre of the target. 
 
 EVEN SPUE AD 
 
 This implies that the shots fired cover the 30 in. 
 target with a regular pattern and at equal distances 
 one from the other, though a little closer together 
 in the centre, as shown in Fig. 1. Therefore, the 
 more accurate the aim of the sportsman the more 
 
 a 2 
 
228 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTEKS LETTER 
 
 pellets will be put into his game, and the cleaner 
 will he kill it, especially as these centre pellets always 
 strike the hardest. 
 
 If a cylinder-gun places its shot on the 30 in. circle 
 in the form of a regular pattern at 40 yards, and 130 
 pellets can be counted therein, a partridge on the wing 
 could not well escape being killed, or, at all events, 
 being so disabled that it could easily be recovered. 
 
 A mistake often made by theorists is, that they 
 
 FIG. 1. A GOOD PATTERN. 
 
 point to the pattern of a cylinder-gun on a target at 
 the 40 yards (a long shot), and say : 
 
 ' Look ! A partridge could escape being hit in this 
 opening in the pattern of the shot ! ' 
 
 Now and then this might be the case, if the mark 
 in question was always a bird sitting with closed wings ; 
 but in the case of a flying bird it may represent an 
 object 18 in. wide, and one that is probably running 
 the gauntlet of half the shot shown on the target as it 
 passes across the diameter of the shot-circle. 
 
TARGET EXPERIMENTS PATTERNS 229 
 
 IRREGULAR SPREAD 
 
 This is when the pattern is patchy, and shows 
 open spaces on one part of the target and thick 
 clusters on other parts, as represented in Fig. 2. 
 
 Through the open spaces the bird might escape ; 
 though the close patches, if they chanced to strike the 
 mark, would kill well. But it were far better if the 
 
 FIG. 2. A BAD PATTKRX. 
 
 grouped pellets were spread regularly over the target, 
 so that there might be no open spaces, and then, what- 
 ever part of the shot-circle struck the game, it would 
 kill it ; for, of course, these close patches the result of 
 an irregularly shooting gun vary with every shot, 
 and cannot be depended upon to cover the object 
 aimed at. 
 
 Fig. 3 is another example of a pattern that not 
 rarely occurs in a carelessly bored gun, especially in 
 a choke-bore. In this case we see a close patch of 
 shot in the centre of the target, and the remainder of 
 
230 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 the charge so scattered as to be useless. The shooter 
 who uses a gun that throws a pattern like Fig. 3 
 will now and then make very long shots, from by 
 chance striking his mark with the thick group of 
 pellets ; but it is mere good luck his doing so, as the 
 
 FIG. 3. ANOTHER BAD PATTERN. 
 
 thick cluster of shot shown is liable to vary in its posi- 
 tion with every shot fired, and he would kill with far 
 more average certainty if the pellets were evenly dis- 
 tributed, as in Fig. 1. 
 
 THE ACCUEACY OF A GUN 
 
 This is very important, and the want of it is most 
 noticeable in a bad shooting gun, as, even should its 
 pattern in the matter of ' even spread ' and number 
 of pellets it places within a selected l 30 in. circle be 
 all that can be desired, yet the accuracy of the gun 
 
 1 A selected pattern is one that is taken from any part of a square 
 4 ft. target by drawing a 30 in. circle round the closest group of shot, 
 and ignoring whether this group appears on the proper 30 in. circle 
 on the centre of the 4 ft. target, or if it appears in one corner of the 
 latter ; for this reason a selected pattern is never to be trusted. 
 
TARGET EXPERIMENTS ACCURACY 231 
 
 may be quite at fault, and a very uncertain one to 
 kill with as a result. 
 
 If a gun is proved to shoot true to the centre, then 
 a target of 30 in. diameter is all that is needed to test 
 its shooting ; but as guns not unfrequently shoot aside 
 of the mark, it is well to use a target on which there 
 is space for any deflection to be easily detected. For 
 this purpose the target (see Fig. 4) should be 4 ft. 
 square, of thin sheet-iron, and secured with its centre 
 level with the eye when the shooter puts the gun to 
 his shoulder to aim. The cross-lines divide the 
 target into equal parts, so that if a gun sends the 
 bulk of the charge high or low, or to one side or the 
 other, the fault can at once be perceived, and recorded 
 for reference ' High right ' ' High left,' or ' Low 
 right ' or ' Low left,' as the case may be. The circles 
 and cross-lines should be cut into the metal as narrow 
 as possible, and yet deep enough to give plain outlines. 
 
 The bullseye may consist of a bolt driven through 
 the target, its head projecting half an inch then it 
 can be readily coated with black as required ; it is 
 impossible to aim a gun correctly at any target without 
 a distinct centre at which to direct the sight. The 
 rest of the target can be brushed over with whitewash 
 after every shot. 
 
 When counting the pellet marks, learn to erase and 
 count two at a time (either with the finger or the 
 open end of an empty cartridge-case), and the pattern 
 can then be quickly told up. 
 
232 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 When testing your gun for accuracy, aim, and fire, 
 as with a rifle, at the bullseye on the 4ft. square 
 
 FKJ. 4._TAHGET FOB TESTING THE PATTBBN OF &AMB-GUN8. 
 
 (Material, $ sheet-iron, 4 feet square ; large circle, 30 in. diameter ; small circle 
 5 in. diameter ; bullseye, 1J in. diameter. Cost, II. 
 
 target, choosing a time when there is no wind to 
 influence the shot. 1 If the bulk of the charge is 
 
 1 It is not so easy a feat as might be fancied to aim with accuracy 
 time after time at a target with a game-gun, and practice will be 
 necessary before a young shooter can do so successfully. Some 
 shooters will do a gun full justice at a target, while others will not 
 bring out its good points. For instance, shooting to one side or 
 other of the target depends considerably on the shooter giving to the 
 recoil, or the reverse ; in the former case it causes the charge to shoot 
 to the right, in the latter to the left. The pull of the triggers will 
 also affect the aim, if these do not suit the finger of the shooter. 
 
xvni. TARGET EXPERIMENTS ACCURACY 233 
 
 regularly placed within the circle, and you are conscious 
 your aim was steady, then your gun is correct in the 
 matter of shooting straight to a point. 
 
 If, on the other hand, the bulk of the shot is placed 
 to one side, or high or low, time after time, then, if you 
 can answer for your aim, the gun shoots inaccurately. 
 
 Should the bulk of the shot appear on the target 
 on alternate sides, sometimes high, and sometimes low, 
 it is probable your aim is more to blame than the 
 shooting of the gun ; for a gun that shoots inaccurately 
 will repeat its fault in one direction. 
 
 The small, inner circle, of 5 inches in diameter, that 
 surrounds the bullseye, should always contain (if the 
 spread of the shot is satisfactory, and your gun shoots 
 to the centre) some six or seven pellets, even if the 
 barrels are cylinders. 
 
 A gun should shoot fair on the bullseye at 40 yards, 
 and require no elevation, as all guns are arranged to 
 shoot with a point-blank aim up to this distance ; and, 
 as a gun requires very little elevation of the muzzle 
 to enable it to do so, shots at a less distance are not 
 affected, especially as the pattern of shot is a good 
 width, and allows a latitude of some inches one way 
 or the other without causing a miss, as would occur 
 in the case of a bullet from a rifle. 
 
 Many gunmakers give their guns the necessary 
 elevation by raising the false breech like a step or 
 back-sight above the barrels an unsightly method. 
 The best plan is to have barrels that taper from their 
 
234 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 breech-ends finely down to the muzzle; the shooter 
 will then, on aiming, give sufficient elevation to his gun 
 without other aids. Though one often hears it said that 
 at long shots an elevation of the muzzle over the mark 
 is required, I do not believe such is practically 
 necessary when the width of the shot-circle at a long 
 range is considered. 
 
 Measure your distance very carefully from the 
 target, so as to ensure a correct 40 yards from its 
 centre to the mark against which you put your toes 
 when firing the gun ; and if you wish to make accurate 
 experiments, a 'rest,' covered at the top with soft 
 cloth, will be required, on which to lay the barrels of 
 the gun when aiming. So much for the pattern of a 
 gun and how to find it. 
 
 THE PENETKATION OF A GUN 
 
 The next thing is a gun's penetration. This is not 
 nearly so easy to discover, though there are many 
 complicated appliances intended for the purpose. I 
 will merely allude to simple methods, such as any 
 shooter can apply for testing his gun, or to form a 
 comparison between it and other guns, should he wish 
 to do so. There is no doubt that the gun which gives 
 an even spread of shot on the 30 in. circle is usually a 
 good killer at ordinary ranges merely because, its 
 load of shot being regularly scattered, the game can- 
 not escape being struck should the aim be true. This 
 
TARGET EXPERIMENTS PENETRATION 235 
 
 fact is often the cause of a gun being alluded to as a 
 hard hitter, though its penetration may be nothing 
 out of the common. 
 
 A hard-hitting gun is one that drives its charge 
 of shot up to the game in a compact mass, the 
 pellets travelling from muzzle to mark with but a 
 small proportion of their number straggling behind 
 through a want of velocity, or diverging to the right 
 and left. 
 
 A first-class shooting-gun and a weak one may 
 both make good patterns, though one may shoot hard 
 and the other just the contrary : as with the former the 
 bulk of the pellets may reach the mark at the same 
 instant ; with the latter they may straggle up many feet 
 behind the foremost ones in which case the shooter 
 has, perchance, not much more than half the amount 
 of his load of shot at his disposal for killing a crossing 
 bird, the remainder of the charge passing behind its 
 tail. 1 
 
 At a target this fault might not be discovered, as 
 the pellets of the charge would probably all, or nearly 
 
 1 It sometimes happens when four or five birds flying one after 
 the other in line cross a shooter's aim, that he kills the last, though 
 he fired at the first. The shooter at once concludes that he did 
 not aim nearly far enough in front of the leading bird in fact, that 
 he ought, from the effect of his shot, to have fired as far forward of 
 the first bird as the space that divided the first from the last. This 
 reasoning is often very incorrect, as, though the bulk of the charge 
 may have missed the first bird, it does not follow it struck the last 
 which latter may have been hit by a few chance pellets that straggled 
 up after the real killing portion of the load of shot had passed on, 
 possibly even in front of the original mark aimed at ! As this is a 
 
236 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LKHEK 
 
 all, strike it, and the pattern might be excellent, for 
 the slow pellets that would pass behind crossing game 
 would reach the target, and be counted in the pattern. 
 
 The pellets that travel up to the mark slower than 
 the rest of the charge are, of course, always the weak 
 ones ; and for this reason, when shooting at paper to 
 find out penetration, it should be noticed if a number 
 of shot stick in the first few sheets, as this is a sure sign 
 the gun does not send its charge up in a concentrated 
 form. 
 
 For the above reason, fire a gun at the 30 in. circle, 
 and observe if a larger proportion of the pellets strike 
 below the bullseye, instead of being spread regularly 
 over the circle, as, if such is the case, it is also a 
 sign of weakness in the shooting of a gun, proved by 
 the dropping of the shot. 
 
 It is wonderful how the ear can be trained to 
 detect how a gun throws its shot up to the target 
 whether loosely, in a stream of pellets, or in a compact 
 mass. 
 
 Stand level with the target, a few yards to one 
 
 somewhat tough and technical letter (the fault rather of the subject 
 than of my pen), I will enliven it by relating a remark once made by 
 a keeper to a shooter on the latter complaining he so often shot 
 behind his birds. ' Sir,' quoth the keeper, ' if your birds only flew tail 
 first you would hit them all in the head 1 ' Again, a gentleman once 
 remarked of a neighbour whom he had invited to assist in shooting 
 his coverts, and who was ' tailing ' all his birds, that he thought his 
 friend would almost shoot behind the ' sea serpent ' ; when the head- 
 keeper replied confidentially, ' he know'd nothing about no seasarpents, 
 but Mr. would certainly shoot behind a heel a-crossing a pond ! ' 
 
TARGET EXPERIMENTS PENETRATION 237 
 
 side, behind a safe shelter (well clear of walls or 
 houses, so as to avoid reverberation), and cause a gun 
 to be fired at the mark. After a little practice you 
 can plainly discern whether the charge strikes in a 
 ' bunch ' with a ' smack,' or whether it rattles up in 
 the form of a string of shot. 
 
 A 12-bore gun, with 1 oz. of No. 6 shot (304 
 pellets) and 3 J dr. of powder, should penetrate, at 40 
 yards, with 5 or 6 pellets, 24 to 25 sheets of Pettitt's 
 paper pads. 
 
 A 16-bore gun, 21 to 22 sheets, with 2 dr. powder 
 and 1 oz. No 6 shot. 
 
 A 20-bore gun, 22 to 23 sheets, with 2J dr. 
 powder and J oz. No 6 shot. 
 
 In these penetrations I refer to Pettitt's pads in 
 their unseparated form. 
 
 SmaU-bore guns cannot avoid being inferior to 
 a No. 12, either in pattern or penetration. Do as 
 you may, you will not obtain a good pattern (one 
 equalling a 12-bore) and a good penetration from 
 them ; either the one or the other quality will 
 suffer. 
 
 If the charge of powder and shot is proportioned 
 to the size of the bore, then 16-, 20-, and 28-bore guns 
 should give about as much penetration as a 12-bore; 
 
238 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 but they are generally almost always, I may say- 
 overloaded with shot to obtain a fair pattern, and 
 naturally their penetration is weakened. Keduce the 
 weight of shot in a small-bore below its usual bulk, 
 and it will shoot as hard as a No. 12, but will then 
 possess a killing-circle of small use save for close 
 shots. Many of the so-called 28 -bores are loaded 
 with 1 oz. of No. 6 to 22 grains of a nitro-compound ; 
 this proportion is similar to the use of 28 grains of 
 nitro, or 2 drams of black powder, with 1 oz. of shot 
 in a No. 12 a charge from which no one could 
 anticipate a fair amount of penetration ! 
 
 The loads given above allow as much pattern as 
 possible to the small bores ; add more shot, and their 
 penetration diminishes rapidly. We must, however, 
 fire a pattern that will more or less cover the mark, 
 so it is better to have one that will strike the game 
 than one that is not likely to do so, from being too 
 thin, though the force of the latter may be very high. 
 
 Messrs. T. Pettitt & Co., of 22 Frith Street, Soho, 
 London, W., are the makers of the paper pads for 
 testing penetration that bear their name. Each pad 
 consists of 45 sheets of 9^ in. by 10J in. brown paper, 
 pressed together, and secured at their corners from 
 coming apart, unless so desired by the shooter when 
 he examines the sheets to see how many his shot 
 has penetrated. These pads are apt to vary in 
 
. TARGET EXPERIMENTS PENETRATION 239 
 
 toughness and substance, though for general experi- 
 ment in regard to testing the power of a gun they 
 are very useful. For accurate testing, as well as con- 
 venience in use, they should, however, be separated at 
 the time of firing by means of a rack, as then, not 
 only can the shot-holes be more readily recorded, but 
 when each sheet of paper stands by itself a far more 
 regular resistance is offered to the shot, and a more 
 reliable record of the penetration of a gun is obtained 
 in consequence. 
 
 I give on the next page a sketch of a simple and 
 trustworthy arrangement I have used for testing the 
 penetration of game-guns with the aid of sheets taken 
 from Pettitt's pads. It consists of a sheet of copper 
 rolled into a 9^ in. in diameter tube, with divisions in 
 the form of slits sawn down it at intervals of j of 
 an inch. The total length is about 3 ft. 
 
 Fig. 1. shows the sheets of paper in position, ex- 
 cepting in the six slits at the end of the tube. 
 
 Fig. 2. is the (or either) end of the tube, show- 
 ing positions of sheets of paper in the slits. 
 
 Fig. 3. Side view of a portion of the front end 
 of the tube, with one sheet of paper only in 
 position. 
 
 A A are the ends of an iron rod that runs all along 
 the bottom of the tube, inside, to strengthen it, which 
 ends are nailed down to a plank placed 4 ft. above 
 ground on a trestle. 
 
 The tube should be placed exactly opposite the 
 
240 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 LETTER 
 
 1= 
 
TARGET EXPERIMENTS 241 
 
 gun, and, with the aid of the numbers between the 
 slits, the shooter can on inspection at once see how 
 many sheets of paper his gun has penetrated. He 
 can also easily replace or move the sheets when they 
 are much perforated by the shot. 
 
 If a shooter is suspicious, after carrying out 
 experiments such as I have described, that a gun 
 does not shoot as hard or regularly as it ought (per- 
 haps because he has not loaded it with a suitable 
 charge), let him act as follows, and load his gun, if a 
 12-bore, with 1J oz. of No. 6 shot, and, bearing in 
 mind the patterns various guns ought to make, as 
 before given, and taking into consideration what 
 pattern his gun should attain, according to whether 
 it is a cylinder or a choke, fire this load of shot at the 
 30 in. circle at 40 yards with 2 \ drs. of powder. The 
 shooter should notice the pattern as it improves in 
 even spread, and the number of pellets it contains 
 according as he increases the charge of powder, which 
 he can do, -^th of a dram at a time, till he finds the 
 pattern does not improve, but remains the same, or 
 till it deteriorates. The pattern made by a 12-bore 
 will rarely be a good one if more than 3^- drs. of 
 black powder or 45 gr. of chemical be used ; and this 
 is a load that will generally cause more recoil than is 
 pleasant with most guns. 
 
 If the lower half of the target is more thickly 
 covered with pellets than the upper, though their 
 
 B 
 
242 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER xvm. 
 
 total number is sufficient, the charge of powder is too 
 light. On the other hand, if the pellets are spluttered 
 outside the 30 in. circle, and a too scattered pattern 
 is shown inside, it is certain evidence that more 
 powder is being used than necessary to the good 
 shooting of the gun. A shooter who wishes to know 
 what his gun will do in the matter of pattern and 
 penetration, and is desirous of using a charge that 
 suits it, should try various loads to this end. It is 
 both useful and interesting to ascertain how a gun 
 will perform with 1 oz. of shot. I have had 12-bore 
 guns, cylinders even, that shot better, both as to 
 penetration and pattern, with 1 oz. than they did 
 with l^oz. 
 
 Guns all vary, and if a shooter is not satisfied a 
 gun shoots as well as it should do, experiments at the 
 target are most useful ; for, depend upon it, a man, 
 however good a shot, will kill his game far better 
 with a gun properly loaded than the reverse. Few 
 people credit the difference in the shooting of a gun 
 caused by the addition or subtraction of but ^th of 
 a dram of powder, or ^th of an ounce of shot; 
 and when we deal with an eighth instead of a six- 
 teenth, it may just make all the difference in a gun's 
 capabilities, and have a great effect on its perform- 
 ances in the hands of its owner in the field. 1 
 
 1 For years the Author has fired the same loads in his 6| Ib. 
 12-bore game-guns (medium choke, pattern both barrels 150), namely, 
 1^ oz. Newcastle No. 6 (270 pellets = 1 oz.) and 43| gr. Schultze 
 Powder. 
 
243 
 
 LETTER XIX 
 
 CABTBIDGESCABTBIDGE-MAGAZINECABT. 
 RIDGE-BAG SLEEVELETS FOB CABT- 
 BIDGE-CABBIEBS OUT SHOOTING GAME- 
 BAG 
 
 I HAVE given young shooters such a dose of guns 
 and precepts, powder and shot, that I really feel 
 bound in the last two letters of this series to bestow 
 a little amusement combined with instruction. With 
 this intent I publish an ' olla podrida ' of odds and 
 ends connected with shooting, chiefly on subjects I 
 am constantly receiving inquiries about. 
 
 CAETEIDGES 
 
 These should certainly be bought excepting, of 
 course, the few that may be loaded for the sake 
 of experiment. It does not pay a shooter to fill his 
 own cartridges, as he can procure them, not only 
 considerably cheaper, but more accurately loaded, from 
 a good gunmaker. 
 
 I advise the shooter to purchase the best cases, as 
 they are but slightly more expensive than the worst, 
 
 E 2 
 
244 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 and do full justice to a gun which cannot be said 
 of their cheaper rivals. Kynoch's grouse-cases, 
 covered with thin brass, are the pleasantest to shoot 
 with I ever used, as wet cannot induce them to swell 
 or stick. For wildfowl-shooters they are simply invalu- 
 able ; and I always carry them, when afloat with the 
 swivel gun, for killing wounded duck on the tidal flats, 
 the cartridges being often loose in my pocket, and the 
 latter generally saturated with mud and salt water ! 
 
 The brown-paper cases, though they are a little 
 less per hundred than the best blue or green, are much 
 inferior in manufacture. They are not unfrequently 
 of inaccurate gauge, especially in regard to their rims ; 
 they are also of weaker construction than the blue or 
 green, and for this reason the base of a brown case 
 will sometimes pull clean off when the extractor is used. 
 If they get wet they soon swell, and then become at 
 once unserviceable. They are very susceptible to 
 damp, from the paper they are made of being soft ; 
 nor do they retain the powder with which they are 
 loaded free from atmospheric influences, as I have 
 realised to my cost when using some of these brown 
 cases in wildfowl-shooting quarters where they have 
 not been kept quite dry ; though under the same 
 conditions I have found the blue and green, and 
 especially Kynoch's brass-covered cases, do not 
 suffer. 
 
CAR TRIDGE-MA GA 7.1 NE 
 
 245 
 
 CARTRIDGE-MAGAZINE. Scale, in. = 1 in. 
 
 To store 500 12-bore cartridges, placed upright on their 
 bases. 
 
 Size of drawers, inside, 9 x 9 Jin. x 2| in. deep. 
 
 The door, 3 in. wide, hinges flat to the drawers, and 
 secures them all by the one lock at A. 
 
 The small tablets of bone or ivory (the size of visiting- 
 cards) let in on the left side of the drawers are for recording 
 in pencil the contents of the latter, when received, par- 
 ticulars of loads, and so forth. The top of the magazine 
 has a rim (B C) all round its edge, 1^ in. high, of ^-in. 
 wood, so as to form a hollow space in which to lay safely 
 a few cartridges, cleaning materials, parts of gun-locks, 
 screwdrivers, and such articles. 
 
 A magazine to store a larger number of cartridges 
 can be constructed similar to the above, but with 
 more drawers to it. 
 
246 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTEH 
 
 CARTBIDOE-BAG 
 
 For carrying cartridges in the field, nothing is so 
 suitable as a bag made of strong yellow harness- 
 leather, for it will last many years, and much longer 
 
xix. CARTRIDGE-BAG 247 
 
 than a bag made of canvas. The leather, if rubbed 
 now and then with a waterproof mixture, will keep out 
 all rain or damp. The best shape I give opposite. It 
 should not cost more than about 12s. if made from this 
 sketch by a country saddler ; be sure it is made large 
 enough. The weight of the bag itself is a trifle, and 
 it is convenient to use one that will, if required, carry 
 an extra number of cartridges, or that can be pressed 
 for other services as well. 
 
 Fig. I. Cartridge-bag (without its flap), to take 80 cases. 
 
 Fig. II. Bag as seen sideways. 
 
 Fig. III. Bottom and sides of bag in one piece, the 
 ends turned through brass rings and securely stitched. 
 
 Fig. IV. Bag complete. D F are small straps and 
 buckles for fastening the bag when travelling, or in a 
 game-cart. E is a large, loose-fitting stud and tongue to 
 secure the flap down, as occasions demand, when the bag 
 is in use. Opposite E, on the reverse side of the bag, at 
 its back, there should be a duplicate study so that the flap 
 can be turned back and buttoned out of the way when 
 cartridges are required in a hurry, as at a ' hot corner,' or a 
 ' busy ' grouse-drive. The long shoulder-strap, G H, to 
 be made of canvas web or leather, the latter for preference ; 
 it should be at least 3 in. broad over the shoulder, though 
 narrowed at the ends. 
 
 Do not omit to have on your bag an extractor 
 dangling by a small strap. See Fig. I. 
 
 The shoulder-strap has a buckle at each end; 
 it is then detachable, and may at times be most 
 useful, on an emergency, for securing a dog, broken 
 harness, or for other purposes. 
 
248 
 
 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 The corners of the bag, as shown in Fig. L, on 
 each side of the 7-in. opening, are closed with 
 separate leather pieces ; and care should he taken 
 that there is no crevice for rain to drip into the bag 
 at these points when extended by its contents. 
 
 SLEEVELET FOR MEN CARRYING CARTRIDGES OUT SHOOTING 
 
 When a day's sport is arranged for several guns, 
 each shooter on starting should be handed a number 
 on a card, and a corresponding number (on a sleevelet) 
 should be secured by a pin to the arm of the beater 
 or keeper who carries his spare cartridges. 1 Then all 
 
 1 Any reserve box of ammunition the shooter is likely to require 
 the contents of, should also have his number on it in the form of a 
 
xix. SLEEVELETS FOR BEATERS 249 
 
 that the shooter need do, when he requires his pockets 
 or small bag refilled, is to call out his number, and 
 the man who has the duplicate of it will at once bring 
 him his cartridges, and a great deal of confusion 
 and delay may be avoided. The sleevelet can be 
 made of white calico or duck, with its numeral cut 
 out of black cloth and sewn thereon. 
 
 When spare cartridges are carried indiscriminately 
 by the beaters, it is not likely the latter can remember, 
 even if they ever learnt them, the names of the 
 various guns. For this reason, when out shooting 
 we sometimes hear such a conversation as this: 
 ' Bring Mr. Brown's cartridges, quick ! ' ' Which be 
 Mr. Brown ? ' * Why, the short, stout gemman.' 
 ' There be two short gemman, keeper ; which be he ? ' 
 ' Why, dang thee, thou stupid, hurry up ; yon's 'im, 
 he as 'as no 'air on his 'ead.' ' I beant stupid ; but 
 'ow can I tell what 'air is on his 'ead when 'ee's got 
 his 'at on ? ' Now, if every gun and his cartridge- 
 carrier have duplicate numbers in their possession, 
 all this delay is saved, and perhaps a good deal of 
 strong language on the part of Mr. Brown, particu- 
 larly if the game is bolting past him and his uncharged 
 gun, or if No. 16's are brought when his barrels are 
 No. 12's. 
 
 As to keeping cartridges dry in a pocket during 
 
 label, so that a messenger may have no difficulty in finding it at once 
 when despatched for the purpose. 
 
250 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 LETTER 
 
 rain, a hint may be useful. A shooter should always 
 carry a light, rolled-up mackintosh ; l he, of course, 
 dons his spare coat in rain, and is then sure to find a 
 difficulty in quickly taking his cartridges out of the 
 pocket of his jacket when the latter is covered by his 
 waterproof. To remedy this, he should have a slit 
 cut in the latter, just over the pocket of his shooting- 
 jacket, only larger, and fitted with a falling flap 
 cover ; he can then easily put his hand through to 
 reach his cartridges from his inside coat, and he will 
 keep them dry at the same time by means of the flap 
 over the opening through the outer coat. 
 
 1 The mackintosh coat is best carried in a small, square, water- 
 proof bag that is closed by two buttons, with a strap for slinging over 
 the shoulders ; then no unstrapping or unrolling is required when its 
 contents are demanded at short notice, and the coat is also protected 
 from wet or unnecessary wear and tear. I know of only one style of 
 mackintosh outfit for wet weather that enables a shooter to not only 
 shoot with freedom, but to walk with comfort as well. This is a short 
 coat without sleeves, reaching to the hips only, with a cape attached 
 to it that can be turned back, so as to leave the arms free for aiming, 
 and the right-hand corner of which can be buttoned back behind the 
 neck, out of the way of the right arm. In connection with the coat, 
 a kilt-shaped all-round apron reaching to the knees, and. which buckles 
 round the waist by means of a strap running round its upper edge. 
 The kilt is, of course, open all down one side (secured with a button 
 from flapping when windy), or else it would have to be stepped into 
 or pulled overhead like a ' petticoat ' which would never do. A rig- 
 out like this looks like a long coat, and keeps out the rain just as 
 well (better in regard to the legs), but is a very different affair to walk 
 and shoot in, as it has good ventilation, and none of the unpleasant 
 drag or cling about the knees and waist that pertain to the ordinary 
 shape. The coat to have no pockets, but large slits covered by flaps 
 as above described. Messrs. Cording, 19 Piccadilly, may be consulted 
 with advantage by any shooter who requires this outfit. 
 
XIX. 
 
 GAME-BAG 
 
 251 
 
 GAME-BAG 
 
252 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 GAME-BAG 
 
 This knapsack game-bag (see previous page) is far 
 easier and lighter to carry than the ordinary one, that 
 hangs (and slips about) over one shoulder. It will not 
 move from its position (unless the shooter stands on 
 his head), and will carry a good number of birds. For 
 a tramp alone it is admirable, as it does not in the 
 least interfere with the use of the gun. 1 
 
 Fig. I. shows bag open. 
 
 A A are small corks sewn into the corners of the bag 
 to form knobs, and round which the cords are secured 
 (rings are liable to tear off). 
 
 B is a detachable fastening in one cord (the right-hand 
 one), so that the bag can be at once put on, or removed 
 from, the shoulder. 
 
 C are the ends of the strong cord (nearly as thick as a 
 lead pencil) that runs inside the top edge of the bag and 
 through the ends of the canvas straps, as shown at D, 
 Fig. II. ; which latter are strengthened with leather. 
 
 Fig. III., game-bag full, and closed for the road home, 
 the ends of the cord being knotted up tight according to 
 its contents. 
 
 1 There is nothing new under the sun, and I am told, since I first 
 penned the description of this capital game-bag, that it is an adapta- 
 tion of the * Eiicksack ' used by the chamois hunters of the * Pyrenees.' 
 I apologise to the chamois hunters for my unintentional piracy of 
 their ideas ! 
 
GAME-BAG 
 
 253 
 
 Size of bag when open, 2 ft. wide by 18 in. deep ; straps, 
 3 in. wide by 18 in. long ; cords, 9 in. long. Material, 
 light canvas. 
 
 GAME-BAG IN USE 
 
254 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 LETTEE XX 
 
 GAME-STOP HOW TO MAKE BABBITS LIE 
 OUT, AND HOW TO CATCH WOOD-PIGEONS 
 
 I HERE give a sketch of a contrivance for stopping 
 game, on a covert being beaten, from breaking away 
 into the open at the points and corners, as well as 
 
 GAME -STOP 
 
 for keeping the game inside a wood till the guns have 
 taken up their positions in fact, for general use as 
 a * stop ' for covert-shooting. Size, 15 in. long x 4| in. 
 
xx. GAME- STOP 255 
 
 broad x J in. thick ; length of swinging handle, 5f in. ; 
 nail-heads apart, centre to centre, 4^ in. ; diameter 
 of nail-heads, f in. 
 
 The usual method of ' arming ' a boy as a stop is 
 to give him two sticks, with directions to beat them 
 one against the other as he patrols certain weak 
 points on the outside of a wood where the birds are 
 likely to escape by the exercise of their legs. 
 
 Our boy generally * whacks' his sticks together 
 vigorously till masters and keepers are out of sight ; 
 he then turns his thoughts to other matters : tries if 
 his pocket-knife is sharp ; if, by peering round the 
 corner, he can see the shooters ; counts his marbles 
 or halfpence in fact, becomes terribly bored; 
 though for fear of punishment he is as busy as a bee 
 on the shooters coming in sight again, and then 
 marches and whacks like a man a return of energy 
 that is sadly too late to be of service, for the pheasants 
 probably stole away during his interim of idleness. 
 
 Now, to keep the boy up to his duty as a success- 
 ful stop, the only method is to interest him in his 
 act of making a noise ; for I take it if he could play 
 a fiddle, bang off a pistol, or beat a drum, he would 
 never * stop stopping ' ! 
 
 The game-stop I give a sketch of is well adapted 
 for the purpose, and I will engage it will fascinate 
 any ordinary village-boy for at least an hour at a 
 stretch ! By holding the stop downwards in his 
 right hand, and twisting it from side to side, the boy 
 
256 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
 can produce a gentle rap, rap, rap, or else the 
 rat-a-tat-tat of a postman's knock a noise quite 
 sufficient to turn back into shelter an old cock 
 pheasant that, with peering eyes and lowered head 
 peeps through a hedge-bottom with the intent of a 
 spurt ' over the fields and far away.' A piece of wood 
 with a heavy box handle attached to it, the latter 
 working easily from side to side in its fastenings, and 
 striking alternately two big nail-heads, is all that it 
 consists of; and it is similar to what is used for 
 driving or stopping game at the grand battues of 
 Austria and Germany. This stop can be easily made 
 at home, or else obtained from any gunmaker, at a 
 small cost, and is not only indestructible, but too 
 simple to get out of order. 
 
 HOW TO MAKE BABBITS LIE OUT FOE SHOOTING 
 
 I wonder how often I hear this question asked ? I 
 will endeavour to answer it. There is not much diffi- 
 culty in persuading rabbits to leave their holes by 
 means of ferrets, or sulphur, paraffin, and other nasty 
 smells. The job is to keep them from- returning to 
 ground again if wet sets in. In my experience, can they 
 do so, nothing will prevent them from going home if 
 heavy rain occurs ; and we then, perhaps, see the disap- 
 pointing (to a host at least) sight of six or seven friends, 
 fully armed and thirsting for blood, setting forth 
 to shoot 500 rabbits, and returning with 100 or less ! 
 
xx. How TO MAKE RABBITS LIE OUT 257 
 
 Placing paper on sticks at the mouths of the burrows, 
 and other devices, are all very well in dry weather ; 
 but if we have wet the night before we shoot, the 
 rabbits will certainly be conspicuous by their absence. 
 Now, what we want is rabbits to shoot, wet or dry 
 weather, if we have incurred the trouble and expense 
 necessary to bolt them with a view to sport ; and, when 
 the rain beats against the windows, not to feel ' Poor 
 sport to-morrow, for these blessed rabbits will have 
 gone to ground ! ' but ' The rabbits, at all events, will 
 be out, for they can't get back to their holes.' 
 
 The drawing on page 285 will explain how to outwit 
 rabbits. The plan consists in surrounding their 
 burrows, or a small wood, or even part of a wood, or 
 banks, as the case may be, with 3-ft. wire-netting 
 supported by upright posts. Against the netting, 
 inside, lean boards (the front of a pheasant-coop is 
 just the thing), and cover the upper surface of the 
 boards with sods, so as to give them a natural look. 
 Presently our little friends become hungry, and, 
 after some hesitation, freely run up the ladders (so 
 kindly placed) in order to escape from their wire for- 
 tress, and pop over one by one into their feeding- 
 grounds outside. Once outside, and there they have 1o 
 stay, for they cannot return home. The wire should 
 either be sunk in the soil 6 in., or else bent outwards for 
 Gin. along the ground and pegged down, to hinder the 
 animals from scratching underneath from the outside. 
 
 By properly surrounding the large burrows, 
 
258 
 
 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 
 
xx. How TO MAKE RABBITS LIE OUT 259 
 
 whether in covert or open, as here described, every 
 rabbit will come outside the wire that surrounds them 
 in the course of three or four days in order to reach 
 their usual feeding-ground, and all should find their 
 way to the game-bag eventually, especially if there is 
 some slight shelter for them to hide in not far off. 
 Sprinkle a little dry soil or sand at the top of the 
 turfed ladders, and you will soon see if the rabbits 
 are coming out by noticing in the morning if they 
 have beaten down the sand with their feet before 
 'taking off.' 1 
 
 HOW TO CATCH WOOD-PIGEONS (vide next page) 
 
 ' We have numbers, I may say thousands, of 
 wood-pigeons every winter ; but a few shots, and off 
 they go, and we scarcely get a couple of score in the 
 season.' 
 
 The above is a complaint I often hear. I will not 
 now tell you how to shoot your wild pigeons, as that 
 will eventually form a letter by itself, but I will give 
 you a hint as to catching them, which may be of ser- 
 vice to thin their numbers, especially as these birds are 
 increasing rapidly, and, what is more, do consider- 
 able damage. 
 
 The cage (A) is merely formed of square 4-in. x 4-in. 
 
 1 If you wish to hurry on your rabbit shoot, run a ferret with 
 some oil of tar soaked into his coat (on the back), through the 
 burrows a day previous to setting up the wire, which latter can 
 be put down the following morning. By doing this a number of 
 rabbits will be out to start with, which cannot return, and those inside 
 will be hastened in their exit. 
 
LETTER xx. HoiV TO CATCH WOOD- PIG EONS 26 1 
 
 posts driven into the ground and covered (except the 
 ends) with 2-in. wire-netting. Size, 10 ft. long x 9 ft. 
 wide x 5 ft. 6 in. high. At each end of the trap is 
 a swing door, attached by hinges to the body of the 
 cage, these doors, of course, being also covered with 
 wire -netting. 
 
 The doors (B B), as seen in the sketch, are propped 
 up by two long f-in. thick sticks (CC), and are so 
 balanced ready for catching. 
 
 A galvanised wire, F (rats, rabbits, and wet would 
 soon destroy string) is attached to the foot of the 
 further stick, and runs along the ground, through the 
 inside of the cage, to the next stick (see Fig. 1), and 
 so on for 50 yards to the man in his shelter. 
 
 When the man in his shelter pulls the wire, he at 
 once drags the lower ends of the long sticks simul- 
 taneously off their little posts placed level in the ground 
 (E E, Fig. 1) ; the doors of the cage having then no- 
 thing to support them, down they come, and the pigeons 
 inside are shut up from escape. As soon as the doors 
 fall the man should rush from his concealment and, 
 with two pieces of pointed stick, 1 ft. long, pin the 
 doors tight against the cage so that no birds can creep 
 out. He then enters the cage by means of the small 
 door shown on its side (D), and kills and pockets the 
 pigeons. 
 
 In Fig. 2, at E, it will be seen how the lower ends 
 of the poles are lightly balanced on the small posts in 
 the ground, with a penny or disc of brass (secured by 
 
262 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 
 
 a piece of wire) placed between them, to aid an easy 
 slip off. The top of each stick is placed on the edge 
 of the outer framework of its door, as in Fig. 1. 
 
 The best time for catching wood-pigeons is at day- 
 break, the man having hid himself in his shelter 
 previously. The birds will then fly from the trees in 
 which they have roosted down to the ground near the 
 cage, and as they can see right through the latter 
 when the doors are set up, will finally walk unsus- 
 pectingly inside in search of the corn that is ready 
 
 FIG. 2. 
 
 laid there. 1 In hard weather they will feed into the 
 cage any time during the day. A catch should only 
 be attempted every three or four days ; the birds then 
 gradually become fearless, and collect in numbers. 
 They will walk about at first and pick up the corn 
 scattered outside the cage; after a time they will 
 finish this, and by degrees feed on the grain strewed 
 inside. If only a few walk into the cage, do not catch 
 
 1 Place some rakings and chaff down inside the cage and round 
 it, so as to catch the attention of the birds as tney fly overhead. 
 
xx. How TO CATCH WOOD-PIGEONS 263 
 
 them, but leave these to act as decoys ; they are sure 
 to return, and will bring a larger number with them 
 every visit. Thirty to fifty is a good catch if pigeons 
 are about in large numbers. 
 
 The man will have to be well concealed, so that 
 the birds that fly overhead cannot see him, or else 
 they will sheer off and alarm the others. A roofed 
 shelter made of tarred felt stretched over four posts, 
 with a little window for inspection, and a seat handy, 
 makes the best hiding-place. The polling-wire can be 
 led through a hole under the window. The shelter 
 (placed among trees) can be covered with branches, to 
 give it a similar appearance to the surroundings, or it 
 can be made of fir-boughs entirely ; but in the latter 
 case it is, of course, not over-comfortable in wet and 
 cold weather. 
 
 Place the cage in an opening La a wood near the 
 trees in which the birds roost, as may be discovered 
 by the droppings on the ground underneath. 
 
 A pigeon-cage answers admirably, as I have found 
 from my own experience. I have known of as many 
 as a thousand wood-pigeons being taken in one cage 
 in a single season. 
 
 I now say * Au revoir ' to young shooters for a 
 time, and in doing so I heartily wish them all ' Plenty 
 to fire at, straight powder, kind friends, and good 
 health.' 
 
 Spottisuoode <k Co. Pinters, Neic-street Square Londn* 
 
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