HOUSEBOAT-GUN-DOG 43 



number I would advise to use when shoot- 

 ing woodcock and partridges, while for 

 sinpe and quail I would use No. 8 or No. 9, 

 perhaps the latter. This bore of gun is too 

 small for pheasants and wild fowl and often 

 proves disappointing when used on that 

 kind of game. The sixteen bore was a very 

 popular size at one time, but now when a 

 smaller bore than the twelve is preferred I 

 would make choice of the twenty. The 

 standard length of the barrel of the twenty 

 bore gun is 28 inches, and that of the six- 

 teen bore either 28 or 30 inches long. But 

 the bore which is now almost the universal 

 choice of the shooter for field shooting, and 

 which is the recognized standard, is the 

 twelve bore. The length of the barrel 

 should not be less than 28 inches, nor more 

 than 32 inches. Those who have experi- 

 mented with the twelve bore and tested its 

 shooting capabilities give it as their opinion 

 that a barrel 30 inches long is the required 

 length to bring out the highest shooting 

 capacity of this bore of a gun. The weight 

 of a twelve bore should not be less than 6 

 lbs. nor more than 7)^ lbs. When of the 

 former weight i oz. of shot is enough, but 

 when of the latter i ^<( oz. is a deadlier load. 



