HOUSEBOAT-GUN-DOG 45 



expects to hunt wild fowl as a speciality lie 

 should by all means provide himself with 

 an eight bore gun, a four bore being too 

 heavy and unwieldy as a shoulder gun. 

 The eight bore should be full choked upon 

 the most scientific principle. Some prefer 

 the ten bore gun for wild fowl shooting, but 

 this bore appears to fill a place between the 

 eight and twelve bores similar to that of the 

 sixteen bore between the twelve and twenty. 

 If the twenty bore is too small the usual 

 drop is to the twelve and from a twelve it 

 is better to go to the eight. The eight bore 

 is built with barrels of different lengths, 

 and each length has its champion, but the 

 standard length for the barrels of the eight 

 bore is 36 in ; the medium length is 34 in. 

 and the proper minimum length 32 in. 

 Sometimes the barrels are longer than 36 

 in. and even shorter than 32 in., but it is 

 advisable to adhere to recognized standard 

 lengths. I have shot with barrels 36 in. 

 and 34 in. and with the same effectiveness. 

 The middle w^eight eight bore weighs about 

 13 lbs, the maximum about 15 lbs, and the 

 minimum about 11 lbs. The load should 

 not be less than 6 drm, of smokeless powder 

 and from 2 oz. to 2 j^ oz. of shot. The heavy 



