60 MUZZLE-LOADERS AND BREECH-LOADERS, 
jection to the safety or shooting qualities of the 
breech-loader, will say: “I can shoot fast enough 
with a muzzle-loader.” 
For woodcock and quail-shooting, rapidity in load- 
ing is not essential, although frequently after a bevy 
of quail has flushed, one or two birds will loiter long 
enough to be killed by the reloaded breech-loader, 
that would fly before the muzzle-loader could be re- 
charged. But for killing English snipe, that have a 
habit of rising one after another in tantalizing suc- 
cession before the unloaded gun ; for ducks and rail ; 
but above all for bay-snipe, one-half if not two-thirds 
of the bag depends upon celerity in loading. Duck 
shooting is frequently best in wet weather, when 
even Hley’s “central fire double water-proof” caps 
wil] not. always insure the ignition of the powder ; 
and in thick covert the caps, especially if they do 
not fit perfectly, will occasionally be brushed off; 
whereas the breech-loader is impervious to wet, and 
is not liable to the last difficulty ; above all, where 
different kinds of game are expected, and it may be 
important to change quickly the load for ducks, to 
buckshot for deer, or double B’s for geese, the 
breech-loader has an infinite superiority. 
The comparative merits.of the two guns may be 
stated as follows: . 
For shooting quail or woodcock, where there is 
no necessity for great rapidity in firing, there is 
little advantage in a breech-loader ; and, unless load- 
ed cartridges suflicient for the entire trip are carried, 
the reloading them during the evening after a hard 
