80 WING-SHOOTING. 



der, as I prefer to load in the usual wa,y, and use less shot 

 when T wish to have the shot scatter. As a rule a thin 

 wad should be placed over the shot. 



When loading cartridge cases, the powder and shot 

 should be placed in two bowls, and scooped with the 

 regular Dixon or Dougall measure, and skimmed off level 

 so as to insure exact weight. Pour in the powder, place 

 over it the wadding, press it down squarely and firmly, 

 and then send home with a light tap or two ; pour in the 

 shot, place over it the wad, and press down firmly ; then 

 the edge of the cartridge is to be coiled down with an 

 even and steady turn or two, without any jerking move- 

 ment which has a tendency to bulge the cartridge. The 

 wads over the powder should not be unduly rammed or 

 pounded, as the powder would become finer, causing a 

 quicker explosion, and making the shot scatter ; also giv- 

 ing out greater recoil ; nor should the wadding be merely 

 sent home without a decided tap or two with the rammer, 

 because if not sufficiently rammed, the powder would be 

 apt to burn too slowly, causing the gun to hang-fire. 



I use 12-gauge guns altogether, and have found that 

 with 8 J drams of powder and 1 J ounce of fine shot, that 

 most twelves perform well. Some twelves shoot indif- 

 ferently with 1^ oz., while they perform splendidly with 



