GUNS AND LOADS 469 
are quite apart from the matter of reducing all the 
factors to an arbitrary standard. Any gun that is 
overloaded, be it light or heavy, will kick unpleasantly, 
and sometimes harmfully, as shown by a bruised shoul- 
der, a contused cheek, and perhaps a cut trigger finger. 
As a consequence of a punishing recoil, the shooter 
is quite likely to flinch or fudge, which, in turn, with 
continued punishment, is quite likely to become habit- 
ual, thereby greatly impairing success. The lighter 
the gun, the more violent the recoil from overloading. 
If the shooter is physically so hardy that he can 
withstand the punishment consequent on excessive re- 
coil, he nevertheless is quite likely to lose control of the 
kicking gun in delivering the second shot. No argu- 
ment is required to show that a man in the act of firing 
both barrels, one quickly after the other, can main- 
tain a perfect poise and do quick, accurate execution 
with a gun which does not kick, and that he cannot 
do so equally well with a gun which kicks so hard that 
it throws him off his poise. There is no arbitrary rule. 
Each case must be considered by itself. As a 
rule, a large man will withstand the recoil better than 
a small man. Again, some men have the ability to take 
most of the recoil on the hands and arms, which ab- 
sorb the shock as would a spring, thereby relieving the 
body from the hard shock which is communicated when 
the gun is held firmly against the shoulder. Apart 
from all this, the average gun, when overloaded, does 
not equal its performance with its proper load. 
