HEAVY AND LIGHT GUNS. 59 



HEAVY AND LIGHT GUNS. 



THERE has always been, and probably for some 

 time there will continue to be, a great diversity 

 of opinion with reference to the performance of heavy 

 guns compared with that of lighter fowling-pieces ; and 

 not until the science of gun-making and shooting is 

 developed much further than at present can we hope 

 to arrive at a final decision. But the art of gun-making, 

 and the general theory of loading and shooting, are 

 now making rapid strides toward the definite settle- 

 ment of this question. Evidences will, I believe, soon 

 be at hand, which will determine with accuracy and 

 certainty just how large a duck or other shot gun 

 should be, to give the most complete satisfaction in 

 its performance, when discharged from the shoulder. 

 Much might be written on this subject without entirely 

 exhausting it. 



It is the author's opinion, that small double-barrelled 

 shot-guns proportionately excel the large and heavy 

 ones, both in closeness of carrying and in the force of 

 the shot. Much of the superiority claimed for the 

 latter gun lies, I think, more in the manner of loading 

 than in the gun itself. 



Many good judges, I am aware, think that the small 

 gun will always perform as well as one that is heavier ; 

 and facts are sometimes brought to my notice which 



