HEAVY AND LIGHT GUNS. 63 



covering his barrels with pewter or lead, or partially 

 with rings or otherwise, and then discharging them 

 with the usual quantity of powder and shot. He will 

 find the force of the shot decidedly weakened ; and, if 

 the experiment be repeated a number of times, the 

 covering will become entirely loose. 



Without wishing to bias the opinions of others, I 

 would therefore conclude, that for duck-shooting from 

 stands and boats, where convenience of handling and 

 excellence of shooting are alike to be considered, I 

 should not want a gun weighing more than 9 J lbs. If 

 two guns are to be used, as is usually the case in wild- 

 fowl-shooting, I would recommend the following sizes : 



Heavy duck-gun, weight 9* lbs., gauge 11. 

 Light duck-gun, weight 8 i lbs., gauge n. 



These guns can be readily handled, and will give 

 strength enough for all the shooting to be found at 

 present. The lighter gun will also serve very well for 

 partridge, pigeon, or other inland shooting. 



It is always best, whenever possible in duck-shoot- 

 ing, to have the gauges of the two guns exactly alike. 

 It saves extra flasks, pouches, and wads, and removes 

 the chance of getting the larger charge of powder and 

 shot, in the hurry of loading, into the smaller gun, or 

 vice versa. 



