LOADING A GUN. 15 



pose, as some persons who ought to know better do, that the 

 more shot in a gun the greater the chances of killing. The 

 projectile force of a charge cannot possibly be greater than 

 the vis inertice of the gun as held by the shooter. The explo- 

 sion is manifested in all directions, and blows the shot one way 

 simply and only because it has no other escape. If the resist- 

 ance in front of the powder were greater than elsewhere the 

 shot would not budge, but the gun would fly backward, or burst. 

 This always reminds me of Lord Dundreary's famous conun- 

 drum Why does a dog wag his tail ? Because he is bigger than 

 his tail ; otherwise, the tail would wag him. A gun shoots shot 

 because the gun is the heavier ; otherwise, the shot would shoot 

 the gun. Every unnecessary pellet is a pellet against }'ou, not 

 against the game. The experienced sportsman uses about one- 

 third less shot than the tyro, with proportionally better result, 

 other things being equal. As to powder, moreover, a gun can 

 only burn just so much, and every grain blown out unburnt is 

 wasted if nothing more. No express directions for absolute 

 weight or measures of either powder or shot can be given ; in 

 fact, different guns take as their most effective charge such a 

 variable amount of ammunition, that one of the first things you 

 have to learn about your own arm is, its normal charge-gauge. 

 Find out, by assiduous target practice, what absolute amounts 

 (and to a slight degree, what relative proportion) of powder 

 and shot are required to shoot the furthest and distribute the 

 pellets most evenly. This practice, furthermore, will acquaint 

 you with the gun's capacities in every respect. You should 

 learn exactly what it will and what it will not do, so as to feel 

 perfect confidence in your arm within a certain range, and to 

 waste no shots in attempting miracles. Immoderate recoil is 

 a pretty sure sign that the gun was overloaded, or otherwise 

 wrongly charged ; and all force of recoil is subtracted from the 

 impulse of the shot. It is useless to ram powder very hard ; 

 two or three smart taps of the rod will suffice, and more will 

 not increase the explosive force. On the shot the wad should 

 simply be pressed close enough to fix the pellets immovably. 

 All these directions apply to the charging of metal or paper 



