BREAKING AND HANDLING. 321 



lence for general shooting. As to the weight, he must 

 be governed by his physical capabilities, the weight of pow- 

 der and shot loads he desires to use, the kinds of game that 

 he will shoot most, etc. A half pound extra weight on a 

 gun makes a perceptible difference in the greater fatigue 

 of carrying or handling it all day. The favorite weights 

 run from seven to eight pounds. A few shooters prefer 

 guns of nine pounds or more, but they are extremely few ; 

 however, the extra weight is necessary if unusually heavy 

 loads are used. It is an absurdity to claim that a light 

 twelve gauge with light loads will kill as far as a heavy 

 twelve gauge with heavy loads, if each gun is bored to give 

 the best results with the respective loads. For upland 

 shooting, a twelve gauge, thirty inch barrels, seven and one- 

 half pounds in weight, bored to shoot from three to three and 

 one-half drams of powder, and one ounce, or one and one- 

 eighth ounce of shot, is ample. For chicken and duck 

 shooting, a full or modified choke is not out of place. 

 Many opportunities for long shots constantly occur, and, it 

 being chiefly open shooting, if the birds rise too close, the 

 shooter can wait till they get a proper distance away before 

 killing. In chicken and duck shooting, a great deal of ex- 

 perience is necessary to acquire the ability to estimate 

 distances properly, the tendency being to under-estimate 

 them. 



The sportsman whose shooting is confined to quails, 

 snipes and woodcocks should use a sixteen gauge. It is 

 also effective in the early part of the season on chickens. 

 But, whether he uses a twelve or sixteen gauge for quails, 

 snipes and woodcocks, a choked gun should most emphati- 

 cally be condemned. A true cylinder is the gun. Quail 

 shooting is usually close shooting. Usually the extreme 

 range is less than thirty-five yards; the occasional shots at 

 forty, fifty or sixty yards being no sort of consequence as 



