SHOTGUN 



5362 



SHRAPNEL 



within a circle seven feet in diameter, which is 

 usually bounded at the front by a wooden cleat 

 (see illustration). Standing at the back of this 

 circle, the shot putter balances the shot loosely 

 in his hand, with the weight carried between 

 the palm and the central fingers, the hand rest- 

 ing on the shoulder, and the elbow close to the 

 body. If he is right-handed he stands with the 

 left foot ahead, then hops forward to a posi- 

 tion in which this foot is near the cleat, imme- 

 diately jumping around so that the positions of 

 his two feet are reversed and his weight well 

 forward on the right foot. It is this last jump 

 which gives force to the shot, and the arm is 

 not thrust out till after it. The shot should 

 be sent into the air at an angle of forty-five de- 

 grees. C.H.H. 



SHOT 'GUN, a gun with a smooth bore, gen- 

 erally used for shooting small game. Until re- 

 cently shotguns were made with one and two 

 barrels and occasionally with ' three, and the 

 two latter yet find favor, but the single-barreled 

 magazine or "pump gun" is steadily increasing 

 in popularity. The standard shotguns are 

 called 10- 12- and 16-bore, the 12-bore being 

 the most generally used. The standard of 

 measurement for the bore of a shotgun is the 

 weight of bullet required to fit it. If a bullet 

 weighing one-twelfth of a pound fits the bore, 

 it is called a 12-bore gun; if one-tenth of a 

 pound is the weight of the bullet, the bore is 

 10, and so on. The most improved shotguns, 

 which means nearly all now in use, are breech- 

 loaders, the cartridges, or shells, being inserted' 

 at the breech. The cartridge contains an ex-r 

 plosive charge and a load of lead pellets called 

 shot, varying in size according to the game to 

 be hunted. From six to a dozen cartridges can 

 be placed in a magazine gun. 



For many years after the invention of the 

 breech-loading shotgun, first made in 1836, no 

 such guns were made in the United States, but 

 now there are many factories producing weap- 

 ons of great beauty and efficiency. The highest 

 quality guns have Damascened or laminated 

 steel barrels. Damascene barrels are built up 

 of twisted bars of steel; laminated barrels are 

 solid rods, bored to the required size. 



Shotguns vary considerably in price, some 

 costing less than $10, while improved guns by 

 well-known makers cost $200 or more. Shot- 

 guns which are fired by mechanism concealed 

 in the breech are called hammerless. and are 

 usually preferred to those with visible hammers 

 which sometimes rise above and interfere with 

 the line of sight. 



The effective range of a 12-bore shotgun 

 loaded with \Vs ounces of shot is usually not 

 more than sixty or seventy-five yards, the 

 best range for rabbits, partridges, pheasants 

 and other small game being forty to fifty yards. 

 In two-barreled guns the left barrel is generally 

 "choked," that is, made slightly smaller at the 

 muzzle than at the breech for the purpose of 

 condensing the shot. The barrels are usually 

 twenty-eight inches long, and the gun weighs 

 from six to seven pounds. F.ST.A. 



Related Subjects. The reader is referred to 

 the following articles in these volumes : 

 Firearms Rifle 



Marksmanship Small Arms 



SHOVELBOARD, shuv"lbohrd, a form of 

 the word SHUFFLEBOARD (which see). 



SHOVELER, shuv ' el er, a river duck having 

 a bill widely expanded at the end and with the 

 upper mandible overhanging the lower. Its 

 plumage is a mixture of green, white and 

 chestnut. Like others of its kind, it feeds in 



THE SHOVELER 



shallow water, probing with its head immersed 

 for mollusks, insects, roots, etc., and straining 

 out the mud and water through "gutters" in 

 the sides of its bill. The common shoveler is 

 found in Northern Europe, Asia and America, 

 migrating southward in winter. It nests on the 

 ground, sometimes at a distance from water. 

 The eggs number six to ten and are pale green- 

 ish, bluish-white or creamy buff. 



Species of the shoveler are also found in 

 South America, South Africa and in the Aus- 

 tralian region. 



SHRAP'NEL, a modern form of projectile 

 used in field and naval guns. The shrapnel 

 was invented by Lieutenant Henry Shrapnel 

 (afterwards lieutenant-general) of the British 



