28 THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER 



weapon. Its range is enormous ; its hitting power very great, 

 and as a duck gun for fast flighting work incomparable. It comes 

 to the shoulder — weight 9^ lbs. — with the greatest ease, and 

 I can shoot redshank and snipe with it with comfort — though 

 naturally one prefers a lighter gun for a long day's walk upon 

 saltings. While waiting behind a sea-wall or in a duck-pit 

 for fowl I find it admirable, though, of course, not every one 

 would be able to use it for snap-shooting. Last season, for 

 instance, I took out with me, on evening flighting, a boy of 

 nineteen, the son of a regular wildfowler in my employment, 

 and himself an excellent shot. I gave him my lo-bore and 

 carried myself a lighter gun, of which I shall presently speak. 

 We were behind a tall hedge which borders upon the narrow 

 greens which fringe the Blakeney Marshes in Norfolk. It 

 was moonlight, and we had not long been in position when a 

 skein of grey geese came over us, not flying very fast, and at 

 about fifty yards. I got my birds all right — a left and right — 

 but my companion missed with both barrels, though the shot 

 was not a difficult one, and one which under ordinary circum- 

 stances he certainly would not have missed. This happened 

 more than once during the night, and was entirely owing to 

 the weight of the gun being too great for a slender lad of 

 that age. 



The great advantage of the lo-bore is that it will shoot 

 large-sized shot better than the 12-bore, and will also eff"ectively 

 carry heavier loads. For smaller shot the heavy 12-bore at 

 which we now arrive is, in the opinion of most experts, equally 

 good. 



If the double 8-bore is recognised as the "standard" 

 shoulder gun for shore-shooting, all wildfowlers of experience 

 without exception will bear me out when I say that the heavy 

 12-bore chambered for long cases is the handiest and best all- 

 round weapon. It is not too much to say that if a sportsman's 

 whole armament consists of this gun alone, he will be prepared 



