GUNS 31 



bunch of three or four birds is fairly certain to have an influence on 

 the weight of the bag. Being able to use one's ordinary game cart- 

 ridges for close shots is a great advantage ; for when hurriedly re- 

 loading to polish off cripples, one feels the difference between the 

 paper and brass cartridges at once, and there is no chance of cutting 

 a wounded duck to ribbons with an ounce and a half of No. i. 



" Fleur-de-Lys." 



Only two other varieties of shoulder guns. require any 

 mention. The first is a "cripple-stopper" for use in punting 

 after the big gun has been fired. As a gun of this class must 

 inevitably get wet and suffer hard usage, a valuable weapon is 

 a mistake and quite unnecessary. A good "farmer's gun " of 

 the kind that Messrs. Jeffrey turn out for five pounds is all 

 that is necessary. 



There remains the question of a rifle. It often happens 

 that after flight-shooting at geese, two or three of the big 

 birds manage to get away to the open sands, where they 

 become exhausted and must remain. They are not able to 

 fly back to their inland feeding-grounds, and, if not captured, 

 waste away and die of hunger. Without any possibility of 

 cover, it is impossible to get near enough to these cripples for 

 a shot with an ordinary gun. The only alternative is a rifle — 

 or to run them down. Anyone who has tried the latter will 

 know what an almost impossible business it is, and hence a small 

 rifle becomes most useful. 



Almost any make will do ; there are dozens of cheap and 

 reliable weapons on the market at prices from ^^2 los. upwards. 



I use an excellent little rifle built for me by Messrs. Greener 

 for five guineas. It fires the 297/250 shell, and I recommend 

 the hollow-point bullet. It is sighted up to 150 yards, but 

 reliable at greater range when once thoroughly understood. 



So much for the armament of the wildfowler. In the next 

 chapters I shall deal with Ammunition, and — a most important 

 point — the "Complete Gun-Room." 



