BRASS AND PAPER SHOT SHELL. 27 



With American engineers Haswell, is good authority. 

 How few men from actual knowledge could dispute the re- 

 sults as he has given them ; I could not do it, for I have never 

 experimented with 2. ounces of shot to \y z drams of pow- 

 der. Ogeecher's I dram of powder to 13 buchshot is about 

 according to Haswel.l. Killing a buck at the distance 

 of 120 yards with such a charge caps the climax. Put me 

 down as a little skeptical. Whoever sticks to the propor- 

 tion of 3 drams of powder to one ounce of shot will be sat- 

 isfied with the results. 



Now, in regard to wads. Nearly all guns, by actual 

 measurement, are from one to two gauges smaller than they 

 are called. Many chokebore los will gauge but 12 at the 

 muzzle. As a general rule, for No. 10 brass shells No. 8 

 wads are used; for a paper shell, -a wad of the same num- 

 ber as the shell. There is also a general opinion that brass 

 shells will give better results than paper shells; but all of 

 my experiments have proven the contrary. Paper shells, 

 loaded with wads same number as shell, and not crimped, 

 will give better results than brass shells loaded with wads 

 two sizes larger than shell. Firm, elastic felt wads are best. 

 The advantage of two wads on the powder is so very little 

 that I have never been able to discover it. 



More of the good or bad results of shooting depend on 

 the manner of loading than most shooters are willing to 

 admit. The ordinary way of loading is to use for brass 

 shells wads two or three sizes larger than the gun. The 

 large wads are with some difficulty forced down on to the 

 powder with a close-fitting loading plug, that has either a 

 perfectly flat or a concave end. The inside of brass shells 

 that have been used are very rough, a kind of sandpaper 

 surface. The friction of the large wads is so great that the 

 force of the discharge will bulge the center of the wads 

 forward, and when the wads reach the smaller or true cali- 



