her of the gun at the end of the chamber, they will bulge 

 still more in the center the worst possible condition for 

 good results. The shot will be projected in a circle, and 

 the center of the target will have few, if any, shot in it. 

 The crimping of paper shells has the same effect, but in a 

 much less degree, inasmuch as the wads are smaller. 



To remedy this defect in loading, use a loading plug 

 with a convex or cone-shaped end, and for a No. 10 brass 

 shell use a No. 9 or 10 wad on the powder. The wad should 

 be firmly rammed on the powder and lightly on the shot. 

 If two wads are used on powder they should be each 

 rammed separately. The wads will be seated on the pow- 

 der cuping the best possible shape for good results in shoot- 

 ing and will be less likely to start from tlie recoil or rough 

 handling. I once made- a very poor shooting muzzle-loader 

 a very good one by changing the shape of the butt end of the 

 ramrod. The fault of the gun was that it distributed the 

 shot in a ring. The center of the target for a foot in diam- 

 eter would be almost entirely free from shot. The butt end 

 of the ramrod was very much concaved, and at that time I 

 used very large wads. I reversed the shape of the end of 

 the rod, made it very much convex or cone-shaped. By 

 using this rod the gun was made an excellent shooter; in 

 fact, it acquired such a reputation that I sold it for more 

 than first cost, after using it for six years. 



I have one more experimental way of loading, which I 

 hope all glass-ball shooters, who think two wads are a neces- 

 sity, will try. Load a few shells without any wad between 

 the powder and shot. Use a flat-ended loading plug. Ram 

 the naked powder quite hard; then put in the shot. On the 

 shot put one good felt wad. Try this on glass balls, from 

 any kind of a trap at the regular distance. Now don't say 

 that charges loaded in this way will not break glass balls 

 until you have tried them. In my experiments I used No. 

 9 shot. 



