422 



Popular Science MontJiIi/ 



Waiting for the Boy 

 to Release the Bird 



upper end of the butt 

 l)lalc. The gun seller 

 knows. This same 

 restriction as to 

 "drop" holds with 

 any other gun w-e 

 select. 



The double gun is 

 a most reliable gun 

 used lor trap-shoot- 

 ing, and so is the 

 special single barrel, 

 hiimmerless. A wise 

 plan is to borrow 

 from thekindhearted 

 trap-shooters guns 

 "~>1 - of both the pump, 



^^==^ or repeating, and the double 

 type, and with them to sight at various 

 objects to give us an idea as to which 

 of the two types seems to suit us, indi- 

 vidually, better. 



Selecting a Gun 



If our choice is the double, then it 

 should have, if possible, thirty-two-inch 

 barrel and be of the stock dimensions 

 laid out, and the stock for a person 

 of normal build should not fall below 

 fourteen and one-half to the front 

 trigger, measuring from the edge 

 of the butt-plate in the center of 

 the stock. The gun also should 

 have automatic ejectors — little 

 hammers in the fore-end, which, 

 when the gun is openeil, kick the 

 fired shell out of the gun without 

 the aid of the fingers. 



We want the l)utt-i)lale filteil 

 with some one of the rul)ber jxiils 

 made to take up recoil. The 

 most commonly used is the sort 

 that is glued firmly on as part of 

 the stock. But before we do this 

 we must make sure that the gun 

 shoots as a trap-shooling gun 

 should, and second, see that the 

 gun (its us. The best plan is to 

 instal on the gun tcmijorarily 



one ol the cheap lacc-up or slip-on 

 rubber recoil-pads, costing about one 

 dollar. This will make the stock longer, 

 and usually we can use it longer than 

 it is i)iit out ; because in trap-shooting, 

 being allowed to have the gun to 

 our shoulder, we can use a stock longer 

 than we could in the game field, and 

 the extra fraction of an inch adds to 

 the steadiness of swing. If, however, 

 there is too much of a good thing, shown 

 liy the greater control over the gun in 

 shooting a few shots with the pad taken 

 t)ff, then we can decide that a shorter 

 stock is correct, and so have the perma- 

 nent rubber pad glued on, at the cost 

 of about five dollars. 



With the appointed gun and three 

 sorts of trap loads, obtained from the 

 obliging dealer, we obtain a dozen sheets 

 of wrai)ping paper, not less than forty 

 inches scjuare, some thumb tacks, a tape 

 of twent>"-fi\e feet or longer and seek 

 in the country an old board fence or an 

 old abandoned barn or board sign on 

 which we can tack our paper. The trap 

 loads should contain not more than 

 three drams of smokeless powder, and 

 one and one-quarter ounce of No. 7j^ 

 or 8 chilled shot. Three different makes 

 of shell or three different brands of 

 powder should be represented in the 

 loads we take out. 



Testing Your Gun and Your Powder 



First we cut open and count the pellets 

 in one of the shells. The easiest way is 

 to pour them into a box, shake them init) 



The Operator at the Trap Mechanism Below the 

 Ground. Several Piles of Clay Birds Are Shown 



