62 ON THE WING. 



from the smaller gun. If we were always to shoot at 

 large flocks of fowl, and from short distances, say 

 twenty-five or thirty yards, then, I admit, we should 

 be pretty sure to kill relatively more game with the 

 large than with the small gun. But in shooting ducks 

 from the boat or stand, it will usually be found that 

 those which are cleanly killed and easily recovered are 

 killed by the central portion of the charge of shot. 

 Even should the sportsman with his extra shot occa- 

 sionally knock down a few more water-fowl, is he 

 always sure to recover them? It may be concluded 

 that, in shooting at distances of forty yards and up- 

 wards, it is the central part of the charge which actu- 

 ally brings the game to hand, and that the momentum 

 of this central portion is increased somewhat more in 

 the larger than in the smaller gun, though not in pro 

 rata proportion to the differences in the weight of the 

 guns, or the increased charge. 



It must be borne in mind that the small guns are 

 generally finished in better proportions than the heavier 

 guns, and that the forging and the hammer-hardening 

 process gives far more density to the grain of the iron 

 when it is thin. This greater density increases the 

 elasticity, and diminishes the inertness of the barrels, 

 during the process of combustion. It has been fully 

 proved, in various ways, that the elasticity of all well- 

 formed barrels contributes to the force with which they 

 will shoot ; so there can be no doubt that to check 

 the elastic force of the barrel must, to a certain extent, 

 weaken its force in execution. Any one who is scep- 

 tical as to the truth of this statement can test it by 



