480 THE FOWLER IN IRELAND. 



though the shooter may not find this out ; for if the shot does not 

 give to the barrel, the latter must, sooner or later, give to the shot. 

 Of course, chilled shot has its champions, who say, "True, hard 

 shot, being lighter, carries less momentum ; but then it retains its 

 globular form better, and its more perfect shape on striking enables 

 it to penetrate bird or animal deeper than does soft. Also, this re- 

 tention of spherical form, even when it is fired from a choked barrel, 

 has the advantage of not presenting square or angular surfaces to 

 the air to retard the speed of flight. Further, having more pellets to 

 the ounce than soft shot, it makes a better pattern;" and this strongly 

 commends it to target-shooters and gunmakers. For my part, I will 

 never again use hard shot in a valuable gun. That hard shot has 

 greater penetration than soft, its effects on a paper-pad shows to be 

 the case, the reason being it keeps its shape on contact. 



But I am convinced that, pellet for pellet, it does not give so 

 forcible a "shock" to game as does "soft," especially when a non- 

 vital part is encountered, as the latter expands and causes a greater 

 " shake," or more stunning blow, in consequence a good quality that 

 target practice overlooks. I have also found, on examining birds 

 killed with "hard" and " soft" shot, that the former often glances 

 off a very light bone without breaking it, and that in this respect it 

 is inferior to its rival. I have purposely fired two thousand rounds 

 at game Avith each kind to demonstrate the supposed superiority of 

 "hard" over "soft" shot, using both "cylinder" and "choked" 

 barrels. I could not discover that the one was better than the other 

 in its performances. My method was to take out on alternate days 

 bags of cartridges containing chilled shot and soft, one ounce and an 

 eighth by weight to each case, all loaded precisely similar as to 

 powder and wads : an equal number of each was fired and every 

 cartridge was plainly marked beforehand as to its contents. The 

 empty cases that had accounted for dead game I at once clipped on 

 their edges, when extracted, with a small pair of nippers I made 

 expressly ; any long and at the same time clean killed shots received 

 two clips. These discharged cases I carefully kept, placing the ones 

 marked " hard " apart from those marked " soft." At the termination 

 of my experiment the " soft " shot was seventeen to the good, and 

 five of the cases had received two clips. 



In my opinion, as well as in that of several friends, who at my 

 request have made similar trials, hard shot has no appreciable 

 advantage over soft when used ongame. But it has the disadvantage, 

 though gunmakers won't consider it one, of wearing out a barrel, 

 especially a " choke," in the proportion of quite three to two as 

 against the old-fashioned sort, when pretty heavy firing is experienced. 

 At all events, I have proved this to my own satisfaction rather too 

 plainly to be pleasant for my pocket. 



