SHOT-GUN PATTERNS 57 



more favourable for photographing, a better selection 

 might have been secured. It will, however, be conceded 

 that these unpicked patterns show fairly well the general 

 character of the shooting, affording ocular proof of the 

 regularity and reliability of the performance of both gun 

 and load at the three ranges. Such regularity of per- 

 formance is, perhaps, the more remarkable in view of 

 the fact that no time was spent in paving the way by 

 trial of various sizes of shot and different powders, with 

 the view to discover the best possible loads. 



It is but fair to both gun and powder to mention that 

 in not a single instance was that pattern photographed 

 which gave the highest count of pellets within the 40- 

 inch circle. Moreover, in describing the circles on the 

 whitewashed targets, certain pellet-marks were unavoid- 

 ably obliterated owing to the fact that an unusually 

 thick-pointed scribe was used for the purpose of securing 

 clearly-defined rings for photographing. Thus, in some 

 instances, the patterns were reduced in this way by as 

 many as seven or eight pellets. In Fig. I is given a 

 second pattern, obtained with No. 2 shot, that is well- 

 nigh perfect in respect of the display of pellets within 

 the 4O-inch circle ; but, unfortunately, heavy rain fell 

 as the camera was being got into position, and so washed 

 out some of the outer pellet-marks. Still, as showing 

 what may be done in the way of throwing evenly dis- 

 tributed patterns of large shot, this photograph was 

 deemed to be worthy of reproduction. 



Time did not permit of more than a few shots being 

 fired to test the penetration. These, however, sufficed 

 to show that a card-rack of special construction and 

 altogether larger size than that in ordinary use would 

 have to be constructed to ascertain the penetrative force 



