92 THE GUN: AFIELD AND AFLOAT 



effect of this crushing was at once ocularly and un- 

 mistakably demonstrated, for the malformed shot, whilst 

 much weighter individually than the hard pellets, fell con- 

 siderably behind the latter in the matter of penetration. 



On my first drawing attention to this fact in gunnery, 

 the opinion was expressed that this alteration in form 

 of the pellets was caused by the force of impact on 

 striking an object. This, of course, was a perfectly 

 natural first impression, and I have no doubt whatever 

 that in some instances the casual observer, on finding 

 evidence of these battered pellets, has attributed the 

 malformation to this cause entirely, and thus has not 

 cared to pursue the inquiry further. The disfigurement 

 I now speak of is not that caused by striking an object ; 

 it certainly is attributable to a totally different cause. 

 It may, in fact, be brought about within the gun in 

 three different ways. First, by the violent impact of 

 the powder explosion. Second, by compression in pass- 

 ing through the cone at the end of chamber or choke 

 at end of barrel. Third, by friction against the side of 

 the barrel. These, I take it, are the chief causes of 

 injury, and, following in the same sequence, I will 

 give the effects produced by them upon the pellets. 

 First, the production of several facets, or indentations, 

 on the inner pellets of the charge, these injuries corre- 

 sponding to the points of contact with the surrounding 

 pellets. Second, the effects produced by the second 

 of the causes named are similar to the foregoing, i.e. 

 a series of facets or indentations. Third, a flat side left 

 on the outer pellets of the charge. A little practice 

 enables one to determine on examining a deformed 

 pellet as to which cause its injury may be assigned. 

 The compression of the lead caused by pressure leaves 



