8 BARRELS. 



makes the gun shoot so slow, that the sportsman often 

 fires behind his game ; and, of course, so weak, though 

 well directed, that, instead of his birds dying in the air, 

 they are brought down in a slovenly manner, and half 

 of them escape being bagged, although their skins may 

 be filled with shot enough to make a brilliant display 

 at a single sheet of paper. 



Many are apt to suppose, that, if a bird, killed by a 

 long shot, has been struck with four or five pellets, 

 their gun will always be certain of doing execution at 

 the same distance, if properly directed. But so far 

 is this from being the case, that it may proceed from 

 the barrel throwing the grains in patches, and therefore 

 being liable to let even fair shots escape through an 

 interval. 



Indeed, the effect of this mode of boring might be 

 equally well produced by wetting the shot, or loading 

 with very little pow r der, and elevating so as for nearly 

 all the shot to drop into the mark (a common trick, 

 when an old hand wishes to sell a gun to a cockney, or 

 win the Christmas prize at an alehouse by shooting at 

 a mark). But enough of imperfections ; and now for 

 what a barrel ought to be 



With the common-sized guns, which are now made 

 for the sports of the field, the usual mode of boring is, 

 to leave a cylinder for about three-fourths of the barrel 

 (always taking care, in a FLINT-^WW, but not in a de- 

 tonater, to preserve a tightness for a little friction just 

 where the shot first moves], and let the remaining part 

 be gradually relieved to the muzzle. For instance, 

 suppose a barrel to be two feet eight inches long, we 

 would say (beginning at the breech end) about six 



