lOADINO. 



BV J'lELl), WOOD, AND WATER. 



[loauiso. 



may call tliia wire-drawing ; wo arc, however, 



certain tlu'y will not belong to the body of 

 retloctiiig or cxporienced sportsmen ; tlioy will 

 know bettor how to appreciate rule, method, 

 and illustration. 



LoADixo. — Success in shooting greatly de- 

 pends upon the art of loading properly. Tiio 

 lirst thing to be done is to squib up the gun 

 several times in order to dry it, and give a 

 httlo warmth to the barrel, before putting in 

 the load with which you are to begin your 

 dsy's sport. Tour gnu is here supposed to be 

 of the percussion make. Having squibbed 

 suflieiently, drawn up the cock, and removed 

 the broken cap, hold the gun in an upright 

 position, and pour in the charge, striking the 

 butt-cud of the piece against the ground, to 

 carry down such grains of powder as may be 

 lodged agaiast the sides of the barrel, and also 

 to settle it completely in its place. Now pass 

 down the powder-wadding until it reaches the 

 powder, on which it ought to be very lightly 

 pressed, not rammed. Next pour in the shot, 

 and give a shake or two to settle them evenly 

 and solidly in their bed. Place over them a 

 wadding of sufficient substance and elasticity 

 to preserve the shot in their posiiion ; for 

 which purpose give a pressure to the wad, 

 taking care, however, not to ram it hard. It 

 is usual, however, to give the first charge a 

 little more pressure than the charges that are 

 to succeed it. When the powder is wadded, 

 it will be well to observe whether it makes its 

 way into the nipple by the pressure of the 

 confined air, made in passing down the wad. 

 It does not always follow, that if the powder 

 is not seen in the pivot, it will not explode ; it 

 is, nevertheless, more satisfactory to see it 

 there; and when this is not tlie case, we 

 should give the breech a slight tap or two, to 

 introduce it further up the touch-hole. The 

 circumstance of the powder not being seen at 

 the touch-hole, is more likely to happen with 

 the perforated, or serrated waddings, made to 

 let out the confined air, than with those that are 

 entire. The last act of gun-loading is that of 

 putting on a fresh cap, and letting the cock 

 down very gently to fasten it on the nipple. 



In charging the fiint-gun, it is also prudent 

 to fc^quib it first, and then to introduce the 

 powder and shot into the barrel. Sufficient 

 priming should be put into the pan, but not in 



such quantity as to allow tho pnn-cowr to 

 crush it. If a double gun bo employed, it wilj 

 bo optional with tho sportHumn to load but'w 

 barrels alike, or to give, aa many do, a bchuo- 

 what heavier charge to tho second barrel, be it 

 right or left, that ho usually fires on tho 

 longest shots. If tho quantities of powder 

 used are the same in both barrehs, the size of 

 the shot may, for the second barrel, be a littlo 

 larger. i\Iany shooters increase tho quantity 

 of shot for tho charge of tho second barrel ; 

 but this can only be expedient when tho 

 weight of tho powder is somewhat increased 

 also ; and even then, by many, its propriety 

 has frequently been questioned. It is always 

 more or less dangerous to alter those exact 

 proportions between tho powder and shot 

 which experience has pointed out as buing 

 precisely suitable to the piece. When a guu 

 has been discharged, the barrel should bo 

 loaded while it is still warm ; for, when allowed 

 to cool, the moisture begins to settle on its 

 inner surface, and this catches some of the 

 finer particles of the powder-charge, and 

 either decomposes them there, or prevents 

 their falling to the oortora. In either case tho 

 detention diminishes the projectile force which 

 is to act on the shot. 



What are found to be the just proportions 

 of powder and shot most suitable to his piece, 

 the sportsman should make it his anxious 

 study to discover. A considerable amount of 

 practice will be necessary for this; but it must 

 be done, if he wish to attain to the character 

 of being " a good shot." In experimenting for 

 this, he must make use of difterent kinds of 

 powder and shot — in short, adopt every 

 method and material that may suggest them- 

 selves to accomplish the end he has in view. 

 To achieve all this, requires not only nice ob- 

 servation, but a just mode of reasoning, and 

 the establishment of general rules, and tho 

 marking of their occasional exceptions ; all of 

 which mental habits are by no means very 

 common amor.g the ordinary run of sportsmen. 

 Hence it is that we find the actual practice of 

 shooting so loose and unscientific; and when 

 a man does succeed in practically acquiring 

 the art in the highest degree, he seldom has 

 the power of correctly communicating his 

 knowledge to others, or of marking, with suffi- 

 cient clearness, the various steps by wiiich he 



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