RAIL SHOOTING. 143 



by far the best pattern of the kind we have seen. 

 Many rail shooters prefer using shot cartridges 

 on account of the fraction of time saved in load- 

 ing ; others and we are of the same opinion, 

 ourselves suppose that they can kill more birds 

 on a tide with loose shot, and a few, it is said, 

 have been hair-brained enough to shoot shot car- 

 tridges, made small for the bore of the gun, with 

 the charge of powder filled in. These are set 

 up in the box before them, the end of the pow- 

 der charge being left open, and they drop them 

 down the barrels, assisting their descent by a 

 stroke of the butt on the footboard of the boat, 

 when the gun becomes foul : the use of a load- 

 ing-rod is thus dispensed with altogether, and 

 an additional fraction of time saved, which, as 

 they assert, always tells when rail are thick on 

 a fly on a full tide. Many wild stories are afloat 

 respecting the wonderful facilities for rapid exe- 

 cution afforded by these cartridges; but as nei- 

 ther the editor nor the author have been tempted 

 to try them, we, of course, cannot vouch for 

 their truth. We still adhere to our loading-rods, 

 which are made several inches longer than the 

 barrels to admit the full grasp of the hand, and 

 sufficiently stout to be driven home at a single 

 effort. A common ram-rod is inadmissible into 



