7 8 4 



The Shot- Gun. 



length 



Let his first barrel be cylinder-bore and his second either 

 a modified or full choke, and he will not go far astray. 



In deciding whether he shall have a barrel full-choke, modified- 

 choke, or cylinder, he should remember that a 12-gauge full-choked 

 gun will put 200 pellets of No. 7 Tatham shot in a target 30 inches 

 in diameter at 40 yards distant, while a cylinder barrel of same 

 gauge will, in similar circumstances, put in 120 to 130; and also that 

 the smaller gauges of 16 and 20 generally throw their shot suffi- 

 ciently close and regular without any choke, or, at least, with very 

 little. Indeed this, I infer, is the reason why these small bores 

 were in such great repute among upland shooters before the intro- 

 duction of choke-bored barrels. 



The difference between carrying the weight of a 7% or a 6 lb. 

 gun, while trifling to some men, is to others the difference between 

 weariness and cheerfulness. 



Relative Weights of the same Measure of Different Sizes 

 of Shot. — The amounts of powder and shot in the charges of guns 

 are not weighed but measured. From time to time, discussions have 

 arisen among sportsmen as to the relative weights of the same 

 measure of different sizes of shot, and the subject is of sufficient 

 importance to demand a careful examination. To get the weight of 

 an ounce measure of each size of shot, I weighed, in an accurate 

 balance, 50 measures-full of the given sized shot, and divided the 

 weight by 50. The measure used is known as Dixon's, and is 

 the one generally used by sportsmen. The shot used was of the 

 American standard sizes, made by Tatham Brothers, to whom we 

 are indebted for their courtesy in furnishing us with sizes made 

 with new and carefully graduated sieves. 



