58 THE COMPLETE SHOT 



and is only reduced. Consequently, it was no time to say, 

 " Now we have arrived at perfection, and beyond this point it 

 is a fault to go, and consequently we fix as a standard 1050 

 foot-seconds mean velocity at 20 yards as the correct velocity, 

 above and below which nobody must attempt to carry ballistics 

 of shot guns." That may suit wholesale manufacturers, because 

 it is a standard easy to accomplish in bulk, but here is what 

 it means as a check to progress. 



First, if we take a peep at Mr. Griffith's own celebrated 

 revolving target trials of just twenty years ago, we find that his 

 mean velocities of those trials were all more than 1050 foot- 

 seconds at 20 yards range. They were for the three guns and 

 loads used 10/3, 1124, and 1062 foot-seconds. But he has quite 

 truly told us that during these twenty years the velocity has 

 increased 100 feet per second. Consequently, the "standard 

 loading" sets back the clock more than 100 foot-seconds and 

 more than twenty years. That is not all : those beautiful trials 

 exhibited the fact that the last pellets in a load had from 221 

 to 300 foot-seconds less mean velocity than the first, so that 

 "standard" loading may mean 1050 foot-seconds for the first 

 pellets, and 750 foot-seconds for the last, at 20 yards range. 

 These trials were all conducted with cartridges loaded with 

 \\ oz. of shot. But years before that, when fine grain black 

 powder was used, and gave to i-J- oz. of shot much higher 

 velocities than those named above, Sir Fred. Milbank shot 

 his 728 grouse in the day with |- oz., on the ground that 

 the ordinary i^ oz. gave too little penetration that is, too 

 little velocity. 



The only possible arguments left to put forward against 

 increase of velocity are two : 



1st, that greater pressure adds to the necessity of weight 

 of gun. 



2nd, that more velocity spoils patterns. 



The reply to the first is that the improvement of powders 

 and increased velocity has been attained, as stated, by other 

 means, and without increasing pressures ; and, second, if 

 pressures were increased it would not matter to the shooter 



