464 AMERICAN GAME BIRD SHOOTING 



kind of game bird on which it is employed. Four 

 drams, however, is an excessive load, used chiefly by 

 pigeon and duck shooters, and by very few of them. 

 Besides the punishing recoil, the excessive load strains 

 a gun seriously and shortens its life. 



The most desirable all-round load for a 12-bore is 3 

 drams of powder and i^s ounces of No. 7^2 chilled 

 shot. This is a very killing load, and is in general use 

 by target shooters at the traps. However, for special 

 shooting, different sizes of shot are essential. 



Some shooters use 3/^ or 3^4 drams of powder, but 

 the recoil is much greater, relatively, than that of 3 

 drams, and punishes the average shooter. The recoil 

 may be kept within reasonable limits by reducing the 

 weight of shot as the load of powder is increased ; thus, 

 3/^ drams with i ounce of shot gives a high velocity, 

 and is very effective in duck shooting, at the same time 

 being free from excessive recoil. 



The only advantages of bores smaller than the 12 

 are their lightness, and the consequent greater ease in 

 carrying them and greater quickness in aiming, because 

 of their greater lightness. The ammunition for them 

 is somewhat cheaper, but not enough so to be a mat- 

 ter for serious consideration. While the smaller bores 

 will deliver the load of shot with as much velocity as 

 the larger bores, it should be noted that the killing 

 circle is less, and that, therefore, a higher degree of 

 skill in pointing is a necessary correlative. If the bore 

 is such as to make the killing circle equal, then the pat- 

 tern is thin. Thus there is reason, while giving con- 



