GUNS AND LOADS 469 



are quite apart from the matter of reducing all the 

 factors to an arbitrary standard. Any gun that is 

 overloaded, be it light or heavy, will kick unpleasantly, 

 and sometimes harmfully, as shown by a bruised shoul- 

 der, a contused cheek, and perhaps a cut trigger finger. 



As a consequence of a punishing recoil, the shooter 

 is quite likely to flinch or fudge, which, in turn, with 

 continued punishment, is quite likely to become habit- 

 ual, thereby greatly impairing success. The lighter 

 the gun, the more violent the recoil from overloading. 



If the shooter is physically so hardy that he can 

 withstand the punishment consequent on excessive re- 

 coil, he nevertheless is quite likely to lose control of the 

 kicking gun in delivering the second shot. No argu- 

 ment is required to show that a man in the act of firing 

 both barrels, one quickly after the other, can main- 

 tain a perfect poise and do quick, accurate execution 

 with a gun which does not kick, and that he cannot 

 do so equally well with a gun which kicks so hard that 

 it throws him off his poise. There is no arbitrary rule. 

 Each case must be considered by itself. As a 

 rule, a large man will withstand the recoil better than 

 a small man. Again, some men have the ability to take 

 most of the recoil on the hands and arms, which ab- 

 sorb the shock as would a spring, thereby relieving the 

 body from the hard shock which is communicated when 

 the gun is held firmly against the shoulder. Apart 

 from all this, the average gun, when overloaded, does 

 not equal its performance with its proper load. 



