412 LEWISES AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



will answer the same purpose, and perhaps be more easily ob- 

 tained. 



The wadding over the powder should be forced down with con- 

 siderably more violence than the one placed over the shot, so as to 

 drive the powder into the chambers and nipple-hole and mould it 

 into a compact form. If the wadding over the shot be forced down 

 too hard, there will be a considerable recoil when the piece is dis- 

 charged ; this of itself will soon teach the novice better. 



ONE BARREL USED MORE THAN THE OTHER. 



The right barrel, in the hands of all sportsmen, is used more 

 frequently than the left, and consequently in old guns is generally 

 found to be far thinner than the left. This habit ought to be 

 avoided as much as possible, and the novice should accustom him- 

 self to pull the trigger of the left-hand barrel with the same 

 facility that he does the right. 



