MISCELLANEOUS HINTS. 431 



and considerably -bent stocks; by low-mounted we designate those 

 pieces that have short and straight stocks. 



Every sportsman, before deciding definitely upon the purchase 

 of a gun, should, if possible, give the weapon a fair trial, which 

 can be done very easily by firing at a mark, not only to ascertain 

 the force with which the barrels shoot, but more particularly to 

 satisfy himself as to the mounting, as above explained. 



If, for example, the shooter looks steadily at some object placed 

 at a convenient distance from him, and throws the weapon up to 

 the proper range of his eye and fires at the very moment when he 

 catches the sight, he will most undoubtedly strike the target, pro- 

 vided the gun is mounted to suit him. If such, however, should 

 not be the case, the shot will be thrown most probably either above 

 or below the mark. If the former should be the case, he will know 

 at once that the stock is too straight and too short, or, as we have 

 before observed, the gun is too low-mounted for his handling. If, 

 on the other hand, the shot should fall below the target, the stock 

 may be too crooked, or, artistically speaking, the piece is too high- 

 mounted. 



A long stock, as above remarked, is generally preferable to a 

 short stock in the hands of most sportsmen, for sundry reasons, 

 one of which we have not yet named, which is, that those having 

 long stocks throw their fire with more power, from the circumstance 

 that the butt is always pressed more closely against the shoulder of 

 the shooter. Moreover, there is less recoil to be apprehended from 

 a long stock than a short one, more particularly if the stock should 

 be rather crooked as well as long. Many sportsmen ignorantly 

 attribute their indifferent shooting to the barrels, when they should 

 look alone to the stocking and mounting of the piece ; as we are 

 satisfied from long observation that "good shooting," in most cases, 

 depends far more upon these contingencies than it does upon the 

 shooting-properties of the barrels themselves. 



The old habit of shaving off, or rather scooping out, the butt on 

 one side, to allow the face to come immediately behind the line of 

 the barrel, is perfectly unnecessary, in fact, is opposed to good 



