MISCELLANEOUS HINTS. 381 



generality of Sportsmen, and we beg to warn our friends against 

 this error; they may rely upon our experience in this particular, 

 as we have given the subject much attention, and are thoroughly 

 convinced that reasonably high-mounted guns are far preferable 

 to the " low-mounted." 



By the term high-mounted.^ we mean those guns that have 

 long and considerably bent stocks; by low-moimted, we designate 

 those pieces that have short and straight stocks. 



Every Sportsman, before deciding definitely upon the pur- 

 chase 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 wea- 

 pon up to the proper range of his eye and fires at the very 

 moment that he catches the sight, he will most undoubtedly 

 strike the target, provided 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 beloio the mark. If the former 

 should be the case, he will know at once that the stock is too 

 straight and too shorty or, as we have before observed, the gun is 

 too low-mounted for his handling. If, on the other hand, the 

 shot should fall beloiu 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, and that is, those 

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

 circumstance that the butt is always better pressed against the 

 shoulder of the Shooter. Moreover, there is far less recoil to be 

 apprehended from a long stock than a short one, more particu- 

 larly if the stock should be rather crooked as well as long. 



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 shooting, as we cannot but think that this shaping of 

 the stock will cause the Sportsman to shoot crooked. 



