Men differ as to the correct gauge for a duck 

 gun. Some use the 1 0-gauge ; others, the 1 2-, and 

 occasionally you find a man armed with a 1 6-gauge. 



The writer's experience has been that the mid- 

 dle course is wholly the best, and that a 1 2-gauge, 

 32-inch barrel gun, medium choke right, and close 

 choke left barrel, will stop any bird that flies under 

 any ordinary conditions. The 1 0-gauge is too 

 clumsy a gun for anything but wild-fowl shooting ; 

 and the 1 6-gauge is a little too light for ducks and 

 geese, though it is an excellent upland gun. 



AMMUNITION 



When smokeless powder first appeared, many 

 old, experienced sportsmen continued to use black 

 powder, claiming that it was superior in a number 

 of ways to the smokeless. But now things have 

 changed. The roar of the old drive duck gun no 

 longer echoes across the marshes, and from far and 

 near comes the sharp, barking report of the modern 

 breech-loader. Smokeless is a very quick powder, 

 and in using it the gunner can hold much closer to 

 his bird than with the black powder. 



As now-a-days ammunition is loaded so cheaply 

 and evenly, it does not pay (unless one is very par- 

 ticular) to load one's own shells. Besides, smoke- 

 less is more difficult to load than black powder, and 

 the chance of accident is greater. 



50 



