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100 WILDFOWL SHOOTING IN THE WESTERN STATES, 



the resolutions made not to notice it— put the sports- 

 man off his shooting. 



My two guns from Birmingham I tried with every 

 conceivable charge that was likely to be useful, and 

 [;0t the best results with the Qv titics I have above 

 mentioned. Of course many will say that guns bored 

 on different patterns require more or less ammuni- 

 tion. My answer to this is, Yes, probably ; but out of 

 the vast number of guns that I have had, none ever 

 gave me the same perfection as my present battery, 

 and their charges are the quantities above stated. 



I do not aspire to be an authority on the above 

 subject, and I have scrupulously refrained from men- 

 tioning the name of the person who built my guns, 

 for I am certain other equally good gunmakers are 

 to be found ; further, I have no ambition to be taken 

 for an advertising agent, but have simply stated what 

 a gun can do, and with what loads the best per- 

 formances are accomplished. 



I have been charged by a West-end London maker 

 seventy guineas for a gun, cases and loading machines 

 complete, and it was truly a beautiful specimen of 

 what an artist could turn out, and doubtless it would 

 have lasted me my lifetime. Although a good killer, 

 it did not at all equal my present favourites. They 

 were made and finished in Birmingham ; their price, 

 with cases and all loading adjuncts, was forty pounds. 

 It may, so early in their possession, be premature for 

 me to say that I have not a doubt but that they will 

 descend to my heirs as good performers in the field 

 as they are at the present moment. 



For successful duck-shooting in the Western States 

 you must possess a good retriever. A tall, upstanding 

 animal in the heavy mud and slush that you will 

 frequently encounter, is more valuable than a smaller 

 beast. Colonel Hawker, I am aware, recommended 

 the latter, but it must be remembered that he generally 

 alluded to boat work, not to killing your game off 



