TRAP-SHOOTING. 297 



powder have not heretofore been restricted, al- 

 though it is unreasonable to match a light field-gun, 

 loaded with three drachms, against a fourteen-pound 

 ducking-gun, driving its charge of No. 10 shot with 

 six drachms of powder. The load of shot should not 

 be over one ounce and a quarter ; but even with this 

 restriction the heavy guns will have the advantage, 

 being able to send fine shot stronger, and have the 

 benefit of the extra quantity of pellets. The size of 

 shot in light guns is generally No. V, with three 

 and a quarter drachms of powder. The guns are 

 loaded in the presence of a judge selected for the 

 purpose, and the shot is poured into a measured 

 charger ; but with breech-loaders, as the cartridges 

 are already prepared, it is customary to select one 

 of the latter at random and open it. 



A good shot will frequently kill twenty single 

 birds in succession, and some persons who have 

 made this sport their specialty have been known to 

 kill many more ; but the majority of excellent sports- 

 men will not kill over nineteen out of twenty. The 

 best field-shots are often bunglers at trap-shoot- 

 ing. Where double birds are shot at, it is rare that 

 twenty are killed without a miss, and an excellent 

 average out of ten double rises would be seventeen 

 birds. The second bird is frequently so far off ere 

 he is fired at, that, even if hit, he will go out of 

 bounds and be recorded as missed, although he falls 

 dead. In this shooting there is much in accident, 

 not only as to the bird's falling out of bounds, but 

 as to the mode of flight ; for if both birds go directly 

 13* 



