54 FIELD SHOOTING. 



1 believe there is nothing more needful to be 

 said concerning guns, ammunition, and loading. 

 It will have been seen that I believe in the 

 necessity of large charges of good, strong powder 

 more than in the efficacy of very large shot. The 

 smaller shot, as I believe, are driven at higher 

 velocities, and have greater penetration, than larger 

 ones. Besides, the number of pellets to the 

 weight of the charge is a very material thing. 

 The more there are, the more will, in all pro- 

 bability, be put into the bird shot at. But, as 

 a matter of course, in following this principle a 

 man is not to run into extremes and use very 

 small shot for large game. On the other hand, 

 he is not to be too ready, when the birds are 

 not brought to bag, to lay it to the fault of 

 small-sized shot. No shot is big enough to stop 

 a bird without hitting him; and before changing 

 the size of the shot or finding fault with the 

 gun, it will be better to endeavor to mend and 

 improve the aim. 



