GUNS. 23 



or leaving gun loaded when not in use or when 

 riding in a wagon or. other vehicle. 



Now, to sum it all up : In my opinion, for the 

 majority of uses, the breech-loader is the superior 

 weapon for the novice or the gentleman sports- 

 man. For the poor market duck-hunter, if he can 

 afford hut one gun, I would advocate the muz- 

 zle-loader ; he will find it much less trouble to 

 take care of, and less work to keep loaded ; he 

 may kill a few more ducks with a breech-loader, 

 but they will cost him enough more to make up 

 the difference both in labor and ammunition. For 

 boat-shooting, I would advise, where it can be 

 afforded, the use of both guns, when either may 

 be used as occasion demands, and the special 

 advantages of each be secured. 



We will suppose our reader to have made up 

 his mind as to which class of guns suits him 

 best — breech or muzzle loader. And, next as to di- 

 mensions, etc. For flight-shooting, an 8-bore is as 

 large as is advantageous, and a 10 is sufficiently 

 small. For a breech-loader, I should never use 

 larger than a 10, as the cartridges for an 8 are 

 too bulky and require too much room for trans- 

 portation, and the 10, if properly loaded, will 

 kill nearly if not quite as far. For a muzzle- 



