24 THE COMPLETE WILDFOWLER 
No sportsman of moderate means need think his armoury 
incomplete without one. At the same time, this enormously 
powerful weapon is a splendid one to have if it can be afforded, 
more especially for taking long sitting shots at fowl at ranges 
from 100 to 150 yards. 
At one time the 4-bore was more popular in single-barrel 
form than it is at present. But the improvements made in 
recent years in the quality of barrel steel and breech-bolt 
actions have made it possible for double 4-bores to be pro- 
duced weighing so much less than formerly that the second 
barrel can be retained with the increase of only a pound or two 
extra weight. 
And it must also be remembered that such a big gun as 
this cannot ever be used for rapid shooting. It is a piece of 
artillery fired from an ambuscade, and no more nor less than 
just that. A little extra weight, therefore, does not matter 
much, and I should strongly advise any intending purchaser of 
a gun of this calibre to buy a two-barrelled weapon—unless, of 
course, as sometimes happens, he can pick up a reliable single- 
barrel second-hand at a very low cost. 
Almost any first-class gunmaker can turn out a satisfactory 
4-bore, but three makers may be mentioned as doing so, in my 
Opinion, better than any others. These are Messrs. Greener, 
Tolley, and Westley-Richards. 
Mr. W. W. Greener, whose colossal work Zhe Gun has 
often been referred to as the ‘‘sportsman’s Bible,” can turn out 
as good a 4-bore as any one in England. 
He makes guns of this calibre in four styles of breech- ° 
loading; (1) double-grip lever under guard, back-work lock and 
outside hammers ; (2) the treble wedge-fast top cross-bolt out- 
side hammers ; (3) treble wedge-fast top cross-bolt hammerless; 
(4) treble wedge-fast top cross-bolt hammerless ejector. This 
last gun, though a splendid weapon, is a pure luxury. Ejector 
mechanism is not necessary in these heavy guns, with which 
