LOADING A GUN. 15 
pose, as some persons who ought to know better do, that the 
more shot in a gun the greater the chances of killing. The 
projectile force of a charge cannot possibly be greater than 
the vis inertie of the gun as held by the shooter. The explo- 
sion is manifested in all directions, and blows the shot one way 
simply and only because it has no other escape. If the resist- 
ance in front of the powder were greater than elsewhere the 
shot would not budge, but the gun would fly backward, or burst. 
This always reminds me of Lord Dundreary’s famous conun- 
drum—Why does a dog wag his tail? Because he is bigger than 
his tail; otherwise, the tail would wag him. A gun shoots shot 
because the gun is the heavier; otherwise, the shot would shoot 
the gun. Every unnecessary pellet is a pellet against you, not 
against the game. The experienced sportsman uses about one- 
third less shot than the tyro, with proportionally better result, 
other things being equal. As to powder, moreover, a etn can 
only burn just so much, and every grain blown out unburnt is 
wasted if nothing more.. No express directions for absolute 
weight or measures of either powder or shot can be given; in 
fact, different guns take as their most effective charge such a 
variable amount of ammunition, that one of the first things you 
have to learn about your own arm is, its normal charge-gauge. 
Find out, by assiduous target practice, what absolute amounts 
(and to aslight degree, what relative proportion) of powder 
and shot are required to shoot the furthest and distribute the 
pellets most evenly. This practice, furthermore, will acquaint 
you with the gun’s capacities in every respect. You should 
learn exactly what it will and what it will not do, so as to feel 
perfect confidence in your arm within a certain range, and to 
waste no shots in attempting miracles. Immoderate recoil is 
a pretty sure sign that the gun was overloaded, or otherwise 
wrongly charged; and all force of recoil is subtracted from the 
impulse of the shot. It is useless to ram powder very hard ; 
two or three smart taps of the rod will suffice, and more will 
not increase the explosive force. On the shot the wad should 
simply be pressed close enough to fix the pellets immovably. 
All these directions apply to the charging of metal or paper 
