30 
FOR E S T 
A X 1) S T R E A M 
January, 1919 
THE BORING OF SHOT GUNS 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream: 
I HAVE seen much trifling discussion 
about the boring of shot guns. I am 
a victim in this respect myself. I have 
an old pattern 12-gauge 28-inch Ithaca 
with Hght barrel full choke and left 
nearly open. I took the gun to a gun- 
smith and had the right barrel bored 
out full cylinder. I call it the “game 
getter.” Now the right barrel spits out 
half the load on the ground about 
twenty yards from the gun and the rest 
of the load goes on and does the work. 
It is a good piece of hardware, but with 
a leather cheek pad (it has a 3-inch 
drop and almost no comb) and %-inch 
of American walnut glued onto the end 
of the stock, it is not handsome. 
I have a Sauer $125 grade ejector, 
12-gauge, bought on condition that the 
right barrel should be made “improved 
cylinder.” They had my money and the 
gun was sent down 14-gauge at the 
muzzle. Had it weighed one pound more 
it would have been a good gun on ducks. 
Its weight is 6% pounds. I took the 
advice of a dealer and had it bored out- 
cylinder. Since then it won’t make a 
pattern with No. 8 shot at 20 yards ! 
Incompetency and irresponsibility are 
rampant and $1.50 gross is sufficient in- 
ducement to a gun store man to ruin 
your $100 gun. If you have a gun which 
shoots too close do the work yourself. 
Split a rod a foot long down about 5 
inches; insert a wedge; wrap it 3 inches 
over the split part with cloth; oil this 
well; cover it with emery dust and turn 
it in the muzzle of the gun. Shoot it 
half a dozen times. Put on more wrap- 
ping and try it again. Sometimes this 
can be done with a clothes pin — don’t 
hold me responsible. 
My advice is never take all the choke 
out of a 28-inch 12-bore. I had a 30- 
inch 12, cylinder bore, which shot per- 
fectly. 
Everyone should know that the secret 
of the value of a choke is that it retards 
the wad. It has been demonstrated that, 
at 2 feet from the muzzle, the photo- 
graph of a load from a cylinder barrel 
shows the wad driven into the load; the 
load about % inch long and mushroom- 
ing over the edges of the wad. The wad 
thus acts as a “spreader” and scatters 
the load. Photo of load from choked gun 
under same conditions shows the load 
1% inches long with the wad following 
behind completely separated from the 
load. The lesson is that the wad is what 
spoils the shooting of the gun. If the 
wads were burned up just as the charge 
leaves the muzzle the cylinder bore would 
shoot nearly as close as the choke. The 
shorter the barrel the more imperative 
is the necessity for some choke. 
My theory is that in a longer barrel 
the shot charge bounces off the wad by 
its own inertia, when fairly started, as 
it gets going, thus freeing itself very 
slightly from the wad — just as a ball 
bounces off a brassey when you go 
through with a full swing. 
I would like to see an experiment tried 
with, say, 36, 33, 30, 28 and 26-inch bar- 
rels. Thus we would find out the ideal 
length of cylinder barrels and the neces- 
sary choke for ordinary short ones. And 
we would know whether the hypothesis, 
that, as the load proceeds the relation 
between shot and wads changes, is cor- 
rect. 
As regards our old bored-out guns — 
can anything be done with them? I 
am looking for a metallurgist who can 
tell me whether he can produce an alloy 
which can be plated into the last three 
inches of the muzzle thick enough and 
strong enough to allow a reboring to the 
gauge required. I know of a 4-bore, 
single barrel, where the owner cut six 
inches off the muzzle, cut a thread on 
the barrel and screwed a choked piece 
on it from another gun, and the gun did 
good service. 
What is the next new thing in bor- 
ing? I have put the suggestion up to 
the two greatest American firms and am 
awaiting their reply. 
W. M. E., Baltimore. 
GROUSE IN MICHIGAN 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream: 
Y OU might be interested to know 
that the ruffed grouse are un- 
doubtedly on the increase in this section. 
There is a closed season on them this 
year and if weather conditions are favor- 
able during breeding season next spring 
and next year is also made a closed sea- 
son, there will be good chances for this 
fine bird not to become simply a mem- 
ory. 
E. Church, Houghton, Mich. 
A SILENT COMPANION 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream : 
J UST think of hunting and fishing with 
a fellow since the days of Rowland 
Robinson and never speaking to him. A 
chap may have gathered in a life time 
quite a number and variety of old friends 
with whom he has caught various kinds 
of fish or hunted different kinds of game, 
and as he recalls them one by one he 
finds a warm spot for them all — each and 
every one whose companionship has con- 
tributed to make memorable a day in 
the woods or on the water. Such friends 
are all the good sporting magazines, old, 
tried, and dependable companions with 
whom month by month I have hunted 
and fished these many years. Of them 
all you are the oldest. From boyhood I 
have hunted and fished with you. You 
have taken me to all parts of North 
America with side trips to the tropics. 
You have taught me, exposed my faults 
and advised me in correcting many of 
them. You have consoled me in my per- 
plexities and disappointments. And yet, 
ungrateful though it may seem, I have 
never until now replied to thank you or 
express my appreciation. 
It is all of thirty-five years since I 
began using my first shotgun and de- 
vouring Forest and Stream whenever I 
could find it. That was some years ago, 
but before I close I must tell you about 
that first gun. 
I found it, abandoned by a departed 
tenant in the shed of a house belonging 
to my father. At least I had a gun of 
my own. The fact that there was no 
hammer was fully compensated by the 
discovery nearby of an old fashioned 
cobbler’s hammer head. A stick for a 
handle and it was complete. I could find 
shot, caps and paper at home — only one 
difficulty to surmount. Father’s powder 
was not accessible and orders not to touch 
it were strict. A happy thought — there 
was blasting powder, used to break up 
bowlders and split logs, in a tin canister 
in the store room. Too coarse? Well, 
there was the coffee grinder in the shed 
of the vacant house where the gun was 
found. Everything coming my way now. 
The old gun was cleaned with the long 
ram rod under the barrel — a strong blow 
at the muzzle showed the tube to be open. 
A small handful of powder well shaken 
to fill the tube — some paper on top — 
a half handful of shot — more paper — a 
few kernels of powder pricked into the 
tube, a cap, and hammer in hand we 
march out to shoot the first bird or beast 
— not particular what kind — large or 
small. New difficulties ! Muzzle wobbled 
two feet each way. Further expedients 
required. A crotched stick solves the 
problem. And now we go forth to hunt. 
First victim a night hawk on a fence, 
range 40 to 50 feet. Crotch is set up,’ 
gun mounted, hammer extracted from 
pocket and banged do^^m on cap. Puff!! 
Gun goes off — night hawk also. Air full 
of burning particles of powder and pa- 
