G- li 
Of THE CHARGE, and WADDING. 
To find the charge that gives the longed range in 
fowling-pieces of different dimenfions, muff be allowed 
to be sTdifcovery of infinite importance to every fportf- 
nran ; and, as it feems to be an opinion pretty gene¬ 
rally received and eftabliflied, that every barrel has a 
. particular load, (not a meafure effimated by any rules 
to be drawn from a comparifon made between the pro¬ 
portions of the caliber and the length of"the barrel,) 
with which it will fhoot with greater certainty and ef¬ 
fect ; it cannot be doubted that he will make fome ex¬ 
periments with his own barrels, in order to attain this 
end. Before we proceed, therefore, to lay down rules 
for the loading of fowling-pieces of different dimcn- 
fions, we beg leave to engraft an excellent principle, in 
the pradlice of the artillery on this point, upon the 
fhooting-fcience. It is afferted, that by ufing fmall 
charges at firft, and increafing the quantity of powder 
by degrees, the ranges' will increafe to a certain point ; 
after which, if the charge be augmented, they will 
progreflively diminifh; though the recoil will ftill con¬ 
tinue in the ratio of the increafe of the charge. Tiffs 
is a confequence that may be deduced from a variety 
of experiments, and is perfeftly agreeable to the prin¬ 
ciples of mechanics : fince the recoil and the range 
ought to be in the reciprocal ratio of the gun and the 
fhot, making allowance for the refiftance which thefe 
. bodies meet with. 
For a fowling-piece of a common caliber, which is 
from twenty-four to thirty balls to the pound weight ; 
a drachm and a quarter, or, at moil, a drachm and a 
half, of good powder; and an ounce, or an ounce and a 
quarter, of fhot, is fufficient. But when fhot of a larger 
fize is ufed, fuch as nuihber five, the charge of fhot 
may be increafed one-fourth, for the purpofe of coun¬ 
terbalancing, in fome degree, what the fize of the lhot 
lofes in the number of pellets, and alfo to enable it to 
garni fh the more. For this purpofe the fportfman will 
find a meafure, marked with the proper gauges, very 
convenient to him ; and an inftrument of this kind has 
been made by an ingenious artift, Egg, in the Haymarket. 
Different opinions, however, are entertained on the 
proportions of the charge. Some determine the charge 
of a fowling-piece by the weight of a ball of the exqft 
fize of the caliber; eftimating the weight of the pow¬ 
der at one-third of that of the ball, whether it is pro- 
pofed to fhoot with ball or with fhot ; arid the weight 
of the fhot they eftimate at a moiety more, or, at the 
molt, at double the weight of the ball. This calcula¬ 
tion comes pretty near to the proportions we have juft 
laid down, except in the difference of fize between the 
calibers twenty-four and thirty, which, notwithftand- 
jng, is not fufficiently great in the two cafes to require 
a gradation in the weight of the charge. Others, again, 
lay down as a rule for the charge of powder, a meafure 
of the fame diameter as the barrel ; and double that 
diameter, in depth : and, for the' fhot, a meafure of the 
like diameter, but one-third lefs in depth than that for 
the powder. This alfo agrees tolerably well with the 
* proportions we have mentioned, at leaft for the powffer, 
but the meafure of fhot feems to be too fmall. In 
fhooting with a riffe-piece, fome perfons proportion 
the quantity of powder to three times the quantity which 
the mould of the ball adapted to the piece will contain. 
Although proverbs are generally true, or at leaft pof- 
fefs fome portion of truth, yet nothing is fo glaringly 
abfurd, or lefs founded in rational principles, than that 
old adage, “Sparing of powder, arid liberal of fhot 
a faying, which is not only in the acquaintance, but in 
the conftant practice, of too many fportfrrien. As a 
confequence of overloading with (hot, the powder has 
not fufficient ftrength to throw it to its proper diftance; 
for, if the objedt be diilant, one-half of the pellets 
ompofing the charge, by their too great quantity and 
Vol. IX. No. 570. 
N. 109 
weight, will (hike againft each other, and fall by the 
way ; and thofe which reach the mark will have fmall 
force, and will produce but little.or 110 effedl. Thus to 
overload is the ftrange fancy pf poachers,, who imagine 
they cannot kill unlefs they put two ounces, or more, 
of large fhot into their pieces. It" is true, that they 
deftroy a great quantity of game, but then it fs .not 
fairly (hot. Such men are-.in fome meafure punilhed 
by the fevere ftrokes they receive 01V the fhoirlders tjnd 
cheeks, in confequence of the exceffive recoil. 
Many fportfmen are of opinion, that the wadding, of 
whatever material it may be compofed, or whether it 
be rammed loofe, or tight, into the barrel, has no ef- 
fe£t, either on the range of the fhot, or the clofenefs 
with yvniph they are thrown. Now, although it may 
be granted, that the material which covers the fhot, 
and which is ufed only for the purpofe of keeping it 
down, is of little importance, yet the fiibftance which 
covers the powder is undoubtedly of much confequence. 
It fliould be quite clofe in the barrel, and that without 
being rammed too hard : the wadding fhould therefore 
be of a foft and tractable material, but at the fame 
time of fufficient confidence to carry the fhot in a body 
to a certain diftance from the muzzle of the piece. 
For, if the wadding is rammed too clofe, or is of a hard* 
and rigid-fubftance, fuch as ftiff brown paper, the piece 
will recoil, and the fhot will fpread more wide : if, on 
the contrary, the wadding is not fufficiently clofe, and 
is compofed of a flight and too pliant material, fuch as 
wool or cotton, it will not be of confidence enough to 
carry the fhot, and the difcharge will lofe its proper 
force. Befides, a certain portion of the /hot, which is 
more immediately in contact with the wadding, will be 
melted by the explofion of the powder. Experience 
teaches, that nothing is better for wadding than foft 
brown paper: it combines fupplenefs with confidence, 
and moulds itfelf to the barrel: and it is further ob- 
fervable, that fuch wadding never falls to the ground 
in lefs than twelve or fifteen paces from the muzzle of 
the piece. 
In countries where orchards abound, a very fine mofs, 
or lichen, of a greenifh-grey colour, is found adhering 
to the apple-trees, which is extremely proper for wad,' 
ding, and which even poffeffes the extraordinary qua¬ 
lity of making the barrel lefs greafy and foul than pa¬ 
per, which contains a certain quantity of oil. Tow is 
alfo very good for this purpofe. A cork wadding has 
alfo been extolled for the virtue of increafing the range 
and clofenefs of the fhot of pieces; we have not made 
the experiment, but it feems probable, that a wadding 
of cork, adapted to the caliber of the piece, may pro¬ 
duce a greater effect than a wadding of paper, in thefe 
refpedts, that, by flopping the barrel more hermeti¬ 
cally, it prevents the elaftic fluid, produced by the ex¬ 
plofion of the powder, from efcaping in any way, be¬ 
tween the partition of wadding and the charge, pre- 
ferves all its force to the mouth of the gun, and thereby 
renders the eftedl of the powder the greater. Thefe 
rinciples have lately recommended the wadding of 
at, cut out by punches of a fize to fit the exaft cali¬ 
ber of the gun, to far- exceed every other, and to which 
therefore we refer the reader. 
We have now, however, to recommend a wadding of 
the cloth called fearnought, or fhepherd’s-cloth, (which 
is very generally known,) and punched by the lame'in¬ 
ftrument as mentioned for hat-wadding; but it muff 
not be dyed, for the acid which is ufed to fet the co¬ 
lour will ruft the infide of the barrel immediately in 
eontatt with it, and efpecially if the gain is'laid by 
charged. Some fportfmen ufe it upon both the pow¬ 
der and fliO’t ; but, by experience we find, in proof of 
our former opinion on this matter, that it fliould only 
cover the powder ; for, when laid upon the fhot, they 
are, in confequence, found to be more fcattered in the 
difcharge. 
GUN-, 
