Nov. ii, 1911] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
721 
Some Hints to Beginners. 
BY EDWARD BANKS 
Copyright, 1911, by E. I. du Pont de Nemours Co. 
(Continued from page 693.) 
AMMUNITION. 
This subject can be dismissed in but a few words. 
The scores made by experts show conclusively the class 
of article now being put on the market by all the stand¬ 
ard loading companies. The shells manufactured by any 
and all of these companies, and loaded with one or other 
of the brands of smokeless shotgun powder manufactured 
by the Du Pont Company are good enough to tie to 
under any conditions of wind or weather. 
The novice— i. e., the beginner— should guard earnestly 
against using too heavy a load. Heavy loads cause cor¬ 
respondingly heavy recoil, and recoil not only causes 
sore shoulders, but frequently severe headaches, and 
consequent gun shyness on the part of the beginner. 
Select and stick to, for the first few months at least, a 
load of 3drs. of a “bulk” powder, or 24grs. of a “dense” 
powder, with either an ounce and an eighth or an ounce 
and a quarter of shot. The ounce and an eighth load 
is fast and snappy, and is extremely pleasant to shoot. 
When ordering your trap loads, be sure and specify 
"chilled” shot for if you use soft shot you will find you 
lose from 30 to 50 per cent, of your pattern. This fact 
has been proved most conclusively by a series of ex¬ 
haustive tests. 
THE SHOOTING COSTUME. 
Time was, and not so very long ago either (for the 
sport of trapshooting is comparatively youthful—particu¬ 
larly the clay target branch of the sport), when any old 
clothes would do in which to attend a tournament. 
Moth-eaten sweaters were clung to, much as an old gun 
case is—for the purpose of distinguishing the old-timer 
from the novice in the game, and also for comfort. But 
nowadays it is fortunately fast becoming the thing to 
dress just as neatly for a tournament or a club shoot as 
for the street. The same costume for the latter would 
do very well for the former, with the possible exception 
of the coat or shooting jacket. The coat must be loose 
and easy across the shoulders and under the arms; any¬ 
thing in the shape of wearing apparel that tends to 
hinder absolutely free action on the part of the arms is 
to be eschewed when shooting. Some coats and shooting 
vests have accordion pleats under the arms with just that 
object in view, and these accomplish part of the object 
very well. A sort of Norfolk jacket with a box plait 
down the back is a good thing, the plait being held to¬ 
gether at the back with thin strips of elastic, which give 
easily when the gun is brought to the shoulder, but 
quickly pull the plait back into place when the gun is 
taken down. 
No one style of shooting coat, jacket or vest, or even 
sweater, can be said to be the proper thing. The style 
and make must be left to the taste of the individual; 
the only thing that should be borne in mind is that the 
lady's SHOOTING COSTUME. 
presence of ladies, both as spectators and as comrades 
at the score, is much to be desired, and that consequently 
no shooting costume is too good or too neat for the 
occasion. 
The collar is another item of dress that must be con¬ 
sidered. No man can do really good work with a tight 
or high collar; in fact, to most men a “boiled collar” is 
a decided handicap when shooting. A soft shirt, with 
a soft collar comfortably loose, will be found to be an 
aid to better scores. 
In hot weather—that is, when the time of year and the 
temperature of the air call for shirtwaist suits—many 
shooters still stick to the shooting coat or vest that they 
have found fits them to a T, as any change in the thick¬ 
ness of the clothing makes a difference in the length of 
the stock. Others, however, prefer to shoot in their shirt 
sleeves, and for them either a leather bag suspended by 
a belt around the waist, or one of the latest ideas in the 
shape of canvas belting to hold a box of twenty-five car¬ 
tridges, is neat and suitable to the occasion. Very often 
posts are placed in front of each 16yd. mark, with a 
piece of board, 6 or 8in. square, on top of them. These 
are very convenient for shooters to use as tables for a 
box of cartridges, if they don’t want to carry the shells 
in their pockets or in a bag. 
Shooting at the traps is not like going gunning. No 
swamps or creeks to wade; no thick brush or bramble 
patches to force one’s way through. Why then not dress 
so that your wife, sister, or may be some other lady in 
whom you may be interested, will not be ashamed to bow 
to you or recognize you when she meets you on the club 
house piazza? 
POSITION AT THE SCORE. 
Suppose that the beginner is now fully equipped with 
gun, ammunition and a coat that fits him comfortably. 
The next thing is to take him to “the score,” that is, the 
mark where he is to stand when shooting at the clay 
targets, and show him how to stand. He should previous¬ 
ly have been instructed how to handle, load and hold his 
gun, and has of course put it to his shoulder and squinted 
along the rib many a time, breaking imaginary targets in 
rapid succession. Everybody has done that same thing 
ever since guns were made. 
It is probably easier to make or to mar a trapshooter 
when he faces the traps for the first time than at any 
other period in his career, according as the position he is 
instructed to take is an easy or a strained one. “Posi¬ 
tion at the score” means far more than most people, par¬ 
ticularly beginners, realize. Let the expert with his 
easy position and free handling of his shotgun show the 
novice how to stand, and, above all, let the beginner take 
notice and do his best to stand easily and naturally, for 
that is how the vast majority of the experts stand when 
facing the traps. 
HOW TO STAND. 
Leaning slightly forward, the left foot a little (say 6 or 
Sin.) in advance of the right (if the shooter is right- 
handed), the bodv really resting chiefly on the left leg, 
so as to in a measure counteract the recoil; the left 
hand well out on the barrel, but not so far as to make 
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