FOREST ANI) S T REAM 
(iOl 
This is Truly the Sport Alluring 
With a Few Suggestions as to How to Select and Use the Implements Necessary to the Enjoyment of 
One of the Most Attractive Outdoor Recreations 
O the gun fan, it seems incredible 
that there might be a man who 
doesn’t own a gun, but it is a 
sad commentary that brings to 
light the fact that only about 
four million men in the United 
States owned guns last year— 
by guns we of course mean 
shotguns—and of these three and one-half mil¬ 
lions took out licenses to shoot during 1914. 
Few sports offer the rugged recreation enjoyed 
by the wild fowl and upland game hunter, while 
to the man or woman who cares not for the trips 
and climbs and enjoyable hardships of the live 
bird and game shooter, the delightful pastime of 
trap shooting brings us back to the “sport al¬ 
luring.” Some have been kept from indulging 
in inanimate pigeon shooting through the im¬ 
pression that its cost was prohibitive. Nothing 
could be further from the fact. For although 
it is more expensive than tiddle-de-winks, it is 
less expensive in proportion to the pleasure, 
health and charm found in it. 
A single barrel shotgun can be purchased as 
low as $f).oo, and although I should not recom¬ 
mend so cheap a gun, it would in a pinch—do to 
begin with. At from $17 to $25 a good gun 
may be had, while of course from the lattci 
price up to a thousand dollars, the most finicky 
can be fitted. Gun clubs generally charge only 
nominal dues, for which they furnish trap boys 
and pullers. Targets cost a cent each at these 
clubs, while shells will set you back $2.60 per 
hundred. The tyro should limit himself to one 
hundred targets an afternoon, thus allowing a 
Saturday afternoon’s recreation at a cost of 
about $2.50. 
One of the most important features of trap 
shooting is the fact that it is an “all-year-round” 
sport. When the snow and ice make it more en¬ 
joyable indoors for the golfer, when the ball fan 
has to take his exercise through reading of the 
doings of the Giants at Marlin, Texas, and the 
tennis player uses his time planning improve¬ 
ments of the courts for next season, the clay 
target smasher stands outside his warm club¬ 
house and shoots away to his heart’s content, no 
weather being too severe for the sport alluring. 
For the man or woman not within reaching dis¬ 
tance of a gun club or who wants to shoot on 
days not scheduled for club shoots, the recently 
introduced hand tarp brings the club to him or 
her. This iittle device eliminates the necessity 
for a trap boy or puller! Anyone can operate the 
hand trap, and incidentally it will give the “upper 
register” shooter some targets that will make 
him stand up and take aim. It throws either an 
extremely difficult target or an easy one, such as 
Mr. Reginner would like. The cost of the thing 
is negligible and it fits in a suitcase. 
Trap shooting has become exceedingly popular 
among women, there now being a dozen clubs 
comprised entirely of the fair sex. The lb anil 
20 gauge are somewhat more suitable for women 
because of less weight and lighter charge; how¬ 
ever, a number of the best women shooters stick 
to the 12-gauge. 
Few sports are as scientific as trap shooting 
1 he rapid calculation of lead, elevation, angle, 
time, etc., the instant action and nice decision, 
quicken the eye and hand and develop qualities 
helpful in every-day business life. For the brain 
worker, trap shooting offers relaxation and re¬ 
lief from brain fag because it requires intense 
concentration on an enjoyable occupation, minus 
physical exhaustion. 
Trap shooting soon will be the leading outdoor 
recreation, so if you do not belong to a gun 
club, join one now. If there is no club in your 
locality, start one. 
We will tell you how to go about it. Before 
you buy a gun, ammunition, trap or else in that 
line, write this magazine for advice, which will 
be furnished gratis, and all questions will be an¬ 
swered willingly relative to trap or field shoot¬ 
ing. The following pointers will help you la 
select a gun and become easily proficient in scat¬ 
ter gun shooting. 
Choosing A Gun. 
The first step in the choice of a gun—not so 
much its make, but its fitness for the work it 
will have to do. Clay targets are small objects 
to aim at, and unlike game birds and animals, 
have no wingbones or legs to break and put them 
out of commission. A clay target must be hit 
solidly, and with several pellets of shot, if it is 
to be counted on the score sheet. In the field a 
wounded bird or animal can often be retrieved 
and and put in the game sack after having been 
only lightly hit; but a clay target, even when 
“dusted” heavily, cannot be retrieved and counted 
on the score sheet. Hence a close-shooting gun, 
one full choke, is a necessity if ultimate success 
at the traps is desired. A 12-gauge gun, weigh¬ 
ing 7/4 or 734 pounds, is the right thing for trap 
work. Guns of lighter weight give too heavy a 
recoil even with the moderate load of three 
drams of a “bulk” powder (or 24 grains of a 
“dense” powder) and i)4s ounces of chilled shot. 
Nothing puts a man to the bad when trap shoot¬ 
ing so quickly and so completely’ as heavy recoil 
(or “kick”). 
Select, therefore, for trap work a 12-gauge 
gun, about pounds in weight, and either a 
single-shot, a repeater or a double-barrel, for all 
these guns have their firm adherents, and no one 
style seems to be much more preferable than an¬ 
other, except, of course, that doubles cannot be 
shot with a single-shot gun. 
When selecting a gun be sure that it has what 
is known as a "straight” stock; that is, one that 
has not too much “drop” to it. 
The thickness of the stock is another matter to 
be considered. As a general proposition it may 
be said that a thin-faced man does not require 
as thin a stock, that is, thin at the comb, as one 
who has plump cheeks; in other words, a man 
who has a thin face would probably shoot better 
with a thick, well-rounded comb than he would 
if the stock were thin, or wedge-shaped at tne 
comb. He would also be much less likely bo 
have his cheek punished by the recoil. The idea 
is, of course, that when a man puts his gun to 
his shoulder, drops his cheek against the stock 
and looks along the barrel, he should find that 
lie is looking straight down the rib to the sight. 
I f he is not doing so, then he is liable to “cross 
shoot” at any time, and his gun cannot be said 
to fit him, and the stock must be altered to suit. 
The length of the stock is very important when 
selecting a gun. This length depends upon the 
length of the gunner’s arm, and naturally a long- 
armed man would need, and should have, a long 
er stock than a short-armed man. The length of 
the stock is measured from the front trigger in 
a straight line to the center of the butt. 
A fairly accurate way of finding out whethei 
your gunstock fits you, is to place the gun to 
your shoulder and put your finger naturally on 
the trigger as if about to pull it. Keeping your 
finger on the trigger, take the gun from your 
shoulder and let the butt rest in the hollow ot 
your arm, the muzzle pointing upyvard. If no 
readjustment of the position of the finger on the 
trigger, or of the hand on the grip are required, 
your gunstock fits you, so far as its length is 
concerned. 
The trigger full is important. Pull is the terra 
applied to the weight in pounds avoirdupois 
which, if attached to the trigger when the gun 
is cocked and held perpendicularly, would cause 
the trigger to be pulled and the hammer to fall. 
As a general rule a pull of from 4 to 4 Y* pounds 
may be considered satisfactory and can be rec¬ 
ommended. 
It will be seen from the foregoing that the 
main essentials to be observed in selecting a gun 
for trap shooting are close shooting qualities, 
weight, drop, thickness of stock, length and trig¬ 
ger pull. All these really depend on the individ¬ 
uality of the person selecting the gun; in other 
words, the gun must fit the shooter, or he can¬ 
not expect to do much more than fair work, no 
matter how hard he may practice. An ill-fitting 
coat is not only awkward to wear, but hamper* 
the movements of the wearer; and an ill-fitting 
gun is just as awkward to handle and won't 
"‘point right” in the hands of a novice. An ex¬ 
pert can do fair work with a gun that does not 
fit him, simply because he knows how to shoot 
targets, and soon learns how to hold the gun, 
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