F 0 R E S T ANI) S T R E A M 
711 
The Small Bore Shot Gun Is Coming Into Its Own 
This Author Thinks That for Ordinary Shooting It Fills the Bill Perfectly—and Think of the Saving In Weight 
E VERY common reference in sportsmen’s 
papers is to “the little 16 bore.” It may 
be a little gun, for size and weight do 
not always follow the gauge, but the probability 
is that it would tip the scales at 614 to 6Y lbs., 
has 28 or 30 in. full choke barrels, and is capa¬ 
ble of doing the best work ordinarily demand¬ 
ed of a field gun. The regular length shell is 
2 9-16 in. which will accommodate 2% dr. of 
bulk smokeless powder and 1 oz. of shot. This 
load is above the average and requires a good 
gun of some weight and a good shell. The regu¬ 
lar load of 2% dr. of a strong bulk smokeless 
powder like Du Pont and 1 oz. of shot will 
usually prove sufficient, or the shot may be re¬ 
duced to % oz., keeping the powder at 2% dr. 
While this sixteen is called a small bore it is at 
the top of the list, and notwithstanding its mer¬ 
its is rapidly becoming an odd size. 
The 20 is justly the general favorite among 
the small bores, ranging in weight mostly from 
$Y to 6% lbs. and having barrels from 25 to 30 
in. in length. I am not writing of special freak 
guns. It has a greater range of value than the 
16 bore owing to its being chambered for the 
234 in. shell which is furnished only in the high¬ 
est grade. The long shell is regularly loaded 
with 2 Vz dr. of powder and % oz. No. 8 chilled 
or other larger sizes of shot. The length is 
sufficient for ample wadding, so that the recoil 
is not excessive, but the come back is consid¬ 
erable with a gun weighing less than 6 lbs. 
A 6 or 6 M lb. 20, loaded with the long shell 
is some gun for ducks and chickens. I know- 
a lady who this fall in Wyoming killed three 
geese straight using this combination. How¬ 
ever, for quail and snipe shooting no such 
heavy load in needed, the regular 2V2 in. shell 
loaded with 2% dr. powder and Y or % oz. 
shot being sufficient, and does very well in the 
same chamber. The smaller load of shot which 
admits of more wadding does the better at 40 
yds., while the larger load is better for the 
brush. 
A good many shooters—and I am one of 
them,—began with the 12 and gradually stepped 
down the line till they got a 28 bore. Three win¬ 
ters ago I had great sport in Florida shooting a 
little scrap heap of this size. It had neither 
balance, looks, even dressing down nor boring. 
No adjoining 3 in. of either barrel gauged alike, 
yet it certainly was a killer for quail and snipe. 
It had 24 in. barrels, one of which was called 
cylinder and the other half choke. Its weight 
was just 5 lbs. But like many other good 
things it went wrong, slipped off by saddle and 
landed on a concrete floor. On leaving I re¬ 
gretfully gave it to a Cracker friend. 
Ever since then I have had my mind set on 
having a good 28 and the past summer had 
Parker Bros, build me an ejector. It is the 
smallest of the three small bore guns illustrated 
By T. H. Grant. 
herewith. It has 26 in. barrels, 14 in. stock, 
1 9-16 in. drop to comb and 2V2 to heel. Weight 
5 lbs. 4 oz. I had both barrels bored Y choke 
because % oz. shot affords so little room on 
which to come and go. The pattern must be 
just about right. A cylinder 28 is a crippling 
machine whereas a full choke is hard to hold on. 
The usual 28 bore load is 1 Y dr. of powder 
and % oz. of shot. It gives the same penetra¬ 
tion at 30 yds. that a 7% lb. 12 gauge does with 
3 dr. powder and iY oz. shot, and patterns about 
half as full. That is although one has the ve¬ 
locity he must get in action earlier to avoid 
having a bird go through the pattern. This can 
be done owing to the lighter weight. Two and 
a half pounds difference in weight of guns 
seems hardly to compensate for the loss of half 
the pattern; 2V2 lbs. lifted straight up seems 
to be very little but if this difference be multi- 
A Battery of Small-Bore Guns. 
plied by the distance from the center of grav¬ 
ity of the gun held in a shooting position to 
the center of gravity of the shooter, about 20 
in., the product is 50 inch pounds, which has a 
decidedly slowing up effect in alignment and 
shooting. 
The 20 bore is my old favorite gun for any 
game from turkey to snipe. It weighs 6 lbs. 1 
oz., has 28 in. barrels, right improved cylinder 
and left full choke. Length of stock 14 3-16 
in.; drop to comb 1 9-16 in.; drop to heel 2V2 
in. It is unnecessary to say much about the rest. 
The 16 is used for novelty trap shooting and 
is a most excellent gun for the work, being very 
handy and having no unpleasnt recoil. Its 
weight is 6 lbs. 13 oz. It has 30 in. full choke 
barrels, 14% in. stock, 1 % in. drop to comb 
and 2% in. drop to heel. My ordinary load is 
2% dr. D11 Pont powder and 1 oz. No. 7/ 
chilled shot. It would be a good duck gun load¬ 
ed with 2Y dr. 
The three above described guns photographed 
standing together, are ejectors built by Parker 
Bros, to specifications. The butt plates are 
set without pitch, which means that if the gun 
be stood up squarely on the butt the barrels are 
plumb. The two smaller guns balance 2U in. 
ahead of the standing breech and the 16 bore 
2% in. ahead, so there is little difference in the 
feel of any of them, except so far as weight is 
concerned. Although ordinarily I like a pistol 
grip, I decided upon a straight grip for the 28, 
first for trimmer looks for a small gun and sec¬ 
ond because it admits of a quicker left, which 
is essential when using so small a load. They 
were built at different times and represent what 
my experience has led me to believe is about 
correct for the work I want them for. 
A fourth gun, an Ithaca ejector of 5 lbs. 10 
oz., having 24 in. barrels, one of which is cyl¬ 
inder is illustrated separately. It is handy in 
the brush, and on the marshes among the reeds 
and cat-tails. I cannot, however, recommend a 
24 in. barrel for general use, for although it is 
long enough to develop the strength of smoke¬ 
less powder, it is not enough to give good bal¬ 
ance, easy aligning, or a good swing so essen¬ 
tial to successful wing shooting. 
In addition to the comfort of handling mod¬ 
erately light weight guns and ammunition, there 
is the satisfaction derived from the use of a 
neater and more sportsmanlike tool. My expe¬ 
rience in the use of small bores which covers 
at least 25 years leads me to believe that one 
is not handicapped in the field to the extent 
that would be generally imagined. In fact with 
a good 20 bore and appropriate ammunition I 
feel that none of my companions has anything 
on me in respect to equipment, unless it be in 
very open long range shooting where the full 
choke 12 bore has the advantage by reason of 
its fuller pattern. 
I 
Business as Usual. 
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