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710 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Oct. 30, 1909. 
The Game Gun for .-a Good Shot. 
The arguments in favor of half-choke boring, from the 
point of view of the first-class game shot, are reviewed in 
this article. In stating the case for rather closer boring 
than is usually advocated it is possible that the argu¬ 
ments in favor may be slightly over-emphasized; but 
even so, cylinder boring has many advocates, who will 
take care that their favorite boring is not unduly crabbed. 
The need to inquire more closely than has previously 
been attempted into thei merits of the half-choke barrel 
has been emphasized by the undoubted success of many 
shooters whose guns proved upon examination to be 
bored for much closer shooting than ordinarily obtains. 
Conditions of sport are constantly changing, and the 
shooter is increasing his standard of skill as a result 
of better gun fitting and more careful tuition at the 
shooting school. As the principles of swing and allow¬ 
ance come to be better understood, shooters find them¬ 
selves successfully taking shots which a generation ago 
would have been voted too far away by all but the select 
few who had fully mastered the amount of forward allow¬ 
ance for a fast-crossing bird at a full range. 
The clay bird, when thrown under the conditions of 
the shooting school, as distinguished from those which 
obtain at the clay bird club, exercise a most valuable 
educational influence. The particular kind of shot which 
occurs too seldom in the season ever to become properly 
understood can be repeatedly thrown until its mysteries 
are solved. The same process applied throughout the 
whole range of conditions which are liable to occur in 
sport raises the average of shooting, and thereby en¬ 
courages a man to attempt shots which would previously 
have been allowed to go by. A really finely accom¬ 
plished long-distance shot gives more lasting satisfaction 
than a short, easy shot, however well taken. Each style 
of boring has its best _ distance, and the more accom¬ 
plished marksman will increase his enjoyment by using 
a gun which gives him five yards more range than his 
neighbor. Granting the facility to do justice to the 
lengthened range of his gun, new opportunities are 
added without necessarily diminishing in like propor¬ 
tion the short-range successes. The skill which triumphs 
over the fast crossing shot at 40yds. will be equally 
effective in directing the charge at the head of a driven 
bird so as to chop it down without striking the body 
with the thickest cluster of pellets. The same thing can 
be accomplished with ground game. It is, for instance, 
far better to see that half a dozen pellets have been 
through each ear of a hare, leaving the body intact, than 
the alternative of both hindlegs broken. The shot held 
well forward is more deadly and more satisfactory in 
every way. 
On the general subject of patterns it is extremely 
difficult to lay down any hard and fast rules, and yet 
the very close examination which was applied to the 
spread of shot in relation to the sizes of game birds 
when discussing the merits of small-bore guns, resulted 
'in showing that five is the minimum number of pellets 
which should strike, say a partridge to ensure cleanly 
killing it and bringing it promptly to bag. The density 
of pattern which will accomplish this desideratum cannot 
with No. 6 size and improved cylinder boring be ob¬ 
tained at a further distance than 30yds. With light 
charges and a larger size of shot the distance is further 
curtailed, and then it is that the shooter complains of 
bad penetration, all the while that it is pattern which is 
deficient. The full-choke gun gives a good killing pat¬ 
tern at 40yds., probably even further; but for shots taken 
at such a distance No. 6 size is unduly small for 
ordinary game birds, and No. 5 with its reduced number 
of pellets in the charge, is distributed none too closely. 
At any rate, the maximum range of a fully choked gun 
using No. 5 shot is not likely to exceed 45yds. if a sat¬ 
isfactory proportion of clean kills is desired. On the 
other hand, practical experience is quite emphatic in 
teaching us that full-choke boring involves far too' great 
a cost of efficiency at short ranges to be worthy of 
general adoption. 
The cylinder and improved cylinder are at their best in 
the region of 25 or 30yds., and there are many shooters, 
not of the highest rank, who would be deprived of their 
only chance of contributing to the bag if they were 
forced to abandon the boring which undoubtedly best 
suits the easy chances. The easiest of all birds is the 
pheasant flying a true course just clear of the tree-tops 
over the shooter’s head. The first barrel, delivered at an 
angle of^ about 45 1 ', is fired when the bird is a nice 25 or 
30yds. distance. Its angular velocity is such as not to 
require very active manipulation of the gun; further, 
the distance is short enough for a quite moderate for¬ 
ward lead to suffice, and, given a maximum spread to 
cover errors of aim, a fair proportion of such shots can 
be secured by the medium grade of shot. The same 
kind of argument applies with equal force to the shoot¬ 
ing of rabbits. 
The half choke is a medium style of boring betweer 
the two extremes, which at 40yds. gives most perfec 
distribution of pellets, wholly filling the 30in. circle anc 
some inches surrounding it. Practically all the pellets 
are fully effective at this range, the area of unduly thir 
places being extremely small. With a cylinder gun, or 
the other hand, the 30in. circle is at the best but in 
adequately filled, while the outlying portions thin off sc 
as to produce a maximum of wounding area. -The ful 
choke at 40yds. shows a less satisfactory style of patterr 
yran the half choke, because, though the former gives 
70 per cent. _of the pellets in the 30in. circle, this ver\ 
high proportion can only be achieved by a very decidec 
bunching m the center of the area. With the half choke 
on the other hand, the variation between the center anc 
the margins of the circle is not apparent; therefore, on 
the basis of the 40yds. test, and bearing in mind the 
rule that each bird requires five pellets at least to brine 
it safely to bag, the half-choke gun, giving 60 per cent 
of the pellets in the 30in. circle at 40yds„ represents at 
!,2 IS , distance practically perfect conditions of spread. Al 
behavior is that of a full choke at 40yds., 
while at 30yds. practically the whole of the charge is con' 
tamed in the 30in. circle. Inside the last-named distance 
the shooter must be prepared to hold well forward sc 
as to shoot his birds rather with the margin than with 
the center of his pattern. 
With the idea of fully testing the efficiency of the 
half choke as a game gun a weapon has been procured 
which, after _ some slight alteration, exactly complies 
with the desired specification. The gun in question is 
intended to carry out another principle, viz., absolute 
similarity^ between the two barrels. If a man so far 
fancies his shooting as to feel confidence in taking all 
chances that present themselves between 30 and 40yds.— 
and half-choke boring seems best suited to these dis¬ 
tances—then it seems only proper that the right barrel 
should have the same killing powers as the left. The 
assumption that the right barrel should be the more 
open shooting of the two is based on many years’ 
experience. Such an argument need not, however, stand 
in the way of an attempt to arrive at a specification of 
gun for a shooter willing to back himself as above the 
average. In advocating the merits of half-choke boring 
it has been frankly admitted that the shooter will need 
to study its behavior in regard to shots taken at the 
shorter distances; consequently if both barrels are ab¬ 
solutely similar he is not bothered to keep in mind which 
he is using at ( the moment. Past experience tells him 
that his gun has a best distance, and his constant en¬ 
deavor is to take the bulk of his shots within predeter¬ 
mined limits. Success implies a large proportion of 
clean kills at some 5 to 10yds. longer range on the 
average than his friends with cylinder guns are able to 
negotiate. As a test of the possibility of getting a pair 
of barrels to shoot absolutely alike, the following results 
are extremely interesting: 
Table I.—Pellets in 30in. circle at 40yds. from the right 
and left barrels respectively of a half-choke gun similarly 
bored in both barrels. Charge, 1 l-16oz. of No. 6 shot 
(289 pellets). 
EIGHT BARREL. 
Position of Circle. 
Pellets in ,-- 
30in. Circle. 
42grs. powder. 173 
“ 177 
“ 157 
“ 158 
“ 13S 
Elevation. 
6in. low 
4in. low 
5in. low 
4in. low 
7in. low 
Laterally. 
2in. left 
3in. left 
4in. right 
5in. left 
lin. left 
Average. 
..161 
33grs. powder. 
it 
it 
. 176 
. 207 
. 195 
. 180 
. 170 
4in. low 
true 
true 
3in. low 
5in. low 
true 
true 
lin. left 
2in. right 
2in. left 
Average. 
. 186 
Average 10 shots 
. 173=60% 
3.Sin. low 
O.Sin. left 
LEFT BARREL. 
42grs. powder. 
it 
it 
. 169 
. 199 
. 145 • 
. 150 
. 191 
5in. low 
7in. low 
Gin. low 
6in. low 
6in. low 
lin. right 
true 
true 
true 
lin. right 
Average. 
..171 
33grs. powder. 
it 
. 201 
. 165 
. 197 
. 198 
. 137 
5in. low 
12in. low 
6in. low 
llin. low 
15in. low 
5in. right 
2in. right 
3in. right 
2in. right 
8in. right 
Average. 
. ISO 
Average 10 shots. 
. 175=61% 
7.9in. low 
2.2in. ri’t. 
Considering that half-choke boring implies 60 per cent, 
of the pellets in the circle, it is truly remarkable that this 
result should have been absolutely accomplished with the 
right barrel, and only 1 per cent, out with the left. ’ The 
results are first of all remarkable for a complete absence 
of cartwheel patterns. Next it will be noticed that the 
lowest number of pellets in the circle is 138, which repre¬ 
sents an improved cylinder pattern. The third striking 
point is similar regularity in the opposite direction, which 
is exemplified by only one round in each series passing 
the limit of 200 pellets. The patterns as a whole were 
extremely pleasing to the eye, completely filling the circle 
with well distributed pellets, with a very small proportion 
of the total number uselessly scattered around the boun¬ 
dary. The diameter of killing circle gave, roughly, a 5in. 
ring outside the 30in. circle, making a total diameter of 
40in. A similar set of tests was conducted with No. 5 
shot, the number of pellets in the charge being thereby 
reduced from 289 to 232. The number of pellets in the 
circle should be reduced in the same proportion, viz., 
from 173 to 139. By one of those variations which con¬ 
stantly occur in shooting experiments, the larger size shot 
failed to behave in a proportional manner, but better, as 
is shown by the results which are now given: 
rame li.- 
--— — -- repetition ot tne same experiment, using 
1 l-16oz. of No. 5 shot (232 pellets): 
EIGHT BABEEL. 
Pellets in 
30in. Circle. 
. 143 
Position of Circle. 
-___A_ 
42grs. powder... 
Elevation. 
4in. low 
Cartwheel 
4in. low 
5in. low 
5in. low 
Laterally. 
8in. left 
pattern. 
3in. left 
lin. left 
4in. left 
it 
it 
. 158 
. 141 
Average. 
. 150 
33grs. powder. . 
. 134 
true 
5in. left 
. 164 
4in. low 
8in. left 
. 163 
lin. low 
true 
true 
6in. left 
lin. low 
true J 
Average.... 
. 156 
Average 10 
shots.. 153=66% 
2.7in. low 
3.9in. left 
LEFT BARREL. 
42grs. powder.. 
.150 
Sin. low 
lin. right 
‘ * 
.157 
6in. low 
3in. left 
“ 
. 163 
6in. low 
lin. right 1 
. 164 
13in. low 
lin. right 
. 173 
4in. low 
4in. right 
Average... . 
. 161 
33grs. powder. . 
. 159 
4in. low 
lin. right 
. 166 
Gin. low 
Sin. left 
** 
. 153 
Gin. low 
3in. left 
** 
. 141 
8in. low 
lin. left 
. 175 
8in. low 
4in. left 
Average.. .. 
.159 
Average 10 
shots.. 160=69% 
6 . Gin low 
0.6in. left 
Here it will be noticed that one cartwheel pattern was 
experienced in twenty rounds, thus making an aggregate 
of one in forty, which is three less than the accepted 
allowance. The rise of percentage, which is hostile to 
recognized average behavior, must be dismissed as a 
mere freak covered by the law of chances, notwithstand¬ 
ing the apparent consistency of the results. Accidental 
differences of manipulation in loading the cartridges may 
possibly have favored an increased proportion of high 
shots, or it may equally have diminished the low shots; 
but, whichever way that may be, Table I illustrates the 
behavior which conforms with the boring of the barrels. 
Taking a single survey of the two lots of results, the pair 
of barrels have certainly behaved with extreme consist-' 
ency, notwithstanding the use of two kinds of powder in' 
each ten-shot series. The figures relating to the position 
of the circle in relation to the point aimed at have been 1 
added for general information, but not with the idea of 
drawing special deductiors. 
To carry the tests a stage further a fresh set of car¬ 
tridges were loaded with 42grs. of powder and the same 
1 l-16oz. of No. 6 shot as was used in the Table I experi¬ 
ments. With the idea of testing the nature of the pat¬ 
tern produced at 30 and 35yds., the number of pellets 
was counted in the usual 30in. circle. The right and left 
barrel having been shown by the previous results to be 
strictly similar in behavior, the shots in each series werei 
fired half from one and half from the other. The results! 
obtained were as follows: 
Table III.—Pellets in 30in. circle at 30 and 35yds. re¬ 
spectively; charge, 42grs. and 1 1-16 oz. No. 6 shot (289 
pellets): 
35yds. 
Bight barrel.. .216 1 
“ “ . ,221 
“ “ ’. ’. .208 J-Av. 215 
“ “ ...221 1 
“ “ ...211 J 
Left barrel ...196] 
“ “ ...184 
“ “ ...223 i- Av. 20S 
“ “ ...2211 
“ “ ...246 J 
Average... .212=73% 
30yds. 
Right barrel...240 
u << 242 
“ “ c’wheel 
“ “ ...247 
it it O0g 
Left barrel ...243 
“ “ ...253 
“ “ ...250 
“ “ ...256 
“ “ ...249 
Av. 242 
Av. 250 
Average... .246=S5% 
The average pattern at 35vds. of 212 represents 73 per 
cent., which is practically equivalent to the shooting of a 
full-choke barrel at 40yds. . The result’s are obviously ex¬ 
tremely regular, the variations being proportionately less 
than in the previous results. At 30yds. one cartwheel 
pattern was experienced, making a total of two in the 
sixty rounds fired. It may be interesting to mention that, 
although the characteristic formation was present, the 
hollow space was not in the strict center, since a circle 
drawn around the point of aim was found to inclose 155 
pellets, not in itself a bad pattern. In so far that 85 
per cent, of the total charge was contained in the 30in. 
circle at 30yds., the od.l pellets outside may be entirely 
disregarded so far as killing value is concerned. They 
doubtless mainlj' consisted of the bruised and battered 
pellets of the charge, which leave the main body at an 
early stage of the flight. The 30in. circle was certainly 
thoroughly well filled with pellets right up to the margin, 
while those just outside the edge justified the accepted 
value of 32in. for a half-choke gun at 30yds. 
Though much has been said, there is still the feeling 
that many arguments in favor of half-choke boring for 
both barrels have been omitted. Certainly all the changes 
which are in progress seem to work in the same direc¬ 
tion. Just as the cylinder gave way to improved cyl¬ 
inder, and the definition of improved cylinder was raised 
from 47 to 50 per cent., so now it seems as though the 
general improvement of skill in shooting combines with 
the use of lighter charges and larger shot to demand for 
the practiced performer the raising of the right barrel 
pattern to the level which has hitherto been regarded as 
appropriate only for the left.—The Field (London). 
Registered Tournaments. 
Pittsburg, Pa.—Tournaments registered with the In¬ 
terstate Association during the week ending Oct. 23 
follow: 
Dec. 4-5.—St. James, Mo.—Maurice G. C. W. W. 
Miller, Sec’y. 
Dec. 28-29.—Sullivan (Ill.) G. C. Bert Fultz, Sec’y. 
