No. 9........35 yards.

No. 10.......30 yards.

On small ducks, with standard duck charges, 119 number 6 shot have killing penetration up to fifty yards, and number 5 up to fifty-five yards, but five or ten yards less on large, full-plumaged ducks. In heavy guns using stiff charges, number 1 or B shot do steady execution on geese at fifty to sixty yards, and BB or BBB shot at sixty to seventy yards, while 4s or 3s will do the same on ducks.

Always use chilled shot. There are men who prefer soft ones because such pellets flatten more on game and make large wounds, when fired at short range. But soft shot lose much more in pattern and penetration than they gain in shocking power. They are easily deformed in the gun barrel, especially by choke bores—then they lag in the rear and fly wild. Moreover, they are more prone to ball and to lead a gun than hard shot.

The only objection to chilled shot is that they are somewhat lighter than soft lead pellets of the same size and hence lose a trifle in sustained velocity, range, and penetration. The fault could be overcome by hardening shot with mercury, instead of " chilling " it, but the difference in weight is rather trivial, anyway.

The sizes, weights, and names of shot, according to the " American standard," are shown below:

Patterns And Penetrations Sizes Of Shot

No. to the oz. No. to the oz.

It is unfortunate that some shot manufacturers use antiquated standards of size and nomenclature, which lead to confusion.

Buckshot cannot be recommended for any sport; they cripple more deer than they kill, except at very close quarters. They may be useful, however, for defensive purposes. For choke bores, they should be selected by chambering in the muzzle. Push a wad down into the closest part of the choke, and observe whether a layer of the shot will pass it without jamming.

If a shotgun is ever used on large game, it should be only with solid ball and at close quarters. The ball must fit properly in the narrowest (tightest) part of the gun bore. The actual calibers of true cylinders are as follows:

10-gauge, 0.775 inches. 16 gauge, 0.662 inches. 12-gauge, 0.729 inches. 20-gauge, 0.615 inches.

Proper sizes of round ball for cylinder bores, allowing for patch, are:

10-gauge, 0.760 inch, 630 grains. 12-gauge, 0.714 inch, 540 grains. 16-gauge, 0.647 inch, 390 grains. 20-gauge, 0.600 inch, 300 grains.

Chokes amount to from 0.01 to 0.04 inch, depending upon caliber and upon pattern desired. To allow for full chokes, our factories load ball cartridges with undersized bullets, the weights being as follows: one and one-eighth oz. ball for 10-gauge; one oz. for 12-gauge; seven-eighths oz. for 16-gauge; five-eighths oz. for 20-gauge.

Such missiles have great smashing power, at short range, and will carry straight enough for deer shooting up to forty yards. At one hundred yards they will generally miss a stable door, and the stable itself at two hundred yards, unless E. Snooks is at the trigger.