The Hunter's Game, Gun, and Dog Guide [antikvár]

Chapter OneLEARNING ABOUT SHOTGUNSTHERE IS NO more healthful sport than hunting and no sport more closely linked to the traditions of American heritage. Whether you follow your dog through the fields in search of upland game, hunt the lowland for waterfowl, or prowl the woods for deer, you take something from the experience that can't be defined in words, and seldom even in thoughts. The game bag itself is merely a by-product to the majority of sportsmena rather surprising but welcome addition to the larder.The main equipment of the hunter is his weapon, and the proper ammunition to go with it. This can be a shotgun or a rifle depending upon the game sought, and upon the state laws where the weapon is to be used. In this chapter, we'U concern ourselves with shotguns and how to use them.Today nearly twenty million Americans regard hunting with a shotgun as the uhimate in shooting sport. The fowling piece became an American institution with the landing of the first white men upon our shores. AU the traditions of the ensuing centuries are embodied in the love of the American sportsman tor his shotgun, and the healthful, zestful things his shotgun represents.Styles of ShotgunsThere are six popular styles of shotguns, or, as they are often called, scatterguns. These are the single-barrel single shot, the pump or slide action, the double-barrel, the bolt-action repeater, the over-under or superimposed double and the autoloader. The gun style you choose is a matter of personal preference. Any of them is good in the right hands, poor in the wrong ones. There is absolutely no difference among them in range or killing power. Many good shots use each kind.Before launching into a discussion of the relative merits of different styles and sizes, let's consider what we mean by "gauge" for the beginner in gunnery. Thegauge of a shotgun refers to the cylindrical diameter of the bore between the chamber and the choke, and was originally based upon the number of balls of pure lead precisely fitting the bore that would make a pound. Thus, a 12-gauge bore will accept a lead ball weighing one-twelfth pound avoirdupois; a 20-gauge, a ball weighing one-twentieth of a pound; a 16-gauge, a ball weighing an ounce, and so on. The modem exception is the .410-gauge, which is not based on the above system, but actually measures .410 inches, with possible slight variations by different makers. Present-day manufacturing practice differs slightly, but the following are average bore diameters of leading factories:10-gauge = .775 inch 20-gauge = .613 Inch12-gauge = .729 inch 28-gauge = .550 Inch16-gauge = .666 inch .410-gauge = .410 InchAs a rule, the larger gauges will kill farther than the smaller ones because they throw more shot and thus have fewer gaps in their shot patterns at long ranges. But the smaller gauges are lighter and faster, have less recoil and muzzle blast and enable the shooter to get on target quicker. Guns larger than 10-gauge are prohibited for use on migratory fowl by federal law, and some states forbid any gauge over 12.Autoloaders (commonly knoWn as automatics) and pumps are preferred by many to double-barrels because the double offers but two quick shots, while the automatic and pump offer up to seven. In duck hunting, however, federal regulations make it illegal to use for waterfowl hunting a gun capable of firing more than three shots without reloading. This means that the magazine of a five-shot pump gun, for example, must be plugged, so that guns of this type will hold but two shells in addition to the one in the chamber. However, that extra third shot is often very important. A duck merely winged whh the first shot hits the water and begins to swim rapidly away, mak-13