The Argosy, September 1915 — page 236: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE ARGOSY—ADVERTISING SECTION. legs to break and put them out of commis- sion. 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 re- trieved and put in the game sack after having been only lightly hit; but a clay target, even when “ dusted ” heavily, cannot be re- trieved 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, weighing 7% or 734 pounds, is the right thing for trap work. Guns of lighter weight give too heavy a recoil even with the average load of three drams of a “bulk” powder or 24 grains of a ‘dense’ powder and 1% ounces of chilled shot. Nothing puts a man to the bad when trap shooting so quickly and so completely as heavy recoil (or ““kick,-), | Select, therefore, for trap work a 12-gauge gun, about 734 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 another, except, of course, that doubles cannot be shot with a single- shot gun. When selecting a gun be sure that it has what is know as a “‘ straight ” stock; that is, one that has not too much “ drop ”’ to it. The thickness of the stock is another mat- ter to be considered. As a general proposi- tion 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 the comb. He would also be much less likely to 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 he is looking straight down the rib to the sight. If 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 longer stock than a short- armed man. The length of the stock 1s measured from the front trigger in a straight line to the center of the butt. A fairly accurate way of finding out whethér 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 of your arm, the muzzle pointing upward. 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 pull is important. Pull is the term applied to the weight in pounds avoir- dupois 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% pounds may be considered satisfactory and can be recommended. It will be seen from the foregoing that the main essentials to be observed in select- ing a gun for trap shooting are close shoot- ing qualities, weight, drop, thickness of stock, length and trigger pull. All these really depend on the individuality of the person selecting the gun; in other words, the gun must fit the shooter, or he cannot ex- pect 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 hampers 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 expert 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, whether under or over the targets; but a beginner would be hopelessly at sea under similar conditions. An excellent plan for a beginner to adopt with reference to getting a gun to suit him, is to try any gun about the right length of stock (this based, as stated before, on his length of arm) that his friends will loan him temporarily for such trial. Sooner or later he will find one with which he can do better than will others, and thus has a basis to go on. Sometimes a beginner picks one up that happens to be just right, and the trick is more than half turned. Another pointer for the beginner to re- member is to have no hesitation in asking the advice of an expert, particularly one of the expert professionals, for the latter are always expected and indeed are glad to give advice on just such points, and any sugges- tions they may have to offer will be found as a rule to be of much benefit. COnniclooo S (©