Show 0 J By Dy Bob Nichols Shooting Editor Editor Field F cM and anil Stream Strum ND t D of o the commonest errors of O the noIle no Ile upland hunter Is to try to shoot a gun Jun thit th it Is too long longin longIn tn in the barrel b I There here Is a prend belief that long barrels make mahe a gun shoot harder Practically lIy speaking this Ihs Isu Isn t true The short bind bin fI el 01 gun shoots Just as hard hartl and kills hills game gamo just as fir f ir it aas aw a 11 ay as the old fashioned Lon Long Tom 1 The be gun gum with or ore e een en 30 Inch barrels burels Is too Ion long long ou 1 ou will III do better work with 25 28 r still with inch G barrels I Ium um c even eten en of the opinion that most standard gunstocks arc slightly too long The standard stock Is IJ about 14 Inches from front of or trigger to the middle of the butt My ly fa- fa favorite fa favorite gun Jun has hns inch 2 barrel and Inch stock rise Hie shortened gun at at the barrel as ns well as at the speeds stock speeds up your handling o of oft oIt It t tremendously In the latest designs of ot AmerIcan shotguns being turned out today one trend Is definitely toward to arll the t L Inch barrel This Is undoubted undoubtedly ly Iy the bun for upland use Hobert Churchill the famous English Inglish gun maker was ns the pioneer In this field fieldor or of shotgun research Some years ears ago ngo he lie brought out his new well vv w n known line XV V guns so named because of or their 25 Inch barrels barrels- barrels and almost Immediately It became me apparent that the users of these short barrel guns were to do bet better better ter u work ork In the field than sports sportsmen sportsmen sportsmen men of or e a skill using longer tubes The reason Is easy to demonstrate dem The shorter you make Sour our pointer the quicker you can point It Try pointing with a walk walkIng walkIng lag Ing stick stich Much ruch quicker Try poInt poIntIng pointIng Ing with Hh your Instantaneous finger finger Instantaneous If It you jou ou u want ant to learn to shoot and learn It quickly begin now witha a short lightweight 20 gauge Hive ve It properly stocked to ut lit you sou OU Then watch your our ng cor pg begin to climb 1 l IJ J Just list within the list year I h he have e had a fine opportunity to observe how the right gun can mal e a won wonderful wonderful difference In n speeding up a aman aman amans man s acquisition of skill I hive ve II a friend who has been hunting for forthe forthe forthe the past ten years Up until last summer even een e en u with Ith all his e experience perl once ence he u was us still a n miserable shot Shortly after I met him early list sprIng he lie told me jokingly and re- re reI regretfully regretfully re regretfully that thit the only reason reacon his I friends ever er took him O hunt hunts huntu was u s because he his s big J Jand and had the reputation for Cor hit kiZi ing ng up j more game thin th any other shooter In the party pirty lie finally shou showed cd me his gun It I was all I expected It would be A AL gauge 1 L gauge with Inch 30 barrels b that tipped the scales at exactly seven I and three quarters pounds Mote MOle over It was bored borell modified and full fullI much choke much too close for a field I gun As a crowning fault It hid h hda I n a good 3 Inches of drop at nt the heel of the n In In other words an I undershooting gun The big drop explained why hy he could kill 1111 an oc l rabbit r for the right way to shoot rabbits Is to slightly under undershoot undershoot shoot shook But Dut pheasant sant woodcock or grouse were too much for him lIe hid h arrived ed at the hopeless s stage O where he was convinced that ho he could never ne become a n decent shot Shortly after that thit he did me a kind hind favor or In return I presented hIm u with Ith an nn extra gun I had In my cabinet n cabinet a neat neit little 20 gauge pump gun with 20 G Inch modified choke barrel that wel weighed hed just short of six pounds lIe He was grateful but just a little dubious about so o 0 small a gun During the remainder of ot the sum summer summer men mer and on up through September I took tool him crow and hawk shooting frequently Slowly I taught hIm thit t he hid had to swing from behind his target t swing past st and shoot ahead of It Before long he was tumbling the lers and chIck chIcken chicken chicken en snatchers from 0 to 40 yards yanIs out of the sl y with fair regularity- regularity and was he lie delighted I Lately tely during the hunting sea sea- season sea season son Ion lie he shot u with Ith the same sime friends who formerly regarded him as the tho game me dog don of the party Only this time the laughs laugh was IlS on them lIe killed grouse pheasant woodcock woodcock- and tel tal Ing bunnies he be told me liter was III e a shooting fish In a bathtub On two occasions he out shot every man In the party An Anyone one can learn to shoot it be begets gets the LIGHT gun I Ie e western I Union |