| Show now 7 L by bot nichols J shooting editor fiel field d and nd stream M JOST OST beginners in upland wing shooting make the mistake of trying to use a gun too heavy for their astren strength 9 t h shooting quail woodcock grou grouse se pheasant and rabbit calls for last fast snappy action the game bursts from cover corer usually at the nio most st une anex X pecked moment when this happens in dense ca boier er as it most frequently doe s one must be able to snap his gun into position instantly and shoot in a hash flash if your gun Nei weighs neillis glis too much for your arms you simply cannot e do effective work the overweight over weight in your heavy gun not only tires you out before the days hunt bunt Is done but it gives you an ever present sense of uneasiness you lack composure you lose that confidence that Is so necessary s iry to good shooting the feeling that you can hit bit ani thing that gets up in front of you down dowa in your lower nerve centers always lurks the fear that you will not cot be able to swing your gun into action fast enough the result of such fear Is usually a hurried uncertain shot time and again you shoot and miss yet sou do not understand why you miss you may have shot over and under or wobbled right or left but until you learn to call your shots to know why you are missing you can never progress very rapidly towards becoming a crack wing shot the good shot is practically never in doubt about a miss ile he knows where tie he shoots when lie makes a v mistake it Is frequently because he misjudged the rise of the bird and consequently undershot under shot or he falls to tale take into account the birds speed in a sudden swerve to right or left and shoots behind his target it Is little errors like these that first led gun makers to add a second barrel or a magazine with extra shells to their guns using a gun that Is too heavy Is one of the chief reasons why the poor field shot continues being a poor shot in definitely point your finger at any object and you not only point with accuracy but bur with effortless ease nature beautifully proportioned your hands and arms to the weight of your body cut but suppose your pointing hand suddenly had five pounds of dead weight added to it your pointing would not be near ns as quick or as accurate the same thing Is true of your gun if you want to lilt hit what hat you shoot at with reasonable regularity see that your gun weight is proportioned to your w eight the average upland gunner has no business with a gun that weighs more than about 6 pounds yet kemem ber also that tile the weight of your gun should be proportioned to the charge it shoots A CIA C pound 12 gauge gun Is just a trifle too light to shoot heavy loads leads especially for the beginner it kicks hicks like and before you know it you may acquire that worst of all shooters curses the flinching habit the 18 16 gauge Is an admirable gun for upland work but best of all especially ally for the beginner Is the 20 gauge it Is a powerful and deadly gun shooting the ounce loads it has 80 per cent of tile the maximum killing range of the 12 gauge rating the dead certain killing range of the 12 gauge at 50 yards and this jr if all you can expect of it claims to the contrary notwithstanding the 16 gauge has a range of 45 yards and the 20 will kill with absolute certainty at 10 40 yards so the sense of toting a 7 to 8 pound 12 gauge to in the field for a mere 10 yards extra range especially since the lighter weight 20 can call be brought into action quicker and thus dias reduce its handicap over the larger gun and especially too since more than io 90 per cent of all upland game Is killed within 30 yards cut down your gun poundage and you will find you have more comfort and you will III get more game after all the shot sun gun is distinctly a short range weapon that calls for fast snappy action in handling it try a 6 to 61 C 4 1 pound 20 guage me see how quickly it will help you gain colfi dence in your ability to use it see ree how bow quickly your shooting improves western News iDever union |
