Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 89.djvu/437

Rh even, parallel rows, count one row and multiply by the number of rows. As a rule 7½ will run 430 to the trap load, 8 will run 500 to 525. The 7½ is the best size, taking windy days and all into consideration.

Then we tape off just forty yards from the board, aim carefully at the center of the paper and fire a load at it. See that the gun apparently shoots straight—puts the center of the load where you aimed, or a bit higher.

With a fifteen-inch piece of string carrying a pencil at the end, we describe a thirty-inch circle around what is apparently the center of the "pattern," shown by the shot marks in the paper. Checking off each hole with a mark of the pencil, we count the marks in the magic circle.

The gun you want must put from seventy to seventy-five per cent of its charge into the circle. Set down your count, and divide it by the number of shot in the whole load. Seventy per cent of 430 is practically 300; seventy-five per cent is practically 320. Shoot several sorts of loads, and several shots with each load, counting and setting down the results of each.

If with any one load the gun shoots better than seventy per cent and shoots evenly, leaving no apparent "holes" or empty spaces much larger than the four and one-quarter-inch clay bird, it is all right. Submit the patterns to the gun seller. He can advise you of their suitability for the clay birds. In this as in most games, the advice and guidance of the experienced shot is worth more than any printed page.

To back up, the gun shooter needs a shooting jersey, either without shell pockets and with a shell bag, or with special reinforced pockets to hold a box of shells between the two. Large shooting glasses of green or amber tint aid the vision and keep out stray bits of dirt or powder. A glove for the left hand, loose and easy to slip on, is advisable. A cap beats any heavy felt hat. No "biled" shirt, no stiff collar, can be tolerated in the outfit of the trap shooter. The neck must be free and easy. A soft flannel shirt with tie, a neat Norfolk type of suit of neutral color, a cap, and a jersey make the best shooting clothes.

Nothing is more tiresome than the tyro in any game who expects to learn first principles by actually engaging in the game itself. The technique of a game, such as shooting or golf, can be acquired in other places than on the shooting grounds or the links and will prove less obstructive to those more advanced. Let the tyro practice at home with the empty gun containing an empty or fired shell to absorb the blow of the hammer, bringing the gun to the shoulder, bedding it firmly, cuddling the face down on the stock until the right eye looks along the rib at a height of two silver dollars laid flat on the barrel. At no time must the breech or the barrel obscure the