_That the more Ammunition is put into a Fowling Piece, the farther it
will do Execution._
This Error is often of very dangerous and dreadful Consequence; I have
known People so obstinate in it, that even ocular Demonstration would not
convince them of their Mistake.
It proceeds from a Notion, that the more a Gun recoils, the better and
stronger will be the Force with which the Shot fly out.
There is nothing which requires more Nicety and Exactness than the finding
out the proper Charge of a Gun; it is something similar to finding out the
Tone of a musical Instrument; of which more in its Place.
It will be sufficient here to say, that every Gun has a certain fixed
Quantity of Ammunition, with which it does the most Execution. I have seen
Lectures in the Art of Gunnery, which come under the Science of Mechanics,
and even the Author himself, though a Man of Learning and Abilities, seems
to have been ignorant of the Art of charging a Gun, when he says, "If you
put in a Gun, a Ball upon a Quantity of Powder as (1), it will throw the
Ball to such a Distance; if you put in a Quantity as (2), it will throw it
as far again." This seems to be a Mistake; because, if that was the Case, a
Person would have nothing to do but to put Powder enough into his Gun, and
have the Barrel made strong enough, and he need not fear killing at any
Distance. As to the Recoil it would give, if the Gunner was a strong
Country Gentleman, and a keen Sportsman, and an Englishman, it would be the
least of his Thoughts whether it struck him a great Blow or a small one.
But to the Point: There is no better Way of finding out the proper Charge
of a Gun, than by the Report it gives. If there is too much Powder and too
little Shot, the Report will be a kind of a deep Roar; if too little Powder
and too much Shot, it will be an insignificant, short, narrow Smack; but if
it is charged properly, the Report will be a smart, shrill Clap, something
resembling Thunder.
This is the Reason why the Report of a Sportsman's Gun is so different from
that of a Field-Keeper's. The Field-Keeper has, or ought to have, no Shot
in his Piece; the Sportsman's is properly loaded.
In short, there is a Tone in the Barrel of a Gun, and the better the Temper
of the Metal is, the more shrill will be the Report, and the farther it
will do Execution.
I have dwelt the longer upon this Subject, because a Gun is an ugly Weapon
in the Hands of those who are either ignorant or careless, or both.
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