Chapter X: Gauges and Charges

To a certain extent omnipotent fashion even regulates the bores of our shotguns. A generation or so ago the ten bore was in fashion, very few sportsmen having any real confidence in any smaller gauge. To-day the once popular big gun is securely locked in its case and the key is lost. It is now the correct thing to say that the modern twelve is more effective than the once universal ten, that it will shoot harder, make a better pattern, and kill farther. The latest tendency is to repeat history by substituting smaller gauges for the twelve. The same stories, once applied to the ten and twelve, are being repeated concerning the lighter guns, the shooter confidently declaring that they are the most deadly in his hands.

All this is mere elementary human nature, for really it seems the easiest of all deceptions is self-deception. However, it is well to view every subject from the standpoint of logic and reason sometimes, and logically and reasonably the twenty-eight gauge with its ⅝ ounce of shot is not so powerful as the eight gauge with its two ounces, both loads shooting into the same size of circle and being driven with like velocities. Nevertheless a lady would not select a rail-splitter’s maul to drive her croquet ball, neither would the man-of-the-maul tolerate the croquet mallet in his business. There may be an excess of weight and power just as the mallet would certainly be utterly useless in sinking a great iron wedge into an oak tree.

Every gauge from the eight down is a weapon of merit, adapted to some branch of sport, and none of them can be said to be perfect for all-round use, though the twelve and sixteen come the nearest to it. In writing this chapter on gauges and loads it is my intention to point out the special uses to which the different sizes are best adapted. First it may be taken as an axiom, not to be disputed, that the bigger the bore the larger shot it will handle effectively, thus developing power for two reasons, weight of charge and range of shot. In loading cartridges the ammunition manufacturers practically give the same initial velocity to the charges of all gauges, small and large, and consequently the killing power can be reckoned mathematically from the amount and size of the shot.

In calculating the killing power of a gauge and charge it must never be forgotten, however, that the weight of gun must be in proportion to its bore and load, otherwise the formula is deceptive and wrong. For example, a seven pound ten bore is by no means so powerful a weapon as a twelve pound twelve bore, though both arms are on the freakish order. The eternal fitness of things requires that the weight of gun should govern the gauge and the gauge should govern the charge. The matter of chokes and patterns will be treated in a separate chapter; sufficient here to state that all the different gauges of similar choke pattern into the same size of circle, despite an almost universal belief to the contrary.

THE EIGHT GAUGE

Four gauge guns are used to quite an extent in Europe, but in a shooting experience extending over thirty years I have seen but one battery of them in this country, and as they are not made in America a description of them seems unnecessary. Eight gauges, however, have their proper place in a sportsman’s armory, being particularly adapted to some forms of wildfowl shooting. They are a killing weapon on the sea coast, especially in goose and brant shooting, and many prefer them for canvasbacks and redheads where the birds have been persecuted into unusual wariness.

An eight gauge makes a very useful addition to a battery where several guns are carried into the blind. It will pull down ducks and geese entirely beyond the range of smaller bores, and there is a fascination in tripping up a saucy old mallard that, having fully sized up the situation, fancies that he is staying well outside the danger zone of a shotgun. The big gun is always liable to thin a passing flock, too, at outrageous distances.

American eight bores are built in weights from eleven to sixteen pounds, with barrels from thirty-two to forty inches long. The most popular length of barrels is thirty-four inches on a weight of gun of fourteen pounds. The lighter weights are never worth while in a gun of this gauge since its chief recommendation lies in its ability to throw heavy charges.

The machine loaded shells for this gauge vary from five to five and one-half drams of nitro powder, with a shot charge of one and a half to one and three-fourths ounces. However, these loads are adapted to arms of very moderate weight, and the true utility of the weapon is shown with charges of from six to seven drams of powder and at least two ounces of shot. The English are accustomed to use much heavier cartridges than those recommended here, up to eight drams of powder and three ounces of shot. Machine loaded shells are charged with shot from four’s to BBs, and anything smaller than four’s are no more adapted to the gauge than it is to quail shooting. Number one shot is much liked for goose shooting, two and three for ducks.

Properly bored and with two ounces of number one or two shot, the eight gauge should kill with fair regularity up to seventy yards, with occasional execution on flocks at one hundred. The recoil of the weapon is not excessive, with the charges given, in weights above twelve pounds, though the writer strongly recommends the heaviest piece which the gunner can handle effectively. It should be remembered that it takes practice to swing this heavy arm, otherwise the sportsman may lose his usually correct time and do poorer work than he would with a lighter gauge and charge.

THE TEN GAUGE

The ten bore gun, in black powder days, killed off the passenger pigeon at trap and afield, thinned the ranks of the pinnated grouse, and decimated the wildfowl of many sections. It has killed more game than any other gun in America, being popular in the days when large bags were a proof of sportsmanship. Once it was considered the all-round gun, equally serviceable on lake or upland, but to-day its use is restricted to the marsh and shore.

It is the wildfowl gun par excellence. Temporarily fad and fashion may supersede it, but it will come to its own again, being of that combination of weight, gauge, and charge that is not to be equaled by any other bore for the special purpose of duck and goose shooting. It is not an upland gun for its weight precludes its being used with comfort in the field. Should its dimensions be so reduced as to make it a comfortable weapon to carry, it would have no more power than a twelve, and so we must consider it strictly a “fowling-piece”.

Ten gauges are built in weight from seven to fourteen pounds; as usual, the medium sizes are the most desirable. Barrels vary in length from twenty-eight to thirty-four inches, or even longer on special orders, but there is no good reason for going to extremes. Lengths of thirty-two and thirty-four inches have the most to recommend them and are generally specified on orders. Ten gauges are manufactured in double, single barrels, and repeaters, the latter being much esteemed by market gunners.

American machine loaded shells, ten gauge, are filled with from 3¼ drams of nitro powder, and 1⅛ ounces of shot to 4¼ drams and an ounce and a quarter. Ten bores were restricted by rule to an ounce and a quarter of shot in pigeon shooting days, this by way of equalizing the ten and twelve; subsequently the ten was barred entirely from trap work, but the manufacturers got into a rut and stayed there so far as charges for the big gun were concerned. When the ten was at the zenith of its popularity much heavier loads were in use, and miniature charges have done much to injure the prestige of a splendid weapon.

The ten gauge duck gun will handle an ounce and a half of shot with the same facility and deadliness that a twelve bore pigeon gun will an ounce and a quarter, neither, given a proper amount of metal, will the recoil exceed that of the twelve and the breech pressure will not be greater. Foreign gunbuilders recommend charges up to two ounces with seventy-five grains of nitro powder, but moderation is a good thing in charging shotguns as in other things. A very effective load for a twelve pound ten bore is five drams of powder and an ounce and a half of shot, number five or larger. If smaller pellets are used, or the piece weighs under the figure mentioned, the load should be reduced. The cartridges listed by our ammunition people are intended for arms weighing ten pounds and under.

Ten gauge shells are loaded with all sizes of shot from buckshot to number tens, but as this bore is only to be recommended where range and power are requisite, small shot are a waste of energy. The most popular sizes run from fives for fresh water ducks to threes for geese and brant. A few shells loaded with BBs might be carried for extremely long shots at flocks, though flock shooting cannot be commended on the score of sportsmanship.

Given a weight of from twelve to fourteen pounds and charged up to the capacity of the gauge, I should consider a ten bore effective on ducks up to sixty yards with a possibility of tumbling many a bird beyond that distance. The heavy ten bore, loaded with large shot, driven at high velocity, should have ten yards the advantage of an ordinary twelve gauge “game gun”, and this often means all the difference between a comfortable bag and a scant one.

THE TWELVE GAUGE

Throughout the world the twelve gauge is the standard shotgun for trap shooting both at live and clay birds. Of all shotguns it is the nearest to an all purpose weapon, being unequaled for trap shooting under present conditions, excellent on wildfowl, and as good as the best for upland work. More twelve bores are manufactured than of all other gauges combined, and the shells constructed for it are of a variety not approached by other sizes. Ammunition and gunbuilders have placed the twelve upon a pedestal and figuratively thrown all the other gauges into the junk heap.

Writers have insisted that the twelve would handle ten gauge loads better than would the ten and twenty gauge more effectively than the twenty. Sportsmen have almost come to believe that the twelve is the only real shotgun, the remaining gauges being built only for “cranks.” There is sufficient truth in these claims to make them difficult to controvert, even if that were worth while, for, as stated, the twelve is undoubtedly the best all purpose gun now constructed.

Loads have been fitted for it as light as 2½ drams of powder and ⅞ ounce of shot and then the eighth has been split giving ¹⁵⁄₁₆ of an ounce or an ounce and a sixteenth. The English often use this last charge on their domesticated, driven partridges and think it just right. American gunbuilders have insisted upon three drams of powder and 1⅛ ounce of shot as giving the maximum results with this gauge, and have bored and regulated their guns for it. However, the practical marksmen whose bread and butter depend upon results have never agreed with them, but unanimously favor an ounce and a quarter driven by a stiff charge of powder.

So long as people are persuaded that the twelve gauge is the only gun worth owning, freak weapons will necessarily be produced, twelves weighing as light as five pounds and others pulling the scales at twelve.

Sportsmen should use the same hard sense in the selection of guns as in other matters. If their shooting demands a heavy gun and powerful ammunition, there is nothing in the least unsportsmanlike in selecting the ten bore, though some “newspaper gunner” has called it a cannon, and remember that there is a twenty bore built for twenty gauge ammunition. It would not be worth while to dwell upon this except that the twelve has been standardized more or less at the expense of the other sizes larger and smaller. The twelve gauge is a good gun--none better--,but it is not entirely without limitations. Miniature loads in a twelve lack a killing velocity, and over charges are simply a pigeon shooter’s method of “beating the devil around the stump.” Nevertheless if the sportsman is confined to one gun and has a variety of shooting, including an occasional day at the traps, then by all means select a twelve, but have it of reasonable dimensions in proportion to its gauge.

The twelve gauge is built in this country in weights of from five and three-quarters to twelve pounds, with barrels from twenty-six to thirty-two inches. As a rule for field work an arm is selected weighing from six and a half to seven and a half pounds, for trap shooting from seven and half to eight and a quarter, and special wildfowl guns may be still heavier. It can be secured in all models, single barrels, double, repeaters, auto-loaders, and at all prices from the four dollar “nigger” gun to the seven hundred and fifty dollar work of art. The featherweight twelve is a foreign affair, serviceable on hand-reared birds, but not adapted to American shooting. When constructed of the lightest weights it is an abominable arm and in justice to our manufacturers it should be stated that they have never favored it, though they have built some of them to meet foreign competition. If the twelve is to become an all purpose arm it should closely follow the dimensions favored by the trapshooters, with metal enough to back up heavy recoil when powerful loads are demanded.

The lightest machine loaded twelve gauge shells obtainable are those containing 1¾ drams of black powder and ¾ ounces of shot; the heaviest are filled with 3¾ drams of powder and 1¼ ounces of shot. Field shots with medium weight arms are usually content with a load of three drams and an ounce and an eighth, while three and a quarter drams and an ounce and a quarter is the standard for clay birds. Ten or a dozen years ago when live pigeon shooting was in vogue, still more powder was sometimes thought necessary up to four drams. English authorities recommend this amount of powder with an ounce and three-eighths of shot for the heaviest work on wildfowl, but if a gun is to use such charges it must be built, bored, and chambered especially for them, and then the writer is inclined to believe that it had better be a ten.

It should be borne in mind that a twelve gauge will not handle large shot quite so well as a ten bore, and therefore for duck shooting sixes and sevens usually take the place of the fours and fives found the most deadly in the larger cartridges. Personally I prefer sevens for the small ducks and sixes for the large varieties, driven at high velocity. The field load is not powerful enough for ducks except at modest ranges.

The large shot in a small bore prove to be great cripplers owing to the openness of the pattern, for it must not be forgotten that it takes more than one pellet to kill as a rule. Three number sevens are more liable to kill dead at medium ranges than one BB, yet there are nearly six times as many of the smaller shot in a load. I have seen a woodpecker fly fifty yards with a 22 caliber bullet through him and have known a prairie chicken to struggle along for a quarter of a mile with a fifty caliber bullet hole in him a trifle far back.

THE SIXTEEN GAUGE

The sixteen gauge is the first of the guns usually termed small bores. It is a thoroughbred with just the outside diameter of barrels and general slender strength that unite beauty with utility. This gauge is a favorite with ladies who spend time afield for the double reason that its proportions appeal to the esthetic taste and its charge is effective with no severe recoil.

Should the time ever come when an improvement will be made in shotguns similar to choke boring, or the increased power that came with nitro powder, the sixteen would replace the twelve for trap shooting and general all-round use. Even now it is without a superior for upland work on such game as snipe, quail, woodcock, and ruffed grouse. Its standard charge of an ounce of shot is ideal, for medium weight guns, and when driven with fair velocity is sufficiently deadly for all practical purposes in the field. Furthermore it is a corking good little gun in the duck blind as many a keen sportsman can vouch; indeed, where the birds are decoying well, nothing better need be desired.

However, the special province of the sixteen is the upland or in any sport wherein the gun needs to be carried afoot for hours at a time. For the man who prefers carrying a lightweight gun in his tramps after quail, for him who would match skill with skill in pursuit of the saucy “jacks”, for the lonely partridge hunter who requires first of all a quick eye and a ready hand, I would strongly advise a light sixteen bore. Should the gunner be able to afford a modest armory of weapons, too, with one for the trap, another for wildfowl, and an additional arm for the uplands, then by all means include the sixteen for the daintier game. You would never employ an elephant rifle to slay a rabbit and neither should it be necessary to throw an ounce and a quarter of shot at a four ounce snipe.

Ammunition makers and gunbuilders in catering to the twelve bore have failed to develop fully the power and utility of the sixteen. Some of the manufacturers appear to think that the man who prefers to shoot a small bore is more or less of a comic-opera-sport anyhow, so they fit him out with a featherweight gun and ammunition so light that he can harm neither the gun nor the game. Never forget that the weight of metal in the barrels and the strength of the ammunition are prime factors in the power of any weapon whatever its gauge.

Sixteen gauges are built of a weight of from five to eight pounds, the majority of American guns ranging between six and seven pounds. The barrels are from twenty-six to thirty-two inches long, but the manufacturers have shown what the writer considers an unfortunate inclination to recommend short barrels for the sixteen,--this by way of lightening the gun without reducing strength at the breech. Naturally a gun that would balance perfectly with thirty inch barrels will not do so with twenty-six, and a combination of stock and frame heavy enough for a 7½ pound twelve bore with barrels shortened and lightened to make the gun weigh six, is deplorable. Thirty inch barrels in a sixteen bore with the stock cut on finer lines than a twelve make an especially elegant looking weapon. Should the arm weigh over seven and a half pounds or be intended for trap and duck shooting, then try the thirty-two inch barrels.

Should the reader contemplate purchasing a small bore gun after becoming accustomed to a twelve, I should like to warn him against making too radical a change either in the weight or length of barrels; otherwise he may lose that regular time that he has been years in acquiring and so condemn the gun for what is not its fault. However, the natural disposition of every man is to use a lighter gun and smaller gauge as he becomes older.

The sixteen gauge will handle any charge of shot well from ¾ of an ounce to an ounce and an eighth, but in factory loaded shells there is no such variation. In shot their cartridges contain either ⅞ of an ounce or an ounce, driven by from 2¼ to 2¾ drams of powder. The standard load is 2½ drams and an ounce--a load nicely adapted to lightweight guns where only moderate power is required. One ounce of shot is the maximum limit in machine loaded shells, yet in muzzle-loading days an ounce and a quarter was thrown by these guns without the gunner becoming aware that he was exceeding a common sense load. I have known sixteen gauge shells to be used at the trap with splendid execution charged with an ounce and an eighth of shot and three drams of powder. Nevertheless manufacturers should not be criticized too harshly for clinging to light loads since a long shot column in a small bore adds greatly to the breech pressure, disturbs the pattern in some guns, and if driven at a high velocity may cause excessive leading or balling of the shot.

My own load for duck shooting is three drams of powder, well wadded, and an ounce of seven chilled shot. Shot from a close shooting seven and a quarter pound gun this load is effective up to forty-five yards, but it would cause a sharp recoil in any gun weighing under six and three-fourths pounds. Numbers seven and a half and eight shot give perfect satisfaction in quail shooting and are just as deadly on snipe if the gun is not bored too open. I have never found it advisable to use shot for any kind of game shooting smaller than eight and a half. What has been said of using large shot in a twelve bore applies with more force to the sixteen.

THE TWENTY GAUGE

At present the twenty gauge is attracting a great deal of attention and no little controversy. Those partial to the little gun take the rather untenable ground that it is fully as powerful as the large bores or perhaps even more deadly for some mysterious reason, while the hard-headed old conservatives will not grant it any utility whatever, applying to it the terms popgun and grasshopper-killer. As usual the truth is somewhere between the extremes. Only the man with a fertile imagination could pronounce it as powerful as a ten gauge, but the arm that will kill clean and sure up to thirty-five or forty yards is not to be called a toy. As we have noted in the other gauges, its effectiveness is much a matter of weight, strength of charge, and the amount of choke in the barrels.

As will be further exemplified when we come to treating of patterns, the twenty is for the skilled field shot who can center his bird with a small pattern time after time. For such as he the twenty affords added pleasure in field work with practically the same deadliness as the largest bore. This gauge is not the gun for the pothunter or the man who takes pride in the size of his bag, but on the score of sportsmanship everything can be said in its favor.

It is the writer’s deliberate opinion that no shotgun, whatever its gauge, is to be taken seriously if it weighs under six pounds. A four and a half pound twenty, loaded with a half ounce of shot, is a neat plaything for an experienced man, but should not be placed in the hands of a lady or a novice to discourage them with field shooting and their ability to handle a gun. Such a featherweight and charge are not dangerous to game and not worth condemning except as casting reproach upon a meritorious weapon. However, when the gun is built to weigh seven pounds and charged with 2¾ drams of powder and an ounce of shot, as it is in the Southwest, there is another story to be told. The arm and load, in the section named, are considered amply powerful for wild ducks, but the shooting is over decoys and not so difficult as it might be in other localities. Moreover adapting special guns to special uses does not alter the fact that logically the twenty bore is intended for the uplands and small game.

The standard machine load for this gauge is 2¼ drams of powder and ⅞ ounce of shot, and so loaded the maximum range of the gun is but five yards behind that of the twelve bore with its standard charge, both being used with number eight shot. What the twelve will do at forty yards the twenty will at thirty-five, and ninety per cent. of upland game is killed under the latter distance. Ammunition houses list twenty gauge shells with from two to 2½ drams of powder and from ½ to ⅞ ounces of shot of various sizes. Handloaded shells are often filled with heavier charges for special uses in specially built and bored guns. It is well not to experiment with extreme charges without the consent of the gunbuilder who should know his weapon better than you can.

American twenty bore guns are constructed in weights of from five to seven pounds and a half; foreign arms are often built still lighter. The barrels are the same length as those of the sixteen, from twenty-six to thirty-two inches. The greatest demand is for guns weighing from six pounds to six pounds twelve ounces with barrels twenty-six to thirty inches. I am free to admit a prejudice in favor of long barrels on the score of balance and accurate holding, but assuredly a twenty-six inch barreled twenty bore is a better proportioned piece than a twelve of that length.

For quail shooting number seven and one-half shot had better be replaced with eights in a twenty bore, the smaller shot giving a more even pattern and killing well up to the maximum range of the gun, thirty-five yards. In duck shooting the same size of pellets should be used as in the sixteen, no further reduction in size of shot being permissible with such game.

THE TWENTY-EIGHT GAUGE

The twenty-eight has an effective range but two yards behind the twenty. Up to thirty yards it will account for any game it is held upon from jack snipe to geese. It will afford a lot of pleasure to the man whose shooting opportunities are many and whose chief enjoyment comes from a consciousness of accurate holding and clean work. The velocity of shot charge in this gauge with standard load is a trifle higher than any of the larger bores and the little weapon has always been highly praised by those who have tested it. A full choked twenty-eight will kill game at as long a range as an improved cylinder twelve, the arm most often recommended for quail.

The difference between a twelve and a twenty-eight is that long shots should not be attempted with the little gun, and it will not handle large shots effectively. The difference in the amount of game bagged with the twenty-eight and twelve will not be very great in upland shooting, provided a man is accustomed to shooting with a full choked gun and can center his bird. No finer holding is required with a full choked twenty-eight than with a full choke of any other gauge, but the small charge will not bear being opened up to give spread of pattern.

Machine loaded twenty-eight gauge cartridges are charged with from 1¾ to 2 drams of powder and ½ to ⅝ ounces of shot. Two drams and ⅝ ounces is the standard load, usually with eight shot for quail, though some prefer numbers nine or ten. Should the arm be anything but a full choke, the tens might be preferable in order to thicken the pattern, but the small pellets are liable to send a good many birds away crippled. I have always secured excellent results with a high velocity charge in this gauge, 2⅛ drams of powder and ¾ ounce of shot. In a gun of sufficient weight it is deadly at ranges several yards greater than the standard load, in fact has nearly the same power as the standard twenty.

The recoil of a twenty-eight is so slight that it can be used with comfort in very light arms. Therefore we find guns of this gauge built as light as four pounds. American built guns are of more practical dimensions, coming in weights of from to 5¾ to 6¾ pounds. My own twenty-eight weighs near seven pounds with thirty inch barrels, but a shorter and lighter arm would please the majority. Barrel lengths are from twenty-six to thirty inches.

The man who can own but one gun should not choose the twenty-eight, but it nicely rounds out an armory and will afford its own share of recreation and sport.

GUNMAKERS’ TABLE OF WEIGHTS IN PROPORTION TO GAUGE AND LOAD

This table is intended to give a proper load of shot in proportion to weight of gun for the different gauges. As compared with the large bores the small bores give a relatively higher breech pressure and greater recoil with the same amount of shot, and for this reason should be somewhat heavier in proportion to the load. The rule gives sixteen ounces of gun for every ⅛ ounce of shot in a twenty-eight, fifteen ounces of gun to ⅛ ounce of shot in a twenty and thirteen in the twelve and larger bores. Of the loads and weights of guns given the medium ones are those in use. Here is the table:

Load Formula Weight of gun.
Gauge Drams. Ounces. lbs. oz.

{ 1¾ ½ 16 × 4 = 64 ÷ 16 = 4 0
{ 2 ⅝ 16 × 5 = 80 ÷ 16 = 5 0
28 { 2⅛ ¾ 16 × 6 = 96 ÷ 16 = 6 0
{ 2¼ ⅞ 16 × 7 = 112 ÷ 16 = 7 0
{ 2⅜ 1 16 × 8 = 128 ÷ 16 = 8 0

{ 2 ½ 15 × 4 = 60 ÷ 16 = 3 12
{ 2⅛ ⅝ 15 × 5 = 75 ÷ 16 = 4 11
20 { 2¼ ¾ 15 × 6 = 90 ÷ 16 = 5 10
{ 2½ ⅞ 15 × 7 = 105 ÷ 16 = 6 9
{ 2¾ 1 15 × 8 = 120 ÷ 16 = 7 8

{ 2¼ ¾ 14 × 6 = 84 ÷ 16 = 5 4
{ 2½ ⅞ 14 × 7 = 98 ÷ 16 = 6 2
16 { 2¾ 1 14 × 8 = 112 ÷ 16 = 7 0
{ 3 1⅛ 14 × 9 = 126 ÷ 16 = 7 14
{ 3¼ 1¼ 14 × 10 = 140 ÷ 16 = 8 12

{ 2½ ⅞ 13 × 7 = 91 ÷ 16 = 5 11
{ 2¾ 1 13 × 8 = 104 ÷ 16 = 6 8
12 { 3 1⅛ 13 × 9 = 117 ÷ 16 = 7 5
{ 3½ 1¼ 13 × 10 = 130 ÷ 16 = 8 2
{ 4 1⅜ 13 × 11 = 143 ÷ 16 = 8 15

{ 3 1 13 × 8 = 104 ÷ 16 = 6 8
{ 3½ 1⅛ 13 × 9 = 117 ÷ 16 = 7 11
10 { 4 1¼ 13 × 10 = 130 ÷ 16 = 8 2
{ 4½ 1⅜ 13 × 11 = 143 ÷ 16 = 8 15
{ 5 1½ 13 × 12 = 156 ÷ 16 = 9 12

{ 5 1½ 13 × 12 = 156 ÷ 16 = 9 12
{ 5½ 1⅝ 13 × 13 = 169 ÷ 16 = 10 9
8 { 6 1¾ 13 × 14 = 182 ÷ 16 = 11 6
{ 6½ 1⅞ 13 × 15 = 195 ÷ 16 = 12 3
{ 7 2 13 × 16 = 208 ÷ 16 = 13 0