It would be unnecessary and foolish to practice your sport shooting at clay pigeons with expensive steel super-magnum-sized buckshot or slugs when regular birdshot is more than sufficient. As a general rule of thumb, always use the smallest ammunition that gets the job done, whether for hunting or sport shooting. Larger shot penetrates more effectively, so it is generally used on larger animals. Smaller shot is sufficient for smaller game. Small game like birds and ground varmint can be taken with shot as small at #8. Alternatively, some hunters like to use larger shot because it can kill at slightly longer range and reduces the number of pellets you have to remove from your food. Larger animals such as pheasants, turkeys, or rabbits should be taken with slightly larger shot such as #6 or #4. The largest animals are suited for buckshot. Deer and coyotes should be shot with pellets no smaller than #4 buckshot. Slugs are generally only used for home defense, tactical uses, and large game hunting. If you're hunting deer-sized game, coyote, possibly bear, etc., you're going to want to use slugs. Shoot one of your shot shells at a piece of paper big enough to record the impact of all, or nearly all, of the pellets at the range you expect to use the load. At 40 yards (36.6m), expect to get a pattern with a diameter of roughly 20-40", depending on the size of the shotgun shell used. Examine the pattern. How big is the main cluster of holes? Will it be hard to hit a moving target with the pattern? How dense is the pattern in this main cluster? Will enough pellets hit the target to kill/break it? Is the pattern uniform? Are there large holes in the pattern where targets could escape? For slugs, shoot between three and five shot groups at paper at a reasonable range; say 50 yards (45.7m) for rifled slugs, 100 yards (91.4m) for sabot slugs. Both types of slugs are fairly low velocity, and thus have rainbow-shaped trajectories that are not helpful to long-range shooting. Pick a slug which produces acceptable patterns and satisfies your desire for target damage.

Summary: Use birdshot for target shooting. Determine the size of your target. Test different sizes to determine what's best for your purposes.

The subjunctive is used to express sentences like "I want you to do something," "It is necessary that we talk," or "she hopes that he ______." Unfortunately, there is no real subjunctive tense in English to compare with the French. The easiest way to comprehend the subjunctive is to read French and speak to French speakers, noting where they use it. The most common phrases that use subjunctive are "il faut que + pronoun + subjunctive verb" ("It's necessary that someone does (verb)") and "je veux que + pronoun + subjunctive verb" ("I want someone to do (verb)") " Before conjugating any subjunctive phrase, remember that the subjunctive tense always begins with "que," which translates as "that" or "who/whom." Examples: Il faut que, (it is necessary that), aimer mieux que (prefer that) This works for irregular verbs as well. Start conjugating subjunctive by dropping the "-ent" from the plural 3rd person verb form. The same same thing happens in English: the stem of "to walk," for example, is walk (walk, walks, walked, walking, etc.). Examples include: Parler: Parlent "parl" Finir: Finissent finniss" Entendre: Entendent "entend"' There is only one set of endings for the subjunctive tense in French. They are "-e, -es, -e, -ions, -iez, -ent." Remember to add the "que" as well. The following examples translate the phrase "it is necessary that (I, you, she, they, etc.) talks." First person: "-e." Il faut que je parle It is necessary that I talk. Second person: "-es." Il faut que tu parles It is necessary that you talk. Third person: "-e" Il faut que il parle it is necessary that he talks. Plural first person: "-ions." Il faut que nous parlions It is necessary that we talk. Plural second person: "-iez."Il faut que vous parliez It is necessary that you all talk. Plural third person: "-ent."Il faut que elles parlent It is necessary that they talk. Any verb that does not end in "-ent" in the present tense 3rd person plural ("They," or "Ils/Elles") has an irregular stem. Luckily, the endings are still the same. Some common verbs include: Faire fass-" Savoir &rarr: sach- Pouvoir puiss- Advanced Tip:' There are also several words that have two stems -- one singular and one plural. In this case, use the nous form, minus "-ons" and the same ending (Ex. buvoir &rarr: boiv & buv) " These are the only two verbs that are completely different in the subjunctive. Unfortunately, they are also some of the most common words in French. To conjugate them: Etre: je sois, tu sois, il soit, nous soyons, vous soyez, elles soient. Avoir: j'aie, tu aies, il ait, nous ayons, vous ayez, elles aient.

Summary: Use the subjunctive tense for uncertain or subjective actions and ideas. Know that all subjunctive phrases start with the "que. Find the "stem" of verbs by dropping the "-ent" from the present "ils/elles" form. Add the subjunctive endings to complete the subjunctive tense. Know what verbs are irregular in the subjunctive. Memorize the the conjugations for "etre" and "avoir.

The amount of charcoal will vary based on the size of your grill, but a good rule of thumb to follow is to add enough to form two layers on the bottom of the grill. Once you've added enough, stack the charcoal into a cone or pyramid shape in the center of the grill. Check your bag of coals to see if they require lighter fluid or if they are pre-treated. If they require lighter fluid, carefully pour it onto the cone of coals, focusing on the center. The amount of lighter fluid you should use will vary, but a good approximation is adding 1/4 cup (60 ml) of fluid per 1 lb. (450 g) of charcoal. If your coals are pre-treated with lighter fluid, you don't need to add additional lighter fluid. Allow the lighter fluid to soak into the coals for approximately thirty minutes before lighting. Use long fireplace matches to light the cone. Light several areas of the coals to ensure that the fire takes to the whole pile. You can discard the matches directly into the grill if desired. Allow the coals to burn until they are all grayish-white on the surface. Use a long-handled instrument, such as a pair of tongs. Put the grate into place and close the grill's lid. Let the coals burn until the edges turn grey. This should take about five-to-ten minutes.
Summary: Pour the charcoal into the grill. Soak the coals with lighter fluid if necessary. Light the coals. Spread the coals evenly across the bottom of the grill.