Chapter II

GUNNERY--MUZZLE-LOADERS AND BREECH-LOADERS.

To the young sportsman, armed with the finest of implements, and trusting much to them for his success, it is a matter of mortification and surprise how well a bad gun will shoot in good hands; nevertheless, no true sportsman ever lived but, if he were able by any self-denial to scrape the means together, would purchase a valuable and necessarily expensive fowling-piece. Not only is a well made and handsomely finished gun safer and lighter than a cheap affair manufactured for the wholesale trade; not only does it ordinarily carry closer and recoil less; but it needs fewer repairs, lasts infinitely longer, and is always a matter of pride and delight to its owner.

Many guns of inferior workmanship throw shot as strongly as those turned out by the best makers--although this is not the fact in general--but greater weight has to be given to insure tolerable safety, and the locks, if not the barrels, are sure to give out in a few years; whereas the high-priced article will be as perfect at the end of a dozen years--which have accustomed its owner to its easy, rapid, and effective management--as it was in the beginning, and will endure until failing sight, wasting disease, or accumulating years, shall compel its transfer into younger hands.

Unless a man has continual practice, or is an excellent shot, it is a serious undertaking to change his gun and accustom himself to another, which, although apparently identical in weight and shape, will inevitably differ in some slight point that will be sufficient to destroy, for a time, accuracy in aim and prompt execution in cover. Some persons require months to acquire the effective use of a new gun under difficult circumstances; and in those dense thickets where so much of our shooting is done, and where it is by instinct founded upon long habit that the sportsman is enabled at all to kill his game, and where he cannot indulge in the deliberate care that more open shooting allows--this deficiency will be most painfully apparent. For such persons to purchase a new piece, is equivalent to throwing away the sport of an entire summer or fall, and when we consider that few of us can expect to average more than forty summers or falls, the loss of one-fortieth part of life’s enjoyment is no trivial deprivation.

A very cheap gun is dangerous; but it is not expected that any person reading these lines will trust his life with an instrument that common sense tells him is manufactured to kill at both ends. A gun of moderate price, that is, about one hundred dollars, is as safe as the most expensive--the iron is not so tough, but more of it is used; but in a short time the barrels will wear away; the locks, losing their original quick spring and sharp click, will become dull and weak, till they will scarcely discharge the cap; and the stock, warping with the weather, will exhibit yawning fissures between itself and the iron lock-plates or false breech.

In lightness, however, is the great superiority of the highly wrought implement; and in hard tramping through a dense swamp of a hot July day, or deep wading in a soft snipe-meadow, or in a wearisome trudge over hill and dale after November quail, a pound will make itself felt in the additional weight of the fowling-piece, and not only so, but a light gun can be handled more readily. In open shooting, especially for the wild fowl of our bays and coasts, mere weight is a positive advantage; but in the tangled thickets, where birds flash out of sight like gleams of party-colored light, and the instantaneous use of the piece can alone secure success, a light gun is an absolute necessity.

Moreover, on certain occasions, when the barrels are exposed to an extraordinary strain, when the piece built for light charges and upland shooting is used temporarily upon the larger game of the coasts or woods, and the two and a half drachms of powder and ounce of fine shot are replaced by a dozen buckshot, or an ounce and a half of No. 3 driven by five drachms of powder--then it is pleasant to feel that the iron is of the utmost possible tenacity and the workmanship in every way faultless.

A learned dissertation on the science of gunnery is neither appropriate to the occasion nor possible to the author, and would probably prove as little entertaining as instructive to the reader. The majority of purchasers cannot form an exact opinion relative to the merits of a gun prepared with the utmost skill and ingenuity to deceive them, and must rely mainly on the word of the seller or reputation of the maker. There is something, to be sure, in the smooth working of the locks, and still more in the perfect fitting of the stock; but after all, even to the experienced sportsman, there is little difference in appearance between the Shamdamn and the purest laminated steel.

American importers have a peculiarly moral and respectable habit of vending German guns stamped with the names of English makers, and pacify their consciences with the idea that the manufactures of Germany are not inferior to those of England; but they would give more satisfaction to the public and more ease to their consciences by proving this in open contest, and establishing the reputation of the German makers, than by appropriating the names and reputations that good work has made famous. So far is this deception carried, that some houses even order from the Belgian manufacturers a certain number, nominally, of each of the leading gun-makers. It may be that there is little real difference, although on the continental guns you sometimes pay for useless ornament, money that should have been expended where it would tell, on locks and barrels; but the mode of proceeding is certainly not creditable.

In a highly finished article the locks usually work with a smooth oiliness that can be distinguished with a little practice, and are fitted with great accuracy into the stock, so that projections of wood will be left standing not thicker than a piece of blotting-paper. The barrels will be without flaw or indentation, and if looked through with the breech removed, will exhibit a perfect ring of light flowing up evenly, as they are raised or lowered. The mountings will be faultless, and the cuts in all the screw-heads will point in the same direction; the screws will work easily and yet perfectly, and the triggers and trigger-plate, which are invariably neglected in a poor gun, will be admirably finished and fitted. Examine all these particulars, but especially the last, and you can form some judgment whether the piece comes from a good maker or a spurious imitator.

The greatest attention, however, in the selection of a gun should be paid to the form of the stock and the pull of the triggers; if the former is unsuited to the shape of the purchaser, or the latter are stiff or dissimilar, the consequence will be utter failure that no amount of practice will remedy. If the purchaser’s arms and neck are long, the stock may be long and crooked; but if the contrary is the case, the stock must be short and straight.

If possible, the person intending to use a gun should select it for himself; and if it does not “come up right” the first time he brings it to his eye, he should refuse it positively. He must not allow himself to be persuaded to try it again and again; for after one or two trials he will instinctively adapt his eye to its construction, and will imagine the gun suits him--an impression that the rapid flight of the first quail he endeavors to cover will dissipate. The triggers should give back at a weight of four or five pounds; the hammers of a muzzle-loader at ten or twelve, and of a breech-loader at twelve or fourteen. For the former, the best cone is what is called the inverted, where the bore is larger at the top and receives the entire flame from the cap.

The shape of the breech for the muzzle-loader formerly gave rise to much learned disquisition and many plausible theories; but, in all probability, had no influence on the shooting, which is due mainly to the form and quality of the barrels. Joe Manton founded his fame on the idea that the lines of force, if reflected from a hollow cup, like rays of light from a reflector, would be directed parallel to one another and lengthwise of the barrel; but later experiments have tended to destroy this theory. The simple fact appears to be, that powder exerts just so much force, and, as it cannot escape sideways, it must go out at the end of the barrel; and that the shape of the breech, except so far as it may affect the rapidity of ignition, has no influence whatever.

These questions, however, are being effectually disposed of by the march of events and the general diffusion of breech-loaders; to the latter, as they are not generally known or appreciated in our country--to which, by its nature and its game, they are peculiarly adapted--the writer’s remarks will be mainly confined. Feeling entirely convinced, even from a short experience, of their superiority in most particulars, and their equality in all, he regards the consequence as inevitable that they will utterly supersede the old-fashioned fowling-piece; the few defects that were originally alleged to exist in them having been either removed or remedied, and the supply of ammunition for them in this country having become sufficient. They have won their way slowly into public favor against the interested opposition of gun-makers on one hand, and the ignorance and superstitious dread of change of gun-users on the other.

They are a French invention of twenty years’ standing, and proved their superiority long ago; but prejudice was too strong for them, as it has been for many another good thing. Their merits, nevertheless, slowly conquered opposition, convinced the intelligent, and confounded the obstinate; till at last in England--the very hot-bed of prejudice and the favorite abiding-place of antiquated ideas--there are now sold five breech-loaders to one muzzle-loader. As they are not extensively used with us, the description of them will have to be somewhat minute, and would be better understood if the reader would take the trouble to examine one for himself.

The best and most generally adopted of the various kinds is the _Lefaucheux_, or some slight modification of it; and to that the attention will be principally directed. In this gun the breech, which in the muzzle-loader screws into the barrel, is omitted, and the barrels are open at both ends; they are fastened to the stock by a pin and joint a few inches beyond the guard. When free, the muzzle hangs down, and the breech end presents itself several inches above the stock, so that the cartridge can be readily inserted; when the barrels are pressed back into their place for firing, they are caught by a bolt that can be opened or closed by a lever lying along the under part of the stock, between the guard and the joint. The false breech is flat, solid, and heavy, and completes the barrels, taking the place and performing the duty of the breech in the muzzle-loader. The hammers have a flat surface on the striking end, and the locks are back-actioned, to avoid interfering with the other mechanism.

A cartridge is made of stout paper, shaped like a short section of the barrel, with a brass capsule on one end and open at the other; it is two or three inches long, and has a pad of thick paper beneath the capsule. In this pad a hole is punched on the inside and the percussion-cap is inserted, with a brass pin resting in it and projecting above the capsule on the outside. The percussion-cap is entirely within the cartridge-case, and the brass pin passes through a hole drilled in one side of the capsule, just large enough to admit it and exclude moisture entirely. A blow on the projecting end of the pin drives the other end into the cap, and discharges the latter. The cartridge-case is prepared already capped, and is sold in England for from thirty to fifty shillings the thousand; it may be recapped by an instrument made for the purpose with a peculiar cap, and may be used, on an average, three times.

The cartridge must be loaded as the gun would be, only by the use of a short ramrod or a special loading implement; the powder is poured in, a wad placed above it, and the shot and another wad follow. The cartridge may then be trimmed down and the end bent over, so as to retain the load securely, if it is to be carried for a considerable distance; but where the shooting is from a boat or stand, the case should be left untrimmed and of full length. A chamber is cut away in the lower part of the barrel, which corresponds exactly with the cartridge-case, so that the latter fits perfectly in it; but, if there is an interval between the end of the cartridge and the shoulder in the barrel, no injury to the charge or the shooting appears to result. A small notch is cut in the upper edge of the barrel to contain the brass pin, and allow it to project so as to receive the blow from the hammer.

When the bolt is withdrawn and the barrels are allowed to fall so as to bring the open breech fairly into view, the loaded cartridge is inserted, the barrels are sprung back to their place with a sharp snap that sends them home at once, and are ready to be discharged. To allow the cartridge to be inserted, the hammers must be drawn to half or full cock; and when the trigger is pulled, they fall upon the pin, which penetrates the cap and fires the load. The entire mechanism is so simple that it can hardly become deranged, and will last as long as the barrels. The greatest care is necessary in making the chamber that receives the cartridge of a proper shape, for if this is faulty the cartridges are apt to stick after explosion.

There is no decided improvement on the original Lefaucheux model, except in the modification of the machinery, and a convenient method of separating the barrels from the stock; and no other innovation of a like character need be particularly described. The needle-gun, which is made on a somewhat similar principle, is more curious than valuable, being both dangerous and complicated, and possesses no advantages over the other pattern. In it the cartridge has a percussion-cap so disposed at its base that it is penetrated by a needle, which is projected by a spring through a hole in the lower end of the cartridge; but the composition of the cartridge, and the manner of its insertion, are altogether different from the same in the Lefaucheux gun.

According to the arrangement of some English guns, on a plan invented by Jeffries, the lever, instead of closing forward, lies under the trigger-guard, when the barrels are closed; and provision is made for tightening the bolt, in case it wears loose by long usage. This invention permits of the use of forward-action locks, and the easy separation of the barrels from the stock, and has come into vogue in England; it is undoubtedly convenient in both these particulars, and has as yet developed no corresponding drawbacks.

Personally, the writer has always preferred British to French or Belgian guns, although chance has compelled him to own as many of the latter as the former. The English gun is made for work; even when cheaply manufactured, it will be found effective where efficiency is necessary; and it is far more beautiful to the eye of a true sportsman, with its plain blued lock-plates, and total deficiency of ornament, than the Continental weapon, covered with engraving and ornamentation, but defective in some of those minutiæ that lend nothing to its beauty, but add much to its usefulness. This is particularly the case with breech-loaders, which, if not manufactured carefully, are almost useless, and which, although originally invented in France, are at this day produced in more serviceable style--unless where the highest-priced article is obtained--in England than in the country of their origin. Great discredit was brought upon breech-loaders among us at their first introduction, in consequence of the importation of inferior articles, and they still labor under the disadvantages of that failure, although rapidly overcoming all objections.

There are a few implements that are necessary to the use of a breech-loader, which are much simpler than they at first appear. To load the cartridge is required either a short ramrod and a machine for turning over the edges of the case upon the wad, to retain it in its place, or an apparatus, also invented by Jeffries, that combines all the requisites for loading, and by the aid of which a hundred cartridges can be loaded in an hour. As the case can be used several times, and the cap, which is of a peculiar size, has to be placed in its exact position to receive the pin, a capper invented for the purpose is employed, by which the cap is inserted, and the pin pressed into it without the least difficulty; a pair of tweezers are used to withdraw the pin after a discharge, in order to free the old cap and make room for the new, and a large gimlet will be found useful for extracting any discharged caps that may happen to stick.

A cleaning-apparatus is also occasionally used, consisting of a brush at one end of a string and a small weight at the other; the weight is dropped through the open barrel and the brush drawn after it; but, as the gun may be fired ten times as often as a muzzle-loader without fouling, a plain rag and cleaning-rod will answer. Cartridge-cases, of course, cannot be obtained like powder and shot at every country store, and to obviate the danger of finding oneself, after extraordinary good-luck with a gun, without the means of firing it, it is well to carry a couple of brass cases, which can be used with a common French cap, and reloaded indefinitely almost as quickly as a muzzle-loader.

The sportsman, by the aid of these implements and a couple of scoops with handles for powder and shot, recaps the cartridges which have been discharged, loads them as he would a gun, only much more rapidly, and lays them aside for future use. In the field, he carries them in a leather case, or, which is the preferable plan, in a belt round the waist, or in his pockets, being able to store in the pockets of his vest alone at least twenty. The English sportsmen carry them loose in the pockets of their shooting-coats; but a belt is convenient and commodious, holding from thirty to fifty, and distributes the weight pleasantly. Where the shooting is to be done from a boat or stand, of course they will be kept in an ammunition-box, without having their edges turned over, as there will be nothing to loosen the wads.

The reader may naturally suppose that there is risk in carrying a number of loaded cartridges about the person; but in this he is entirely mistaken. In the first place, the difficulty of discharging a cartridge, except in the gun, is surprising; no pressure will explode the cap, and no ordinary blow, unless the cartridge is retained in a fixed position; and if one falls, the weight of the shot compels it inevitably to fall on the end: but in case these difficulties are overcome, the result is merely the discharge of a large fire-cracker.

The writer instituted a number of experiments, and having succeeded, after many trials, in setting off the cartridge, found that the powder burst the paper, but failed to drive the wad out of the case. This was tried with cartridges in all positions, horizontal and perpendicular, but produced invariably the same result, with unimportant modifications; and it was farther ascertained that the fire from one would not communicate to another. So that, if a cartridge does explode accidentally, it may scorch the clothes or even burn the person slightly, but can inflict no serious injury. These remarks, however, do not apply to the brass cartridge-cases, which must be handled more carefully. The common paper-cases may therefore be carried with perfect impunity, and transported, if carefully packed, without risk.

A more curious idea--for the dread of danger from the loaded cartridge is natural--prevailed at one time, that the barrels were weakened because they were open behind, instead of being closed by the breech-screw; as if a cylinder would be rendered more cohesive by screwing another piece of metal into one end. In fact, if the breech-screw has any effect whatever upon the strength of the gun, its presence is probably an injury. The charge, it will be observed, presses against the shot on one side and the false breech on the other, and would not be retained any more securely by the addition of a breech-screw, which tends to separate instead of closing the barrel. So, also, it must be borne in mind there is no strain worth mentioning on the hinge-bolt, and no danger of the barrels blowing away with the charge; while the disposal of the metal at the false breech, and the omission of the ramrod, tends to make the gun light at the muzzle--a great advantage in snap-shooting.

There is absolutely no escape of gas at the break-off; none can escape unless the brass capsule, which closes the joint hermetically, can be driven out, and this is a sheer impossibility. The gas cannot penetrate the paper of the cartridge, and if it bursts the latter, still cannot escape except through the brass; and although the least perceptible amount may come out alongside of the pin, it is scarcely traceable, and nothing like what is lost at the percussion-cap in the common gun. These cartridges are wonderfully close, as the reader may conclude when he is informed that a loaded breech-loader, left entirely under water for fifteen minutes, was discharged as promptly as though it had never been wet; while a muzzle-loader, that had not been half so long exposed, would not go at all, and required an hour’s cleaning. In fact, the breech-loader is entirely impervious to any ordinary wetting, will not fail in the worst rain, and the average number of miss-fires, in well made cartridges, is one in a thousand.

In the handling of this gun there is one peculiarity: the pins rise from the middle of the cartridge, and not at one side, like the ordinary cones, thus bringing the hammers closer together. To the beginner this may appear awkward, but is no real disadvantage. It would seem also desirable to use more powder with a breech-loader, although this is not necessary to so great an extent as it was formerly; but, on the other hand, the weight at the breech appears either to diminish the recoil or reduce its effects on the shooter; as the testimony of persons using breech-loaders is unanimous that the recoil is less perceptible than with muzzle-loaders, although the scales have refused to verify their impression.

One immense advantage of the breech-loader is its safety in loading, especially in a confined position, as on a boat or in a battery. Whereas, in the muzzle-loader, immediately after the discharge, while the smoke is still pouring from the barrel, and while the fire may be smouldering invisible below, the sportsman deliberately pours in a fresh charge of powder, holding his hand and the entire flask over the muzzle, endangering his life, and incurring injury far more frequently than most persons suppose; with the breech-loader, the barrels are opened and fall into such a position that no discharge can take place, and never point towards the person of their owner.

Several of the writer’s friends have been maimed for life by the premature discharge of a load in the muzzle-loader from a spark remaining in the barrel; the risk connected with it has always seemed very great; and even with the patent flasks, which are hardly practical inventions, more or less unavoidable. This danger is entirely obviated by the breech-loader, which cannot go off until the barrels are restored to position after the charges are inserted; cannot leave hidden sparks to imperil the owner’s life or limb; never expose the hand over the loaded barrel, that may have been left at half-cock, if the sportsman is liable to thoughtlessness or over-excitement; and which can be loaded without difficulty in the most confined position. So, not only do we have rapidity, but entire safety in loading.

The objections, however, urged against breech-loaders have not been few, and, if well founded, forbid the use of the gun; if, as has been said, the target is not so good, nor the shot sent with as much force, the requisites of a first-class sporting implement are wanting. These charges, freely advanced, have been sustained in a measure by the wretched performance of poor guns, but have finally been brought to the only true test--actual experience, under equal conditions; and by this test have been so utterly annihilated that their discussion is only necessary on account of popular ignorance of the experiments. When breech-loaders first came prominently before the English public, their supposed merits and demerits were discussed in the sporting papers in an animated and violent manner; and in order to settle the questions at issue, the editor of the London _Field_ determined to have an open trial, where the breech-loaders and muzzle-loaders could be fairly matched against one another. The contests took place in 1858 and 1859, and being carefully conducted, settled the dispute for the time being, and, even before the latest improvements, established more fully the superiority of the breech-loader. The best guns and gun-makers of England were represented; and in spite of occasional variation and accidental luck--as in the pattern of the first muzzle-loader--the prejudices against the modern arm were so entirely dissipated that the old-fashioned guns are at present rarely sold.

Since that trial considerable advance has been made in the minutiæ of the manufacture; and now it is the general impression of those acquainted with the arm, that the breech-loader, with a slight additional increase of powder, shoots both stronger and closer than its rival. In the pigeon-match between the nobility and gentry of England in 1863, described in the London _Field_, volume xxiii., p. 389, where it is to be supposed that the best implements the country could furnish were used, and where some of the shooting was done at thirty yards, the first and second prizes were both taken by breech-loaders. With all allowance for the quality of the marksman, the quality of the gun that wins a match at English “blue-rocks” must unquestionably be good; and this, the universal experience of those matter-of-fact John Bulls, who test everything by success, has entirely confirmed.

A trial of guns was made in 1859, and the results were published in tabular form in _The Shot-Gun and Sporting Rifle_, by Stonehenge, p. 304. The targets were made of double bag-cap paper, 90 lbs. to the ream, circular, thirty inches in diameter, with a centre of twelve inches square, and were nailed against a smooth surface of deal boards. The centres were composed of forty thicknesses for forty yards, and twenty for sixty yards, and weighed eighteen and nine ounces respectively, with such slight variation as will always occur in brown paper. The powder was Laurence’s No. 2, the shot No. 6, containing 290 pellets to the ounce, and the charges were weighed in every instance.

TABLES OF THE FIELD TRIAL.

----------------------+----------------+-----+-----------+----------+-----------> | | | | | | Name of Maker. | Kind of Gun. |Bore.| Length of |Weight of | Charge of | | | | Barrel. | Gun. | Powder. | | | | | | | ----------------------+----------------+-----+-----------+----------+-----------> | | | in. | lb. oz. | drs. | ----------------------+----------------+-----+-----------+----------+-----------> Pape, Newcastle | Muzzle-loader | 12 | 30 | 6.11 | 2¾ | Prince & Green, London| “ | 12 | 30 | 7.6 | 2¾ | Pape | “ | 12 | 29½ | 6.8 | 2¾ | Egen, Bradford | Breech-loader | 12 | 30 | 7.8 | 3 | Prince & Green | “ | 12 | 30 | 7.2 | 3 | Pape | “ | 12 | 30 | 7.0 | 3 | Pape | Muzzle-loader | 13 | 30 | 7.0 | 2¾ | Needham, London | Breech-loader | 13 | 29 | 6.10 | 3 | Egan | Muzzle-loader | 13 | 28 | 6.14 | 2¾ | Culling, Dowtham | | | | | | Market | “ | 12 | 29½ | 6.10 | 2½ | Reilly, London | Breech-loader | 16 | 30 | 7.4 | 3 | Elliott, Birmingham | “ | 16 | 28 | 7.4 | 2¾ | Needham | “ | 13 | 28½ | 7.4 | 3 | Hast, Colchester | “ | 12 | 31 | 7.8 | 3 | Reilly | “ | 12 | 30 | 7.4 | 3 | Elliott | “ | 13 | 28 | 5.4 | 3 | Francotte, Liege | “ | 14 | 29½ | 7.8 | 3 | ----------------------+----------------+-----+-----------+----------+-----------> | Averages | | | | | ----------------------+----------------+-----+-----------+----------+----------->

----------------------+-----------+----------------------+----------+-----------> | | | | No. of | Name of Maker. | Charge of | No. of Marks on | No. of | shots | | Shot. | Face of Targets. | Sheets | through | | | | pierced. |20 sheets. | ----------------------+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+-----------> | oz. |at 40 yds. |at 60 yds.|at 40 yds.| at 60 yds.| ----------------------+-----------+-----------+----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----> Pape, Newcastle | 1¼ | 158 | 118 | 63 | 60 | 28 | 33 | 5 | 2 | Prince & Green, London| 1¼ | 148 | 98 | 52 | 65 | 28 | 22 | 1 | 2 | Pape | 1¼ | 116 | 129 | 46 | 40 | 25 | 28 | 1 | 1 | Egen, Bradford | 1¼ | 144 | 90 | 32 | 58 | 28 | 30 | 0 | 2 | Prince & Green | 1¼ | 103 | 93 | 60 | 62 | 24 | 31 | 2 | 4 | Pape | 1¼ | 132 | 93 | 55 | 38 | 26 | 33 | 2 | 3 | Pape | 1¼ | 117 | 71 | 47 | 61 | 29 | 37 | 4 | 8 | Needham, London | 1⅛ | 65 | 135 | 24 | 54 | 29 | 39 | 0 | 1 | Egan | 1⅛ | 113 | 113 | 24 | 46 | 23 | 34 | 0 | 1 | Culling, Dowtham | | | | | | | | | | Market | 1-3/16 | 106 | 103 | 35 | 31 | 22 | 32 | 0 | 0 | Reilly, London | 1¼ | 95 | 105 | 50 | 31 | 20 | 27 | 2 | 0 | Elliott, Birmingham | 1 | 73 | 99 | 22 | 42 | 30 | 40 | 0 | 1 | Needham | 1⅛ | 97 | 95 | 31 | 20 | 22 | 26 | 0 | 0 | Hast, Colchester | 1⅛ | 100 | 77 | 32 | 28 | 33 | 25 | 0 | 0 | Reilly | 1¼ | 88 | 91 | 37 | 31 | 22 | 27 | 2 | 1 | Elliott | 1 | 90 | 87 | 20 | 28 | 20 | 31 | 1 | 0 | Francotte, Liege | 1⅛ | 60 | 48 | 31 | 40 | 25 | 23 | 0 | 0 | ----------------------+-----------+-----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----> | | 106 | 97 | 33 | 43 | 26 | 30 | 1 |1½ | ----------------------+-----------+-----+-----+----+-----+----------+-----+----->

----------------------+---------------+---------------+----------- | | | Name of Maker. | Total on face | Tot’l thro’gh | Recoil in | of 4 targets. | 4 targets. | pounds. | | | ----------------------+---------------+---------------+----------- | | | ----------------------+---------------+---------------+-----+----- Pape, Newcastle | 399 | 68 | 68 | 62 Prince & Green, London| 363 | 53 | 66 | 65 Pape | 331 | 55 | 68 | 64 Egen, Bradford | 324 | 60 |untested. Prince & Green | 3 8 | 61 | “ Pape | 318 | 64 | 70 | 68 Pape | 296 | 78 |untested. Needham, London | 278 | 69 | 64 | 62 Egan | 296 | 58 | 68 | 68 Culling, Dowtham | | | | Market | 275 | 54 | 59 | 61 Reilly, London | 281 | 49 |untested. Elliott, Birmingham | 236 | 71 | 64 | 66 Needham | 243 | 48 | 65 | 61 Hast, Colchester | 237 | 58 | 72 | 69 Reilly | 247 | 52 | 76 | 73 Elliott | 225 | 52 | 64 | 68 Francotte, Liege | 179 | 48 | 74 | 68 ----------------------+---------------+---------------+-----+----- | 285 | 59 | 67 | 66 ----------------------+---------------+---------------+-----+-----

TABLES OF THE FIELD TRIAL.

----------------------+----------------+-----+-----------+----------+-----------> | | | | | | Name of Maker. | Kind of Gun. |Bore.| Length of |Weight of | Charge of | | | | Barrel. | Gun. | Powder. | | | | | | | ----------------------+----------------+-----+-----------+----------+-----------> | | | in. | lb. oz. | drs. | ----------------------+----------------+-----+-----------+----------+-----------> O. Smith, Derby | Muzzle-loader | 15 | 30 | 6.14 | 2¾ | Culling | “ | 14 | 28½ | 6.11 | 2¼ | Dougall, Glasgow | “ | 14 | 27 | 5.14 | 2½ | Joe Manton, London | “ | 16 | 31 | 6.12 | 2½ | Culling | “ | 14 | 29 | 6.0 | 2¼ | Reilly | Breech-loader | 15 | 30 | 6.14 | 3 | Lang, London | “ | 15 | 29 | 6.8 | 3 | Reilly | Muzzle-loader | 14 | 29 | 6.4 | 2¾ | Prince & Green | Breech-loader | 15 | 30 | 7.0 | 3 | Prince & Green | Muzzle-loader | 14 | 30 | 7.0 | 2¾ | Hast | “ | 15 | 30½ | 6.8 | 2¾ | Reilly | Breech-loader | 15 | 28 | 6.4 | 2¾ | ----------------------+----------------+-----+-----------+----------+-----------> | Averages | | | | | ----------------------+----------------+-----+-----------+----------+----------->

----------------------+-----------+----------------------+----------+-----------> | | | | No. of | Name of Maker. | Charge of | No. of Marks on | No. of | shots | | Shot. | Face of Targets. | Sheets | through | | | | pierced. |20 sheets. | ----------------------+-----------+-----------+----------+----------+-----------> | oz. |at 40 yds. |at 60 yds.|at 40 yds.| at 60 yds.| ----------------------+-----------+-----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----> O. Smith, Derby | 1⅛ | 101 | 121 | 48 | 55 | 38 | 22 | 3 | 5 | Culling | 1⅛ | 147 | 85 | 42 | 48 | 24 | 19 | 0 | 0 | Dougall, Glasgow | 1 | 130 | 92 | 30 | 60 | 25 | 27 | 2 | 0 | Joe Manton, London | 1 | 122 | 86 | 86 | 57 | 27 | 28 | 2 | 0 | Culling | 1⅛ | 101 | 103 | 30 | 55 | 21 | 25 | 0 | 1 | Reilly | 1¼ | 105 | 106 | 63 | 26 | 29 | 33 | 6 | 1 | Lang, London | 1¼ | 129 | 57 | 45 | 52 | 20 | 28 | 0 | 3 | Reilly | 1⅛ | 99 | 99 | 34 | 42 | 32 | 27 | 0 | 8 | Prince & Green | 1 | 77 | 100 | 41 | 31 | 33 | 26 | 5 | 0 | Prince & Green | 1 | 71 | 92 | 52 | 27 | 20 | 29 | 0 | 0 | Hast | 1⅛ | 83 | 55 | 44 | 24 | 28 | 29 | 5 | 0 | Reilly | 1⅛ | 83 | 101 | 34 | 7 | 18 | 28 | 0 | 0 | ----------------------+-----------+-----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----> | | 104 | 92 | 42 | 40 | 26 | 27 | 2 |1½| ----------------------+-----------+-----+-----+----+-----+----+-----+-----+----->

----------------------+---------------+---------------+----------- | | | Name of Maker. | Total on face | Tot’l thro’gh | Recoil in | of 4 targets. | 4 targets. | pounds. | | | ----------------------+---------------+---------------+----------- | | | ----------------------+---------------+---------------+-----+----- O. Smith, Derby | 325 | 68 | 68 | 58 Culling | 322 | 43 | 53 | 54 Dougall, Glasgow | 312 | 54 | 65 | 68 Joe Manton, London | 301 | 57 | 64 | 62 Culling | 289 | 47 | 60 | 44 Reilly | 300 | 69 | 69 | 76 Lang, London | 283 | 51 | 64 | 60 Reilly | 274 | 67 | 68 | 74 Prince & Green | 249 | 64 | 71 | 73 Prince & Green | 242 | 49 | 69 | 64 Hast | 206 | 63 | 68 | 67 Reilly | 225 | 46 | 68 | 72 ----------------------+---------------+---------------+-----+----- | 277 | 56 | 65 | 64 ----------------------+---------------+---------------+-----+-----

The guns were classified according to their weight. The breech-loaders, which used one quarter of a drachm more powder, showed about an equal recoil; the recoil differed surprisingly, ranging from 44 to 76 lbs., and was no indication of the power with which the shot was driven--a greater number of sheets being pierced where the recoil was under the average. The patterns produced by the muzzle-loaders varied from those of the breech-loaders less than they did from one another, and far less than that of one barrel differed from that of the other; in fact, the right-hand barrel seems to have shot much the best, and some of the guns that excelled at 40 yards fell far behindhand at 60 yards.

In penetration, which is a more valuable quality in a gun than even pattern, the breech-loaders took the lead; one pierced through 40 sheets and another through 39 sheets, so that the vaunted superiority of the old gun in this particular was found not to exist. It was further noted that a great improvement in this particular had taken place in the breech-loaders since the trial of the year previous, which improvement has been going on steadily since. The trial also proved that, although the breech-loaders required an extra amount of powder to give them force, it caused in them no additional recoil, and was objectionable in so far only as it entailed extra expense and weight of ammunition. The muzzle-loader was left, to offset its numerous inferiorities, nothing more than a claim to diminished weight of gun and ammunition, and a trifling saving in expense; in force and pattern it was equalled; in safety and handiness it was far surpassed by its competitor.

A book called the _Dead Shot_, which has been circulated extensively in our country, remarkable more for the wonderful number of mistakes, if not absurdities, that it contains, than for any other quality, denounces the breech-loaders in unmeasured terms, and, among others, gives the following categorical objections, to each of which the writer appends, from personal experience, what he considers an answer. The _Dead Shot_ says:

“1. The breech-loader does not shoot so strong nor kill so far as the muzzle-loader, though allowed a quarter of a drachm of powder extra.”

The contrary was proved at the _Field_ trial, as shown by the foregoing tables, and is proved in the field daily.

“2. The breech-loader is, of necessity, much heavier than a muzzle-loader of the same gauge.”

About one quarter of a pound.

“3. It is more expensive as regards ammunition, and also as to the gun itself--the latter by reason of its not lasting so long, and its greater liability to get out of repair than a muzzle-loader.”

The cartridge-cases cost about twenty dollars a thousand; so that if they are used but once, a single additional quail or woodcock will pay for ten of them. The same wise economy raised this objection of expense against percussion-caps when first introduced. The gun lasts longer, as there is no breech to become rusty or burnt out with percussion powder, and the barrels may always be kept in perfect cleanliness.

“4. The recoil on discharge is heavier and the report louder than that produced by the muzzle-loader.”

The first portion of this paragraph is answered by the foregoing tables, and the second is not only false but childish.

“5. The penetration of wet and damp in rains, fogs, or mists, between the false breech and barrels, and often into the cartridge itself, cannot be avoided in the present form of breech-loader, more especially in one that has been much used. And if the cartridge-case gets damp, it adheres to the barrel, and cannot be removed without considerable difficulty.”

That rain cannot penetrate the cartridge-case is pretty well proved by the experience already mentioned of firing a gun that had been under water fifteen minutes; and if dampness gets in between the false breech and barrels, or under the latter, the parts should be wiped dry after use. The residue of this paragraph is answered below.

“6. There is obviously a greater risk of bursting; indeed, the safety of a breech-loader, after much usage, becomes doubtful by reason of the escape of gas between the false breech and barrels, particularly after the trying vibrations of heavy charges.”

There is no such escape of gas, and “obviously” can be none, unless it can find its way through nearly a quarter of an inch of solid paper and brass. Does the comparatively excessive escape of gas at the cone and vent of a muzzle-loader endanger its safety? and will the “trying vibration” of one cartridge affect the strength of another not in the barrel at the time?

“7. The time and trouble required in filling the cartridges, and the danger attending that operation before going out shooting, are very considerable; and it is with one peculiar form of cartridge only that the breech-loader can be used; and if purchased of the gun-maker ready filled, they come very expensive.”

This paragraph is unanswerable; as no source of danger in loading the cartridges is specified, the writer is at a loss to know what is meant--there being, in his experience, no danger whatever. As for the trouble, it is far less than that of loading the gun.

“8. The operation of _making_ and filling the cartridge is to a sportsman a tedious, dirty, dangerous, and laborious one--quite as much so as making fireworks.”

This may be true of making the cartridges, which no sportsman ever thinks of doing more than he would of making percussion-caps, which is a far more dangerous employment. The filling them is identically the same as loading a gun, omitting capping, but without its dirt or danger. If loading a gun is akin to making fireworks, so may be loading cartridges. In fact, using cartridges is merely loading at a convenient season expeditiously, and may be done to the extent of thousands without soiling the hands.

“9. Another serious objection to the breech-loader is the weight of ammunition that must be carried in the shape of ready-made cartridges when going to the Highlands or any remote shooting quarter. And then arises the difficulty of keeping them perfectly dry in damp weather; and every one knows how very soon the damp will penetrate through a paper case, and cake, and weaken the force of the gunpowder.”

If the cartridge cases are carried unloaded, the bulk of ammunition is increased; if loaded--and they are as safe as powder in mass--neither the weight nor bulk is at all increased. The powder might be injured in very damp weather in the course of years; but such an occurrence has not yet come before the public.

“10. The cartridges must be carried in a strong case with divisional compartments. In the event of their being carried loose, they become damaged; and the danger of so carrying them is excessive, by reason of the results which may ensue in the event of a fall or accident in getting over a hedge, or otherwise, whereby a blow or friction is given to the metal pin which explodes the cap.”

Friction will not discharge them, and no ordinary blow; and, in case of explosion, the danger is merely what may result from the discharge of a charge of powder in the open air--by no means so great, but about as probable as from the explosion of the caps in the cap-pocket. The writer has never heard of such an occurrence, and English sportsmen universally carry cartridges loose in their pockets.

“11. The extra weight incurred in being obliged to carry a sufficient number of cartridges for a day’s sport, in a very cumbersome leather case, with iron compartments, considerably exceeds the ordinary weight of powder-flask and shot-pouch, with ammunition for a similar amount of sport.”

This may be, if any one is fool enough to use iron compartments; but in a proper receptacle--a leather belt--the weight is much less.

“12. Another of the principal defects in the breech-loader is the flat surface of the breech, which scientific and practical experimenters have proved to be erroneous, by reason of the much greater power and extra force which may be obtained from the conical interior form of solid breech--the rule being that ‘force cannot be expended and retained also;’ and as it must, of necessity, be expended to a certain degree by explosion and recoil on a flat-surfaced breech, extra powder is required to produce like effects to those which result from the solid conical breech. The recoil is also considerably greater on a flat surface than on a tapering one.”

So much of the foregoing as is comprehensible, the tables of the _Field_ trial “and practical experimenters” have found to be erroneous. It will also be borne in mind that the inside end of the cartridge-case is conical.

“13. Joints, joinings, slides, and bolts, are all inferior to a well-made screw, as regards soundness of the breech. A perfectly solid breech, free from all suspicious joinings, curves, and openings, _must be_ by far the safer and more effective one in any instrument, in which so searching a substance as gunpowder has to be compressed and exploded.”

If this last objection is correct the others are superfluous, as it disposes of the discussion; and the statement will be true whenever it can be shown that the cohesion of a tube is increased by forcing a screw into it. To silence, however, such senseless cavils, gun-makers construct the breech end of the barrels slightly heavier than in the muzzle-loader.

These being the greater disadvantages, the _Dead Shot_ then adverts to the minor ones:

“On reloading, it is necessary to draw out the case of the discharged cartridge before inserting a full one. _It is true the discharged cartridge may generally be withdrawn almost instantly_; but if intended to be refilled and used another day, it must be carefully replaced in the cartridge-case in one of the divisional compartments, for if carried loose in the pocket it is soon spoilt. Therefore, if these important minutiæ be taken into consideration, it will be found, after all, that there is very little saving of time in re-charging the breech-loader.”

This is the acme of captiousness; as though the cases might not be placed in the pocket till a favorable opportunity presented to return them to their compartments. To any one who, with numbed hands on a bitterly cold December morning, is watching for ducks at daybreak, and who looks to reloading as a difficulty and recapping an impossibility, the large, easily handled cartridge is a blessing that he will never forget; and any one who, having used a breech-loader, will pretend that it cannot be loaded on the average infinitely faster than the muzzle-loader, is guilty of prevarication. In truth it can be reloaded in less time than the other gun can be recapped.

“With regard to refilling the cartridge-cases, the makers warrant that the discharged cases may be refilled and used again with the same facility and effect, some of them two or three times. This, however, is not always so; on the contrary, the cases expand so much on explosion of the powder, that when refilled they are sometimes not only difficult to thrust into the barrel, but on second explosion they stick so fast that in many instances the copper end comes off, on the case being attempted to be withdrawn, and the paper is left inside. And then, unless a loading-rod is at hand with which to force out the paper case, your breech-loader is powerless.”

Were it not for the next clause, one could suppose that _Dead Shot_ had never heard of an extractor, which is a little instrument not so large as a cone wrench, always carried in the shooter’s pocket, and with which the paper can be pulled out in about two seconds’ time, without possibility of failure; until this is done, and for those two seconds, “your breech-loader is indeed powerless.”

“None but those who have experienced the difficulty of extracting a bursted cartridge-case, which adheres firmly to the sides of the barrel, can imagine the annoyance it causes; and if the cases get damp, or if refilled ones are used, the difficulty is constantly occurring. And then the ‘extractor’ is of little use, beyond pulling away the brass bottom of the cartridge and leaving the paper case more difficult to remove.”

New cases, whether they burst or not, scarcely ever stick in passably well-made guns, and reloaded ones rarely; but when they do, the extractor will, in nine times out of ten, withdraw them at once; and if on this tenth occasion the brass capsule is torn off, the extractor, by the aid of a hook at the end, made expressly for the purpose, will tear out the empty paper instantly.

“Unless the brass pin which explodes the cap is made very precisely, a miss-fire is inevitable. If there is any corrosive substance upon it or upon the sides of the hollow in which it is to travel, the hammer will fail to drive it home or explode the cap. The hammer must strike it in exact position, or the pin will bend; any extra length or protrusion of the pin, or any dampness or foulness which causes it to stick, or if the pin be nipped in any way so as to weaken the force of the hammer, a miss-fire will probably be the result; and the pins must not be too loose, or they will drop out of the cartridges on any sudden or violent exertion on the part of the sportsman.”

All but the last clause of this paragraph is prejudice stated as fact, and that is simply ridiculous. It happened that one hammer of the writer’s breech-loader was broken and so badly mended that it did not fall true upon the pin, and yet the only miss-fires he has ever met with arose from his own neglect, in omitting to recap one or two of the discharged cartridges before reloading. The average of miss-fires with a cartridge is asserted by Mr. Eley, the celebrated gun-maker, to be one in a thousand--an assertion openly made, and, as yet, uncontroverted, and which is confirmed by the experience of the writer and his friends. So far from the pin’s being liable to fall out by any exertion whatever, even if the sportsman turned acrobat for the nonce, it is simply to be said that it cannot be withdrawn with the fingers, and requires a small pair of pliers.

“If in drawing out an unexploded cartridge the brass end comes off or breaks away from the paper case, _it will not be advisable to use the cartridge in that state_: it cannot be safe to explode it in the barrel of a breech-loading gun; in fact, it would be almost as unsafe as a loose charge of powder. _And in the event of the cap missing fire in a breech-loading cartridge, it is not desirable to recap the cartridge._ When once the brass and the pasteboard part company, the power of retaining the explosive force within the case is considerably weakened, and so is the expulsive force.”

On reading the foregoing, one would suppose the author of such statements had never seen a breech-loader. Where the brass end breaks away from the paper case, the cap comes off with it, and the cartridge cannot be discharged unless touched off with a lucifer match or a lighted cigar--a performance that probably few persons out of a lunatic asylum would attempt. And as for recapping a cartridge that once missed fire, it cannot be done, _as the cap is inside_. What species of cartridges the _Dead Shot_ must have used, the writer of this cannot imagine. In case of a miss-fire the cartridge has to be unloaded, and may then be recapped and reloaded like any other.

The writer experimented extensively in reloading cartridges, using some a dozen times, and has experienced the annoyance of sticking cases and separating capsules, and tested it thoroughly; and he must say that if a cartridge is loaded over three times with heavy loads it is apt to stick, especially if it is loaded shortly after being discharged, and while it is still soft from the heat. The cases should be left for several hours before they are reloaded, until they are dry and hard, and, if there is time, should be reloaded in the mould--a block bored out to the exact size, in which they fit accurately, and in which they cannot spread.

They rarely stick, however, before the third discharge, and then may be pulled out by force--in pieces, if necessary, and thrown away. If, however, they cannot be forced in, and are torn apart before they are discharged, which never happens except after repeated use, the charge is wasted; the powder should be at once poured out, the wads pushed aside by the extractor to let the shot escape by the muzzle, and the empty case torn away--an operation implying neither danger nor difficulty. It is desirable to pour the shot out at the muzzle, lest a pellet lodge under the breech-end of the gun and interfere with its operation.

“The rapidity with which a succession of shots may be made is urged as one of the chief recommendations of the breech-loader; but rapidity of firing is seldom desired, _and the barrels may become heated to danger_. The sportsman’s every-day success frequently depends on the range of his gun, but seldom on the loading and firing of it.”

The _Dead Shot_ is an English book; and in England there are no rail or bay-snipe; the author, therefore, has never whistled a flock of marble-winged willet or golden-brown marlin back, time after time, to the fatal stand, and delivered repeated discharges into their thinning ranks. But ducks abound there; and for any person who has been present at the early morning or late evening flight, and has seen and heard the rush of wings innumerable, when a dozen guns and men to load them would hardly have been enough, to say that “rapidity of firing is seldom desirable,” is marvellous indeed. The italicized portion of the last objection further implies that _Dead Shot_ has never used a breech-loader; for, while in the muzzle-loader the heat of repeated discharges may be dangerous, in a breech-loader it cannot, as paper intervenes between the barrel and the powder. The writer has fired his breech-loader until it was so hot he could not bear his hand on it.

This is the last of _Dead Shot’s_ objections, and none of them merit the attention they have received, except from the fact that this book has been extensively circulated in our country, where the merits of breech-loaders are little known. The objections so manifestly arise from prejudice or ignorance, that they need no contradiction to any one acquainted with the true state of the case, and are worthy of an author who, in his opening, says: “He only can be called a ‘Dead Shot’ who can bring down with unerring precision an October or November partridge, whenever it offers a fair chance, _i. e._ rises within certain range;” which range he afterwards, at page 86, puts at forty yards, in the following words: “With judicious loading and a regard to the principles of deadly range, a partridge may be killed with certainty at forty yards.” The partridge resembles, in many points, our quail, and sportsmen can tell whether quail can be killed “with certainty at forty yards,” or whether the best shot alive can kill them every time at any distance.

In discussing the merits of any new invention, prejudice is one of the strongest grounds of opposition to overcome; and prejudice in favor of a weapon that we have tried and found trustworthy, that years of service have enabled us to use skilfully and have endeared to our affections, that has never, under all diversities of trial, failed to merit our confidence, is not merely a natural but praiseworthy feeling in the human mind. Prejudice, when at last driven to a corner and forced to give up as untenable the objection to the safety or shooting qualities of the breech-loader, will say: “I can shoot fast enough with a muzzle-loader.”

For woodcock and quail-shooting, rapidity in loading is not essential, although frequently after a bevy of quail has flushed, one or two birds will loiter long enough to be killed by the reloaded breech-loader, that would fly before the muzzle-loader could be recharged. But for killing English snipe, that have a habit of rising one after another in tantalizing succession before the unloaded gun; for ducks and rail; but above all for bay-snipe, one-half if not two-thirds of the bag depends upon celerity in loading. Duck shooting is frequently best in wet weather, when even Eley’s “central fire double water-proof” caps will not always insure the ignition of the powder; and in thick covert the caps, especially if they do not fit perfectly, will occasionally be brushed off; whereas the breech-loader is impervious to wet, and is not liable to the last difficulty; above all, where different kinds of game are expected, and it may be important to change quickly the load for ducks, to buckshot for deer, or double B’s for geese, the breech-loader has an infinite superiority.

The comparative merits of the two guns may be stated as follows:

For shooting quail or woodcock, where there is no necessity for great rapidity in firing, there is little advantage in a breech-loader; and, unless loaded cartridges sufficient for the entire trip are carried, the reloading them during the evening after a hard day’s fag will be found annoying. But for all the shore-birds, and even for English snipe, the breech-loader has an immense advantage. It requires a quarter of a drachm of powder extra, and, on this account as well as from the cost of the cases, is more expensive in use; with the extra allowance of powder, however, it shoots stronger, with as good a patten and as little recoil as its rival; it is somewhat heavier to carry, infinitely safer to load, rarely misses fire, and may be cleaned ere the tow can be prepared for the muzzle-loader.

Of course the better the barrels, the better it will shoot, to a greater degree even than the old gun; and it is being daily made more perfect. The weight has already been reduced, for field-guns even of No. 12 bore, to six pounds ten ounces, which is as light as any double-gun should be, and the mechanism of the parts is very fine. Of course the friction on the hinge will in the end wear it loose, but the expense of a new one is trifling, and its construction might almost be entrusted to a country blacksmith. The barrels are said to spring slightly at the discharge when the load is heavy, so that a piece of thin paper pasted across at the break-off along the ridge will be rent; and, on the other hand, Mr. Dougall, of Glasgow, claims to have made an invention called by him the “Lockfast,” that removes this difficulty. The objection, however, is not important; and Mr. Dougall’s invention, by which the barrels slip into a shoulder-cut on the face of the breech, is considerably slower in action than the other patterns: it cannot be made to spring shut like the Lefaucheux, but must be drawn back into place by a short lever.

The price of a superior breech-loader, made by Jeffery of Guildford, several of whose make have been imported and given entire satisfaction, is thirty guineas, and by Dougall of Glasgow about forty guineas, although of course the price varies to suit purses; and some of the best London makers, who spare neither labor nor expense, and who turn out work that is unsurpassable, charge double these sums. It has even been asserted that Purdey has received over a hundred pounds for a breech-loader; but this is merely a fancy price, and makes the gun neither safer nor more useful than one at a third of the cost.

A breech-loader to shoot creditably must be well made, and consequently is expensive; and at the best an extra quarter drachm of powder must be allowed. This is supposed to be required by the yielding of the comparatively soft material of the cartridge-case, which must fit rather loosely in the chamber of the barrel to allow of its ready insertion, and any defect of workmanship increases this difficulty materially.

There are several descriptions of cartridge--those made by Eley of England or Gevelot of France being the best. Eley manufactures two qualities at different prices, and those persons who object to reloading their cartridges, may purchase the lower-priced article, which is not intended to be used more than once. The first quality cost three pounds a thousand, unloaded but capped; or they may be purchased at a proportionally higher price loaded, ready for instant use, as they can be transported even across the ocean without material risk. The brown-paper cartridges of Chaudun are also good, but not quite so fine an article as Eley’s; they may be reloaded, however, several times. In carrying the loaded cartridges, it is natural to suppose that there would be danger of their exploding in consequence of a sudden jar, and they are generally packed in sawdust to avoid this risk, but experience has proved that the danger is slight; generally speaking, they cannot be so discharged, and there is but one case reported where it happened; in this instance, a railway porter in England let fall a large box of them, when a single cartridge exploded, without doing any damage or discharging the others.

There are, properly speaking, no gun-makers in America; a few workmen import English locks, stocks, and barrels, and fitting them together, stamp them with their names; but I know of no establishment where the smallest portion even of the fowling-piece is manufactured. It is a matter of great difficulty to get any good work done, and the simplest repairs are generally bungled in our best shops in a way to disgrace the trade and disgust the owner; as for having a gun made, we have not advanced the first step towards it, not even having a compulsory proof-stamp.

It is hardly necessary to add that breech-loaders must be imported. They and their equipment are kept for sale at our principal metropolitan shops, and their mechanism is so simple that any accident to it can be repaired; but as they are not in general demand, really fine articles are difficult to find, and had better be purchased specially on the other side. This can be done by the party himself, by sending to any European maker the length from the foremost trigger to the heel-plate, and the drop from the line of the barrels to the cheek-piece of the stock--that exist in his present gun, and which he wishes to retain. Or any of our dealers will take the measure of his gun, and import him a breech-loader that will “come up” like the old gun he has handled for years.

Much space has been devoted to the breech-loader, for the reason that the writer, while recognising its adaptability to general use, has considered it specially advantageous for the pursuit of the game of which this work particularly treats; that it has defects is not denied, but these are vastly overborne by its advantages. Prejudice is strong; for twenty years the Lefaucheux has been in common use among the French, who had satisfied themselves of its superiority; and it required that time for an invention so simple and easy to test, to cross the narrow channel between the continent and England. Americans are always ready to try a new discovery and judge of its advantages by their own experience; so that it is not probable that the breech-loader will be as long in crossing the “broad Atlantic,” and locating itself securely on our shores.

There are now some twenty or thirty of these guns in use among our sportsmen, and they have generally given satisfaction. Of course it requires a short time to accustom oneself to a new implement; and a cheap piece, which it is natural to purchase on an experiment, is a poor affair, and especially so with a breech-loader; but the invention is steadily winning friends. In England, where the nature of the game is not so well calculated for its use as here, the highest authority on sporting gunnery, the editor of the _Field_, who writes under the name of Stonehenge, speaking of the two guns, says: “Indeed, so near is the performance of the two, that we cannot think for a moment that for general purposes there can be a doubt of the superiority of the breech-loader, when quickness of loading, safety, and cleanliness are taken into consideration.”