MODERN
SPORTING GUNNERY
HENRY SHARP
presentefc to
library
of tbe
\Hniver0its of Toronto
Jort William Pablic Library
MODERN SPORTING GUNNERY
o
£ 5-5164 rn
MODERN SPORTING
GUNNERY
A MANUAL OF PRACTICAL INFORMATION
FOR SHOOTERS OF TO-DAY
BY
HENRY SHARP
AUTHOR OF
PRACTICAL WILDFOWLING,' 'THE GUN: AFIELD AND AFLOAT,' ETC.
LONDON
SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & Co., LTD.
• *
1906
[ Copyright'}
RICHARD CLAY & SONS, LIMITED,
BREAD STREET HILL, E.G., AND
BUNGAY, SUFFOLK.
PREFACE
THE idea of this book has been in my mind for some seven or
eight years at least. The first half of this period produced nothing
more than a general scheme of arrangement and a few fitful notes ;
but all the time the conviction grew upon me that my idea was
incapable of adequate realization unless I could secure the aid and
advice of the practical gunmaker.
I have had myself a shooting experience of some twenty-five
years or more, extending from my early boyhood, and from the
layman's standpoint think I have a claim to some knowledge of
guns and ammunition ; but I wished to discuss the construction
and the mechanical functions, the performances and uses of both
shot-gun and rifle, after an accurate and thorough fashion, with
the object of proving helpful to shooters, and always, let me add,
without asking them to traverse the toilsome region of the severely
mathematical or technical.
It was, therefore, fortunate that I was able to obtain entree to
gun-works owned by a firm of world-wide reputation ; and I do
not know that, for my purpose, it would have been possible to find
any one firm so desirable, and with such all-round achievements, as
Messrs. Westley Richards. To them I am indebted for complete
and unrestricted accessibility to their factory, as also for a liberal
draft upon their archives, representing the stored-up experience
and knowledge gained throughout all the notable changes of a
century's gunmaking.
The British gun industry stands unrivalled amongst its com-
petitors in any country abroad ; and unquestionably there are in
London, Edinburgh, Birmingham, and the provinces, not a few
gunmakers whose manufactures exhibit the highest qualities of
finish and mechanical efficiency — which other sportsmen besides
myself are pleased to acknowledge. But apart from the con-
VI
Preface
sideration of manufacturing skill, in the endeavour to trace the
evolution of the sporting firearm, mainly and in detail, I think it
is impossible to turn to any other firm than that named, to whose
credit stands so lengthy a sequence of important inventions which
are largely and uniquely identified with the history and successful
development of the modern gun, rifle, and cartridge.
I do not pretend that the privilege of a roving commission
through a gun factory, though extending over a couple of years,
suffices to stamp me as a gunmaker. I do think, however, that
it has enabled me to acquire a degree of knowledge which permits
me to offer useful advice to my fellow-sportsmen ; and I, at least,
can estimate the help it has been to me in the attempt to carry
out my original idea.
To the Managing Director of the Westley Richards Company
— Mr. Leslie B. Taylor — I am especially indebted for having
enabled me to acquire much of this purely technical information
concerning guns, rifles, and allied matters. For a quarter of a
century Mr. Leslie Taylor has assisted in guiding the destinies of
his firm ; and, being yet in the early prime of life, he has, I trust,
many years of usefulness before him in which to add to the
obligations he has conferred upon so many sportsmen. His
researches in the advanced path of scientific gunnery ; his several
patented inventions, such as the detachable gun - lock, capped
expanding bullet, the pivot wind-gauge sight, etc., are proof, I
think, that he has inherited the traditional progressive spirit which
animated the founders and the former managers of his business.
We have it on authority that the cartridge plays a more
important role even than the weapon which fires it. Whether or
not we accept this dictum, I have sufficiently recognized its
indubitable claim to fill a foremost place in this work by dwelling
at length upon the various aspects of the question of shot-gun loads
as well as upon sporting rifle ammunition.
Having written much in the past with regard to the rearing,
the habits, and the preservation of game, furred and feathered, I
now treat the subject of game shooting principally from the
standpoint of the practical sportsman who has himself constantly
tested and approved in the field the killing qualities of the various
bores and loads recommended.
Preface
vn
Although shooting is perhaps generally regarded as man's
monopoly, this book includes advice to the ever-increasing sister-
hood of sportswomen, and my acknowledgments are gratefully
made to her Grace the Duchess of Bedford for her kind and very
valuable assistance on their behalf. Her Grace's experience and
skill enable her to speak with authority ; and her delightfully
instructive contribution, given in Chapter XVIII, is, I believe,
the first of its kind written by a sportswoman for sportswomen.
My own obligation, as well as my readers', is deepened by the
inclusion of portraits of her Grace, showing correct attitudes for
carrying and handling the gun in the field.
The introduction of the try-gun and the shooting-ground as
essential parts of the gunmaker's business has directed attention to
the subject of gun-fitting, which is herein dealt with for the first
time on exhaustive and practical lines.
In the Retrospect we have Bishop Latimer's testimony that four
hundred years ago it was regarded as a parental duty to train-
children in the art of shooting. The revival of this form of
practical patriotism, due to the weighty utterances of the late
Marquis of Salisbury, is now being prosecuted with vigour by Earl
Roberts and other personages of authority. It may therefore be
considered not inopportune that the subject of miniature rifles,
which so closely concerns the training of civilian marksmen, is fully
discussed ; and, I trust, in a spirit which will help to turn all the
forces of this new enthusiasm to the most advantageous account,
for the better protection of British hearth and home within and
beyond the seas.
Many of the illustrations throughout this book are photographic
reproductions showing the various component and mechanical
parts of sporting arms and their adjuncts. Those delineating
game birds and animals have, I imagine, an interest somewhat
unusual ; as, for the most part, they are facsimiles of the gun-
engraver's actual " touches " ; albeit, I admit, they make no
pretensions to inform the naturalist.
HENRY SHARP.
FRISKNEY,
September 1906.
CONTENTS
UAPTER PAGE
PREFACE . . . . . v
I. A RETROSPECT . . . . i
II. MODERN SHOT-GUNS . . . .22
Barrels — -Actions — Fore-end Fastenings — Locks, fixed and
hand-detachable.
III. MODERN SHOT-GUNS (continued] . . 43
Safety-bolts — Ejector — One-trigger.
IV. MODERN SHOT-GUNS (continued) . . 65
The Processes of Manufacture and the Gun Complete.
V. MODERN SHOT-GUNS (continued) . . 92
Sizes, Lengths, Weights and Charges — Boring — Shooting
Power and Performances — Pattern — Penetration and
Recoil.
VI. SHOT-GUN AMMUNITION . . .125
Cartridges and Cartridge-loading — Primers — Gunpowders
— Powder pressures and Barrel bursts — Shot : Velocity and
Sizes.
VII. MODERN SPORTING RIFLES . . ..162
VIII. MODERN SPORTING RIFLES (continued) . .191
Single-loading, Magazine, and Double Rifles.
IX. THE NEW ACCELERATED EXPRESS RIFLES AND
AXITE POWDER . . . .215
X. BALL- AND SHOT-GUNS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT 231
x Contents
CHAPTER PAGE
.XL THE SIGHTING OF RIFLES . . . 256
Trajectory.
XII. SPORTING BULLETS .... 295
XIII. MINIATURE RIFLES FOR MATCH, TARGET, AND
SPORTING PURPOSES .... 322
XIV. GUN FITTING ..... 354
The Try Gun and its Uses — Stock Form and Measurements
—Second-hand Gun Buying.
XV. GAME SHOOTING IN GREAT BRITAIN . . 373
XVI. WILDFOWL SHOOTING IN GREAT BRITAIN . 410
The Various Species — Guns and L-oads.
XVII. THE SPORTSWOMAN : HER RATIONALE IN THE
FIELD AND HER EQUIPMENT . . . 430
XVIII. LADIES IN THE FIELD .... 441
(By THE DUCHESS OF BEDFORD)
XIX. SHOOTING /^ROAD • 446
The Necessary Armament — The Import Duties on Guns,
Rifles, and Cartridges — The Sport to be obtained — Arms
...uitable for killing Big Game.
CNDEX . . . . . 495
Modern Sporting Gunnery
CHAPTER I
A RETROSPECT
FROM times far remote, when ancient Britons killed
deer, wild boar, or wolf with flint-headed arrow and
spear, in fact, ever since the country had a history,
Great Britain has been inhabited by a race of sports-
men. English history and legend bristle with fact,
incident, and anecdote, which go to prove this statement. There
is King William Rufus, for instance, who was slain by an arrow
whilst hunting in the New Forest. Robin Hood also, and his band
of rollicking fellows, who, if report says true, had a right merry
time of it amongst the red-deer or fallow-de-.r in Sherwood Forest —
for forests were plenty and deer numerous in England in tnose
days. And so strong was the national love for sp ^rt, for game-
someness, and for the outdoor life, that it raised tiiese poachers
(for that, in truth, I fear the latter were) into nati lal heroes.
And I might go on multiplying instances indefinitely.
Now, perhaps, in no phase of sport have the English, >;om times
immemorial, shown greater aptitude and excellence than in that of
marksmanship, and this, too, in the arena of war as well as in that
of the chase. Semper eadem I Both long-bow and cross-bow had
a lengthy period of service as weapons of offence or defence, in war
and the chase. In Plantagenet and Tudor times, shooting with
bow and arrow reached the highest pitch of perfection, and the skill
displayed by English bowmen was widely gossiped abroad ; nor
is this so remarkable, seeing that archery practice was then com-
pulsory upon all able-bodied men under sixty years of age — by
the way, a far higher limit in the period of service than is now
i
2 Modern Sporting Gunnery
reached by our soldiery. As a consequence, the man who could
not then perform creditably with the long-bow at distances
between 300 and 400 yards, was not held in much account as
a marksman. In those days, even as in ours, there were good
clerics who could .shoot without shaming themselves, as Bishop
Latimer in one of his sermons quaintly testified, for said he —
"In miy time my poor father was as diligent to teach me to shoot
as to learn me any other thing; and so I think other men did
with their children. He taught me how to draw, how to lay my
body i-n my bow, and not to draw with strength of arms as others
did!"
But leaving those ancient weapons, which, although excellent
enough in their day, have now only an historical interest for us,
we come down to the first firearm — herald of so mighty a follow-
ing. The. precise date of the invention of gunpowder, and of the
change from the mechanical to the chemical weapon, is scarcely
traceable amid the mists of obscurity. Indeed, it would seem that
the inventive genius of great minds in different countries was more
or less simultaneously at work upon the development of gunpowder
as an agent for discharging a missile, and of the gun as the means
for directing the flight of that missile. History discloses the fact
that an explosive compound of some kind was known in the time
of Moses. Such explosive compound would appear to have been
at first employed in the way of a pyrotechnic demonstration designed
to strike terror into the hearts of a foe. This much in the spirit
of those Chinese, who, even at this day, display upon their banners
dragons of the bogey order, or other ferocious-looking creatures,
to the accompaniment of a persistent din and clashing of brazen
instruments, all with the object of creating fear.
The precursor of undreamt-of possibilities as it has proved to be,
there is still small wonder that the firearm found but little favour
in the earlier period of its introduction. It then was so excessively
clumsy in construction, so generally unwieldy, and so uncertain of
action, that for some considerable time it proved but a revolutionary
novelty, a sort of show puppet that as an engine of destruction
was useless to the practical man.
In the earliest examples, the ignition had to be effected by hand
by means of a loose match or fuse, and one may well believe that the
A Retrospect 3
process of firing was exceeding slow and deliberate ; in fact, two
. persons were frequently required, one to aim and the other to dis-
charge the piece. So matters progressed slowly with the firearm ;
until mechanical ingenuity at length succeeded in devising a means
for doing away with these laborious and leisurely two-men
methods, and sometime about the second decade of the sixteenth
century the arquebus, or matchlock, a Spanish invention, was
introduced. The arquebus marked a great advance upon all the
•existing crude systems of ignition ; and, indeed, in the serpentine of
this weapon, the limb which held and -carried the match to the
touch-hole of the barrel, there first appears in embryonic form the
hammer of more modern firearms. Arquebus and musket — both
names being given to the hand-guns of the sixteenth century — -
appear to have been practically synonymous terms, save for the fact
that the musket was the larger and heavier weapon.
Perhaps I may not be strictly fair in giving priority to the
arquebus, for according to some authorities the wheel-lock, a
better arm, was contemporaneous, having been invented at
Nuremberg a little before 1515. But historians are somewhat
at variance relative to the question of dates, and there I will leave
the matter, as it is no part of the scheme of the present work to
decide such points.
The flint-lock, a Spanish invention, dating from 1580, began
to prevail about 1630. For the match arrangement of the
arquebus, this arm substituted a method of igniting the powder
charge by means of sparks created by the striking of flint against
steel. In the country of its origin it was originally styled " Lock
a la Miquelet," from the fact that it was used by the Miquelitos,
bandit or partisan soldiers of the north of Spain. It was also
styled " Snaphaunce," from the fancied resemblance of the flint
hammer to the head of a pecking fowl.
During the Stuart regime marked improvements were made in
the construction of guns in this country ; it was in those times that
the nucleus of the modern double-barrelled shot-gun was evolved.
It may surprise some sportsmen of the present day to learn that
so far back as the reign of Charles the Second the first patent
granted in this country for breechloading guns was taken out by
the Earl of Worcester, a forbear of the present Duke of Beaufort.
4 Modern Sporting Gunnery
In the early Georgian period, the flintlock firearm had come
into general use, and this more certain form of ignition assisted
greatly towards the extended employment of the gun for purposes
of sport. Naturally, the sporting critic of the period was not
slow to take note of the improvements going on around him, and
occasionally his pronouncements are so quaint as to merit repeti-
tion ; some undoubtedly were much to the point, and helped not
a little to advance the science of gunnery.
Towards the end of the eighteenth century, and, to be precise,
in 1782, "that most able Park and Gamekeeper and famous
Marksman, Mr. Lemon," gave to the world A Dissertation on
the Errors of Marksmen and Gunmakers, and a Tract on the Art
of Shooting Flying. His little tract is really delightful reading.
It is quite refreshing in these humdrum days of ours to be told of
" the igniferous stroke of the lock and appulse of the shot to the
object," of the "altitudinal celerity of the bird," of "birds ripe in
plumosity," or " that have arrived at the zenith of their strength ; "
or again, of " flaccid and immature birds," whose " celerity is
torpid." Despite this fanciful grandiloquence, there was a good
deal of sound sense in the pamphlet, and it is not improbable that
this writer exercised some influence in the direction of improved
methods of gun construction. Certainly Mr. Lemon condemned
most strongly the cumbrous weapons then in use, and recommended
shorter barrels, straighter stocks, and smaller sights. He ridiculed
the " protuberant muzzle," as well as the " height of that mass
called a sight ; " which, by the way, he characterized as " the
nominal directory on the point of the gun."
So we get to the closing decade of the eighteenth century, when
there came upon the scene one Joseph Manton, gunmaker, of
London town, who earned celebrity more for the sterling quality
of his work and for the soundness of his methods in the construc-
tion of the fowling-piece than for his inventive genius. He spent
a fortune on litigation concerning his inventions, but it cannot be
conceded that these inventions were of practical value ; indeed, in
some cases, they were trivial and unimportant. It was not as an
inventor that he shone, but as a sound and artistic gunmaker, and
above all as an organizer, which is testified to that he rallied round
him a " fine army of workmen," as Colonel Hawker has it, many
A Retrospect 5
of these workmen subsequently earning for themselves fame as
master gunmalcers. He did much towards shaping the shot-gun
upon lines which accorded more closely with the tastes and
requirements of the shooter; thus the name "Joe Manton "
became a household word with sportsmen during the early years
of the nineteenth century, and his fame as a gunmaker lived long
after him. Joe Manton's brother, also, was celebrated as a maker
of good sound guns, and this brother, John Manton, in 1797,
Before Firing.
After Firing.
FIG. i.— WESTLEY RICHARDS FLINT-LOCK.
patented a method for discharging both locks of a double-barrelled
gun by means of one trigger. But even in this idea, which, as we
know, has only quite recently entered the domains of practical
gunnery, John Manton was forestalled by certain of his con-
temporaries, for in 1789 John Templeman, and in 1794 Thomas
Sykes, had taken out patents having the same object in view.
The supersession of the flint ignition by the percussion-cap
system, and the final triumph of the breechloader over the muzzle-
loader, are well-worn themes that need not be descanted upon at
6 Modern Sporting Gunnery
any great length in a work dealing with modern gunnery. In
1807, the Rev. Alexander John Forsyth, LL.D., a Scottish
clergyman — the Cloth again ! — invented a new form of ignition,
the percussion system, a modification of which is in use at the
present time. As in the case of nearly every invention of primary
importance connected with sporting firearms ultimately destined
for universal adoption, the detonating principle of igniting the
propellant charge took several years to thoroughly establish itself,
so tenaciously did sportsmen cling to their old favourite, the
cumbrous flint-and-steel method. It is, doubtless, the old story :
frequently so undeveloped are the earliest applications of some
great new principle, that in actual practice they may prove inferior
to the developed applications of an altogether poorer system.
Anyhow, the detonating plan took fifteen years or more to root
itself on the sunny side of popular opinion. The crude methods
at first in vogue for utilizing the detonating powder were greatly
responsible for its tardy adoption.
In 1821, William Westley Richards, originator of the well-
known Westley Richards firm, helped to popularize the detonat-
ing principle, by his invention of a percussion gun. This, with
his subsequent invention, 1833, earned much favour amongst
the foremost sportsmen of the day, because it did its work
well, and was not only ingeniously adapted for use with several
of the detonating primers employed at the time, but also for
use with a special form of primer devised by Westley Richards
himself. Colonel Hawker remarked of Westley Richards' steel
primer, here illustrated : " Of all the inventions (for common-sized
guns) that have been brought out since the flourishing days of
Joseph, this, in my humble opinion, is the best. I have tried it
repeatedly, and never yet knew it to fail ; and my son shot with
it for a whole season, and never had one miss-fire. The next
season he accompanied me to the coast, where we had heavy seas
and much wet weather ; and while my copper caps were missing
about two shots out of ten, his primer never failed once."
So by degrees, and by inventions such as this, the many and
several advantages of the percussion, as against the flint form of
ignition, were brought home to sportsmen. Once it was realized
that with percussion guns the ignition was much more certain
A Retrospect 7
and rapid ; that these arms effected an undoubted and distinct
economy of propulsive force, by reason of the greatly minimized
escape of powder gas through the touch-hole, and, finally, that
FIG. 2. — WESTLEY RICHARDS DETONATING GUN.
with the copper cap miss-fires were infinitely less frequent, the
triumph of the new gun was established.
Although the name of Lefaucheux, a gunmaker of Paris, has
become inseparably connected with the application of the breech-
loading principle to the shoulder firearm — many people regarding
8 Modern Sporting Gunnery
him as the originator of the idea — it is doubtless the fact that in
the first instance, at all events, his were but modifications of the
inventions of one Jean Samuel Pauly, of Little Charlotte Street,
in the parish of St. George, Hanover Square, and county of
Middlesex, engineer, who in the years 1814 and 1816 took out
patents for breechloaders with fixed breech and movable barrels.
As a matter of fact, some twenty years or so had elapsed before
M. Lefaucheux stepped upon the stage with a new mechanism,
which he at first designated as "a la Pauly," but after a time
this acknowledgment was dropped and Lefaucheux claimed full
and undivided credit for his work. Nevertheless, the Field
newspaper, amongst other eminent authorities, considers
Pauly's invention to have been the prototype of the form of
breechloaders at present almost universally adopted for sporting
purposes.
However this may be, full credit of necessity must be accorded
Lefaucheux in that his was the first practical idea of a breech-
loading gun on workable lines. It was, as we well know, on
the drop-down principle ; that is to say, the barrels, partly revolv-
ing upon their hinge-pin, on being unbolted by the hand lever,
dropped their muzzles through force of gravity, thus raising their
breech ends into a position convenient for the extraction of spent
shells and for the insertion of fresh cartridges. In the Lefaucheux
gun, the opening lever was placed forward of the trigger-guard,
and rested underneath the fore-end of the stock. This action
having but a single grip was essentially weak. This defect was
shortly afterwards remedied by an English gunmaker, who made
the breech fastening a double-grip, on the principle of a screw, thus
securing the effect of binding down the barrels upon the action
body in addition to holding their breech ends in position against
the standing breech. In this method, the first under-lever double-
grip action, the lever effecting the movement was placed under-
neath the trigger-guard — a much neater, handier, and altogether
more effective arrangement than that of Lefaucheux.
This retrospective chapter, like the book which follows, deals
only with practical inventions which have become part of the
sportsman's equipment, and which were, or are, in general use
throughout the civilized world. But there were doubtless several
A Retrospect g
still-born devices, in the form of hammerless actions, single-
trigger arrangements for double guns, and so forth, that came
before their time, and of which any mention is seldom to be found
save by the ardent student of research.
However meritorious such ideas may have been, they are not,
in my opinion, entitled to detract from the gratitude we owe to
those gunmakers and others who have made practical successes of
their several improvements.
For instance, among these inventors of "unfulfilled renown" may
be mentioned one M. Pottet, of Paris, who actually produced a
central-fire hammerless gun in 1833 ; the locks were self-cocking,
and had a top safety slide bolting the sears. This gun, however,
had no extractors, a ramrod being supplied to extract whatever
form of cartridge was then employed ; it was opened by a half-
turn of the stock and pulling forward the barrels.
Other inventions might be instanced, but having little practical
value, it will not serve any useful purpose to follow such by-ways
and side-alleys of progress as the Lefaucheux gun, the Prussian
needle-gun, or Lancaster's four-holed base-fire cartridge, etc., as it
cannot in any way be discovered that these premature novelties
influenced those now recognized as responsible for the true
development of the modern breechloader. The breechloading
and revolver system were applied even to the earliest arms. In
early times ordnance, we know, was made on the breechloading
principle, and the matchlock appeared about 1550 as a revolver,
but it would be manifestly unfair, and, indeed, far from the truth,
to say that those who made the breechloading system a practical
reality, and established the success of the modern revolver, were
imitators of ancient systems. To bring the subject down to
more modern times, we should have to say that the immature and
clumsy single trigger introduced by John Manton was the fore-
runner of the highly-developed mechanical single-trigger arrange-
ments which appear on some modern guns. And we know it
was not.
In 1858, Westley Richards invented and patented the top
lever, and this he further improved in 1862. His invention not
only substituted a top lever for the under lever, but it included
the extension rib in various forms, and a bolt engaging therewith,
io Modern Sporting Gunnery
which survives to the present day as the strongest and most secure
form of breech fastening (vide Chapter II).
Great as were the foregoing achievements, the introduction of
a reliable cartridge, containing both powder and shot and all the
essentials for the due ignition of the former, and the effective
propulsion of the latter, was little less noteworthy. This necessary
accompaniment of the breechloading system, which at one stroke
greatly simplified matters for the sportsman, for it removed all
necessity for nipples on the gun, or for loose percussion-caps
and wadding, and dispensed entirely with the powder-flask,
shot-belt, ramrod, and other encumbrances ; the whole charge
by the new device being contained in one receptacle — the
cartridge-case.
In due time the awkward pin-fire cartridge of Lefaucheux was
superseded by the central-fire system invented, it is said, by
Pottet, and introduced here by Daw in 1861. This method of
ignition is now of universal application, and just as the experi-
ence of nearly half-a-century, derived from all conditions of sport,
has been unable to suggest improvement upon the excellent
mechanical arrangement of the Westley Richards top-lever
system as opposed to the under lever, so does experience retain
the Daw central-fire as still being the best means of cartridge
ignition.
Following upon this came the rebounding lock, invented
by Bardell and Powell in 1866. An improved system of re-
bounding lock was patented by Stanton, of Wolverhampton, in
1869, and to this day a good number of guns are made upon
this principle, especially for use in Eastern Europe, in high-grade
arms, as also for India and Africa in guns of lower grade. It
was no little achievement for this invention to have secured an
increased degree of safety by abolishing the half-cock arrange-
ment of the older system — in which the safety position of the
hammer could only be effected by a manual operation — and
thereby to have eliminated the personal element, substituting for
it an automatic mechanical device, which saved the sportsman
unnecessary thought and care, and increased the speed and
efficiency of the firearm. This development completed the era
of the gun with external hammers, and the next stage in the
A Retrospect 1 1
progress of the gunmaker's ingenuity is the production of a
gun from which the external hammers disappear.
Many of us now living can remember the advent of this
remarkable change in gun construction, a change which effected
a radical alteration in the appearance of the drop-down breech-
loading arm, and marked an epoch in the evolution of the sporting
gun and rifle as precisely as did the introduction of the breech-
loader itself. I refer to the system known as the Anson and
Deeley barrel-cocking hammerless action, invented by members
of the firm of Westley Richards in 1875. Anson was a very
capable mechanic and inventor in the employ of Westley Richards
& Co. as foreman ; he died years ago. Mr. Deeley, the co-
patentee, whose labours in connection with gunnery are well
known, is the veteran chairman of the Westley Richards Co., and
is still hale and hearty at the ripe age of 81 years.
It is true there had been a few attempts, more or less unsuc-
cessful, in which the top or under lever was utilized to effect
the cocking of the arm ; but heretofore nobody had succeeded in
making a gun-action with so few parts and of such great strength,
all contained within the breech-action body, and mechanically
arranged to automatically cock the tumblers by the fall of the
barrels.
Undoubtedly, the Anson and Deeley is the parent of most
of the hammerless systems now applied to drop-down arms ;
it has been manufactured by far on the largest scale, and at the
present time, thirty years after its introduction, it is still in more
exclusive use than any other type of hammerless action. This
remarkable invention actually reduced the number of parts in the
gun-lock by no less than fifteen, with the result that each remaining
limb could be made much broader and stronger within the same
compass. The striker and tumbler, being comprised in one limb,
operate directly upon the cartridge without the need of a separate
striker. I think it is not too much to say that this invention
completely revolutionized the breechloader, and amongst the
benefits it conferred I will enumerate these : It saved the
sportsman thought and trouble ; increased the speed of loading
and firing ; and, by eliminating the personal element in the
cocking and lowering of the hammers by hand, removed one of
12 Modern Sporting Gunnery
the principal causes of accident inseparable from the gun with
external hammers.
Thus was shooting rendered safer, easier, quicker, and more
effective ; and thus the Anson and Deeley was firmly established
as the most successful and most deservedly popular hammerless
action. Some hundreds of thousands of guns have already been
made upon this system, both here and abroad, and it is considered
by both experts and sportsmen to have reached the ultima thule of
mechanical efficiency under existing conditions.
The side-lock hammerless gun is an off-shoot of the Anson and
Deeley barrel-cocking hammerless method. Its external appear-
ance is doubtless pleasing, but this arrangement has been pur-
chased at the sacrifice of the perfect simplicity of the original
Anson and Deeley gun. The structural complications and
defects present in the side-lock hammerless gun will be dealt with
in the chapter relating to gun construction. Suffice it to say here
that certain forms of side-lock hammerless guns require greater
manual force for their manipulation, some opening with consider-
able ease and closing with objectionable difficulty ; in this respect
differing from the true barrel cocker, in which there is a more
equal distribution of the force required for opening and for closing
the breech.
There are, of course, various minor improvements connected
with the evolution of the sporting firearm, respecting which it
will not be necessary to give details in this present chapter ; but
amongst those of this character which are more or less constantly
employed at the present day, there is one that may receive passing
mention. I refer to the fore-end fastening, in which connection
has been applied a readier means for taking the gun apart. The
fore-end, in other words the part underneath the gun-barrel
grasped by the left hand when shooting, was formerly secured by
a sliding cross-bolt ; this was liable to become jammed through
rust or dirt, and in such case the detachment of the fore-end
frequently became a source of irritation to the gunner. The
soundest mechanical form of fastening, the Deeley-Edge lever fore-
end fastener, obviates this difficulty, and, moreover, mechanically
assists towards the removal of the fore-end by means of its catch,
which, on being released, pushes the fore-end away from the
A Retrospect 13
barrel, thereby saving the sportsman a manual operation. I
expect I am not the only gunner who, wearied by an arduous
day's sport, has occasionally been grateful for this simple device,
by means of which guns may be taken apart for cleaning and
packing away in the gun-case with the minimum expenditure of
time and trouble.
The lay mind might have been excused the thought that, with
the inventions and improvements already enumerated, the limit to
the further evolution of the gun had been fixed, and that both
sportsman and gunmaker would here rest content. Nothing,
however, I am glad to say, appears to quell the activity, mental
or physical, of the British gunmaker. True to his past, he ever-
more seeks fresh fields, and, with new contrivances, would seek
to overthrow all difficulties in connection with the inanimate arm.
The barrel-cocking hammerless gun, the Anson-Deeley of 1875,
seemed so incapable of improvement that none was called for or
suggested by its many users from the date of its appearance down
to the year 1897. It speaks volumes for its efficiency and satisfac-
tory behaviour that it took twenty-two years for even the progres-
sive spirit of the times to effect an improvement. However, by
the principle of its construction, the locks could not be stripped for
cleaning or repair without removing the stock and other parts,
an operation almost needing the exercise of skilled knowledge, and
certainly one requiring the aid of special tools. This, perhaps, was
not felt as much of a drawback by the home sportsman, who had
within easy reach his own gunmaker to fall back upon in case of
need. But in certain branches of sport, both here and abroad,
where it might take days, or even weeks, to communicate with a
gunsmith, the sportsman's inability to strip the lock constituted an
objection, and to meet the difficulty, mechanical ingenuity was
employed to devise a means by which the Anson and Deeley ham-
merless locks could be detached from the gun in a simple manner.
In 1897, the hand-detachable system, which effectively secured
this end, was invented and patented by Westley Richards'. The
same limbs contained in the original hammerless lock were
employed, and these were fitted upon a separate plate for inser-
tion within the body of the gun action. The cover-plate of the
body which secures them in position was made with an ingenious
14 Modern Sporting Gunnery
catch, which could be removed and attached instantly by hand and
without any tools whatever.
This briefly constitutes the mechanical arrangement of this
improvement, which will be found fully described and illustrated
in Chapter II. This system of hand-detachable locks dispenses
with all the trouble and special knowledge required for the detach-
ment of the gun-lock as it existed under the old method. By this
means the operation of taking apart and putting together the lock
mechanism, which formerly occupied a skilled workman for some
thirty minutes or so, can, with this new system of hand-detachable
lock work, be performed by a mere novice in ten seconds.
This important improvement, so especially valuable, as I have said,
to the sportsman when abroad and far removed from the locality of
the gun-shop, has proved so thoroughly efficient that sportsmen at
home also have shown themselves eager to possess a gun which
allows them to thoroughly clean and overlook it when necessary j
or, if needful, to send a damaged lock away by post for repair or
adjustment, without the trouble and inconvenience of parting with
the whole gun.
Incidentally, this system affords another great advantage, con-
ferring an almost inestimable boon upon the shooter in far-off
lands. For a moderate outlay duplicate locks, that may be easily
interchanged, can be fitted to any gun or rifle. Thus, in the case
of possible breakage of any limb, instead of the sportsman having
his trip spoiled, he can instantly substitute one of the duplicate
interchangeable locks, a fact which renders him all the more
confident when embarking upon his expedition.
Beyond the advantages of the easy means thus afforded for
cleaning and preventing the accumulation of rust, even in the
wettest weather, which appeal so forcibly to the home shooter,
there is a further one which commends itself to the notice of the
practical gunner, /. e. that by this means he has at once readily to
hand the simplest and most effective means for preventing that
great source of annoyance, namely, meddlesome fingers. Under
this system the sportsman can with little trouble put the locks in
his pocket, and thus secure his gun from all tampering curiosity
and possible use, just as well as if he were to lock it in a safe.
This advantage has been to the full appreciated by English sports-
A Retrospect 15
men, who, when shooting in far-off lands, have to employ native
servants.
The ejector mechanism advanced the gun another stage. This
also is an English invention, which adds to the convenience of the
sportsman by automatically expelling from the gun the fired cases,
thus doing away with hand extraction. By the use of this
ejecting mechanism, the pleasure of shooting is considerably
enhanced, and the speed of loading is so much increased that this
addition to the gun has undoubtedly been the means of making one
ejector gun equal to two of the older type.
The ingenuity of this mechanism also embraced the means of
selecting the cartridge to be ejected, i.e. it is only the spent
cartridge which is automatically expelled from the gun, the live
cartridge remains within the gun until fired ; while, if two
cartridges are fired, both are ejected. It is therefore not sur-
prising that this invention has become the vogue. Upwards
of 100,000 guns fitted with this system have been made since
its introduction in 1884. Needless to say, full advantage of its
merits has been taken by Belgian and other makers abroad, who
largely apply this ejecting mechanism to their productions, and, if
their output were included, the total above mentioned would be
considerably augmented. Probably 90 per cent, of the guns
made in America are non-ejecting; and, while the American nation
is supposed to be very progressive, yet so far as concerns the sport-
ing gun trade and its developments, it is most conservative and
slow. So large is the volume of their internal trade, so secure are
they behind their formidable tariff" wall, and in such favourable
condition are the markets of the world for receiving their super-
fluous products, that American gunmakers have been able to
thrive well without extensively adopting the ejecting mechanism.
It is only now since this patent has expired, that they are begin-
ning to generally apply this system to their weapons. By means
of the important inventions of the past century, British supremacy
in the gunmaking industry is well established, whilst other nations
lag far behind. But this indication of the progressive spirit
obtaining in our gun trade does not rest here, as subsequent
inventions place British products at least fifteen years ahead of any
other country.
1 6 Modern Sporting Gunnery
We all of us use the phrase, " the march of events," and
although the expression conveys a sense of speed, the progress
made may be either quick or slow within the movement implied.
Nevertheless, it implies, as it should, the steady plodding toil of
human endeavour. As will be gathered from previous statements,
it is now thirty years since the first barrel-cocking hammerless
gun was invented. Also, it is twenty-one years since the first
successful ejecting mechanism was applied to the gun. Now few,
if any, sportsmen of this country would select a gun which did
not possess the advantages these inventions afford — and the same
may be said, but not in like degree, of the sportsmen in France,
Germany, and Belgium. Prior to their introduction many
attempts had been made to apply these principles to the gun.
Development was slow, if persistent ; events in the march of
progress in scientific gunnery were only marked out from others
when perfected and crowned with success. Some ten years have
elapsed since a further development of useful mechanism was
applied to the gun, mainly in conjunction with the two far-
reaching revolutionary systems mentioned. I refer to the single
trigger used for firing both barrels of a double gun.
The idea of a single trigger, as remarked in a foregoing para-
graph, had its origin towards the close of the eighteenth century,
but this need not now concern us, because it was chiefly applied
to muzzle-loading pistols, and had but a brief existence. In the
year 1882, it was taken up by a Birmingham firm of gunmakers,
who failed to make it a success upon breechloading weapons,
partly because the idea was not completely developed, and partly,
no doubt, because the sportsman was not then prepared for such an
innovation.
This new departure, although recognized as of considerable im-
portance, did not excite such keen interest as previous inventions
alluded to ; but it marked, though faintly, an epoch from which will
date that event known to futurity as the rise of the single trigger.
Since then, interest in the system of single-trigger mechanism
has spread amongst the gunmaking world, as any one who has
consulted the Patent Office records will know. Few of the
patents deposited could pretend to the same degree of excellence
as the one which first achieved success, the three-pull system.
A Retrospect 17
But even the latter failed to convince the sporting world of the
completeness of its merits. Indeed, the average sportsman was so
far from convinced that only a very small percentage of high-class
guns, built during the first eight years of the movement, were fitted
with a single trigger of whatever invention. This reluctance to
adopt the novelty was doubtless increased by the vagaries of the
mechanism itself. It brought a new problem into the sports-
man's experience ; it had an unfortunate habit of occasionally
discharging both barrels simultaneously.
Such occurrence, in a gun having two triggers, was rare, but
whenever it did occur the cause was easily diagnosed and removed.
Not so with the single trigger, because this symptom was fitful,
and was developed only with certain sportsmen, consequent upon
some personal idiosyncrasy in handling and firing off the gun.
This defective behaviour, with its unpleasant results, ruined the
sportsman's belief in it, and prejudice was thereby created in the
minds of men against the principle itself, even when the fault was
remedied.
Added to this, the original system, and its numerous rivals which
followed on the same lines, although obtaining the same results
by different contrivances, perplexed the sportsman on account of
the somewhat eccentric movement of the trigger when snapped off
without a cartridge in the barrel. In such event three distinct
pulls were needed to let off the two barrels. With his two-trigger
gun only two were necessary, and the average sportsman, who
naturally trusts to the maker in all that concerns the mechanism
of his gun, was unable to grasp the fact that this extra pull in a
single-trigger gun, so apparent in the gun-shop, was not necessarily
felt in the field. He took up the empty gun, pulled and fired one
barrel, pulled again without result, then finally pulled and got off
his second barrel. The salesman explained, and the sportsman
assented, but said he would have a two-trigger gun, dubious of the
statement that the single trigger would be all right in actual firing.
Within the past ten years or so, dozens of single-trigger
systems have come and gone. Two-pull mechanisms, timed to
act when recoil ceases ; three pulls, endeavouring to be constant
when actuated by the inconstant element of recoil ; some nonde-
script arrangements, aiming at a construction which combined
2
1 8 Modern Sporting Gunnery
the two-trigger of old with the chief advantage generally claimed
for the single-trigger, viz. giving the same length of stock for the
trigger ringer when pulling off either barrel.
The latest and most successful example of the one-trigger
system is that of Westley Richards. After an exhaustive study of
the problem implied in operating both locks of a double-barrelled
gun by means of one trigger, this firm was impelled to the
conclusion that the complete desiderata of a reliable one-trigger
mechanism could not be accomplished in either a three-pull or a
two-pull timed mechanism. Both these systems fail to give satis-
faction, either on the one hand through the delay that may take place
before the second barrel can be fired, or, on the other, through the
liability to double discharge.
The cause of these alternative objections is that these previous
systems of mechanism are dependent upon recoil. It is a
self-evident fact that if the duration of the recoil varies, the
mechanism which depends upon recoil to operate it must
be affected by this variation. It acts either too slowly or too
quickly. If under a heavy recoil the mechanism acts too quickly,
the second barrel is ready to be discharged before the gun has
rebounded from the shoulder, and in the result may effect the
premature or involuntary discharge of the second barrel. If, on
the other hand, the recoil is light and short, or of long duration,
due to handling the gun in a different way, the mechanism
dependent upon it is retarded, and there is delay in firing the
second barrel. In order to be absolutely reliable, one-trigger
mechanism must be simply and purely of the two-pull order, that
is to say, one pull for each barrel, and its action must be inde-
pendent of recoil.
I have satisfied myself by a thoroughly practical trial of this
system in the field upon both game and wildfowl, under varying
conditions of sport and of weather, that the claim made by
Westley Richards in respect of their one-trigger mechanism is
fully borne out in practice. No personal habit or idiosyncrasy,
nor exceptional method of handling the gun, can in any way
affect its reliability. Moreover, I am well assured that, not having
to rely upon that inconstant agent recoil to actuate or to govern
its operation, this simple two-pull system always acts the same.
A Retrospect 19
This personal testimony to the complete reliability and effective-
ness of the Westley Richards one-trigger is fully corroborated by
the experience of the editor of the Field, who remarked (July 5,
1902), after thorough trial of this gun : "The gun will adapt
itself to practically every conceivable combination of violence or
lightness of recoil and suddenness or complete absence of the
involuntary pull."
That this device lends itself to the all-round requirements of
the sportsman there is abundant evidence, for it has been found to
answer satisfactorily when applied to the high-velocity heavily-
charged rifles used for shooting big game in various quarters of the
globe.
As a gun without a suitable explosive would cut but a sorry
figure, it is but natural to suppose that whilst so much attention
was being bestowed upon the improvement of the arm itself, its
ammunition was also receiving a due share of attention. Our
well-known and well-tried friend, black powder — the " villainous
saltpetre " of the immortal Shakespeare — was long without a rival
in the field of favour as a sporting explosive, and firms manu-
facturing the most famed brands — Curtis's & Harvey ; Pigou,
Wilkes & Lawrence ; John Hall & Sons ; and Kynoch, Ltd. —
were for many long years household words with British sportsmen.
At length there came a time when the chemical knowledge of
certain individuals became concentrated upon the development of a
newer and better form of explosive. For a long time the sporting
public refused to believe it to be possible for black powder to be
improved upon, but with the special acquirements of some of
the foremost chemists of the day — men such as Griffith, Andre,
Borland, Jones, Cocking, and Nobel, for instance, who had given
a lifetime study to the question of explosives — given full play, the
general supersession of black powder was a matter not long to be
delayed.
Schultze was the pioneer of the so-called smokeless shot-gun
powder. It was introduced in 1868, and for some years remained
in a more or less experimental stage. In 18/6, the then editor
of the Field, Dr. J. H. Walsh, was still giving his adhesion to
black powder, as the following note shows —
Dr. Walsh, after conducting some trials of black powder v.
2o Modern Sporting Gunnery
Schultze, said : " It will be seen that the black powder still main-
tains its superiority."
The rise of smokeless powder dates from the granulation of
Schultze, which powder was subsequently further improved by a
process of hardening and water-proofing. At length the general
and wide-spread adoption of the smokeless powders for practically
all purposes of sport is an accomplished fact, for, coupled with the
advantages accruing from the many improvements made in the
shot-gun, are those obtained from smokeless powder, which in
greater or lesser degree reduces recoil, fouling, and the incon-
venience arising from the presence of smoke, reductions adding
greatly to comfort and success in shooting. There are now many
excellent sporting powders — E. C., Amberite, Kynoch's, and
others — which will be treated of in the remarks devoted to
" Ammunition."
In concluding this retrospective chapter, I would say that its
object has not been to deal exhaustively and in detail with all the
various types of sporting firearms that have been made or are now
in use. The endeavour, rather, has been to proceed along the
lines of selecting those principal inventions which show the order
and rate of progress in the gradual development of the modern gun.
Those interested in the subject of modern gunnery will not,
in this work, look for any pretension to enlightenment upon the
development of the earliest firearm, through its many changes, to
the breechloading system in vogue to-day. They would, I
imagine, resent such attempt as untimely and out of place ;
and besides, if they pushed resentment still further, even to
stigmatizing it as " ploughing the sands of inquiry," I confess
they would be right.
After all, past and present are indissolubly related, and none
may gainsay the fact that weapons of our present time, despite
new and wonderful departures, and the multiplied items of their
design and usefulness, are strongly and un brokenly connected—
albeit at times by a thread fine almost to imperceptibility — with
the forgotten weapons from which they sprang.
Critics of modern gunnery — and so I would account all my
readers — will in this brief retrospect understand and, mayhap, pardon
the intrusion of ancient systems and the dull procession of dates
A Retrospect 2 1
allotted to them, as being a necessary exordium, although well-
trodden ground is once more retraced. It should not be dismissed
merely as a twice-told tale, but rather viewed as an imaginary
leaping ground proclaiming the excellence of the practice reculer
pour mieux sauter.
CHAPTER II
MODERN SHOT-GUNS
Barrels — Actions — Fore-end Fastenings — Locks, fixed and hand-
detachable.
constructor of high-class sporting guns must be
a man of many parts. In addition to a sound
practical knowledge of metallurgy and mechanics,
he must be skilful in designing and adapting all
parts of the weapon in order to secure from them the
due performance of their separate and conjoint functions. To
all this knowledge should be added a more or less intimate
acquaintance with the varied conditions of sport so that the sports-
man may be fitted with guns exactly suited to his requirements.
Sportsmen of the old school may even now be found who see
nothing good in the new and everything most desirable in the
old. In mournful note they constantly reiterate their belief
that the guns of this day are not equal to those of fifty years
ago. Lugubrious gunners of the sort are ever ready to draw
comparisons altogether in favour of obsolete types of weapon,
extolling most, perhaps, their shooting qualities. I venture, how-
ever, to remark that non-progressive ideas of the sort arise from a
misconception of the true facts of the case ; gunmaking in 1856
and gunmaking in 1906 are totally different matters. Apart from
the improvements, little short of revolutionary in character,
effected in the mechanism of the arm, we need go no further, in
proof of this statement, than the boring of the barrels. As a
matter of fact, much less than fifty years ago barrel-boring was
purely and simply an "art," a poor rule-o'-thumb art at its best ;
now, barrel-boring is an exact mechanical science, the modern
barrel-borer constantly working to dimensions of one-thousandth
part of an inch.
22
Modern Shot-Guns 23
THE GUN-BARREL.
The material used in the production of gun-barrels has for the
last one hundred years consisted of a figured iron, of which there are
numerous varieties. It is doubtless true that this figured iron was
first produced from horseshoe nails. The mixture of iron and
steel of which barrels are composed, and the processes of
manufacture they undergo, give that curl or figure, on subjection
to the process of browning, which distinguishes the various kinds
of Damascus barrels. In this connection, attention may be called
to an erroneous impression prevalent in some quarters concerning
the curl or figure of gun-barrel iron. Many people, even amongst
those having experience in the matter of guns and shooting,
imagine that this figure is entirely superficial, that it is obtained
by painting on the surface of the tube, or is so placed by the
processes of browning. On the contrary, the figure or curl
represents the natural texture of the composite metal formed by
the construction of the barrel from layers of steel and iron alter-
nately piled together, and assisted by the further treatment of the
tube in the course of manufacture.
The process of browning may be tersely described as a rusting
process, strong acids being employed to rust or darken the iron
portions of the barrel, and as these acids leave bright the harder
steel portions, the existing grain or figuring of the composite
metal of the gun-barrel is made apparent. It may possibly be
conceded that the figured barrel is fast disappearing, and that in a
while the steel barrel will completely predominate. Only in the
lower branches of manufacture is the figured iron for gun-barrels
insisted upon ; this may be for the reason that the purchaser is aware
of the fact that the figured iron has a reputation for reliability and
strength. Its surface presents a certain stamp of quality, whereas
the dark monotone of the plain steel barrel offers no such ready
guarantee. Obviously, the unfigured material affords opportunity
to an unscrupulous maker to substitute common iron in the place
of reliable steel. There is little cause for fearing that any of our
leading manufacturers, with a reputation to sustain, will counte-
nance for one moment the employment of an inferior material
in the construction of their steel gun-barrels. Nevertheless, one is
24 Modern Sporting Gunnery
forced to the conclusion that were it not for this risk of deception,
the demand for figured barrels might cease, and, generally speaking,
guns would be constructed with steel barrels. Still,'the figured gun-
FIG. 3.— SKELP BARREL.
barrel has played such an important part in the gun of the past
down to the present time, and has been of such excellent service,
both to the gunmaker and to the sportsman, that no record of
FIG. 4. — PLAIN STUB DAMASCUS.
modern gunnery would be complete without a brief description ot
the various kinds of Damascus iron adopted both at home and
abroad. Despite the fact that present indications point to the
FIG. 5. — BOSTON OR TWO-STRIPE DAMASCUS BARREL.
disappearance of the figured iron, it would not be surprising if
sportsmen of the future were to return to the early love. It is
conceivable that this change might follow merely through the
operation of the law of fashion ; and, therefore, both on these
Modern Shot Guns 25
grounds, and for the conservation of an art that has its root in
a deep and interesting past, I hope that the Damascus barrel industry
may be kept alive. The different kinds of iron or material mostly
in vogue are as follows —
FIG. 6. — THREE-STRIPE DAMASCUS BARREL.
The skelp, the plain stub Damascus, Boston or two-stripe, and
three-stripe and four-stripe Damascus.
FIG. 7. — FOUR-STRIPE DAMASCUS BARREL.
The skelp and plain stub is mainly employed in the con-
struction of the cheaper class of guns (Figs. 3, 4) ; two-stripe are
FIG. 8. — LAMINATED BARREL.
used in the medium kinds, and the three- and four-stripe are
usually reserved for use in the higher grade guns (Figs. 5, 6, 7).
As a variant of the Damascus three- and four-stripe, there was
frequently used a higher class of laminated barrel, which was
in fact equal to the very best Damascus barrel, but only differed
26 Modern Sporting Gunnery
from Damascus, whose curl of the figure was insured by a
just proportion of steel and iron layers properly intermixed, by
substituting a larger proportion of the steel layers or piles
(Fig. 8). This tended to break the evenness of the figure, and
at the same' time increased the hardness of the barrel. This
breakage of the figure by the intrusion of the larger proportion
of steel does not make an unpleasing figure to the eye ; the some-
what unequal laminations have an effect of their own, more of a
lightning streak breaking through the true proportion of the curl,
at first glance somewhat perplexing, but, nevertheless, consistent.
This radiating effect, however, is produced at the expense of
elasticity or ductility which is mainly characteristic of the
Damascus iron, and' has proved, under exceptional stress, to be a
source of protection to the shooter, the metal stretching instead of
FIG. 9. — WESTLEY RICHARDS STUB DAMASCUS BARREL.
bursting. It is in this respect that the best qualities of Damascus
iron have the right to consideration as opposed to steel, and this is
further augmented by the fact that the processes of manufacture
of the Damascus barrel largely tend to reveal internal flaws or
errors, so that the progress of the tube from the various stages of
construction is either an assurance of its perfection or an indication
of its defectiveness. It may be said of the Damascus barrel that,
on arriving at completion, if found free from any serious defect,
its behaviour through the various processes and hammering to
which it has been subjected have insured for it a character for
soundness and solidity. This could not be said of the steel barrel,
for at least some years after its introduction ; for this, it was
known, would carry with it through its various stages some hidden
flaw, probably caused in the manufacture of the material — such,
for instance, that defect technically know as a " rorque," that may
Modern Shot-Guns 27
be concealed from sight or examination, and even go as far in the
construction of the barrel, that the latter might withstand the
severe proof test, thereby, despite the greatest care, constituting no
little danger upon a weapon. This is a fair estimate of the dis-
tinction between the Damascus and the steel barrel of the past, as
apart from other considerations. Now, however, the improvement
in steel of reliable quality having advanced so rapidly in the last
two decades, it may be considered, at any rate in the higher
qualities of tubes, that the steel now employed is absolutely reliable,
and is free from all defects, freer indeed than the very best class
of Damascus iron at any time used in barrel-making. The hidden
defects, the want of homogeneity, alluded to as formerly existent
in steel barrels, have been eliminated, and we now have further
improvements in avoiding those superficial flaws, mainly eye-
FIG. 10. — UNFIGURED STEEL BARREL.
sores, so prevalent in figured iron, known as "greys." Even
as eye-sores these " greys " form a constant source of trouble to
the gunmaker, in order that they may be hidden from view. In
fact, it is interesting to note that these superficial defects incidental
to the Damascus barrel were so general and so troublesome that
they actually called into existence a new trade for providing the
means of hiding them from the purchaser. This trade was known
as "barrel painting." Granting that the steel barrel (Fig. 10)
can be made equally sound and reliable with the best forms of
Damascus, it possesses enormous advantages from the point of view
of stress, and is, further, free from the superficial defects alluded to.
It is only in the lower branches of the trade that steel of
uncertain quality is used, but improved methods of manufacture
are gradually removing this objection. The methods employed
in the manufacture of Damascus or figured-iron tubes differ
28 Modern Sporting Gunnery
considerably from those adopted for the production of steel or
unfigured tubes.
There are well-known makes of English steel which are
thoroughly reliable, such as the Whitworth fluid-compressed
steel, and certain Sheffield steels adopted by some leading gun-
makers, which possess all the essentials for use in gun-barrels, viz.
enormous resisting capacity coupled with ductility. The Westley
Richards special steel is a notable example. Whitworth steel
for barrels being a monopoly is dearer, and the uniform excellence
of its manufacture gives it a high recommendation, but it possesses
no advantages over the other special steels at lower prices for shot-
gun barrels. There is no doubt that sound reliable barrels made
of steel for cheaper guns required for moderate and limited use
will shortly be available.
FIG. ii. — ROUGH FORGING OF ACTION-BODY.
Some people have objected that it would be regrettable to lose
the pretty and attractive figure upon the Damascus barrel, and it
must be conceded that, when properly examined, the contrast
between the iron and the steel layers, which have in manufacture
been arranged into a series of curls extending from one end of the
barrel to the other, is attractive. But as opposed to this, it may be
said that this does not at first glance appeal to the observer, a close
scrutiny of the barrel is necessary to the due perception of the
beautiful work that has been wrought in the manufacture of the
perfect Damascus tube. Further, as this attractiveness depends to
a large extent upon the browning, which very soon wears off",
little excuse is left for the preservation of the figured iron. On
the other hand, the highly-polished surface of the steel barrel,
with hue as black as the blackest marble or the dead but clear
aspect of unpolished ebony, forms an agreeable and pleasing con-
trast to the marble-grey colouring of the action and the beautifully-
figured appearance of the walnut stock.
Modern Shot-Guns
29
THE ACTION.
The body of the gun-action, consisting of the standing breech,
to which the barrel or barrels are attached, is made from a
solid forging of mild steel or best quality iron, as illustrated (Fig.
FIG. 12. — ACTION-BODY COMPLETE IN THE FILED STATE.
n). It is the part to which the lock or firing mechanism is
fitted, as well also the bolts or fastenings which secure the
barrels to this body or breech as shown in Fig. 12. At the
forward end of this body is the solid joint or pin, upon which
FIG. 13. — FORE-END OF FINISHED ACTION.
the barrels hinge and are turned on being released from the
bolts by means of the top or other lever ; thus an easy opening of
the gun is effected for the purpose of loading the chambers with
the cartridge, and of extracting therefrom the empty shells after
firing.
FORE-END FASTENERS.
Formerly the simple sliding bolt was usually applied for the
attachment of the fore-end to the barrels in all drop-down sporting
30 Modern Sporting Gunnery
arms. Although still used occasionally for certain forms of
sporting rifle, this is now rarely to be seen on high-grade guns.
The following illustrations show the three principal forms of
fastening as now applied —
1. The screw-grip, actuated by a lever.
2. The Anson patent sliding bolt.
3. The Deeley-Edge fore-end fastener.
FIG. 14. — SCREW-GRIP FORE-END FASTENER.
Of these the two last-named are most generally employed at the
present day. The Deeley-Edge is, in my opinion, the most
FIG. 15. — ANSON FORE-END FASTENER.
mechanical, for the reason that it is a compound lever, whereas the
Anson or rod form is a simple bolt, which on being pressed down
Modern Shot-Guns
31
releases the catch, the fore-end still having to be entirely lifted. In
the Deeley-Edge the act of releasing the fastener from its catch
FIG. 16. — DEELEY-EDGE FORE-END FASTENER DETACHED.
mechanically applies leverage, which forces the fore-end away
from the barrels. In the event of the intrusion of rust, dirt, or in
any other case of the fore-end sticking, this mechanical leverage
FIG. 17. — DEELEY-EDGE FORE-END FASTENER.
is of great assistance. The Deeley-Edge fore-end fastener was
the invention of Mr. John Deeley, the present chairman of the
Westley Richards Co. This system is in general use. Mr.
/
FIG. 18.— WESTLEY RICHARDS TOP LEVER AND BOTTOM
CONNECTING BOLT.
Greener, in his latest edition of The Breechloader, and How to use
it, gives, without acknowledgment, an illustration of the Deeley-
Edge pattern of fore-end fastener, which he calls the " Improved
Greener."
32 Modern Sporting Gunnery
BREECH FASTENINGS.
There are those who claim that the barrels of a gun are for
FIG. 19. — PURDEY TOP LEVER.
all practical purposes sufficiently secured to the breech by means of
a bolt engaging in their under lumps. But both expert and
FIG. 20. — WESTLEY RICHARDS TOP RIB-EXTENSION, WITH SOLID JOINT-PIN
AND BOTTOM BOLTS.
sporting opinion has, I think, definitely decided that a top fasten-
ing is not only superior, but essential. The late Mr. Westley
Modern Shot-Guns 33
Richards used to say that it was more mechanical to bolt at the
top as well as at the bottom, and it is not difficult to understand
that the bolting power derived from the top position is far greater
and more reliable than that obtained from bolting in the under
position. The conjunction of the two, however, must be con-
sidered better than either one alone, although if one had to make
a choice of either a top or a bottom bolt, the top bolt would
assuredly be preferred by common-sense.
In a door the bolt or latch is placed at the greatest distance
from the hinge in order to provide the maximum of security.
The top bolt of a gun occupies the same relative position with
regard to the hinge and with the same object. To place a bolt
midway between the hinged and the opposite side of the door
would be similar to bolting a gun underneath ; and in both cases
the holding strength, as we know, is less than in that of the bolt
fixed at the furthest point from the hinge.
Although invented in 1858, the extended top rib fastening is
a modern survival, and by far the greater number of guns of the
present day are fitted with extended ribs in one form or another.
The modern sportsman, therefore, will be interested to know
something concerning the top grips or fastenings.
Mr. Westley Richards's original specification claimed protection
for an extended rib with hook, eye, or other suitable fastening.
He preferred the hook, which is actually a solid piece of steel of
dovetailed form receiving into the solid breech. On each side of
this rib extension are formed projections or bosses which form the
principal features of this top lever fastening. A fastening without
these pieces is less solid and not so mechanically sound as the
original type.
It will be seen from Fig. 20 that the barrel hinges on the solid
pin A. It is jointed on the circle; the solid steel extension B
travelling in the radius indicated by the dotted lines, and taking
into slot C cut into the standing breech D.
The extension, as stated, is flanged or bossed at E, which flanges
fit into corresponding grooves cut within the body. This formation
provides a separate fastening, and prevents the barrel from springing
forward from the breech under the discharge of the cartridge.
The mechanical value of this construction will be at once
3
34 Modern Sporting Gunnery
perceived when it is recognized that the flange or side projections
formed upon the extended rib are sufficient in themselves to secure
the barrel and action as one solid mass without the aid of the top
lever bolt, which indeed forms a secondary part in the arrangement.
Messrs. Westley Richards & Co. have frequently demonstrated
that a piece of thread is sufficient to hold down the barrels under
firing, or that the barrels so constructed may be held down by
hand and firing conducted under such conditions with absolute
safety. Further, it has been shown that this top connection,
without under grip and with no bolts of any kind either at top or
bottom, is capable of withstanding the stress of firing ordinary
cartridges. This cannot be said of any other top lever fastening.
When this top lever fastening is made as a cross-bolt — which
was included in the original patent — it depends entirely upon the
bolt for its support, and consequently is less efficient by the absence
of the flange or dovetailed projection, which I have described.
Sir Ralph Payne Gallwey mentions that a gun without a pro-
jection would fire 5000 shots a season without symptoms of
shakiness, but with the Westley Richards top projection there
are authenticated accounts of even more than five times that
number being fired out of a gun in one season without disturbance.
But it does not need the testimony of actual use to settle the
mechanical superiority of a gun having a top projection together
with a bottom bolt as opposed to one only having the latter form
to secure the barrels to the gun.
A late editor of the Field, Dr. J. H. Walsh (" Stonehenge "), a
high authority on gunnery, said : — " To Westley Richards we
owe the invention, first, of the top connection, known as his in
its entirety; second, of the top lever ; -third, of the doll's head,
used in combination with other bolts . . . the first great improve-
ment in the hinged or Lefaucheux action was made by Westley
Richards . . . even the Purdey snap was brought out with a lever
under the guard, and indeed so was the Greener cross-bolt."
THE GUN-LOCK.
The lock, or firing mechanism, which has been aptly termed
the soul of the gun, constitutes the most important feature of
Modern Shot-Guns
35
the action. It is worthy of note that the modern gun-lock,
simplified though it be, differs in no degree as regards the me-
chanical construction of its main limbs from the earliest forms of
lock mechanism first employed upon guns used to propel shot or
projectile by the aid of gunpowder. The main or essential limbs
of the modern gun-lock were present in the match-, wheel-, flint-,
and percussion-lock ; they consisted of a hammer or tumbler, a
mainspring, and a sear to engage with and release the hammer,
also a searspring.
\
FIG. 21. — WESTLEY RICHARDS TOP LEVER BREECH FASTENING
AND SOLID JOINT-PIN.
For three hundred years or more this combination of parts has
satisfactorily performed its work in a variety of systems, and the
inventive genius of gunmakers throughout many successive genera-
tions has been unable to provide or suggest a simpler or more
mechanical arrangement of limbs and springs to efficiently carry
out the function of exploding the powder charge.
To the true lover of the beautiful in a gun, and he is more
often than not the keenest sportsman, the gun-lock makes the
strongest appeal as a striking exemplification of the utile dulci, and
to such, whether the lock be of the ancient flint pattern, made in
the past by Durs Egg, Nock, Joe Man ton, Westley Richards,
Brazier, and other renowned makers, or of the simpler construc-
tions of modern times, pleasure is to be derived from the mere
36 Modern Sporting Gunnery
viewing or manipulation of them, apart from their practical use in
FIG. 22.— A JOE MANTON FLINT- LOCK.
Consisting of 22 main parts as above ; and also fitted with external gravity safety-
stop, adding 3 extra parts, 25 parts in all.
sport. The squarely-filed limbs, the smooth action of the main-
springs, the rhythmic " click, click," of the perfect gun-lock,
Exterior.
Interior.
FIG. 23. — A PERCUSSION LOCK.
is a harmonious combination, proving to well-tuned senses a verit-
able poem in sound and motion — a melody in mechanism.
Modern Shot-Guns 37
All the same, the flint and percussion locks employed in the
early muzzle-loading systems cannot compare with the modern
hammerless locks for simplicity of design, strength of parts, and
lasting qualities. Experience has taught successive generations of
gunmakers how to dispense with superfluous parts while retaining
all the essentials provided by the main mechanical ideas exhibited
in the gun-locks of earliest times. A scrutiny of the various forms
of gun-locks reveals the fact that —
1. The flint lock contains 22 parts, including lock-plate.
2. The muzzle-loading and breechloading lock consists of 15
parts.
3. The breechloading lock with external hammers, 17 parts.
4. The latest hammerless lock, as fitted to the Westley
Richards gun, consists of seven parts — eight, including the lock-
plate.
FIG. 24. — THE WESTLEY RICHARDS HAND-DETACHABLE LOCK.
Nevertheless, this latest modern lock retains the four principal
limbs in a simplified form, and these it would seem impossible to
further reduce or modify.
There are other forms of hammerless lock which, although
they are constructed upon the Westley Richards barrel-cocking
principle, are complicated to a mechanical degree. Take for
instance the overloaded side-lock mechanism shown in Fig. 25, and
compare it with the few simple limbs in the Westley Richards
lock. Some patterns of the side hammerless lock contain twenty-
two limbs, and are even more complicated than the locks of the
fast disappearing hammer gun. If we consider their respective
mechanical functions it will be seen that a modern breechloading
hammerless lock of twenty-two parts, /. e. the same number of
which the flint-lock is comprised, is even more complicated than
the flint-lock itself. The hammerless gun with side-locks is the
38 Modern Sporting Gunnery
result of an attempt to maintain the external appearance of the
ordinary lock gun with the outside hammers, and at the same time
to retain the barrel-cocking principle expressive of the best type of
hammerless gun.
This model of hammerless side-lock gun mechanism merits
description from the fact that it is the pattern adopted by many
London gunmakers of standing, and also of provincial makers
whose names justifiably are regarded by sportsmen as a guarantee
of sound workmanship.
FIG. 25. — THE 22 PARTS OF THE SIDE-LOCK.
I do not consider that it is necessary for my purpose to
enumerate and describe the varieties of different makes on this
principle, for the reason that I consider that no one will deny that
the simpler form of barrel-cocking mechanism represented by the
seven-limb lock of the modern Westley Richards (A. and D.) gun
represents the highest and most up-to-date development of gun-lock
mechanism, and I believe that those gunmakers who adopt this
form are enabled to make weapons of greater solidity and durability
and with a higher guarantee than guns of any other pattern.
Immediately upon its introduction, the Anson and Deeley
was perceived to be superior to all other forms of gun-lock.
The manual working of the Anson and Deeley hammerless gun
Modern Shot-Guns
39
was found easy, certain and quick ; the weight and length of the
barrels being utilized as leverage for raising the strikers, the
simple act of opening the gun putting them to full cock and at the
same time locking the triggers — in fact, by this means the gun
cannot be opened without the safety-bolt coming into position to
justify its name. For further information relative to safety
mechanism Chapter III should be consulted.
FIG. 26. — THE 7 PARTS OF THE WESTLEY RICHARDS (A. AND D.) LOCK.
It will be gathered from these illustrations that the working
parts of the Anson and Deeley lock are so few and strong that
breakage or derangement is far less likely to occur than in the
case of gun-locks whose limbs are numerous and delicate. One
of the principal causes of the popularity gained by the Anson and
Deeley system was the fact that with its few parts it performed
with equal satisfaction the work of the gun-lock having fifteen
more parts. Thus, the sportsman considered, if seven parts does
the work satisfactorily, as we know it does, wherein lies the
advantage of encumbering the gun mechanism with fifteen or
4O Modern Sporting Gunnery
eighteen extra parts, which at best merely accomplish the same result.
Again, the stock of the improved Anson and Deeley hammerless
gun has not to be cut away so much internally, consequently it is
left in somewhat more substantial form than that of other guns ;
this also by reason of the fact that the entire lock mechanism is
placed within the action body, in which position it is more rigidly
located, and is effectually secured from any warping, shrinking or
swelling of the wood of the stock or from rust caused by the
insidious intrusion of moisture.
HAND-DETACHABLE LOCKS.
The hand-detachable lock strikingly illustrates the fact that so
soon as the advanced gun constructor proceeded to design and
FIG. 27.— HAND-DETACHABLE LOCKS : COVER-PLATE.
file his own gun-locks he excelled all that had been previously ac-
complished in that direction. This hand-detachability was, as I
have already stated, the first improvement effected in the Anson
and Deeley hammerless gun-lock during a period of twenty-two
years. The advantages of the Westley Richards hand-detachable
lock may be summarized as follows —
i. ACCESSIBILITY. — Removal of the locks is marvellously
simple, there being neither screw to turn nor pin to draw, thus
affording easy cleaning, so that under the most adverse circum-
stances the lock need never be dirty nor rusty.
Modern Shot-Guns 41
2. TAMPERING WITH THE MECHANISM ENTIRELY AVOIDED. —
Removal of the locks, at once obviating all trouble from meddle-
some fingers. How often have sportsmen been warned to remove
cartridges from guns before entering the house ? Even with such
precautionary measure duly effected, accidents with loaded guns
cannot be entirely eliminated, for with cartridges lying about it
cannot be insured that these will not be inserted within the gun
by some thoughtless and irresponsible individual, who may thus
bring about an accident. The removal of the hand-detachable
locks provides the greatest possible assurance against all accidents
of the sort, as it renders the gun completely unavailable for use
during the owner's absence. This applies with equal force both
FIG. 28. — HAND-DETACHABLE LOCK.
Cover-plate off, and lock in process of removal by thumb and ringer merely.
at home and abroad, and Indian, African, and other sportsmen
who are compelled to leave guns and cartridges at times in the
hands of none too reliable servants will especially appreciate this
advantage.
3. DUPLICATION. — This easy detachment by hand facilitates
the use of duplicate locks. Many sportsmen have at various
times felt the need for duplicate locks, but hitherto the necessity
for skill in the use of tools has prevented the general adoption of
the plan of carrying spare locks. Duplicate locks are obviously
useful in the case (a) of variation in the pull-off, or (b) of
breakage, and one cannot always rely on, say, the mainspring
standing even in locks the most costly. Those shooters who use
extremely light pulls, and are therefore more subject to the an-
noyance caused by the inevitable variation arising from such
42 Modern Sporting Gunnery
delicate adjustment, will appreciate the advantages conferred by
the duplicate locks, which can be substituted in a few seconds.
In pigeon guns, indeed with all light guns or rifles, and heavy
charges, it is impossible to overestimate the convenience which a
readily-attached duplicate lock may afford. It is within the
writer's knowledge that the duplicate locks have received the
grateful approval of many sportsmen in practical use. There are
few sportsmen shooting at all constantly, I imagine, who would
refuse to spend something under five pounds for such desirable
advantages as the duplication of their hand-detachable gun-locks
undoubtedly confers.
4. FAMILIARITY WITH THE MECHANISM. — Although somewhat
subsidiary to the main points at issue, it is, nevertheless, the fact
that the hand-detachable lock does afford the shooter a ready means
for becoming acquainted with so important a piece of mechanism
as the lock of his gun, and its ready accessibility enables him to
observe the care, skill, and finish expended upon the ingeniously-
devised limbs which exercise such an important influence upon the
efficiency of the gun, all this being for the most part in other
systems of lock construction a sealed mystery to the owner.
5. THE UNIQUE SIMPLICITY of the original Anson and Deeley
lock is retained in the hand-detachable gun-lock. There is not
one part too few, nor one part too many. In comparison with the
side form of hammerless lock, there are, as we have seen, fourteen
fewer limbs, the Westley Richards lock having seven limbs, all of
them stouter and stronger, the hammerless side lock having twenty-
one, all lighter and weaker. Judged from the standpoint of
practical utility, there can be no questioning the statement that
when both are made of materials of equal quality the former will
long outwear the latter.
6. NEATER FINISH. — As with the hand-detachable lock there
are no pin-holes through the sides of the action-body, the latter is
not weakened in any way. So, also, a smoother and more artistic
finish is permissible than is the case where unsightly pin-heads are
projecting here and there.
CHAPTER III
MODERN SHOT-GUNS— continued
Safety-bolts — Ejector — One-trigger
A GUN being a dangerous weapon, all should have an
interest in reducing, as much as possible, the risks
attendant upon its use. It becomes, therefore,
a duty for each one of us to see that a the other
man's gun is safe," in addition to being firm in
the conviction that our own arm is in that desirable condition. It
is mainly for people other than the user that the risks attendant
upon accidental or involuntary discharge of the gun exist. As
this danger most frequently arises whilst carrying the gun or
during the process of loading, that safety-bolt which insures the
automatic bolting of the mechanism when loading is completed is
indispensable. Most sportsmen are of this opinion, and it is to the
general interest that those who are not should come into line.
This brings me to the consideration of
SAFETY-BOLTS.
Safety-bolts may rightly be regarded as a distinguishing feature
of the modern hammerless gun. No previous system was so
well equipped with this necessary provision, nor was the need so
generally recognized as it is to-day. True, the gun-lock with
external hammer had the second bent by which the hammer could
be put to half-cock or the safety position ; but this arrangement
failed to insure the same degree of safety which the modern gun
provides, and, moreover, it always had to be carried out by
the shooter's own personal intervention. This involved no
small element of danger, so diminishing whatever degree of
safety it was intended to secure. Cases where danger of acci-
dental discharge becomes a probability arise from circumstances
43
44 Modern Sporting Gunnery
which are present in almost every modern shoot. The crossing
of ditches and stiles is productive of accidents, as also the
presence of branches of hedgerow or bramble, which frequently
become entangled with the triggers. The gun-lock with
external hammers was easily influenced under such conditions,
and the sportsman thus armed had little choice but to remove his
loaded cartridges from the barrels before encountering these
natural obstacles. The hammerless gun rendered a twofold
service on the score of safety ; first, by the abolition of the
external hammer, removing a considerable source of extraneous
interference ; and, second, by rendering this safer mechanism
FIG. 29. — TUMBLER AND TRIGGER SAFETY-BOLT.
A — Secondary Sear or Tumbler Safety. B — Trigger or Sear Safety.
The Lock at Cock and Safety Bolted.
absolutely secure by means of the automatic safety-bolt. This
latter device insures that whenever the gun is opened for reload-
ing, the lock mechanism is bolted both during the insertion of
the cartridge and the closing of the breech, and, further, remains
so until the shooter removes it by pushing forward the little thumb-
slide by which it is actuated externally. The simplest and most
effective form of safety-bolt is the trigger safety, which is generally
used upon the Anson and Deeley gun, and has for more than three
decades proved itself thoroughly efficient.
Some critics claimed in the past that the trigger safety was not
sufficient, and that it was necessary to supplement and reinforce
this thoroughly effective arrangement by the addition of a safety
Modern Shot-Guns 45
to bolt the tumbler. Never was there a greater misconception.
It is conceivable that it would be mechanically sounder to directly
bolt the tumblers instead of indirectly through the trigger or sear,
but this argues the far-fetched assumption that the sear is liable to
breakage. As a matter of fact, even in the old two-bent hammer
gun breakage of the sear was a most rare occurrence, although there
put to severer use. In the wider and stronger limbs of the Anson
and Deeley gun, and its simpler function, a broken sear, it may be
said, never occurs. But no argument can support the addition
of a tumbler safety to that of the satisfactory trigger safety ; and
close consideration of the question shows that guns fitted with the
tumbler safeties, so-called, are less safe than even those guns
which have no safety-bolt at all. The demand for tumbler
safeties appears to have been made principally upon the assumption
that the sear would break, if not, there was no ground at all to
ask for its adoption. Its usefulness was entirely problematical,
for it could only operate in the case of a broken sear. A sear,
it has been conceived, might break either when the gun is (i) in
the uncocked or (2) cocked condition. Taking these positions in
the order given it may be said that —
(i) The gun but for the existence of the tumbler safety would
not cock, and, therefore, the tumbler safety or secondary sear
would, in the case of a broken sear proper, thus assume the function
of the latter ; or (2), in the event of a sear breaking when the gun
is cocked, the tumbler safety or secondary sear is supposed to act
so as to retain the hammer in the armed position, and therefore
prevent a premature and maybe dangerous discharge. As neither
extreme case is likely to arise, necessity for this additional limb, the
tumbler safety, does not exist. In the foregoing statement I have
dealt with those advantages claimed for the tumbler safety, sup-
posing it to be operative and called into use ; and even granting it
fulfilled all these purposes or functions, the drawbacks in other
directions resulting from its use more than outweigh any possible
benefit. Let us consider them.
The most approved form of tumbler safeties are duplicate
or secondary sears, only differing from the ordinary sears by the
position with which they engage with the tumbler or hammer.
Like the ordinary sears, they are lifted from the position of
46 Modern Sporting Gunnery
detaining the hammer by the trigger when it is pulled, operating
the sear proper, and in the same way they are controlled by a
spring whose weight has to be lifted with or overcome by the
trigger. It is, therefore, obvious that a tumbler safety must have a
spring of sufficient weight to make effective its engagement with
the tumbler should its service ever be needed in case of the
anticipated breakage of the sear whose place it would have to take.
This spring, to be effective, must weigh somewhere between
i J and 2 Ib. ; on some guns it has been found to be over, there-
fore, on a gun which has a pull-off of, say, 4^- Ib., if fitted with
tumbler safety, the actual weight of the sear and spring and
FIG. 30.— TUMBLER SAFETY BOLT OR SECONDARY SEAR AND TRIGGER SAFETY.
A — Secondary Sear or Tumbler Safety. B — Trigger or Sear Safety.
The Lock at Rest and not Safety Bolted.
trigger proper would only be 2^- Ib., as it is obvious that the 4|-lb.
weight which the trigger has to lift consists of 2 Ib. tumbler safety
spring and 2^ Ib. sear pull, while if the same gun were made
without tumbler safety and with the same weight of pull from the
trigger : /. e. 4^ Ib., you would actually get all the \\ Ib. on the
sear pull itself, and so have a 2 Ib. greater margin on the pull with
which to resist accidental explosion arising from jar of any kind,
either through the firing of one barrel affecting the other or
through dropping the gun. In a word, a gun with a 4^-lb.
trigger pull without tumbler safety is safer and less liable to
accidental discharge than a gun with tumbler safety where a
pull-off of 4J Ib. is composed of l\ Ib. actual trigger pull and 2 Ib.
tumbler safety spring.
Modern Shot-Guns 47
Many cases have been brought to light where these so-called
tumbler safety bolts have been fitted to guns, no doubt at the
instance of sportsmen with little knowledge who have been taught
to believe in the efficacy of these additional limbs, so frequently
paraded in advertisements and catalogues as augmenting the safety
of the ordinary lock mechanism ; and in such guns it is true that
the tumbler safety was present, but had been rendered totally in-
effective even under the circumstances of a breakage of the limbs,
in which case it was supposed to be of service, but would not have
served any purpose at all, because in order to get a safe pull-off proper
its spring was weakened, so that the tumbler safety could not have
performed the function of a sear, and was only a sear in name.
These tumbler safeties doubtless influence the superficial dabbler
in gun mechanism, who before ordering gets up a smattering of the
essential features gathered from advertisements of what is recom-
mended as a modern arm ; and many salesmen doubtless find that
to expatiate upon a tumbler safety as a necessary equipment of
reliable mechanism constitutes what the Americans call "a talking
point," otherwise, polite commercial deception — it is that and
nothing more.
They may be characterized as useless encumbrances, and it
is no exaggeration to say that the majority of high-class guns
of the best type are made without them. As the particular
form of tumbler safety referred to above, which represents the
best of its class, was introduced by Westley Richards, the fact
that they discarded it fifteen years ago as an unnecessary en-
cumbrance, rendering the gun less safe, forms the most adverse
criticism possible in reference to this question. I have noticed
that Mr. Greener's guns are not encumbered with tumbler
safeties ; this, indeed, is what might be expected from so practical
a gunsmith. To sum up the whole question : Jarring of? is
caused by the trigger. Jar does not affect the mechanism direct,
but only through the trigger. I have tested a gun which with
both triggers attached jarred off the second barrel through the
explosion of the first barrel. Under the same conditions, but with
the left trigger removed, the firing of the first barrel invariably
failed to jar ofF the second barrel. This confirms a similar
experiment made by Westley Richards with a double ^oo-bore
48 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Express rifle, and reported in the Field of May 19, 1894. It
conclusively proves the statement I began with, that jar-off comes
through the trigger alone.
If, therefore, a tumbler safety is applied to the lockwork, with
the object of checking the fall of the tumbler, and that limb is
lifted or controlled by the trigger, it will certainly not prevent
a double discharge, because jar, which we have seen is contributed
through the medium of the trigger, would operate the safety limb
before reaching the sear itself. All tumbler safeties are controlled
by the trigger ; in other words, the tumbler safety of necessity
must be lifted out of the way before the trigger can engage with
the sear proper, and thus a jarring trigger would first come in
contact with the tumbler safety and so render it useless.
Certain people have argued that a secondary sear is necessary
as a safeguard as against the intrusion of rust, dirt, clogged oil,
etc. ; but it appears to me this argument is based on the assump-
tion that the sear proper could alone be so clogged, and that the
secondary sear could hot be so hampered.
On the introduction of the Anson and Deeley gun, doubt was
expressed as to its safety, and an eminent gunmaker challenged the
inventor to a test of dropping the gun, without any safety-bolt, from
a considerable height upon its butt to the floor. This was repeatedly
done until the stock broke, the severe concussion of the fall failing,
however, to discharge the mechanism. At another time, before
various critics, some twenty guns of high-class manufacture — priced
at 60 guineas and so on — were dropped from the upright position,
muzzle resting on the floor, with a trigger safety-bolt on, and
even the enormous jar which the breech received from this severe
test failed to discharge the trigger. The costliness or such an ex-
periment might have been great, as thereby might possibly have
been involved an outlay for new stocks and so forth of £200 or
^300 ; but such was the certainty of the expert's position that,
merely to refute an academic criticism, he was willing to encounter
so great a risk. Nasmyth was no more sure of his ponderous steam-
hammer when he demonstrated his ability to crack a nut with it
without injury to the kernel, than was this expert of his gun-locks.
As an instance of what may occur to the sportsman on a rugged
moor, a man fell down a steep declivity with his loaded gun with
Modern Shot-Guns
49
the trigger safety on. The barrels were buckled, the stock smashed,
but no personal damage resulted save that affecting the pocket to the
tune of a new gun. This happy escape was due to the fact that the
safety trigger mechanism had prevented the discharge of the gun.
Guns without safeties may be safe, but the gunmaker, acting from
the experience gained from many clients in all quarters, prefers
and recommends a safety-bolt. We may infer that if he does so,
it will insure that all mechanism of whatever system is the better
for the provision of a safety-bolt. Sportsmen will therefore be
well advised to sink personal habits and tastes and adopt an auto-
matic trigger safety-bolt as the only means of preventing those
exceptional accidents which may arise even when the utmost care
is used.
EJECTING MECHANISM.
Mechanism for the automatic ejection of exploded shells has
now come to be looked upon as a necessary feature in the modern
FIG. 31. — NEEDHAM'S EJECTOR.
shot-gun. Certainly no gun for use where game is at all plentiful
can be said to be complete without ejecting mechanism. This
is invariably placed in the fore-end of the gun.
It is probably correct to say that the first idea of a practical
4
50 Modern Sporting Gunnery
ejector mechanism is due to Needham, nephew of one of Mr.
Westley Richards's best finishers, in whose arrangement we find
a separate extractor employed for the purpose of extracting
and ejecting each individual cartridge. Previous to this arrange-
ment two separate extractors had been employed in double-gun
mechanism j this is evidenced by the Bacon gun. The novelty
of their employment in the Needham system consisted in their
use or combination with a lever fixed in the lump of the
barrels. This effected the starting of the extracting mechanism by
leverage, and then flipped out the case from the barrel by the
pressure of the mainspring accelerating its motion. This system
has not had a large vogue ; there were objections both in regard
to the difficulty with which the gun was opened, and also in
respect of the taking of the gun apart for putting away in its case. It
is, however, one of the first successful ejectors from a mechanical
point of view, and represents a distinct type just in the same way
as the Westley Richards is distinguished from all others. By the
Westley Richards system the extraction and the ejection are
effected by two separate mechanical contrivances as opposed to
the Needham, in which the same limb for extraction and
ejection is utilized. The Westley Richards ejector, in fact,
retains the old method of moving the cartridge from the barrel by
a lever placed in the fore-end, or upon a joint in the gun which
carries the extractor so far from the barrel that the empty case
can, if necessary, be removed by hand, and the extractor leg is
lengthened backwards for the ejector mechanism to actuate,
by its hammer forcibly striking the end of the extractor rod
and so flipping out the case. This separate provision for ex-
traction and ejection, which is a special characteristic of the
Westley Richards ejector, excluded the possibility of a disarrange-
ment of the ejector interfering with the ordinary extraction, which,
in the Needham was likely to arise, and so render the gun useless ;
but there are further mechanical differences which place the two
systems almost at opposite poles, and that is that the Needham
ejector had no communication with the fore-end. The fore-end
ejector, viewed mechanically, is the best type of ejector, and
experience of it, and the large number in use in all parts of the
world, amply confirm this opinion.
Modern Shot-Guns 5 1
In the Westley Richards ejector those three main limbs —
hammer, mainspring, and sear — so well-known as the ordinary gun-
lock, are utilized for expelling the fired cartridge-case from the
barrel. As a matter of fact, in this ejecting mechanism, we have
a replica in miniature of the firing lock ; that is to say, a pair of
locks reduced in size, but possessing the simple features of the
FIG. 32. — THE WESTLEY RICHARDS EJECTOR LOCK.
There is no frictional pressure of the spring A and hammer B ; this is
avoided by swivel connection, and also by the use of a sear limb C, which, while
holding back the hammer, forms a dead stop, from which it is lifted to allow the
hammer to flip forward without friction.
strongest and most widely-approved type of modern gun-lock, are
compactly enclosed within the fore-end of the gun in order to
effect the complete expulsion of spent shells. In this arrange-
ment the hammer is used for striking upon the rearward end of
FIG. 33. — THE WESTLEY RICHARDS EJECTOR COMPLETE.
the extractor rod in the same way that the gun-lock hammer
strikes upon the cap to ignite the cartridge. This system differs
from any previous attempt to accomplish a perfect system of
ejector mechanism, and originates a novel method of selecting
the cartridge-case proper for ejection. Each barrel is fitted with
an independent ejector lock, the hammer of which is released
52 Modern Sporting Gunnery
by engaging with a simple limb or slide D connected with the
mainspring of the gun-lock, this limb being urged into position
by the fall of the hammer in firing the cartridge, and held
there during the opening of the gun to reload. In the action
of opening the gun this limb D comes in contact with the ejector
sear, and so releases it from engagement with the ejector hammer.
It was this ingenious and reliable arrangement which stamped this
mechanism with the hall-mark of genius, and proved it an achieve-
ment worthy to rank with other developments of first-rate
importance in the firearm. The application of springs to the ex-
tracting apparatus was, in itself, an obvious and simple plan, but
3
FIG. 34. — THE SOUTHGATE EJECTOR.
FIG. 35.— END VIEW OF
SOUTHGATE HAMMER.
When B travels forward sufficiently far to pass the centre, the spring A flies
open and flips it forward for the remainder of its distance. The hammer B and
spring A are always in frictional contact.
no such arrangement could be regarded as of the slightest practical
value unless it included a satisfactory selective method as described.
In action, the drop of the barrels in the Westley Richards
ejector gun calls forth two complete operations. First, the
primary movement towards the extraction of the cartridges from
their position in the chambers is made by the powerful leverage of
the ordinary extractor as worked by the drop of the barrels. This
draws out equally both live or spent cartridges. Here, in the case
of the unfired cartridge, the process of extraction is complete, but
not so with regard to the spent cartridge, for this movement
actuates the ejector lock, which then forcibly expels the fired
cartridge. This mechanism is thus automatically selective, the
live cartridge remaining in statu quo, the exploded shell being
forcibly flipped from its position.
Modern Shot-Guns 53
Haying regard to its excellent mechanical arrangement, and its
thoroughly efficient performance throughout many years of service,
there is no doubt that to the Westley Richards ejector pride of
place must be given. Still, there are some who claim that a
certain modification of this system is also efficient. This is the
Southgate mechanism, generally known as the two-piece ejector,
which embodies the main mechanical principle of the Westley
Richards, as regards selecting the order of expulsion through the
fall of the hammer, but modifies that system by the abolition of
the sear. By omitting the sear and substituting for it a double-
sided hammer, a great sacrifice of efficiency and true mechanical
arrangement is made. One arm of the mainspring serves to detain
the ejector hammer by pressure upon the extra side, but it is a
frictional contact, which is decidedly inferior to the perfect
mechanical engagement of the hammer bent and sear nose in the
Westley Richards ejector. As the barrels drop on opening the
gun the double-sided ejector hammer is moved round so that when
it travels over the centre the frictional-detaining spring is freed and
flips the ejector hammer forcibly against the extractor leg.
Briefly put, the disadvantages of a two-limb system of ejector
are as follows —
1. It is frictional, consequently more susceptible to wear.
2. It is more difficult to time.
3. The opening and closing of the gun, and the working of
the ejector, are not so smooth as with the gun-lock and sear
ejector.
I have not the slightest doubt that excellent guns have been
turned out fitted with the " two-limb " ejector, and that these,
more especially in the higher grades, have given their owners
satisfaction. This appears to me to be owing quite as much to the
special care and attention, and the fastidious niceties of adjustment,
which the higher class gunmaker is able to bestow upon his guns
fitted with this form of ejector, as to the intrinsic merits of the
mechanism. It is simply an acknowledgment that, despite
mechanical shortcomings, the skilled specialist, with considerable
outlay of time and money, succeeds in obtaining efficient action.
In the mind of the impartial mechanical expert, no doubt exists
54 Modern Sporting Gunnery
respecting the superiority and greater reliability of the Westley
Richards system of miniature gun-lock ejector, with its hammer,
mainspring and sear, as compared with the friction-bearing " two-
limb " ejector, or, in fact, any other ejecting mechanism now
in use.
As touching the sear and its important value in lock mechanism,
the significant fact may be stated that no gun constructor has ever
claimed that a gun-lock can be made efficient without a sear and
tumbler bent. Indeed, no gun-locks are made without a sear,
which is rightly acknowledged to be an indispensable limb, and it
is no less indispensable in an ejector lock than in a gun-lock, from
a mechanical point of view.
Statistics, and the collective experience of a vast body of sports-
men in this and other countries, sufficiently corroborate my
statements. Recently, when at the Westley Richards manufac-
tory, Mr. Leslie Taylor showed me a letter from Great Falls,
Montana, U.S.A., wherein an old client stated, " I send you the
ejector-box from my gun. The left stopped working the other
day. I have shot the gun for twenty years this coming summer,
and it has never failed me before." This assuredly is strong
testimony to the mechanical soundness of this invention, for this
particular ejector proves to have been one of the earliest made on
the Westley Richards system.
ONE-TRIGGER MECHANISM.
Now that the sporting world has been put in possession of a
one-trigger mechanism for operating both locks of double guns or
rifles which is mechanically sound in principle as well as smooth
and quick in its action, the widespread adoption of this great
aid to sport will probably not long be deferred. The mechanism
of the early patterns of single-trigger was actuated by recoil.
The control of the movements thus depending upon an uncertain
and variable agent may sufficiently explain the fact of their adop-
tion having literally " hung fire." The particular example now
to be described is open to none of these objections ; it has proved
itself, under exceptional stress and strain, to be thoroughly reliable,
as subjected to all conditions of recoil and wear and tear. I refer
Modern Shot-Guns 55
to the one-trigger mechanism as applied by Messrs. Westley
FIG. 36.— THE MECHANISM
DETACHED.
FIG. 37. — THE MAIN LIMBS,
SHOWN SEPARATELY.
A is the lifting or firing plate. B is the safety spur.
C is a weight which moves under recoil.
Richards to actuate both locks of a double-barrelled shot-gun
or rifle.
FIG. 38. — SHOWING THE MECHANISM WITH THE PARTS IN A POSITION
TO FIRE THE FIRST BARREL.
After practical trial of this system in the field, under every
conceivable condition of weather and circumstance, I am perfectly
56 Modern Sporting Gunnery
assured as to its thorough reliability and efficiency. I have shot
with the Westley Richards one-trigger as applied to guns of
various calibre, 28-bore ball- and shot-guns, 12-bore game-guns,
and even in a 13^-lb. 8-bore duck gun, firing heavy powder charges
and 2|-oz. shot loads, and have neither hang fire, miss-fire,
premature nor double discharge to record. That this system of
discharging either barrel of a double gun by means of one-trigger
is purely mechanical is proved by the fact that the locks are
FIG. 39. — SHOWING THE MECHANISM WITH THE PARTS IN A POSITION
TO FIRE THE SECOND BARREL.
worked just as freely without cartridges as with — that is to say,
with gun empty as with gun loaded — which shows that recoil plays
no part whatever in the movement. Thus I find that whether
the recoil be so light as to be imperceptible or exceptionally heavy,
as in the case of the double 8-bore above mentioned, this one-
trigger action works smoothly and with unfailing regularity. As
will be gathered from the accompanying illustrations, the Westley
Richards one-trigger mechanism is simplicity itself, the motion
being effected by three main limbs of plain and strong construction.
Here' A is the lifting or firing plate, B the safety spur lever or
Modern Shot-Guns 57
detent, and C is a weight whose gravity pushes the toe of the
safety spur under the post D (shown in the complete mechanism),
and prevents the firing plate A reaching the second sear.
In this arrangement the pulling of the trigger causes the firing
plate A to rise and discharge the first barrel, at the same time the
spur lever B engages with the hook of the fixed pillar D, in this
position preventing the premature discharge of the second barrel.
At the instant the action of recoil and rebound of the gun from
the shoulder cease the safety spur B leaves its position of safe, and
the trigger can be pulled to fire the second barrel. In the latter
illustration F is the selective lever which is moved across from
right to left by the button G. This enables the shooter to fire
right-left or left-right just as he pleases, the combination being
continuous until the button is again moved to reverse the order of
firing.
FIG. 40. — DIRECTION OF PULL FOR FORE AND REAR TRIGGER.
The one-trigger system is of real advantage, it is not a mere
addition of novelty conferring no practical benefit, as many
sportsmen still believe who have not put it to the actual test
of a season's shooting. Those gunmakers who first adopted a
single-trigger system are perhaps responsible for this attitude,
because of their failure to place before the public succinctly and
convincingly an accurate account of the advantages which the
system brought about.
It has been hastily assumed that the one-trigger gives the same
length of stock for both barrels, whereas in the two-trigger you
have a different length of stock for each barrel. This is a fallacy.
Nevertheless, sportsmen have been taught to believe this constantly-
reiterated claim, and to regard it as the sole advantage of the one-
trigger system. This question will be fully- dealt with under the
subject of gun-fitting.
58 Modern Sporting Gunnery
The true advantage of one-trigger instead of two, considered in
relation to measurement of the stock, is that the motion of the
hand necessary in a two-trigger gun for operating the two triggers
respectively is rendered unnecessary, for with the one-trigger gun
the sportsman always pulls from practically the same point.
Further, the triggers of a two-trigger gun are of different shape,
the front trigger is almost a semi-circle, while the rear trigger
consists of a long arm terminating in a short curve ; two shapes
entirely differing, and necessitating an entirely different direction of
pull, as will be gathered from the accompanying illustration, Fig. 40.
The different directions at which the finger pulls when firing
alternately the two barrels, as will be seen, involve a change of
position of the hand upon the grasp of the stock for each separate
shot. This is a disadvantage of the two-trigger system, because it
is obvious that a change of position of the firing hand requires a
readjustment of the gun to the shoulder, which, however uncon-
sciously performed, nevertheless tends to lessen the steadiness,
speediness and accuracy of aim. These objections do not occur
in the one-trigger system, which, on the contrary, ensures the
same position of the gun to the shoulder for both barrels. This
follows from the fact that the sportsman operates the one-trigger
from practically the same position, and always at the same angle
or direction of pull.
A further advantage arising from a satisfactory one-trigger is,
that it may be fired with greater rapidity than is possible to be
done with the -two-trigger gun. While it is admitted that the
fault of many shooters is to fire too quickly, with unstudied aim
and without that cool deliberation which is necessary for success,
it may be remarked that such hasty sportsmen are just as liable to
fire a two-trigger gun with unexpected rapidity as they are to fire
a one-trigger, and, of course, for the reasons above given, the errors
of aiming would be minimized with the latter gun.
In dealing with this question of speed, it is, therefore, only
necessary to consider those cases where increased speed over the
two-trigger system becomes absolutely indispensable, if the sports-
man is to increase his chances of success against the quarry.
Thus there is this advantage to be laid to the credit of the one-
trigger, that it enables the shooter to perform more satisfactorily
Modern Shot-Guns
59
in those cases where quick shooting is essential to kill, and in
such, the one-trigger would have the advantage over the two-
trigger. The speed of birds differs, but take the case of a bird
which, we will say, is travelling at the rate of 65 feet per second, in
such a case it is not difficult to recognize the importance of possess-
ing a mechanism which can be fired so much more quickly than
a double-trigger gun, that from 10 to 15 feet is gained upon a
crossing object. This extra speed in firing, to put it in other
words, is practically an equivalent to removing a handicap of 4
yards. The advantage of this quicker firing is due to a special
feature of the Westley Richards system, viz. —
THE RELEASE.
In imperfect systems of one-trigger, the failure of the second
barrel to go when attempting a quick double shot is often due to
the fact that in all of these former systems, the amount of
release necessary before pulling to fire the second barrel has been
entirely too much. When firing the first barrel, the trigger moves
backwards about three-sixteenths of an inch, and before pulling to
fire the second barrel, it has always heretofore been necessary to
allow the trigger to move forward even more than it moves
backward ; this is called the release. The consequence is that
often in the case of a quick double shot a sportsman fails to
allow the trigger to move forward all this long distance, with
the result that the second barrel refuses to go when pulled. Long
experience of practical use in the field and of tests have con-
clusively shown that to the vast majority of sportsmen any
forward movement of the trigger in excess of one-sixteenth of an
inch is fatal to a quick double shot. When the release is more
than this thick warm gloves cannot be used successfully.
The short release of the Westley Richards one-trigger may be
best illustrated by the accompanying drawing, which shows the
vast difference in this important respect between this system and
previous single-trigger arrangements. When the trigger is pulled
to fire the first barrel, it will be seen that the dot A of the trigger
moves to the dot C, that is, three-sixteenths of an inch. Now,
60 Modern Sporting Gunnery
the trigger does not have to return to the dot A before it can be
pulled to fire the second barrel, which was necessary in all
previous systems. It only returns to the dot B less than three-
sixty-fourths of an inch. The mere relaxation of the muscles
is sufficient to cause this release, hence the second barrel never
fails to go because of insufficient release of the trigger, which was
a serious source of difficulty in other systems. It is a very simple
matter to have a long release ; it is a very difficult matter to have
a short one, and examination of a variety of systems has shown
that the release of the Westley Richards trigger is the shortest
in existence, consequently a sportsman can make a double shot
FIG. 41. — WESTLEY RICHARDS ONE-TRIGGER RELEASE.
quicker with this short release than he can with a long one, just
as he can travel 10 feet in less time than he can 20 feet. A long
release seriously prejudices the shooter, either he cannot fire at
all, or if he fires the readjustment of the gun to the shoulder is
necessitated, and in any case it means inaccuracy — probably a
miss.
In the Field trials of this mechanism it was stated in respect
of this release, " that the draft of the trigger is normal for both
barrels." The two causes of trouble confronting the constructor
of a satisfactory one-trigger have been friction or recoil, and these
two causes have been eliminated by the one-trigger system adopted
by Westley Richards.
A further advantage of this system, which is independent of
recoil, may be stated as being of importance to rifle sportsmen
Modern Shot-Guns 61
who frequently require a quick double shot, with steady and
reliable aim. This the one-trigger alone confers, but it must be
seen that this advantage is not accompanied by any drawback in
firing. For instance, in the case of a three-pull system the inter-
mediate pull is actuated either by the recoil or by the personal pull
of the sportsman ; thus delay occurs if the recoil fails to do its
work, as in the case of a miss-fire through a faulty cap or other cause.
The sportsman under such circumstances cannot immediately fire
off his second barrel, because the intermediate mechanism de-
pendent on the recoil of the weapon for its action would not have
operated. In such an instance, therefore, the sportsman would
first have to pull the trigger to release this intermediate mechanism
before he could pull again to fire the second barrel. This delay in
the firing of the two barrels under such circumstances might be
serious if at the time he were confronted by a dangerous beast.
Points such as these may seem trivial enough in the gun-shop, but
he who follows tiger in Indian jungle, or lion or elephant in
African forest, cannot afford to disregard them. Now, should a
miss-fire of the same kind and under the same circumstances occur
with the Westley Richards system, this difficulty does not arise,
there would be no delay in firing the second barrel, as the second
barrel can always be pulled just as quickly whether the recoil
takes place or not, for this one-trigger has not an intermediate
pull.
Summed up briefly, the Westley Richards one-trigger mechanism
may be said to possess the following advantages over its many
predecessors —
1. Recoil, an inconstant and uncontrollable medium, is not
employed to operate the mechanism. This same recoil was the
ignis fatuus of many previous inventors, and its very inconstancy
proved the stumbling-block to a successful issue of their schemes.
2. Timing mechanism, which has a fixed duration of action,
and which obviously cannot be adapted to the varying periods of
time during which recoil may act, is not employed.
3. The release of the trigger, that is, the amount of travel or
duration of movement requisite to fire the second barrel reaches
the irreducible minimum. Thus the two barrels may be fired
quickly without the finger being removed from the trigger. In
62 Modern Sporting Gunnery
some other systems it is necessary for the shooter to remember to
release his finger from the trigger, and if he fails to do this the
firing of the second barrel is delayed. Although to some shooters
this possibly may not be an objection, it is but fair to remark that
as the Westley Richards one-trigger successfully abolishes it, that
form of trigger mechanism is suited to all types of gunners, no
matter what their personal idiosyncrasy may be, nor how they
handle the gun.
4. Its greater rapidity of action is not obtained at the cost of
safety, double discharge through involuntary pull, or under any
circumstance of manipulation, being absolutely impossible.
5. It also on this account is safe and most suitable for application
to the high velocity or large calibre rifles and duck guns, with
their heavy charges and recoil.
6. Miss-fires do not affect its working, and this is an important
consideration where big and dangerous game are confronted.
Even under the circumstances of a miss-fire in the first barrel
through a defective cap or cartridge, the firing of the second
barrel is not delayed. In the event of a miss-fire with the
first barrel of a gun on the three-pull recoil actuated system,
the intermediate, or as it has been termed involuntary pull,
then has to be voluntarily performed, so causing delay, and
where danger lurks, as in tiger shooting, this may prove a serious
matter.
7. Two pulls only. No intermediate pull.
8. It is fitted with a selective action, which enables the shooter
to choose which of the two barrels he shall fire first.
Amongst the multitude of single-triggers that has been devised,
that of Westley Richards stands in a class by itself, both in
mechanical principle and structural design. The Editor of the
Field, in his report of July 5, 1902, states that it enables Messrs.
Westley Richards to challenge the most severe tests with their
mechanism. From various independent tests I extract the follow-
ing particulars : —
i. Sand was placed all over the mechanism, and allowed to
penetrate between the parts, and the gun repeatedly fired under
every conceivable condition of holding and pulling, but it never
once refused to act properly. This severe sand test convincingly
Modern Shot-Guns 63
demonstrates the strength and efficiency of the mechanism. The
Editor of the Field reports on this test, " It fired satisfactorily."
2. Light trigger-pulls and heavy charges of black and nitro
powders have been frequently tried, and from these numerous
trials the following may be selected : — Pulling the right barrel
first, the left pull being extremely light, viz. actual weight 2^ Ib.
Repeatedly shot with 42 grs. and i| oz., and 45 grs. and i£ oz. ;
also with 3J drs. of black powder and i£ oz. of shot. The gun
was held in every conceivable position, and pulled in various ways.
To instance some : —
(a] Gripping hard against the shoulder.
(b] Held loose at the shoulder.
(c] Held in the air away from the shoulder, and allowed to
recoil heavily against it and rebound again.
(d] Firing in all these positions with the finger held stiff
against the trigger.
(e] Resting the gun upon the hand, and allowing another
person to pull the trigger while in this position in every
conceivable way.
" Every apparent requirement of a single-trigger action seems to
have been met by some application of mechanical movement."-
Editor of Field, July 5, 1902.
All these tests were carried out on various occasions by different
shooters, and in no instance could the mechanism be made to fail,
either in simultaneous discharge, or delayed action, or in any other
way.
With single-triggers having the two-pull timed mechanism there
is liability either to double discharge or to hang when attempting
to fire the second barrel. Two barrels going off together or delay
in firing are both objectionable features.
With the three-pull mechanism the intermediate pull depends
for its actuation upon recoil, which is an inconstant agent in itself
and varies with the different methods of holding the gun or other
personal idiosyncrasy. Thus again sportsmen complain that they
get delay in firing or a double discharge.
At the head of the many three-pull systems undoubtedly stands the
Boss, and this single-trigger, invented so long ago as 1894, has
64. Modern Sporting Gunnery
from time to time been improved. It is only fair to say that,
with regard to shot-guns, for a recoil-operated mechanism the Boss
system meets the inherent difficulties of the involuntary pull
in the most ingenious way. Double discharge from the invol-
untary pull has always been a difficulty with timed and three-pull
mechanisms, and evidently had not been mastered a year ago,
as I notice that the inventor of the Boss system was granted a
patent dated May 30, 1905, for a mechanical device which I
gather from the specification is to obviate this defect.
In the Westley Richards one-trigger mechanism this double
discharge through an involuntary pull is eliminated.
Westley Richards give the guarantee that with their one-trigger
used on any form of gun or rifle it is absolutely reliable, and will
neither discharge both barrels simultaneously nor hang when
pulling the trigger to fire the second barrel. To my knowledge
this one-trigger for some years has been in successful use upon
High Power Express rifles such as the double -256 Mannlicher,
the -400 and -450 cordite rifles, and even upon heavy '577 double
rifles shooting 100 grs. cordite and 750 grs. bullet. I believe it is the
only mechanism of which it has been said : " The gun will adapt
itself to practically every conceivable combination of violence or
lightness of recoil and suddenness or complete absence of the
involuntary pull . . . conceived with a wonderful ingenuity of
purpose" (vide the Editor of the Field's report, July 5, 1902).
CHAPTER IV
MODERN SHOT-GUNS— continued
The Processes of Manufacture and the Gun Complete.
MODERN GUNMAKING consists of a series
of highly-specialized trades : barrel-making and
boring, action-making, lock-filing, furniture-filing,
stocking, and so forth. It is highly advantageous
that this should be so, as thus the greatest
possible refinement of skill is brought to bear upon each branch
of gun manufacture. I will now attempt to describe in sequential
order the various processes of gun-building ; these," however, are so
interwoven that it is somewhat difficult to so present them. The
first subject to be taken is that of
THE GUN-BARREL.
A great degree ot interest attaches to the calling of "barrel-
welder," as the Damascus tube-maker is designated. The iron
composed of the required layers of steel and iron he submits to
various processes, the carrying out of which has for many genera-
tions constituted his industry, this being confined to a small
number of master workmen, who have handed down their craft
from father to son.
The process of Damascus tube-making comprises several opera-
tions. First, the square rod of iron is twisted by a hand machine ;
this forms an external screw or spiral, and assists in giving that
necessary curl or figure to the metal which has caused it to be
known by the term " Damascus." The desired number of pieces
—two in the case of the two-stripe, three where the barrel is to
assume the form known as three-stripe — so screwed are then placed
together, heated and hammered flat. These flattened pieces are
5 65
66 Modern Sporting Gunnery
then welded round a mandrel of suitable shape, and by alternate
heating and hammering are forged into a compact tube, the exact
external size being given by the shape of the mandrel. The
formation of the flats at the breech end are given under the appli-
cation of the hammer when the tube is placed in dies of corre-
sponding form upon the anvil.
The Damascus barrel, under the skilful and repeated hammer-
ing of the barrel-welder, receives a toughness which no machine
process is able to give. Of late years tilt-hammering, or a process
of welding the barrel by a machine-hammer, has been substituted
for the old hand-welding. Excellent barrels are doubtless made
by this system, but they have never been able to surpass, and many
authorities say to equal, the old reliable Damascus barrels of
thirty or forty years ago. In its forged state, as received from
the welder, the Damascus tube bears little resemblance to a gun-
barrel, and it has to be ground down or turned externally and
rough-bored internally before it begins to assume anything like
its destined shape.
The manufacture of the steel barrel is much simpler. Gener-
ally, the barrel is produced by drilling out short pieces of steel rod,
rolling and drawing them under heat to the required length, size,
and shape, and then boring them up to the required diameter — a
size which will admit of the further necessary enlargement for final
finishing. Under this method it will be seen that the hammering
process and other special operations required for the Damascus
are discarded. In this state it is known as a rough tube,
and is ready for the barrel-filer proper. At this stage much skill is
requisite to produce so important an adjunct as the perfect gun-
barrel — a barrel in which the metal is distributed in proportion
duly calculated to bear the strain set up at the various points by
the explosion of the cartridge.
The perfect gun-barrel has no "set" in it, that is to say, it
must be absolutely straight and be bored true. The setting of
the gun-barrel is a very important part of the barrel-maker's
calling ; by the shadow thrown by a wire or other straight edge
on to the interior of the bore, the trained eye can detect any
crook however slight, and by a skilful manipulation of the hammer
remove such defect. In some manufactories the tubes are set by
Modern Shot-Guns
CO
68 Modern Sporting Gunnery
FIG. 47.
BARRELS WITH
LUMPS AND RIPS
ATTACHED
FIG. 46.
TUBES
COUPLED.
the aid of machinery, but even in this
case the trained eye is required, and
I am not aware that any high-class
gunmaker has been able as yet to
dispense with it.
Many people confuse the rough
tube with the barrel. As shown, the
making of the rough tube represents
a separate calling, and forms no part
of the barrel-maker's craft. In fact,
in regard to the Damascus tube,
welding is an entirely separate calling
from that of barrel-grinding and
boring, whilst the barrel-filing proper,
i.e. making the tubes into the im-
portant portion of the gun of which
they form a part, in itself consists of
not a few trades. Here, for instance,
is the lump-forger ; but these lumps
have to be fitted to the barrel by the
barrel-filer, who prepares the necessary
slots to receive them. The barrel-
filer also straightens the tubes, and
keeps them during their subsequent
processes free from "rivels," "crooks,"
and other defects which would pre-
judice the shooting qualities. He has
to couple the barrels together, which
requires no little skill, also some long
practice in the heating of metals and
of gauging its effect. Finally, there is
the rib-forger, an entirely separate
industry. The filing of ribs received
from the forger being another portion
of the barrel-filer's trade, and finally
comes the finish-borer.
Important as the tube-making is
as forming the foundation of a sound
Modern Shot-Guns 69
and reliable barrel, it is far less important from the point of
view of skill and the number of processes that are involved
in the art of barrel-filing. The best tubes in the world, tubes
made of the finest materials possible, unless properly treated by
the barrel-filer might be worse than useless. He has to maintain
their fundamental good quality under all conditions, but he further
has to build up upon these tubes a piece of work which forms
one of the chief characteristics of the gun. Without barrels that
will successfully stand repeated firing for many years, and do this
with consistent and reliable accuracy of shooting, the very best
gun mechanism would be valueless.
After setting, the barrel is bored up to the requisite size for
statutory provisional proof — the provisional proof-charge for a
12-bore shot-gun being 9f dr. of black powder, and i£ oz. of
shot. The separate tubes are then finally turned down for coupling
together, and are made to receive the lumps for attaching them to
the breech-action. They are next joined side by side (see Fig. 46)
to a gauge, insuring the proper width at each end, so that both
throw their shot to the same mark. The lumps and ribs having
been attached to them by soldering or brazing (see Fig. 47), the
barrels are advanced another stage in the boring up towards the
finishing size, and are then ready to go to the action-filer to have
the breech-action fitted. Although in giving these particulars a
number of minor operations have not been detailed, a sufficient
outline of the various processes will possibly have been given for
the sportsman's purpose.
As will have been seen with regard to the barrels, many trades
contribute to the building of a gun, in just the same way that
several trades are involved in the building of a house, and this fact
is further exemplified in the production of the breech-action.
BARREL-JOINTING.
This is a term used in connection with the fitting of the barrels
to the action, in itself a very important and separate trade, a man
spending his lifetime at this one job. The lock-filer, for instance,
must be a good spring maker, and be able to give just that precise
jo Modern Sporting Gunnery
temper which ensures necessary strength and vitality, but he knows
nothing of the action-jointer's work, and vice versa.
Barrel-jointing consists, briefly, in forming hooks to fit corre-
sponding recesses within the body ; one hook pivoting on a solid
joint at the forward end and the other end engaging within the
recess towards the rear of the action-body. These hooks, in the
highest types of modern gun, fit so closely to the body or breech
that it might almost be inferred they had grown together, as
even a hair or the thinnest piece of tissue paper would prevent
the barrels closing upon the breech. It is upon this accuracy
of jointing, combined with sufficient strength of parts, that
the gun depends for strength to resist the explosion of the
cartridge.
Bolts are employed to engage with the hooks for the purpose of
keeping the barrels in position, but bolts without perfect jointing
would not long stand the strain of repeated firing. After the
barrels are jointed, the lock, on being filed, is fitted into the body
or breech-action, after which the furniture-plate with trigger and
guard are filed and also fitted. .
The introduction of the hammerless system, as we have seen,
distinctly marks an epoch in the history of sporting firearms, and
owing to the radical change in the form of its breech-action and
lock, it brought in its train a need for new methods of manu-
facture, the establishment of new systems, and the training afresh
of men for the production of this novel lock mechanism, the limbs
of which presented so wide a difference from those constituting
the gun-lock which the skilled filer had hitherto to deal with.
And thus it was that, perhaps for the first time in the annals of
British gunmaking, the gun manufacturer included in his work
the important mechanism of the gun-lock, which had hitherto
formed a separate trade. He became his own lock-filer — the
majority of gunmakers prior to the introduction of the Anson and
Deeley gun buying their finished locks from one or other of the
well-known lock-filers.
Conspicuous amongst the latter was the celebrated Brazier, a
name which is worthily associated with all that may be best said
of a highly-finished gun-lock. Even to this day the name stands
as a recommendation, and many gunmakers who still rely upon
Modern Shot-Guns 71
help of the outside gun-lock filer advertise that for their highest
productions they use <c Brazier locks."
But great as was the celebrity earned by the beautiful Brazier
locks, it is only fair to say that Messrs. Westley Richards, who
invented the Anson and Deeley hammerless gun, have for the
past thirty years made lock mechanism of such fine and reliable
quality, and, what is so very much to the point in these times,
of a durability equal to the specially severe calls of modern
shooting. It may be stated that this firm's productions have
withstood infinitely greater wear than the old Brazier locks ever
were subjected to.
Facts and figures indisputably prove that the gun-lock as made
by Messrs. Westley Richards stands higher in the estimation of
the modern sportsman than those of Brazier did in his day, and
that whilst the Anson and Deeley lock is not only simpler and
more mechanically sound, it has performed with exceptional satis-
faction under the severest stress and strain of modern shooting.
This lock has come successfully through an ordeal of wear and
tear never contemplated in respect of its predecessors j Messrs.
Westley Richards & Co. have in their possession many letters
from clients who state that they fire 5000, 10,000, 20,000,
30,000, and even up to 70,000 cartridges per annum from their
guns with perfect comfort and absolute certainty. I state these
facts in order to support my argument that, now we find the
advanced gun constructor of the day giving his attention to the
designing and filing of gun-locks, he has excelled everything that
had previously been done in that direction.
PROOF.
Before they are finished off, the action and barrels have to be
submitted to a definite test of proof in accordance with Proof
House regulations, and are stamped with the Government Proof
marks. This is a matter of equal importance to the shooting
public as to the gunmaker. It is the final test of the barrel
after it has been reduced in the process of action-fitting and of
boring out with a chambering tool to take the cartridge, and it
72 Modern Sporting Gunnery
also tries the strength both of the breech-action and of the fitting
and adjustment of the barrel bolts.
The provisional proof test, which is applied solely to the
barrel or rough tube, is calculated upon three times the service
charge of powder and with the service charge of shot, and this
charge gives about the same pressure at I inch as the definitive
proof with a somewhat higher pressure at the forward part of the
barrel.
The definitive proof test for a 12-bore shot-gun is 6^- dr. of
T.P. black powder and lyj- oz. of shot for a maximum service
charge of gj dr. of powder and ij oz. shot. This charge is
calculated to give the 'following pressure —
One inch from breech, 4-5 ; at cone, 4-4 ; and 6 inches from
breech, 3-1 tons.
In addition to these two proofs, most guns are now usually
submitted to a supplementary test with a charge of treble strong
black powder of fine grain, which is based on the service charge
of the nitro or smokeless powders now in general use. This test
is termed " Nitro Proof," and after guns made of the best material
throughout, and of high-class workmanship, have been submitted
to these severe ordeals of proof, it will be realized that the greatest
care has been taken to guarantee the safety of the public on the
one hand and to protect the reputation and interests of the gun-
makers on the other.
As compared with the definitive proof pressure, the supplemen-
tary or nitro proof at the same distances gives the following
pressures respectively —
4-9, 4'5 and 2-5 tons per square inch.
The pressure thus given by the two definitive proofs shows
that the definitive black powder proof is lower at the breech than
the nitro proof, while the latter is less at 6 inches than the black
powder definitive, and this is supposed to show the necessity for
the two proofs, but it would be far more consistent to have the
gun proved only for a class of powder which it is intended to
shoot. By this means the extra stress set up by the additional
proof would be obviated. Few guns, and probably none amongst
the higher grade weapons sold in this country, are ever used with
Modern Shot-Guns 73
anything but the smokeless powder, and it is, therefore, obviously
unnecessary to prove them for black, but even when all is said,
the sole difference in pressure given by the two proofs is too small
to become a decisive indication of the margin of safety left. The
difference of I ton pressure at a point of 6 inches on the average
strength of barrel would not constitute a dangerous rise of pressure
in such a barrel.
THE STOCK.
The choice of the gun-stock is a matter calling for the due
exercise of a considerable amount of experience. Versatile as are
his attainments, the modern constructor of high-class sporting
arms can scarcely be expected to have acquired much expert
knowledge of forestry or the growth of timber. This forms a
separate trade, known as stock-dealing, which in itself does not
rear.h the source of supply, for the dealer himself generally buys
the gun-stocks in the plank state from a third person who has
bought them in the growth.
A good many walnut stocks come from France, some from Italy,
others from Russia, French walnut, however, predominating. Stocks
suitable for the higher class of guns are not specially grown, but
reach the gunmaker's hands by a process of selection from the
thousands bought by the stock-dealer. The latter, for instance,
buys a pile of timber containing a great variety of stocks which, as
regards their quality and price, may prove suitable for all kinds of
guns ; from these, by careful selection, he gets together a batch
suitable for the high-grade modern gun. But the gunmaker
requires to be a good judge of wood, and, indeed, he is prob-
ably a better judge of grain than the stock-dealer. What may
appear to be a handsome stock to the dealer's eye may be worth-
less to the gunmaker, and the latter alone knows how to select it
for the happy combination of correct growth, good grain, colour
and figure, and, of course, weight.
These gun-stocks are generally bought in a state which the
gunmaker terms " wet," but which, by the way, the dealer asserts
to be "dry." The latter may have kept them a year or two,
and it is the custom of most gunmakers to buy ahead for several
74 Modern Sporting Gunnery
years. As a rule, it is necessary for the gunmaker to keep the
stocks for some years before using them ; they are usually placed
in a special compartment to insure a gradual and equable drying
process. Wood is naturally susceptible to extremes of climate,
and yet it is seldom, such is the care exercised, that shrinkage or
swelling of the wood is known to occur on a high-class gun.
FIG. 48.— ROUGH SLAB OF WALNUT.
The price of the rough gun-stock, practically a piece of
timber of a size capable of being formed into a gun-stock,
varies from 25$. to ^5. On looking at these blocks of wood
FIG. 49. — FINISHED WALNUT STOCK.
in the rough, as here illustrated, any one unaccustomed to the
business would not be inclined to value them at more than so
many pence. And yet these solid pieces of walnut, when repro-
duced in the finished gun, frequently present so beautiful a show
of colour and perfection of growth, that the high price of the raw
material can no longer be marvelled at. The rough stock is next
trimmed out, and its suitability as regards growth is then finally
Modern Shot-Guns 75
determined. If this be confirmed, the necessary parts of the
action are let into the wood. The wood is carefully chiselled
out, the metal-work being smoked or blacked at each process in
order to test, by corresponding impressions upon the wood,
whether the bearings are close ; this goes on until the metal is
finally bedded into position so exactly that both metal and wood
seem to be all of one piece. This is a process demanding con-
siderable skill, and, indeed, the interior cutting of the recesses of
the stock to receive the iron-work presents an example of fine
handicraft, and should rank equally with the external work visible
to the eye. The next operation is that termed
SCREWING.
This implies the screwing or fitting of the stock with the pins
or screws which rigidly secure it to the iron-work. The interior
of the stock is next cut away, with the same care as before, to
receive the mechanism and the trigger-plate j the butt-plate,
or heel and tips, as the case may be, are fitted ; the bolt by which
the fore-end wood is secured is then let in, and all superfluous
wood is taken off to give to the stock further definite shape, thus
advancing it another stage towards final development.
BORING AND SHOOTING.
While the previously described process of screwing is being
accomplished, the barrels have gone to the fine borer to be
polished and regulated for shooting. On this being done, and
whilst the stock is in the state described, the gun is ready for
shooting. The barrels when submitted to the final proofs just
mentioned are within a few thousandths of an inch of their ultimate
size. The fine boring consists in itself of two processes, known
respectively as " roughing " and " finishing." " Roughing " con-
sists in giving the barrels a suitable size and shape interiorly,
preparatory to the final polishing. They are then handed over
again to the barrel-filer, who finishes off the outsides, trues up the
ribs, and removes all trace of scratches or other slight damage
76 Modern Sporting Gunnery
received in their late journeyings. The fine borer then having
given them a light polish, they are chambered and the interior of
barrels and chamber are adjusted to a measurement so fine as
Tinnr Part °f an mcn'
Formerly, close and regular patterns were too often only to
be obtained after days of retouching, regulating, and so forth,
whereas, the gunmaker who now bores to precise dimensions
knows that the shooting will conform to certain clearly-defined
rules before the gun comes to be shot at the target. But it was
also true that the powder and shot, the percussion-cap, wadding,
and all the components going to form the complete cartridge
were not under such watchful control as they now are. There
is no doubt that the variations in pattern which arose from the
inconsistency, the inconstant character, of these agents were many,
whilst the real cause was unknown to the borer of fifty years
ago.
The best borers of that day have been known, after repeated
disappointing trials of a barrel bored apparently upon lines that
previously had given good results, to give the matter up and put
the barrel on one side for a certain period. A well-known gun-
maker, whose name is a household word among sportsmen, was
accustomed to say that the gun-barrel was incomprehensible ;
further adding, " It's like a fiddle or a woman, sir." It was found
that this barrel, on being shot under different climatic conditions,
gave satisfactory results, and it is not an extravagant statement
that in those days when the majority of workmen could not
read nor write, their ignorance of the causes at work led them
into cultivating a superstition respecting the behaviour of gun
barrels.
By the light of more recent investigation and scientific
knowledge we are aware that probably too much or too little
moisture in the powder, a too weak or excessively strong cap, or
other defects, or variations in the cartridge, were the sole causes
of what was to the barrel-borer of old a mystery not to be
unravelled. Of course those causes which affect the accuracy,
regularity, and uniformity of the pattern were no doubt assisted
by the somewhat greater latitude then permitted in the maximum
and minimum internal sizes of the barrel, the gun-chamber, and
Modern Shot-Guns 77
the cone, as well as in other directions bearing upon the production
of the best possible shooting results. In former times one
frequently heard sportsmen remark upon the excellent shooting
of one barrel and the mediocre performance of the other in some
guns — in fact, only one man here and there had really good
shooting guns. The exactitude of the methods now employed
in barrel-boring insures not merely that all sportsmen may have
guns of equal and truly excellent shooting qualities, but that
those good shooting properties shall continue long unimpaired.
Indeed, it need well be so, for it is a fact that in some hands the
modern gun has constantly to endure more shooting in each single
year than the weapon of half-a-century ago experienced in its
whole lifetime.
An important feature of the chamber, exercising a great effect
upon the shooting of the gun, is that part known as the cone or
lead. This is that part of the barrel from the end of the cartridge
chamber which is eased off into the bore proper, for the purpose
of forming an easy passage for the shot.
Our leading gunmakers have for many years bestowed especial
care upon the accurate dimensions of the chamber, the cone or
lead, and the barrel itself, which have largely contributed to steady
and uniform results. It cannot be said, however, that the measure-
ment and other observances of the cartridge-case and ammu-
nition have travelled parl passu with those rigid refinements of barrel
and chamber gauging practised in recent years in the best gunmaking
establishments, or manufacturers have set themselves to produce
cartridges within such strict limits of accuracy as to adhere to
measurements ofy^y- part of an inch.
It has been stated in the sporting press that many gunmakers
do not sufficiently realize the importance of adopting a proper
series of dimensions for the back end of the barrel. A statement
which is altogether inconsistent with my experience of modern
high-class gunmaking. Gunmakers who bore their barrels to
one-thousandth part of an inch have, for three decades or more,
recognized that accuracy in the dimensions of the chamber, both
as regards its exact length and diameter, as well as in the cone
and lead, has considerable influence in the gun's behaviour at the
target, and that the same accuracy and care which they devote to
7 8 Modern Sporting Gunnery
the boring must be given to the other parts of the barrel, which
after all in scientific gunnery is only one item of the operation of
barrel-boring.
It is inaccurate for any critic to assume that the gunmaker who
carefully studies the question of shape and size in respect of the
FIG. 50. — SECTION OF WESTLEY RICHARDS i2-GAUGE CONE WITH
CARTRIDGE WITHIN THE CHAMBER.
coning of the choke will neglect points ot equal importance when
they belong to the cone of the chamber.
In Chapter V results of shooting in a series of tests are given of
a i2-bore gun, No. 16417. The consistency of its performance
FIG. 51. — SECTION OF WESTLEY RICHARDS i2-GAUGE CONE WITH
FIRED CASE SECTIONED WITHIN THE CHAMBER.
may be taken as fairly representative ot the standard for which a
high-class gunmaker bores his gun. Such gunmaker shoots each
individual weapon as I have remarked after previously boring it to
one-thousandth of an inch.
It was during a prolonged visit to Messrs. Westley Richards's
factory, that I was lead to entertain the idea that target- testing
Modern Shot-Guns
79
might be superfluous. There I had the opportunity of seeing
many guns tested, and it surprised me to find how great a per-
centage of well-bored guns would pass the shooter's view on the
first test at the target for pattern and penetration.
In discussing this matter with the managing director, Mr.
Leslie B. Taylor, he stated that a test was not absolutely necessary
as he was prepared to show. For this purpose a pair of 12-bore
barrels, bearing the number 16244, in the rough-bored state, just
as received from proof, was taken from the store. On gauging
these, assisted by the barrel-borer, I found they measured as
follows : —
Cylinder barrel. Diameter of bore at breech, '729 inch.
„ „ „ „ muzzle, -726 „
Choke barrel.
breech, 729
muzzle, '693
FIG. 52. — SECTION OF WESTLEY RICHARDS i2-GAUGE CONE WITH
2-lNCH CARTRIDGE WITHIN THE CHAMBER.
On being shot at the target in this rough state with 42 grs.
Amberite and i-J- oz. No. 6 shot, the cylinder barrel made the
following pattern on the 3O-inch circle at 40 yards : 105, 102,
94, 109, 88 — average 99.
There was no shape on the choke of the other barrel, and its
rough angular edge absolutely precluded it from being shot before
boring.
The barrel-borer was then instructed to bore these barrels to
certain measurements : which were written down in his instruc-
tions' note — a copy of these internal dimensions being handed to
me, Mr. Taylor having first written against each barrel the
80 Modern Sporting Gunnery
patterns which he guaranteed they would make, viz., cylinder
140-145 ; choke 218^225.
On the process of boring being completed, I carefully tested
the boring of each barrel with hardened steel cylindrical gauges,
and found that the borer had carried out his instructions to the
exact dimensions.
The barrels were then shot at the 3O-inch circle at 40 yards'
range, with 42 grs. of Amberite, and ij oz. No. 6 shot, when the
following patterns were displayed :—
Cylinder . 148, 154, 138, 145, 147 — average 146.
Choke . 221, 213, 203, 223, 219 — average 216.
Comment is unnecessary, but it will be seen that the gun-
makers' estimate was correct within one pellet in the case of the
cylinder barrel, and two pellets in the case of the choke barrel.
Nevertheless, Messrs. Westley Richards informed me that they
do not intend to abandon the test of individual guns, as the target
trials afford an automatic check upon their borer's efficiency, as
well as a test of powder, percussion-cap, and other parts of the
cartridge. And further than this, even though the tests might be
considered as somewhat unnecessary, they would not be prepared
to forego them as it would break their long-time records, their
registers of the shooting of individual guns forming a complete
record of these tests extending backward for considerably more
than fifty years.
In a pamphlet issued by Messrs. Curtis and Harvey, the expert
writer states, " The improvement of smokeless powders will pro-
ceed hand in hand with a parallel advance, not only in the exacti-
tude of cartridge loading but also in the boring of guns and the
proper formation of their chambers." As we have seen, this is not
a true estimate of the position.
When this statement is considered, sportsmen will do well to
reflect that certain contemporary authorities which have for many
years dealt with the technical side of gun and rifle-making have
spoken favourably of 2-inch cartridges in 2^-inch chambers, a
recommendation that can hardly be said to be an advocacy of
"exactitude in the gun having a parallel advance with that of the
cartridge."
Modern Shot-Guns 81
The same gun, No. 16244, was immediately afterwards tested
with short cartridges as follows : —
2-inch unconed Ballistite " Parvo " case.
24 grs. Ballistite powder.
i thin card, ^ inch felt (best), I card, and I card over-shot wad.
i ounce No. 6 chilled shot.
Patterns.
Right barrel, 86 and 64. Both bad cases of balling.
Left barrel, choke, 135 and 141.
The effect, therefore, of using a 2-inch case in a gun carefully
chambered for a 2|-inch case, is that it reduces the cylinder pattern
by very nearly 50 per cent, and further, brings down the choke
pattern to less than the level of a cylinder, a reduction of over 30
per cent.
It is also to be noted that balling resulted in the cylinder barrel,
when used with a 2-inch case, while the shot patterns were
free from this serious defect when used with the proper length of
cartridge-case for which the gun was constructed.
Gunmakers of repute have long recognized the important bear-
ing of the cone or lead upon the production of good shooting and
they have given this matter close and serious attention, in the
interests of regular and even pattern, and other qualities.
In an ordinary gun chambered for the paper case, the object of
the mechanician has been to keep as short as possible that taper
portion at the end of the chamber which represents the difference
between the external diameter of the cartridge-case, and the size
of the barrel, that is, this difference is to lose itself in the shortest
possible taper or cone that can be made consistent with an easy
passage for the charge.
The practical value of the cone consists in the following : —
1. A complete gas check through the action of the wadding,
which, while sufficiently expanding, keeps square during its
passage into the bore.
2. Effecting this with a minimum mutilation of the shot, in
order to avoid leading, and at the same time to retain the highest
capacity of flight for each individual pellet.
82 Modern Sporting Gunnery
3. By this means, in an otherwise well-bored barrel to preserve
the highest possible penetration coupled with uniform and well
distributed patterns.
FIG. 53. — WESTLEY RICHARDS i2-GAUGE CONE WITH 2-lNCH FIRED CASE
SECTIONED WITHIN THE CHAMBER.
The long taper cone tends to produce the evils of leading ;
unequal patterns, and increased recoil resulting therefrom.
FIG. 54.— SECTION OF WESTLEY RICHARDS I2-GAUGE CONE.
Gunmakers and experts have for years condemned first the
long cone, and second the use of the 2 fa-inch cases in 2|-inch
chambers ; and for the same reason the 2-inch cartridge is con-
demned for promiscuous use in any and all kinds of chambers
bored for the 2T9^-inch cartridge ; not merely on the grounds of
Modern Shot- Guns 83
being unmechanical, but as reducing the patterns, impoverishing
the effectiveness of the shot, and by inducing leading and balling.
The former may be dangerous to the gun, the latter to other
shooters in the field.
I here illustrate the Westley Richards chamber-cone, Fig. 54,
which they have used for many years, and is that adopted in the
many guns I have tested including those referred to in this work.
It will be seen that at one point just in front of the cartridge-case
it is slightly " ogee " in form.
It may be an ideal, but surely it is not too much to hope that
the powder, the percussion-cap, and the whole structure of the
cartridge, may in time be brought under the same control, and
reach the same degree of accuracy, which the high-class modern
gunmaker is enabled to insure in his weapons, and when this
comes about, both gun and cartridge will equally contribute to
the realization of a perfect combination in gunnery.
Having reached the required standard of excellence, the gun is then
passed on for finishing.
STOCK-FINISHING.
The stock is next submitted to a process of wetting and drying
over a flame, smoothing off with a rough file, of again wetting
and drying, and of finishing off with a fine file. It is then again
wetted and dried, and gone over with a bastard file to get it into
further shape. Still another process of wetting and drying
follows, when the stock is finally formed into shape with a tool
termed a "smooth." It is then papered off with three kinds of
glass paper of diminishing roughness, and between each papering is
again wetted and dried over the flame. This raises the grain of
the wood, and results in a perfectly smooth surface.
A coating of a special preparation is then applied, this serving
to fill the grain of the wood, and, alternating between repeated
cleanings of the surface, these applications are continued until the
grain is completely filled up. Whilst the ordinary gun-stock
requires four of these processes, others may need six or even more.
Next is put on the necessary chequer upon the hand or grasp of
the stock and upon the fore-end, this forming a diagonal pattern
84 Modern Sporting Gunnery
of crossed lines, which is pleasing to the eye and serves the useful
purpose of steadying the shooter's grip.
• ]^B Linseed oil is then applied, repeated
coats being given over a space of two
days or so. The gun-stock, treated by a
succession of such careful processes, is
enabled to resist the inroads of moisture,
as well as the extremes of temperature,
and, if properly looked after and cared for
by the sportsman, it will preserve its
aspect and fine polish for many years.
This is termed an oil-finish, the resultant
fine surface being obtainable only by a
lavish application of that commodity
known as " elbow-grease."
The body of the action, the limbs,
springs and pins are next carefully
polished. The great art of polishing
consists in giving tr;e requisite bright
surface free from all blemish, and at the
same time preserving the squareness of
edge, so that the fitting of each part will
not be disturbed.
FIG. 55.— COVER-PLATE.
FIG. 56.— ENGRAVING ON WESTLEY RICHARDS MUZZLE-LOADER
HALF-A-CENTURY OLD.
ENGRAVING AND NAMING.
Most guns have a moderate amount of engraving, but of course
Modern Shot-Guns
sportsmen vary somewhat in their tastes in this direction. Some
prefer to have a practically plain weapon, simply bearing the
name of the maker either upon barrels and action, or, possibly,
FIG. 57. — MUZZLE-LOADING LOCK ENGRAVING OF FIFTY YEARS AGO.
with the name gold-inlaid upon the sides of the body. Those
who prefer a gun without engraving rely upon its severe yet
elegant lines for the gratification of their taste. On the other
FIG. 58. — TYPE OF MODERN ENGLISH GUN ENGRAVING.
hand, many sportsmen of taste prefer that the lines of the
gun should be toned down by a plentiful addition of engraving.
When this is so, the gunmaker applies the engraving in the most
artistic way to suit the lines of the gun. Given a taste for
artistic ornamentation on the part of the patron, the gunmaker
can satisfy him with work of the highest merit, even to the extent
86 Modern Sporting Gunnery
of an expenditure of ^20 or ^30 in addition to the price of the
gun ; this, too, without any of that gold incrustation which
frequently finds favour especially with Oriental sportsmen. Much
might be said upon the subject of gun engraving and ornamenta-
tion. English taste from the earliest period seems to have conceded
the necessity of some decoration, although sparsely applied in
puritanical scrolls.
Joe Manton's and other well-known guns of that period just
FIG. 59.— TYPE OF MODERN ENGLISH GUN ENGRAVING.
express this rigid view. Continental weapons, especially those of
Italy and Germany, on the other hand, were profusely decorated ;
ornate curving of the stock, lock, and barrel running riot in a
florid treatment of familiar subjects of classical mythology.
I think it will be admitted that modern English guns are of
a more ornamental character than their predecessors of half-a-
century ago ; doubtless, the demand for external artistic finish
on the part of the sportsman has stimulated effort and brought
about a higher type of engraving.
Modern Shot-Guns
Each gunmaker of standing, I believe, has studied the subject
of engraving in respect to the form, outline, and structure of
the particular model of gun he affects ; so that the engraving
is often just as expressive of his individuality or character as is
the " build " of the gun.
Some gunmakers place upon their weapons a fine and delicate
scroll engraving whose merit is only apparent by close scrutiny ;
others deck out their guns with a bold and flowing scroll, deep
cut, and at once apparent, and we get many varieties of each type.
FIG. 60. — A PLAIN GUN.
There always will be two schools — each containing subsidiary
sections — upon the question of taste. The severely plain man
at one end and the man avaricious for a wealth of ornamentation
at the other. But de gustibus — we know there is no finality —
no one is ever right, or ever will be.
Given a plain gun expressly designed and constructed to be
severe, cold, and innocent of the smallest ornament, it, nevertheless,
should have a beauty of outline and proportion, for lacking which
it would be a mere lump of iron and wood. In short, a gun
88 Modern Sporting Gunnery
without engraving — that still appeals to the connoisseur — in order
to stand his critical appraisement, must be of the first order in
mechanical design, construction, and contour. But, on the other
hand, the taste that naturally flows to ornateness wants to know
why perfect outline and graceful proportion should not receive
the additional attraction of tasteful and well-executed decoration.
For sound and tasteful work modern English guns cannot be
beaten. I am not so sure — and neither insular prejudice nor
patriotism are recognized in the republic of art — but I think the
continental gun engravers are the better artists.
FIG. 61. — ILLUSTRATING SEAR NOSE AND TUMBLER BENT, TOGETHER
CONSTITUTING THE PULL-OFF.
BLACKING, FREEING AND FINISHING.
By the aid of acids, and the process of steaming and drying,
steel barrels are given a coating of black colour. This gives a
finish to the barrels, deadens down their aggressively bright and
glaring appearance, and preserves their external surfaces from rust.
The gun is now practically completed except for the final freeing
of the parts.
After the prccesses of hardening and barrel-blacking, the
fitting parts of the action and barrels require cleaning up, so as
TYPES OF MODERN ENGLISH GUN ENGRAVING.
To face page 88.
Modern Shot-Guns 89
to readjust them to their original bearings. This involves very
delicate treatment, for the workman or viewer must see that all
the parts, while fitting closely, work smoothly and efficiently.
There is no part of the gun requiring more careful adjustment,
to insure accuracy of shooting in the field, than the trigger-pulls.
The nicety of the pulls depends in a very large measure upon
the bearing surfaces of the different parts having the same degree
of hardness and temper to insure regularity. The exact amount
of pull-off required by individual shooters can be regulated to the
finest point by a workman specially qualified for this important
purpose, who can so adjust the pull-off that it will weigh within a
few ounces and give the same weight each time in a given number
of shots. A most important matter this, for nothing so contri-
butes to the sportsman's success as a reliable trigger-pull, which
enables him to fire the gun at the crucial moment, not sooner and
not later. Whether the pull is very fine to suit a delicate touch,
and weighs only, as in some guns, \\ lb., or whether it goes to
the other extreme and weighs 5 lb. or 6 lb., the important factor,
as insuring success in the field, is regularity.
THE COMPLETE GUN.
It may have come as a surprise thus to learn of the many
processes involved in the construction of the first-class modern
sporting gun.
In buying a truly high-class gun the sportsman gets, amongst
other things, the following advantages, not all of which the
purchaser of the lower-priced gun can reasonably expect to
obtain —
1. Highest development of inventive genius and of skill in gun
construction.
2. Evenly distributed shot-patterns, coupled with the highest
possible penetration.
3. Strength at a minimum weight and endurance.
4. The safety and reliability of the mechanism.
5. Just balance.
6. Graceful proportion.
go Modern Sporting Gunnery
Taking these seriatim, we first have the benefit of the brains of
men of trained capacity, and sometimes of genius ; men who
invented such important improvements as the treble-bolted top-
lever extension rib fastening, the hammerless hand-detachable lock,
the snap fore-end, the ejector, and a thoroughly reliable one-trigger
mechanism and good shooting qualities ; and, next we have the
first-class craftsmanship to carry out in the most thoroughly
efficient manner all these ideas.
Then we get the least possible amount of substance and weight
in barrels, action, and all parts, compatible with the attainment of
the greatest degree of solidity. It is requisite in modern gunnery
that there shall be a sufficient margin of strength in all parts to
insure against all possible risk of accident, in the form of broken
actions or burst barrels. This, by reason of the fact that, as
already remarked, a gun is now called upon to do ten times more
work than the hardest worked guns of our grandfathers ever per-
formed. Also, that the varying pressures and strains set up by
the multitude of new explosives, demand ample reserve of strength
to secure the personal safety of the shooter.
The reliability of the working parts ranks next in importance
to the previous consideration as an essential qualification. In fact,
the two are practically identical considerations, in so far as safety
is concerned, for it requires no stretch of the imagination to picture
a situation where the gunner's safety may be imperilled by a
breakdown of the mechanism, as, for instance, when facing
dangerous big game. Or again, through the breaking of a lock or
through some defection in a safety-bolt, danger may lurk, either to
the shooter or to his fellows.
But apart from considerations of bodily danger, the absolute
freedom of movement and smoothness in working of the gun's
mechanism should be assured on the score of utility. Even a
slight variation from the normal pull-ofF, failure of the lockwork or
of the ejecting mechanism, or difficulty experienced in opening or
closing the gun, will cause trouble and loss of sport when grouse,
pheasants or partridges are streaming overhead.
Just balance in a gun is essential to perfect success in the field.
To be handled with due promptitude and precision, and to insure the
sportsman shooting up to his proper form, and doing the best that
TYPES OF BELGIAN GUN ENGRAVING.
(By kind permission of The County Gentleman and Land and Water.}
To face page go.
TYPES OF FRENCH GUN ENGRAVING.
To face page 91.
Modern Shot-Guns 91
is in him, the gun should come up readily, and so well and easily
that it seems as though the merest perceptible effort was requisite
to instantly place it in position for firing. Of course, to kill with
it at all readily the gun must fit when at the shoulder, but it is
not the fit I wish to speak of just now — that will be dealt with in
a subsequent chapter.
The truly high-class gun, the masterpiece in gun construction,
can be detected with the eyes shut. The shooter of discernment,
the shooter with a keen sense of the general fitness and beauty
of things, will understand me when I say there is a certain
buoyancy, and altogether indefinable combination of lightness
and handiness about the really well-balanced shot-gun, which is
only uniformly assured in the higher grades. In hand, this sort
of gun never feels to be its true weight, whereas the clumsily-
constituted and ill-balanced gun always proves a drag upon the
arms, and its weight is only too apparent.
Finally, the graceful proportions of the truly high-class gun are
patent to all having half an eye for beauty of form and elegance of
design. Its symmetry and general harmony of lineal contour at
once lift it out of the common rut, and place it in a class where it
may have compeers, but no superiors.
Such a gun as this is designed and shaped by eye and hand
alone, its form and lines are neither mechanical nor geometric.
They can only rightfully be described as artistic, and the machine
is not yet invented, neither is it likely to be, that will produce
guns having true balance, elegant form, and graceful proportions
such as these possess.
True mechanical principles exclude all superfluous material and
rely for strength upon a rational distribution of the various com-
ponent parts, whose weight is nicely calculated to meet the demands
of continuous use and wear. Thus, to sum up, are obtained
minimum weight, compatible with safety and the due absorption
of recoil, perfect balance, and that grace of form which is attendant
upon just proportion.
:HAPTER v
MODERN SHOT-GUNS— continued
Sizes, Lengths, Weights and Charges — Boring — Shooting Power and
Performances — Pattern — Penetration and Recoil.
r
HE SHOT-GUN is a term comprising many shapes,
sizes and varieties. The huge punt gun of 2-inch
bore, discharging at one blast l\ Ib. of shot, and
the '410-bore carrying but f oz. of shot, are both
qualified to rank under the heading. Shot-guns
pure and simple broadly may be divided into the two main
classes — game guns and wildfowl guns. There is, however,
an intermediary class, the " pigeon gun," which is usually a heavy
1 2-bore, chambered for 2f-inch, or possibly, in some instances, for
3-inch cases, In England, and on the European continent, this gun
is used, as its name in a measure indicates, for the shooting of live
pigeons from the trap. To this type of gun the term " wild game "
or " light duck gun " would be equally applicable, for, speaking from
personal experience, it is an extremely handy gun for either purpose.
Sportsmen have frequently been puzzled regarding the numerals
10, 12, 1 6 and so on used to indicate the bore of shot-guns.
These figures assumed their value in the period long antecedent to
the introduction of the micrometer, and other measuring instruments
having extreme delicacy of adjustment. On the need for some
fixed term indicative of size of bore becoming apparent, the simple
expedient was resorted to of terming that smooth-bore gun a No.
12 into which would fit a spherical lead bullet weighing 12 to
the pound, a No. 16 that into which a bullet weighing I oz., or
92
Modern Shot-Guns
93
1 6 to the pound would go, and so on. After serving their purpose
for a century or so, these rough-and-ready denominations still
cling to the shot-gun. They, however, afford in themselves no
indication of gauge, and as in recent years the boring of gun-
barrels is conducted on measurements so fine as one-thousandth
part of an inch, it becomes necessary to fix a more definite measure-
ment than these simple denominators. As the old numerals could
not well be discarded, the diameters were accurately determined
from the respective sizes of spherical bullets cast from lead of a
specific gravity of 11-352. In this way the true gauge of the
nominal lo-bore was fixed at 775 inch, the 12-bore at 729 inch,
the i6-bore at '662 inch, and so on. In the accompanying table
will be found columns of figures giving the diameter of bore in
decimal parts of an inch, the nominal size of cartridge or bore,
as marked on the barrel at proof, the service charges, and weights
suitable for guns carrying those charges.
GAME GUNS.
Bore.
Barrel
length.
Weight.
Powder charge.
Shot load.
Actual.
Nominal.
Black.
Bulk nitro.
in.
1 in.
lb.
dr.
grs.
oz.
775
10 30
72
3!
52
If
„
10 30
7
3i
49
Ji
729
12
30
6|
3
42
ii
„
12
30 or 28
6J
2|
40
iTV
„
12 28 or 27
6J
2f
38
1
•662
1 6 30
6J
2|
38
I
5)
16
28
6
2|
38
I
„
16
26
si
2|
36
I
•6l5
20
28
5i
2i
35
*
„
20
26
5i
2i
32
I
•550
28 27 or 26
4i
if
22
f tof
•502
32
24
3i
Ji
16
i
•4IO
•410 22
3
i
«4
The term " bulk nitro " must be taken to apply to Schultze,
94 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Amberite, and Kynoch's Smokeless, known as " K. S." For suitable
loads of 33-grain, and condensed nitros, the reader is referred to
the chapter on " Shot-gun Ammunition."
Barrel lengths and weights vary slightly, but those in the table
may be taken as about the best, relatively. Some sportsmen may
demur on seeing the lO-bore included under this heading, as so many
look upon 12 as the largest bore permissible for game shooting.
Still, now and again one comes across a good sportsman having
the courage of his convictions, who uses a lO-bore in spite of
popular opinion, and for this reason I have thought it best to give
a couple of examples of the lighter form of lo-bore used for game
shooting. For sportsmen getting on in years, and who, conse-
quently, are not so quick as heretofore, the slightly wider killing
circle of the lo-bore may prove advantageous.
Very rarely indeed do we now come across guns of I4~bore,
•693 inch, and gunmakers do not make guns of this, nor of
24-bore, '579 inch, or other unusual size, unless specially requested.
The last-named size would appear to be a favourite with South
American sportsmen, for Messrs. Westley Richards inform me
they have built a quantity for that country. Mention made of
diminutive arms like the 32-bore and the -410 under this heading
will be calculated to raise a smile on many faces. Probably few
sportsmen would now think of starting in quest of game armed
only with a 32-bore, or a '410, as thus they would consider
themselves handicapped with greatest severity, both in point of
range and width of the killing circle of the shot whilst shooting
in competition with those of their companions carrying much
larger and more powerful weapons.
PIGEON GUNS.
Powder charge.
Bore.
Barrel length.
Weight.
Shot load.
Black.
Bulk nitro.
in.
Ib.
dr.
grs.
oz.
12
30
71
4
56
a
12
30
7i
3i
49
Ii
Modern Shot-Guns
95
In most quarters the shooting of live pigeons from the trap is
governed by rules issued by the London Gun Club and the
late Hurlingham Club, which restrict the shot load to ij oz.
WILDFOWL GUNS.
The consideration of wildfowl guns necessitates drawing dis-
tinction between those guns fired from the shoulder and those
too heavy to be so used, which are termed u punt guns." Of
these I will first take the
SHOULDER DUCK GUNS.
Bore.
Barrel length.
Weight.
Powder charge.
Shot load.
Black.
Bulk nitro.
in.
in.
Ib.
dr.
grs.
oz.
2
Single, 40
20
'Si10 J5
Not recom-
mended.
4ito5
'935 4
Double, 34
15
8J
1 20 to 130
3
» 4
Single, 36
18
IOJ tO 12
130 to 152
3i to4
» 4
>, 34
12
8f
115
3
•835 8
Double, 34
'3i
8i
104
2f
» 8
» 32
JI2
7
95
2J
8
Single, 34
13
8J
115
3
8
» 32
II
8
112
2j
775 10
Double, 32
ioj
5
70
2
„ 10
» 3°
8|to9
4i
62
if
„ 10
Single, 3 2
9toio
5i
75
2
729 12
Double, 30
7f
4
58
«J
There are infinite variations from the above weights, barrel
lengths and charges, but these figures will suffice as an approxi-
mate and reliable guide to those interested in wildfowl shooting.
96 Modern Sporting Gunnery
SINGLE PUNT GUNS.
Bore.
Barrel length.
Weight.
Powder charge.
Shot load.
in.
in.
lb.
ii
60
30
1 8 to 21 dr.
6 to 7 oz.
ij
80
60 to 80
2 to 2-f OZ.
10 oz. to f lb.
i*
90
90 to ioo
3oz.
I lb.
if
96
I2O
4 oz.
ijlb.
«i
100
140 to 150
5 oz.
25 oz.
if
IO2
1 60 to 170
5-1 oz.
if lb.
2
112
I9O tO 2OO
6 to 7 oz.
2 tO 2j lb.
I give this last table on the score that in isolated cases it might
prove useful once in a lifetime, and also for the reason that
probably not one gunmaker in twenty could, off-hand, supply
these details.
BORING : CYLINDER AND CHOKE.
The form in which the barrel is bored regulates to a remarkable
extent the flight of the shot pellets. It both controls the initial
stage of their passage within the barrel and their subsequent
behaviour. It may therefore be well to offer here a few remarks
on the various styles of barrel-boring practised by gunmakers
during recent years.
Broadly, these styles may be divided into two main classes :
cylinder or non-choke, and choke. Each class comprises many
varieties of boring. The first term, whilst slightly inaccurate, few
gun-barrels being truly cylindrical in bore, is conveniently applied
to barrels practically chokeless. It is sufficiently elastic to include
all forms of relief boring : e. g. the barrel which is of normal width
for some distance in front of the cartridge-chamber, and is relieved,
or slightly opened, towards the muzzle ; also the barrel opened
behind, /. e. slightly wider at the breech, of normal diameter in the
middle, and either contracted or opened a little forward — in fact,
Modern Shot-Guns 97
all barrels that are not perceptibly nor sharply constricted in some
part of their bore come under the definition cylinder.
Under the term " choke " may be conveniently included those
forms of barrel-boring in which there is constriction more or less
sudden and positively defined. The terms usually applied to the
various grades or forms of constriction ordinarily met with are
given in the accompanying table, as also the patterns they may be
expected to give on the target.
FORM OR STYLE OF BORING.
1. Old cylinder, using caps, powder, etc., of its
time, with I J oz. No. 6 shot in 12-bore will
give patterns on 3O-inch circle at 40 yards of 110-120
2. Modern cylinder and ammunition (ditto) . 130-140
3. Modified choke (ditto) .... 160-180
4. Full choke (ditto) ..... 200—220
These may appear somewhat lax terms, for they convey no inti-
mation relative to the amount or extent of constriction or choke.
This, indeed, is a matter of some difficulty, seeing that there are
variations in the form of choke and its precise position within the
barrel. For instance, one form of choke may have abrupt, another
sloping shoulders ; one may be situated at or immediately upon the
muzzle, another may be placed an inch or more therefrom, and
have the barrel thence for some little distance towards the breech
considerably relieved in order to secure greater constrictive effect
without offering undue violence to the shot.
Assuming, however, that the barrel is practically a cylinder from
breech up to the choke, a constriction at the muzzle of two- or
three-thousandths of an inch may be expected to produce the
12-bore pattern of about 140 as above given; whilst twenty to
thirty thousandths of an inch in a 12-bore might be expected to
give, approximately, the full choke patterns of 220.
There was at one time another form of choke, termed variously
" tulip " and " recess." This, I believe, was in great measure
called into being at the commencement of the era of choke-boring.
At that time there was a considerable demand on the part of
sportsmen to have their cylinder guns rebored into some semblance
of choke. I, too, was bitten with the mania for close shooting, so
7
9 8 Modern Sporting Gunnery
sent up one of my guns to be choked. It came back with a length
of two inches, more or less, of the bore of the barrels enlarged just
inside the muzzle. With regard to the shooting of this gun there was
not any very pronounced improvement manifested, and this, perhaps,
is not to be wondered at, seeing that any slight tendency to throw
the shot pellets together that this form of choking exhibited would
be nullified by the rush of powder gases past the wadding during
passage over the recess. This, at least, is the theoretical construc-
tion I put upon my failure to get really consistent results out of
the barrels so choked, and it was not until I had. a new pair of
full-choked barrels fitted to that gun that I first realized the
benefits conferred by a proper system of choke-boring in all forms
of long-range shooting.
Information relative to the most suitable forms of boring,
cylinder, modified, or full choke, as also the best charges and sizes
of shot to use, will be found in the chapters devoted to game and
wildfowl shooting. The above treats of the bore proper of the
gun-barrel j with many sportsmen that is the principal consider-
ation. But as we have seen, the cartridge-chamber, its length and
size, and the form of the cone leading from it into the bore proper
vitally affect both the safety and the good-shooting properties of the
breech-loading shot-gun.
SHOOTING POWER AND PERFORMANCE.
To ascertain the shooting qualities and killing range of his gun
has ever been a subject of considerable interest to the average
sportsman. The shot-pattern, its number and distribution, re-
ceives the largest attention from the amateur investigator. How-
ever, there are other considerations relative to a gun's behaviour
upon discharge which bear with more or less directness upon its
successful usage in the field. Chief among these are penetration
of the shot and recoil of the gun, and these will be mentioned
subsequently. We will therefore first take up the subject of
PATTERN.
As doubtless many of my readers are aware, pattern, as here
applied, is that ocular demonstration of the shooting of the shot-
gun afforded by the display of pellet marks upon a whitewashed
Modern Shot-Guns 99
iron target. Pattern, is the primary consideration, for it is a truism
that to kill we must hit, and it is equally certain that we cannot
well hit without a fair and equable distribution of the shot pellets
during flight.
In former times gunners shot at targets of such size as came
handiest at the moment, or which suited individual caprice or
fancy. Thus, possibly, one target would be a foot square, another
might be of circular form and have a superficial area twice the
extent of the former; the more to confuse matters, whilst one
gunner would carry out his tests at 50 yards, his neighbour might
consider a range of 30 yards amply sufficient for his requirements.
This haphazard method afforded no reliable data for purposes of
comparison, and left each shooter ever in doubt as to his precise
position. Now all this is altered.
Thanks in great measure to the efforts of the Field newspaper
and others, extended over many years, we now have fixed standards
for testing the performances of shot-guns. This constitutes a
service of enormous value to both sportsman and gunmaker, as
the records obtainable by these fixed methods afford accurate
means for comparing the shooting of one gun with another.
Before dealing with the performance of the twentieth-century
shot-gun it may prove interesting to give the recent actual
shooting of two early nineteenth-century flint-guns, shot after
many years' wear.
1. An old Westley Richards double ao-gauge flint-lock gun.
Charge, 2 dr. No. 2 black powder, J oz. No. 6 shot.
Range, 40 yards.
Target, 3O-inch circle.
Right barrel : 76, 100, 102, 89, 98 — average, 93.
Left barrel : 117, 72, 94, 96, 107 — average, 97.
2. A single-barrel flint-lock gun of 12-bore, by the same maker.
Charge, 3 dr. No. 4 black powder, ij oz. No. 6 shot.
Range, 40 yards.
Target, 3O-inch circle.
Patterns: 114, 97, 116, 104, 100, 120 — average, 108.
Sportsmen not conversant with the precise methods practised in
ioo Modern Sporting Gunnery
testing the shooting qualities of the shot-gun may frequently have
been puzzled on hearing their gunmaker, or, possibly, their fellow-
sportsmen in the field, speak of c< pattern 130," "pattern 200,"
and so forth, as terms definitive of the value of a gun's shooting.
In all probability fully 90 per cent, of the guns used for game
shooting in this country are of 12 calibre. For the 12-bore gun
of good serviceable weight, say 6 Ib. 8 oz. to 6 Ib. 10 oz., the
following are the standards adopted for ascertaining its patterning
properties —
Range, 40 yards.
Target, a circle of 30 inches diameter marked upon an iron or
steel plate 6 feet square.
Powder charge, 3 dr. of No. 3 or 4 grain Curtis and Harvey's
black powder or the equivalent weight of a nitro compound.
Shot charge, ij oz. of No. 6 shot (chilled for choice), counting
270 pellets to the ounce.
For the testing of 16 bores and 20 bores these conditions hold
as to range and target, charges proportionate to the bore and
weight of gun being employed. It will, therefore, be seen that
those glib phrases, pattern this or that, so commonly heard in
shooting circles, convey the information that the average patterns
displayed by the pellets of a charge of No. 6 shot number 130,
200 and so on, within the 3O-inch circle when fired over a range
of 40 yards. Thus these standard conditions comprise the basis
whence all estimates relative to the performance of the game gun
are drawn.
Whilst this 4O-yards range displays to practical advantage the
shooting of a game gun at its full effective capacity with No. 6
shot, it would still be erroneous to infer that 40 yards represents
the killing limit of well-bored guns shooting larger sizes of shot.
As a matter of fact, we find 12 bores doing thoroughly effective
work at 45 or 50 yards upon hares, pheasants, partridges, and
grouse, with shot two or three sizes larger than No. 6. Still, a
fixed range had to be decided upon for the purpose of gun-testing,
and expert opinion finally selected 40 yards as the standard.
Naturally, there are shooters of an inquiring turn of mind who
are not altogether content with information gained solely by shoot-
Modern Shot-Guns
101
ing over this distance of 40 yards. They desire to know what is
the actual performance of ordinary game guns at both shorter and
longer ranges. This is a very natural desire, having regard to the
consideration that game is not killed at the absolute and fixed
range of 40 yards, but is killed at all distances between 15 and
50 yards. The following results of various trials of several different
game loads at distances ranging from 15 to 50 yards may prove of
real service to the sportsman. The figures given are not taken
upon calculated properties,. as is sometimes done, but each set gives
the results of actual shooting.
CONDITIONS OF TRIAL WITH FULL GAME CHARGE.
GUN
POWDER CHARGE
SHOT CHARGE
TARGET .
RANGES
A Westley Richards one-trigger double 12-
gauge, No. 16417 ; right barrel cylinder,
left barrel fairly full choke ; weight, 6 Ib.
7 oz.
42 grains of a standard bulk nitro.
1 1 oz. of sizes 4, 4^, 5, 5^-, 6, and 7.
A circle 30 inches in diameter marked on a
plate 4 feet square.
15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 yards.
15 YARDS RANGE.
CYLINDER . . The full charge was placed within a circle of
from 10 to 12 inches diameter.
CHOKE . . Full charge placed within a circle of from 6
to 8 inches diameter.
CYLINDER
CHOKE
20 YARDS RANGE.
Full charge within the 3O-inch circle.
Full charge within a 1 2-inch circle.
It was impossible to count any of the patterns made at the
above short ranges, the pellet marks being so close together.
IO2 Modern Sporting Gunnery
25 YARDS RANGE.
No. 4 SHOT, 193 PELLETS TO THE -CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 170, 172, 163, 178, 171 — Average, 170.
CHOKE . .183, 189, 186, 190, 187— Average, 187.
No. 4^ SHOT, 224 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 188, 188, 179, 181, 184 — Average, 184.
CHOKE . • . 206, 204, 211, 205, 207 — Average, 206.
No. 5 SHOT, 245 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 208, 213, 210, 208, 217 — Average, 211.
CHOKE . .. 237, 225, 220, 228, 235 — Average, 229.
No. 5^- SHOT, 270 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 210, 227, 220, 212, 220 — Average, 217.
CHOKE . . 258, 260, 257, 263, 261 — Average, 259.
No. 6 SHOT, 304 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 247, 236, 262, 233, 240— Average, 243.
CHOKE . . 287, 296, 285, 282, 293 — Average, 288.
No. 7 SHOT, 382 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 312, 317, 325, 332, 320— Average, 321.
CHOKE . . 357, 362, 368, 354, 360— Average, 360.
30 YARDS RANGE.
No. 4 SHOT, 193 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 156, 150, 147, 154, 160 — Average, 153.
CHOKE . . 1 80, 175, 172, 1 8 1, 178 — Average, 177.
No. 4^ SHOT, 224 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 152, 149, 154, 159, 155— Average, 153.
CHOKE . . 199, 195, 201, 195, 196— Average, 197.
Modern Shot-Guns 103
No. 5 SHOT, 245 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 180, 183^ 1.80, 185, 188 — Average, 183.
CHOKE . . 220, 227, 216, 230, 225 — Average, 223.
No. 5^ SHOT, 270 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 200, 185, 188, 190, 194 — Average, 191.
CHOKE . . 234, 232, 246, 235, 238— Average, 237.
. No. 6 SHOT, 304 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 220, 213, 210, 227, 216— Average, 217.
CHOKE . . 254, 270, 262, 255, 260— Average, 260.
No. 7 SHOT, 382 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 275, 270, 292, 274, 270 — Average, 276.
CHOKE . . 340, 343, 337, 350, 345— Average, 343.
35 YARDS RANGE.
No. 4 SHOT, 193 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 132, 125, 137, 123, 130 — Average, 129.
CHOKE . . 165, 154, 168, 173, 170 — Average, 166.
No. 4^ SHOT, 224 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 116, 146, 129, 126, 150 — Average, 133.
CHOKE . . 1 88, 1 8 1, 195, 191, 190 — Average, 189.
No. 5 SHOT, 245 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 162, 167, 154, 160, 157 — Average, 160.
CHOKE . . 288, 196, 200, 208, 210 — Average, 206.
No. 5^- SHOT, 270 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 175, 158, 160, 156, 157 — Average, 161.
CHOKE . . 232, 218, 212, 216, 220 — Average, 219.
104 Modern Sporting Gunnery
No. 6 SHOT, 304 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 160, 172, 165, 183, 173 — Average, 170.
CHOKE . . 227, 250, 238, 252, 247 — Average, 242.
No. 7 SHOT, 382 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 200, 218, 227, 216, 230 — Average, 218,
CHOKE . . 326, 305, 308, 312, 317— Average, 313.
40 YARDS RANGE.
No. 4 SHOT, 193 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 105, 100, 102, 108, 110 — Average, 105.
CHOKE . .138, 132, 140, 152, 143 — Average, 141.
No. 4^ SHOT, 224 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . no, 137, 112, no, 133 — Average, 120.
CHOKE . .178, 170, 170, 168, 173 — Average, 171.
No. 5 SHOT, 245 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 121, 125, 118, 127, 120 — Average, 122.
CHOKE . .170, 164, 168, 173, 185 — Average, 172.
No. 5|- SHOT, 270 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 130, n 8, 120, 128, 124 — Average, 124.
CHOKE . -195, 190, 197, 190, 193 — Average, 193.
No. 6 SHOT, 304 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 140, 142, 137, 140, 145 — Average, 140.
CHOKE . . 205, 226, 212, 218, 221 — Average, 216.
No. 7 SHOT, 382 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 176, 165, 172, 180, 174 — Average, 173.
CHOKE . . 252, 264, 261, 254, 260 — Average, 258.
Modern Shot-Guns 105
45 YARDS RANGE.
No. 4 SHOT, 193 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 82, 85, 93, 87, 84 — Average, 86.
CHOKE . .105, 124, 130, 120, 127 — Average, 121.
No. 4^ SHOT, 224 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 86, 75, 86, 107, 90 — Average, 88.
CHOKE . .136, 150, 142, 146, 141 — Average, 143.
No. 5 SHOT, 245 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 91, 94, 97, 102, 93— Average, 95.
CHOKE . . 162, 146, 150, 142, 147 — Average, 149.
No. 5^ SHOT, 270 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 106, 87, 93, 112, 108 — Average, 101.
CHOKE . .180, 177, 168, 162, 170 — Average, 171.
No. 6 SHOT, 304 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 1 08, 113, 107, no, 115 — Average, 110.
CHOKE . .164, 156, 153, 165, 173 — Average, 162.
No. 7 SHOT, 382 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 132, 130, 153, 140, 148 — Average, 140.
CHOKE . . 212, 216, 220, 206, 213 — Average, 213.
50 YARDS RANGE.
No. 4 SHOT, 193 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 52, 64, 61, 67, 63 — Average, 61.
CHOKE . . 87, 82, 105, 94, 96 — Average, 92.
No. 4^- SHOT, 224 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 59, 71, 53, 66, 63 — Average, 62.
CHOKE . . 97, 132, in, 135, 117 — Average, 118.
106 Modern Sporting Gunnery
No. 5 SHOT, 245 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 91, 87, 93, 85, 87 — Average, 88.
CHOKE . .123, 134, 125, 136, 138— Average, 131.
No. 5^ SHOT, 270 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 80, 87, 85, 94, 90 — Average, 87.
CHOKE . . 143, 128, 123, 148, 130— Average, 134.
No. 6 SHOT, 304 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 80, 85, 106, 87, 90 — Average, 89.
CHOKE . . 152, 146, 150, 147, 143— Average, 147.
No. 7 SHOT, 382 PELLETS TO THE CHARGE.
CYLINDER . 94, 85, 100, 105, 107 — Average, 98.
CHOKE . .167, 172, 175, 170, 166 — Average, 170.
An examination of the above series of figures proves the shooting
to have been remarkably consistent throughout. I have not
deemed it necessary to give the results of extended trials of the
one-ounce load or of smaller charges. But in view of the tendency
to adopt smaller charges of both powder and shot for driving
purposes as well as for rabbit shooting I can recommend a new
reduced load of 30 grs. of E. C. powder and if oz. of shot,
introduced to me by Messrs. Westley Richards. I find this
charge gives average patterns of 45 per cent, cylinder and 68 to
75 per cent, choke, with an ordinary 12-gauge game gun at 40
yards on a 3O-inch circle. From tests I have made both at the
target and at live birds I am convinced that this is a satisfactory
driving load. The patterns are consistent, evenly distributed, and
effective as regards penetration, while recoil is greatly diminished.
It is an ideal load, too, for boys and for ladies, and, indeed, all who
cannot carry the usual weight.
The average results obtained in the foregoing tests are here
tabulated for the easy reference of the sportsman as follows —
Modern Shot-Guns
107
GAME GUN.
42 GRS. OF A STANDARD BULK NITRO POWDER AND I J OZ. SHOT.
CYLINDER BARREL PATTERNS
SHOT SIZE
4 1 44 1 5 I 51 6 | 7
Range
PELLETS TO CHARGE
'93
224
245
270
3°4
382
yds.
25
170 = 88
%
184=82
211 = 86
%
217 = 81
°/
/o
243 = 80
%
321 = 84
30
'53 = 79
153 = 68
183 = 74
191 = 72
217 = 71
276=72
35
129 = 69
133 = 59
160 = 66
161=60
170=55
218=57
40
105 = 54
120 = 53
122 = 49
124 = 47
140 = 46
170=45
45
86 = 44
88 = 39
95=38
101 = 38
110 = 36
140 = 36
50
61 = 31
62 = 27
88=31
87 = 32
98 = 29
98=25
CHOKE BARREL PATTERNS
SHOT SIZE
4 4* 5 1 Si 6 | 7
Range
PELLETS TO CHARGE
193
224
245
270
304
382
yds.
%
%
%
%
%
%
25
187 = 97
206 = 91
229=93
259 = 98
288 = 94
360=94
30
177 = 92
197 = 87
223 = 91
237 = 89
260 = 85
343=89
35
166 = 86
189 = 84
206 = 84
219 = 82 242 = 79
313=81
40
141 = 73
171 = 76 172 = 70
193 = 73 216 = 71
258=67
45
121 =62
H3 = 63
149 = 60
171 = 64 162 = 53
213=56
50
92 = 47
118 = 52
131=53
134 = 50 147 = 48
170-44
The above choke patterns are excellent, and show what a good game gun can
do, but are not to be taken as full-choke pigeon-gun patterns.
These tables should be of value to the sportsman as showing the
actual patterns to be expected from a thoroughly well-bored gun
io8 Modern Sporting Gunnery
and first-class cartridges at practical shooting ranges with six
different sizes of game shot.
They show the choke barrel to have been just about 10
yards better than the cylinder barrel, judging by the pattern totals.
For instance, the choke put 216 pellets of No. 6 shot within the
circle at 40 yards, the cylinder put 217 pellets of the same size at
30 yards ; further, at 50 yards this choke, it will be observed,
made rather better shooting than the generality of cylinder-bored
guns will do at 40 yards range.
There has been evinced in recent years a tendency to reduce the
shot charges employed for the shooting of driven partridges and
other game. The objectives of this movement are doubtless the
reduction of recoil — particularly where the shooting is more or less
continuous and heavy, also the lessening of damage to game when
the shooting is conducted at close quarters.
For purposes of comparison it may prove of interest to give the
result of some trials made with the same 12-bore gun used in
compiling the foregoing record, with the reduced shot load of
lyg- oz. In this trial 42 grs. of a standard bulk nitro was again
used, whilst in order to still further compare and test results, a
supplementary trial with the equivalent charge of 33 grs. of a semi-
condensed powder was made under precisely similar conditions,
with results as follows —
CONDITIONS OF TRIAL WITH REDUCED
GAME LOAD.
GUN . . .A Westley Richards double 12-bore No.
16417; right barrel cylinder, left barrel
fairly full choke ; weight, 6 Ib. 7 oz.
CHARGE, POWDER, (i) 42 grs. of a standard bulk nitro;
(2) 33 grs. of a semi-condensed nitro.
„ SHOT . iJg- oz. of sizes 4, 5, 5^, 6 and 7.
TARGET . . A circle 30 inches in diameter.
RANGES . 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 yards.
As the count of individual patterns was thoroughly consistent
throughout, detailed particulars of individual patterns at each range,
as given in the preceding trial, will here be quite unnecessary.
Modern Shot-Guns
109
The following are the grand average results as to the patterns
obtained with each powder and the several sizes of shot at the
various distances fired at —
42 GRS. POWDER AND
OZ. SHOT.
CYLINDER BARREL PATTERNS
SHOT SIZE
Range
4 I 5 I Si 6 7
PELLETS TO CHARGE
183
232
255
287
361
yds.
25
3°
35
40
164 = 89
138 = 75
119 = 65
202 = 87
167 = 72
J34 = 57
110 = 47
200 = 78
179 = 70
137 = 53
118 = 46
233 = 8°I
220 = 76
164=57
139 = 48
286 = 79
225 = 62
184=50
160 = 41
45
50
79 = 43
54 = 29
103 = 44
87 = 37
74 = 29
70 = 27
92 = 32
69 = 24
120 = 33
85 = 23
CHOKE BARREL PATTERNS
SHOT SIZE
Range
4 1 5 51 6 7
PELLETS TO CHARGE
183 232
255
287
36i
yds.
25
30
35
40
45
172 = 93
163 = 89
153 = 83
135 = 73
116 = 63
212 = 91
198 = 85
192 = 83
132 = 56
%
228 = 89
2l8 = 85
203 = 79
183 = 71
• 172 = 67
251 = 87
245 = 85
228 = 79
189 = 65
H3 = 49
310 = 85
266 = 73
233 = 64
149 = 41
50
101 = 55
104 = 44
104 = 40
115 = 40
133 = 36
no Modern Sporting Gunnery
33 GRS. OF A SEMI-CONDENSED NITRO POWDER AND ly1^- OZ. SHOT,
CYLINDER BARREL PATTERNS
SHOT SIZE
4 I 5
a i 6 i 7
Range
PELLETS TO CHARGE
183
232
255
287
36i
yds.
%
%
%
%
%
25
153 = 83
188 = 81
208 = 81
230 = 80
290 = 80
30
143 = 78
162 = 89
171 = 67
196 = 68
224 = 62
35
no = 60
130 = 56
145 = 56
151 = 52
179 = 49
40
95 = 51
97 = 41
126=49
J3I=45
154 = 42
45
64 = 34
84 = 36
81 = 31
104 = 38
101 = 27
50
55 = 3°
57 = 24
69 = 27
78 = 27
80=22
CHOKE BARREL PATTERNS
SHOT SIZE
4 1 5 1 Si ! 6 1 7
Range
PELLETS TO CHARGE
183
232
255
287
361
yds.
%
%
%
%
%
25
T7I = 93
217 = 93
234 = 9J
260 = 90
323 = 89
30
166 = 90
206 = 88
228 = 89
243 = 84
287 = 79
35
147 = 80
190 = 81
206 = 80
227 = 79
263=72
40
'34 = 73
176 = 75
192 = 75
183 = 63
227 = 62
45
114 = 62
i38 = 59
151 = 59
159 = 55
148 = 40
50
92 = 50
119 = 51
124 = 48
*32 = 45
130=36
For a properly bored cylinder gun of 12-gauge 40 grs. of bulk
powder, or its equivalent in a concentrated powder, and i oz. of
shot I find give equal distribution and regular and good killing
Modern Shot-Guns
in
patterns. This charge may be preferred by those who wish to
reduce the recoil of a 12-bore to the minimum, although as a
sportsman I prefer the larger proportionate charges of powder to
shot, more especially when the larger sizes of shot are used.
The shooting of the 12-bore has been treated at so great length
for the reason, as above stated, that this size is in by far the most
general use for game shooting. With regard to game guns of
lesser bore, 16, 20, and so on, results proportionate to the above
may be expected.
A good cylinder i6-bore at 40 yards with
smokeless powder charge equivalent to 2f
dr. black and I oz. No. 6 shot averages . 120-125
Ditto, Modified choke, averages . . . 160-170
„ Full choke, averages .... 180-190
A good cylinder 2O-bore with smokeless
powder charge equivalent to 2-£ dr. black
and J oz. No. 6 shot averages . . . 90—105
Ditto, Modified choke, averages . . . 135-145
„ Full choke, averages .... 160-170
Both 24-bore and 28-bore properly bored give killing patterns
for use at short ranges, say to 35 yards.
With regard to guns of larger calibre, the conditions are con-
siderably altered, as with these guns the best shooting is usually
obtainable with shot larger than No. 4. Thus, in the case of
wildfowl guns larger shot is used, shooting frequently taking
place at longer ranges.
It is undoubtedly the fact that many guns of inferior make
possess no guarantee as to shooting performance. It is equally
true, on the other hand, that all makers of sound guns, gunmakers
with, possibly, a reputation for good workmanship extending back-
wards for fifty years or more, carefully bore and test all their guns
before permitting them to leave their hands.
At the same time, it will be patent to all having the most super-
ficial knowledge of the gun that from tests, obtained under normal
conditions, divergences will assuredly result whenever any radical
changes are effected from the recognized standard in cartridge
loading. For example, in plating guns, the gunmaker naturally
ii2 Modern Sporting Gunnery
uses a powder that will develop the most equable degree of force.
Formerly, black powder alone was used for this work, but now
that nitro compounds are so widely and generally used in the field,
the gunmaker usually conducts his trials with some such powder
as K.S., Schultze or Amberite — bulk nitros that are known to give
steady average results.
If, however, on getting his gun home the sportsman decides to
shoot with, say, a highly-concentrated explosive, or with a different
form of wadding, or abnormally strong primers, the chances are
that some considerable variation in the shooting and deviation
from the pattern figures furnished with the gun will occur. Before
adopting any change of load, it is necessary to prove the shooting
of the gun under the altered conditions. Unless this is carefully
done, many irregularities in shooting might remain unaccounted
for, and practice in the field would suffer in proportion to the
magnitude of the errors or irregularities of performance noticeable
under those changed conditions of load.
The tables of patterns given go to prove that with proper load
the shooting of the first-class modern sporting gun, bored and
chambered to measurements as fine as one thousandth part of
an inch, may be regarded as a fixed quantity. The shooting of
such gun fully ascertained with reliable ammunition, the resultant
figures may be accepted as the datum line, or the absolute standard
for all immediate research or experimental work with ammunition
of varied or variable character.
With such gun the conditions governing behaviour under trial
are far more rigid and less liable to disturbance from atmospheric
or other extraneous cause than is the case with the very best of
modern sporting cartridges. All variations in the shooting per-
formance of such arm of precision should be carefully regarded,
so that a check may be kept upon defective ammunition — am-
munition faulty from errors of manufacture, careless loading, or
through the action of time or atmospheric effects.
The following are some among the principal changes or altera-
tions from the primal standard, or proper condition of loads, which
will be likely to alter the shooting of a gun. Without making
too long a list of them, the chief causes of offence in procuring
irregular shooting may be cited as —
Modern Shot-Guns 113
1. Faulty ignition : caps too strong or too weak.
2. Considerable increase or decrease in the powder charge or
shot load.
3. A change to quicker or slower burning powder — such
quickness or slowness of combustion may be inherent, or may
result from exposure to heat or moisture.
4. Very hard, imperfect, loose, misshapen, or ill-seated wadding.
5. Cartridge-cases too long or too short for the chamber, or
untrue to gauge externally or internally.
6. Improper turnover : too lengthy, too short, or loosely
effected .
Faults such as the foregoing are commonly found in foreign
cartridges, whose chief recommendation is that they are " cheap j"
that they may be low in price I admit, but of a certainty they are
also " nasty."
Whenever any radical change is contemplated from the normal
condition of load for the gun, I would strongly advise a consultation
with the maker of the arm or of the ammunition — preferably with
both combined. The opinion of some firm of ammunition
manufacturers like Kynoch, Ltd., in conjunction with the gun- and
rifle-maker of established reputation, should certainly suffice to
elucidate all doubtful points or settle any difficulty presented to the
sportsman.
It is scarcely fair to the gunmaker for the sportsman to try
empirically new loads, and expect the gun to perform as well with
them as with the reliable loads for which it was originally designed
and built. It is to the shooter's own interest to secure as level
shooting as possible, as with any irregularity of performance there
will assuredly result a corresponding decrease in the ability of the
gunner to maintain consistently good shooting practice in the
field.
It has been accepted as a genera), axiom by several shooters, that
with cylinder-bored guns, boring such as is now recommended in
the generality of game guns, to increase the velocity much beyond
that given by the ordinary game cartridge, which velocity has been
standardized by the editor of the Field and others at 1050 feet per
second, over 20 yards range, a falling off in pattern will result.
8
ii4 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Indeed, in the Field of October 17, 1903, the editor emphatically
stated that " patterns cannot possibly be regular or effective with
velocities attaining such an abnormal standard (/. e. 1162 feet per
second over 20 yards), at any rate not in the light of our present
knowledge." I do not however believe that gunmakers will rest
satisfied with this limit of velocity.
PENETRATION.
Several attempts have been made to devise means for accurately
gauging the penetrative energy of the shot pellets at killing ranges.
It must, however, be confessed that the perfect penetration
recorder has yet to be discovered. Ninety or more years ago
Colonel Peter Hawker gave as his recipe for acquiring a know-
ledge as to penetration " a quire of thickest brown paper, by which
the shooter will know to a certainty both the strength and closeness
with which the shot is driven ; and,"the added, " he should remem-
ber that the strongest and most regular shooting gun is the best,
provided that it dees not throw the shot so thin as for a bird
to escape between them." Unfortunately, however, the Colonel
gave little or nothing in the way of precise information relative
to the performances of the guns of his day.
The natural descendant and rightful successor of the foregoing
crude scheme was the Pettit pad, so-called from the firm responsible
for its manufacture. This pad, comprising forty sheets of brown
paper tightly pressed and having a wire stitch at each corner to
hold them together, is about 10 inches square. It is an extremely
simple and remarkably ready means for testing the actual penetra-
tion of small shot at all practicable firing ranges. Unfortunately,
this simple expedient does not perfectly answer the purpose for
which it is intended, and this is indeed a pity, for its portability
and extreme simplicity at once commends the brown paper pad to
the regard of the sportsman.
The paper of which these pads is composed is liable to
variations in both thickness and texture, and of course the
resistance offered by the paper to the shot pellets increases or
decreases proportionately as the paper is dry or damp. Some
Modern Shot-Guns 115
years ago I used a quantity of the Pettit pads for experimental
work in testing guns and powders and loads, but with every care
used in their selection, in drying and affixing, I could not truly
regard them as giving anything more than a rough indication of the
power of a gun. It will not serve any useful purpose, therefore,
to give records relative to the shooting against these pads, for the
simple reason that when wishing to effect further comparisons,
the assurance could not be given that paper of the same texture,
substance, or dryness could be obtained. The way in which these
brown paper pads are fixed up considerably affects the penetration
of the pellets. For instance, if the pads are fixed closely against
the target the solid backing of iron increases their resistance, and
the shot will get through fewer sheets. If on the other hand the
pads are suspended clear of the target several more sheets will be
pierced, as also will be the case if the pads are pressed edge-wise,
so as to open the sheets before firing at them.
Most of the records that have been handed down from past years
do not state the conditions as to the fixing up of the sheets, and
this renders them unreliable for purposes of present-day comparisons;
so much depending upon the fact, as already stated, as to whether
these pads are fortified by the solid backing of an iron target or are
hung clear of all support of that nature. In the Field trials of 1875,
when the choke-bore was first tried against the cylinder, Dr. Walsh
recorded the highest average penetration of the choke-bore against
Pettit pads as 34*41 sheets, and of the cylinder at 28*66 sheets,
both firing the same weight of No. 6 shot. In my own experiments,
conducted twenty or more years subsequently to the above, I
cannot recollect at any time approaching within several sheets,
probably ten or so, of Dr. Walsh's figures. As, certainly, the
guns and powders with which I shot were not inferior to those of
Dr. Walsh's time, one is forced to the conclusion that the pads at
which I fired were considerably stouter or tougher than were
those made in 1875.
Until the year 1879 the gunmakers of this country relied more
or less upon the Pettit pad for ascertaining the actual penetration
of small shot. About that time Dr. J. H. Walsh, who was then
the editor of the Fleld^ and responsible for the numerous trials of
guns carried out under the auspices of that journal, expressed
n6 Modern Sporting Gunnery
himself as highly dissatisfied with the variable results obtained with
the pad. Consequently, he set about devising other means, and
with the aid of two well-known gunmakers, Mr. Jones of
Birmingham and Mr. Green of Cheltenham, the machine known
as the Field Force gauge was produced. This was described
by the originator as " A machine which registers automatically
the effect produced by the blow given by the central pellets of a
charge on a spiral spring." In order to compare it with the pad as
nearly as may be, a lo-inch square was adopted.
In a good cylinder-barrel there are usually from 25 to 30
pellets striking the lO-inch plate, while a full choke varies from
50 to 70. The plate is made of ly-gauge steel turned up at the
edges, and having a horizontal platform firmly attached to its
back and about 3 inches wide. To allow this plate to give way
to the blow of the shot, it is suspended by four parallel arms to a
strong frame of cast iron. As the platform travels backwards a
small friction roller drives the short arm of the lever backwards,
the long arm travelling in the opposite direction. At the end of
the long arm is a vulcanite pointer, this travels on a plate of
white metal, which is coated with black paint immediately
before each shot. As a consequence of this arrangement, when
the steel plate is struck it drives the pointer a certain distance,
removing the black paint and leaving a white line on the plate
on which a scale of values is fixed. Further, Dr. Walsh stated—
u Of course it is plain enough that this gauge can be used to
compare two or more guns fired against one another at any fixed
time, the one recording the greatest force in proportion to the
number of pellets striking the plate having manifestly the stronger
penetration."
To my mind this instrument fails to accomplish the object for
which it was designed. It attempts to record the weight of a
blow without taking due account of the speed of that blow. This
is fatal, for it must be patent to any one giving due regard to the
question that the united momentum of a few pellets from a charge
say of BB shot might send the plate no further back than would
the collective momentum of an equal weight of No. 6 shot
pellets. Thus the indicator and the subsequent calculation would
record equal value for each, whereas the BB might in reality have
Modern Shot-Guns 117
twice the penetrative energy of No. 6. Moreover, this instrument
is, for all practical purposes, totally unreliable, inasmuch as, like the
chronograph, it may be operated to a greater or lesser extent by
the speediest pellets. Thus the fast pellets would actually be
operating the machine before the others reached the plate — perhaps
only in time to catch it on its rebound. Thus a percentage of the
slower pellets striking the plate must be non-efficient.
Excellent service may be rendered by the chronograph in taking
shot velocities at the muzzle of the gun, and in thus determining
the propulsive energy exerted by the powder. From such records
we can compare the rate of propulsion imparted to the shot by one
powder as against another powder, by one gun as against another
gun, or the initial speed of one charge or size of shot as against
another charge or size of shot. Such records are interesting and
instructive, and the more so the nearer they are taken to the
muzzle of the gun, for the failure of the chronograph to establish
true records commences from the moment the mass of the shot
charge loses cohesion. As the shot charge leaves the muzzle the
speed of this mass may be from 1200 to 1300 feet per second ;
this rate of progression is quickly reduced when disintegration of
the charge takes place, and individual pellets have to cleave the
air by the aid of their own momentum, with the result that those
possessing least of this concomitant of progress quickly fall several
feet behind the leading pellets in even so short a race as forty yards.
The card rack is one of the simplest and handiest devices for
testing the penetration of small shot so far produced. Whilst
possessing certain drawbacks similar to those urged in respect of
the brown paper pad — such as variations in the thickness of the
sheets, and as regards the amount of moisture they contain — it is,
nevertheless, the most useful of all penetration tests extant.
The card rack is a wooden box, open at the top and the firing
end, in which sheets of strawboard of a certain substance are placed
about i inch apart — much after the style of the toast in the rack on
our breakfast-table. Provided due care is exercised towards
ensuring the employment of strawboard of precisely similar
gauge, texture, weight, and dryness this is the best and most
thoroughly practical test at present available for the sportsman's
purpose.
1 1 8 Modern Sporting Gunnery
The spaces between the cards being numbered, the actual pene-
tration exhibited can be ascertained at a glance. In this respect the
card rack is far in advance of the brown paper pad, above which it
has the further advantage that the material punched out of the
cards drops into the spaces and so does not interfere with the
course of the shot, whereas the paper punched out of the pads
is very frequently pushed forward by the pellet, thus hampering
it to an unwarrantable and ever-varying degree.
There is this also to be said in favour of the card rack, viz.
that the precise form of the pellets can be immediately noted.
The amount of deformation to which they have been subjected
within the gun-barrel is clearly and unmistakably defined, and the
close observer will be able to see to an exact degree the effect of
this deformation upon the penetrative force of the pellets. With
the card rack I have been able to ascertain quickly the relative
killing properties of many guns, charges, and sizes of shot, and as
a rough-and-ready test for both gunmaker's and sportsman's
purpose, in the present state of our knowledge it is of considerable
value.
DUCK GUN PERFORMANCES.
Trials to determine the shooting properties of duck guns are
usually carried out under somewhat different conditions from those
governing the testing of game guns. Because of the generally
unapproachable nature of wildfowl, duck guns are designed to
kill at longer ranges than are the guns used for shooting game.
Thus, in this class of gun choke-boring and larger shot sizes are
the order of the day.
The 4-bore is generally made up as a single barrel, owing to
the increased weight and bulky proportions inseparable from double
guns of this calibre, for the hand of the average individual cannot
fully and firmly grasp nor control such a mass of wood and metal
as is comprised in the double 4-bore. The shot charges used in
4-bores range from 3 oz. for guns of 13 to 14 Ib. weight, up
to 4 oz. for those weighing somewhere in the region of 20 Ib.
Naturally, the ranging power of these, and indeed of all wildfowl
guns, is governed by the size of the shot employed in them and
Modern Shot-Guns 119
their power to sufficiently concentrate the flight of that shot.
Coupled with this power of concentration, therefore, the larger
the shot the longer the killing range of the gun.
Formerly, black powders alone were available for use in shot-
guns of the larger bores. In recent years certain of the nitro
compounds have come to be extensively used. For several years
I was engaged in carrying out a series of experiments, both at the
target and upon fowl, with nitro powders in wildfowl guns, at the
instance of the Field newspaper.
I am thoroughly convinced that K.S., Amberite, Schultze, and
other of our bulk nitros contribute greatly to success in this form
of shooting by their reduced noise, smoke, and recoil upon explosion
as compared with black powder. That these powders will shoot
satisfactorily in wildfowl guns I have repeatedly found. With
4-bores and these nitro powders I have shot grey geese, brent
geese, mallard, wigeon, teal, curlew, and plover at distances ranging
from 80 to 100 yards, and now and again birds have been dropped
at ranges considerably beyond the latter figure when A, AA or
other large shot has been used.
The 8-bore, intermediate in size betwixt the 4-bore and the
lO-bore, is generally regarded as sufficiently powerful for most
forms of wildfowl shooting. Guns of this calibre are more man-
ageable than the 4-bore, and carrying a quite considerable charge
of shot — ranging from 2^ to af oz. or so, according to weight of
gun — they are not so much inferior to 4-bores in the matter of
their killing powers.
The lo-bore double-barrelled gun is at once a remarkably handy
and powerful weapon for the purposes of all-round sport with the
wildfowl. One of 10 Ib. weight, made by Westley Richards, that
I had was an excellent performer. Firing 2 oz. of B shot for
large fowl, and i| oz. of No. 3 for smaller birds, this gun killed
well and cleanly at remarkably long distances.
The wildfowling i2-bore is a comparatively modern production.
It is a i2-bore designed to carry larger charges of both powder and
shot than may be discharged from ordinary guns of this calibre.
This heavier loading is accomplished in one of two ways : (i) by a
lengthening of the chambers and the use of 2f- or j-inch paper
cases, or (2) by the employment of the thin brass "Perfect" cases
I2O Modern Sporting Gunnery
made by Kynoch, Ltd., of Birmingham. Thus, in the No. 12
long paper case, as also in the brass " Perfect " case, a charge for-
merly considered sufficient for a lO-bore paper-case gun can now
be employed. Guns of this class usually range in weight from y£
to 8J lb., the former used with i^ oz., the latter with ij oz.
of shot.
RECOIL.
Although, I suppose, recoil must be considered to come within
the category of " gun performances," it cannot be regarded as
being amongst the most pleasing of them. The tendency among
sportsmen and gunmakers in recent years has been wholly in the
direction of reducing the weight of the gun. To some extent the
lesser proportionate recoil given by nitros in comparison with
black powder has aided in this endeavour. At the present time
there appears to be a movement in the direction of reduction of
charges. If we go on at this rate, the 12-bore game gun will soon
come to be merely 12-bore in name, for we are rapidly arriving at the
stage where i6-bore loads are being advocated for use in 12-bores,
2O-bore loads for use in i6-bores, and so on. In the days of
muzzle-loaders a fair shot load for even I4~bores was considered
to be i^ oz., and guns of 13- and 12-bore commonly carried that
load, but with the advent of breechloaders the load adopted for
12-bores came to be ij oz. only. Now we see this reduced to
ly1^ oz. as often as not, and frequently to i oz. At this rate of
retrogression the denomination of bore will soon cease to be the
guide as to the load and shooting capabilities of a gun that it
formerly was.
Sensitive gunners have little difficulty in classing recoil under
two headings : (i) push, (2) kick or jar. By way of practical
illustration the two may be compared thus. The first is the com-
paratively easy rebound caused by the large-grained black powders
and slower-burning nitros which consume along the barrel. The
latter is the sudden clash and jar of the fine-grained black or other
explosive whose combustion is practically completed within the
cartridge chamber.
Modern Shot-Guns 121
Faulty boring, ill-formed *cones and chambers, and excess of
charge in proportion to weight of gun are common factors in the
production of abnormal recoil in the shot-gun. With ordinary
primers, explosives, and methods of loading the due relationship of
gun to load to ensure thoroughly comfortable shooting in respect of
recoil may be expressed as 1 2 oz. of gun to each J oz. of shot.
Under this formula the 12-bore designed to carry i oz. of shot
will weigh precisely 6 Ib. ; that intended for use with i£ oz. will
weigh 6| Ib. — a very proper weight for such gun if No. 6 and
smaller sizes are much used in it. These remarks apply more
particularly to 12-bore guns ; in guns of smaller or of larger bore
variations from the above formula may be needed. For instance,
if it be desired to use I oz. of shot in a 2O-bore — as many gunners
were at one time in the habit of doing — with this comparatively
lengthy column of shot there would be increased friction with a
resultant increase in recoil, so that a six-pound gun, at which it
works out, would be sufficiently heavy to ensure thorough comfort
when using i oz. of shot in 2O-bores. It may be accepted as a
general axiom that the smaller the shot the greater the recoil, all
else, of course, being equal when effecting comparisons. Were it
not so, the proper weight for the 4~bore firing 3 oz. of shot would,
under this rule, work out at 18 Ib. If we were in the habit of
firing No. 6 shot out of these great guns, quite possibly this latter
weight would be requisite to insure the comfort of the firer. But, of
course, no one ever does use shot so small in 4-bores ; any shot of
smaller size than No. i is scarcely qualified to bring out the full
powers and generally to produce the best results with so large a
gun. Thus it comes about that 3 oz. of large shot in 4-bores of
13 to 14 Ib. weight may be comfortably discharged from the
shoulder by men of average physique.
Length of gun-barrel may appreciably affect recoil. A short
barrel is usually more productive of heavy recoil than a long barrel.
Sometimes a reduction in length of gun-barrel is effected with
the view to enable the gunmaker to make up a lighter gun. In
such case it often enough happens that full charges are used, and
so, of course, there may be additional recoil from two causes : ist,
from the reduction in weight in proportion to charge ; 2nd, from
reduction ui length.
122 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Sensitive gunners sometimes complain that short barrels are
contributory to "gun-headache." The removal of the noise
and concussion of the explosion 2 or even 4 inches from the
firer's head might possibly modify the effect, but it is scarcely
conceivable that 3O-inch barrels would in this respect have the
advantage to any appreciable extent over those of 28 inches in
length. The distressing symptom known amongst shooters as
" gun-headache " is often enough attributable to lack of tone in
respect of the gunner's bodily health and condition. I think it is
highly probable that if the gunner so suffering were to change
over to guns having barrels of 32 inches, or, if you will, even to
those of 36 inches, the remedy would not be found until the
FIG. 62. — HOUSMAN PRESSURE GUN.
bracing up of the system were effected. By the way, it may be
just as well here to remark that in those cases where the headache
is clearly assignable to the concussion of explosion, relief may
frequently be found by placing a little cotton-wool in each
ear.
Quite recently it has been suggested that c< gun-headache " arises
from eye-strain caused by constantly looking up at game passing
overhead, as in the modern form of sport known as driving. This,
on the face of it, appears to be at least a reasonable assumption,
for we all know that straining of the eyes frequently causes severe
headache. Still, those inclining to the belief that the headache is
due to the concussion of explosion upon the ear and the jar of
recoil upon the brain are further fortified in their contention, as in
few phases of sport is the firing so rapid as in driving.
Modern Shot-Guns 123
Several ingenious devices for ascertaining the recoil of firearms
have been planned, the general lines upon which the inventor has
worked in this direction being towards the utilization of springs,
or weighted levers, for checking the energy of the rebound and
so ascertaining the weight of the recoil.
The sportsman does not appear to have attached very much
importance to these recoil recorders, possibly for the reason that
machines devised on the above lines tell only of the weight of
recoil. Records of recoil, to be of real value, should show the
true energy by indicating the speed as well as the weight of the
rebound.
The gunner fires a gun giving a certain recoil upon the machine,
and he finds it not unpleasant to shoot with. He takes another
charge, or, maybe, another gun, giving the same record, but in
which the speed of the recoil is greater, and he instantly avers that
the gun kicks like a horse. To ascertain the weight of a stationary
object is a simple matter ; for this purpose simple graduated springs
or weighted levers answer admirably. For ascertaining the weight
and momentum of a moving object, springs or weighted levers,
simply applied to determine the weight of rebound, are liable to
mislead.
An arrangement upon the simple spring or weighted lever plan,
termed a force gauge, for determining the force of moving shot
pellets has already been described. It was an ingenious mechanical
device, but its records were totally unreliable for the simple
reason that, inter alia, they were attempts to weigh the blow
delivered by the pellets without recognition of the speed of that
blow. For example, a light hammer striking the plate of that
force gauge at a high velocity might establish the same record
as a heavy hammer moving at less speed — and so with the
recoil apparatus made on the simple spring or weighted lever
plan.
The best device extant for the testing of recoil is the Housman
Pressure and Recoil Gun. This takes the ingenious and com-
paratively simple form of a heavy barrel suspended by wires and
free to move backwards under the influence of recoil. It thus
records upon a graduated register the precise amount of the move-
ment. This gun not only registers the recoil of a charge, it also
124 Modern Sporting Gunnery
simultaneously records the powder pressures exerted at six different
points along the barrel, and in so doing tests the regularity of
combustion of the explosive. Further, in conjunction with the
chronograph, it provides a record of the velocity of the shot over a
ten yards' range.
CHAPTER VI
SHOT-GUN AMMUNITION
Cartridges and Cartridge-loading — Primers — Gunpowders — Powder pres-
sures and Barrel bursts — Shot : Velocity and Sizes.
f "^HE CARTRIDGE-CASE has important functions
to perform, the proper carrying out of which
determines its fitness for the sportsman's purpose.
-A» It is designed to form a convenient vehicle for —
(a] The ignitive agent, the primary cause of all explosions.
(b] The propellant explosive.
(c) The missiles in the form of small leaden shot.
(d) The wadding necessary for the due confinement of the
powder gases and the propulsion of the shot.
It fulfils other subsidiary but all-important offices, such as keep-
ing the powder from direct contact with moisture, also the setting
up of sufficient resistance, by means of the turnover, to enable the
explosive to develop a due amount of its propulsive energy.
If asked to mention the chief advantages conferred by the
system of loading guns at the breech, over and above that of
loading at the muzzle, the average sportsman of to-day would
probably reply — " Facility and speed of loading." But this is
not the whole truth with regard to that question, there are
other considerations quite as weighty. At one sweep the simple
cartridge-case — to which we have become so familiarized as almost
to forget the benefits it confers — did away with powder-flask,
shot-belt, ramrod, loose wadding, and loose caps, or cap-charger,
all of which were comprised in the necessary field impedimenta of
the muzzle-loading gunner.
Thus, it will be observed, the modern cartridge comprises within
126 Modern Sporting Gunnery
itself each component necessary to insure the due propulsion of the
shot ; and, what is more, the highly inflammable and sensitive
explosive compounds, inseparable from the use of firearms, are
more secure than ever before from the inroads of sparks from the
sportsman's pipe or of moisture.
Cartridge-cases for use with the shot-gun, roughly, may be
divided into two main classes, paper and brass. In the former
class the base is of brass and the tube of tough" paper ; in the
class last named both base and tube are of brass. Frequently, in
order to cause them to eject more freely from the gun-chamber,
as also to render them waterproof, and so further to improve their
keeping qualities, the paper cases have an outer covering of thin
brass extending for a quarter, half, or nearly the whole of their
length.
Several years ago, Messrs. Kynoch, of Birmingham, introduced
the thin brass case known as the " Perfect." This being practi-
cally waterproof is the ideal cartridge-case for the wildfowler, in
the conduct of whose sport fog and rain, snow and sea-water have
so often to be encountered.
At this juncture it will be well to call attention to the fact that
the numerals No. 10, No. 12, and so forth, applied to fix the size
of these thin brass cases are not expressive of the same value as they
are with the paper case. The external diameters of cases bearing
the same number measure alike, but as the Kynoch " Perfect "
has thinner walls than the paper case, its internal diameter is
considerably greater. Thus the wadding requisite for a " Perfect "
case is some two sizes larger than for a paper case of the same
denomination. For example, whilst the wadding needed for a
No. 12 paper case may be of '738 to "740 inch diameter, that
for a No. 12 thin brass "Perfect" case may be some forty-
thousandths of an inch larger. Sportsmen have sometimes been
puzzled by the terms " brass-case gun," " paper-case gun," and it
may be well to explain that these distinctive appellations are made
use of by gunmakers to denote that a gun is specially bored either
for use with brass or with paper cartridge-cases. This implies
that a specially bored brass-case gun, one designed to use, say,
No. 12 " Perfect " cases, is practically a lo-bore, a brass-case gun
to use No. 14 " Perfects" is a 12-bore, and so on.
Shot-Gun Ammunition 127
CARTRIDGES AND CARTRIDGE-LOADING.
There is a constant desire expressed by many shooters to secure
the highest standard of accuracy with regard to cartridge, explosive,
wadding, and shot. Many, I find, are ever ready to discuss minute
matters of detail, and to express dissatisfaction should the merest
variation occur in the loading, the turnover, or in the character of
the constituents of their cartridges. Yet, often as not, these are
the very men who grumble at paying the price necessary to insure
the production of thoroughly reliable cartridges. Whilst one
may hope to have, in some degree, both a sound case and fairly
accurate loading in low-priced cartridges, it is irrational to expect
similar quality and uniformity of material, of construction, and of
killing powers in cartridges bought for, say, 65. 6d. per 100, as in
those purchased for half a guinea or more.
There has been a distinct tendency in recent years towards the
use of low-priced cartridges, and this in quarters where one would
look for a display of sounder judgment. The inconsistency dis-
played by some mortals is altogether inexplicable. For example,
men are to be found who after laying out sixty guineas on a first-
grade gun forthwith proceed to fire fifth-grade cartridges therefrom.
One can only compare such folly to the yoking of a tumble-down
old crock to a one hundred and fifty guinea brougham.
Many people use the terms "low-priced" and "cheap"
indiscriminately, but so far as cartridges are concerned they are
not always synonymous, whatever they may imply in respect of
other goods. In fact, the one term is frequently the antithesis
of the other, as on occasion it may be proved that the components
of the shot-gun cartridges sold for lOs. 6d. per 100 are relatively
cheaper than are those of cartridges priced at 6;. 6d. per 100.
To quote an extreme case: take smokeless powder 12-bore
cartridges costing 6s. 6d. per 100, and compare them with those
at IQS. 6d. obtained from any gun maker of repute, a close
scrutiny will convince the most inexpert observer that the higher
priced article is the cheaper of the two. In the event, however,
of the failure of such inspection to carry conviction, certain
irregularities observable in the shooting of the low-priced cartridges
will, I imagine, speedily convince him that they are highly
128 Modern Sporting Gunnery
inconstant agents for controlling the flight of the shot. Among
the inaccuracies observable in low-priced cartridges the following
may be enumerated—
1. Variations in the thickness of the walls of the case.
2. „ „ length of the case.
3. „ 5, amount of turnover.
4. „ „ diameter of wadding.
5. „ „ thickness of wadding.
6. „ „ texture and elasticity of wadding.
7. „ „ weight of the powder charge.
8. ,, „ granulation of the powder.
9. „ „ weight of the shot charge.
10. „ „ size and weight of the shot pellets.
11. Lack of sphericity in the shot pellets.
12. Absence of metal lining.
So long as the cheaper and less reliable qualities of paper are used in
the construction of cartridges, variations in the thickness of the walls
of the case or of length of tube are likely to occur ; for, however
great may be the compression to which such paper is subjected,
perfect rigidity cannot be absolutely insured, the inherent looseness
and elasticity of its fibres causes a reaction.
Damp also greatly affects paper of this sort, and is always acting
in the direction of its relaxation, so that the dimensions of inferior
paper-cases are, more or less, according to the conditions of their
manufacture, and the state of the atmosphere, subject to slight
variations in respect of their form and measurements. This being
so, one is impelled to the belief that, in order to secure the best
cartridges, sportsmen must not grumble at paying a fair price for
them.
Only by the employment of the most costly tools and machinery,
and the exercise of unremitting care and skill in their manipulation,
as also by the use of the best materials of construction, can really
sound and reliable cartridges be produced. All this, of course,
implies the outlay of considerable capital, both in the establishment
and upkeep of this costly plant, and the payment of high wages to
thoroughly qualified workers. Therefore, I would emphasize my
previous statement, and say that cheapness is not the necessary
Shot-Gun Ammunition 129
corollary of lowness of price. Cartridges to be truly cheap must
be thoroughly good and efficient in every particular, as well as of
practical design for the work they will be called upon to perform.
All shooters who desire to be in the first rank with regard to
their practice in the field should always use first-class ammunition.
Bad ammunition is dear at any price. Without good cartridges
in a good gun, no shooter can do himself justice by shooting
consistently and regularly up to his true form.
Kynoch, Ltd., of Birmingham, first introduced to the sporting
world an excellent series of cartridges of uniform pattern, entirely
loaded by the most approved machinery on commercial lines.
These cartridges rank from the cheaper class, the " Bonax," to
the highest priced cartridge having a whole covering of metal, and
upon which has been bestowed the distinctive title " Opex."
As the subject had never before been adequately treated in any
work on shooting, it struck me that some information relative to
factory-loaded cartridges might prove acceptable to my readers. I
therefore applied to Kynoch, Ltd., who at once gave me carte
blanche to go where and how I pleased through the huge cartridge
factory at Witton, where the manufacture and loading of car-
tridges goes on day by day the whole year round, and millions upon
millions are turned out.
Having been afforded these free facilities for gaining a knowledge
of the most approved modern methods, the freest use was made of
such exceptional opportunities for studying the processes involved
in the manufacture and loading of ammunition.
Kynoch's claim, as indeed is claimed in most factories laid down
for the production of a standard line of goods in large quantities,
that the constant output hour by hour, day by day, and year by
year, with the same supervision, the same hands employed on
particular work, and the same methods of treatment throughout,
must and does insure regularity of production. Cases, caps,
powder, wads, in fact all but the shot, are made in the Kynoch
factories, and thereby the suitability of the one to the other is
assured.
I found that at each stage of manufacture, cartridge-cases are
gauged for internal and external diameter, thickness of rim,
diameter of rim, and diameter under the rim. The anvils are
130 Modern Sporting Gunnery
made to one-thousandth part of an inch ; the caps in their
diameter also gauge to the same fine measurement, and after
priming they are tested for sensitiveness and flash both in the
cartridge-case and independently.
With regard to waddings, all pass through an inspection for
diameter and thickness before entering the load ing- rooms. The
powder is taken in batches of 2000 lb., which are tested and
passed before being issued for use.
Every sportsman recognizes that his day's success is largely
dependent upon the uniformity of his cartridges, and it is certain
that Kynoch, Ltd., may justly claim to attain to greater pre-
cision of method in respect to the production of their factory-
loaded ammunition than is ever likely to be secured by the
methods employed in the production of the average hand-loaded
cartridge.
Nevertheless, there is no denying the excellence of the best
hand-loaded cartridges issued to the sportsman by many leading
gun makers.
At Witton, I found that before commencing on the day's work
in loading, the custom is to take twenty cartridges from each
machine, and test them for weight of powder and shot, velocity,
pressure and pattern. This work is done by an inspection or
proof department, which is separate from that of the factory, and
any batch of powder or cartridges giving velocities below the
standard of 1140 feet per second, set by Messrs. Kynoch, or
showing higher pressures or faulty patterns, are at once rejected.
The loading machines used by Kynoch's are designed by them-
selves, and are made at their works at Witton. Models of skill
and ingenuity of design, they are of remarkably solid and strong
construction, it being necessary that there should be perfect
rigidity of structure in order to secure certainty of action and
accuracy of results. The cartridge-cases are fed down a hopper,
and enter the machine singly ; the reception of the powder
charge, wadding, and shot, in fact, the whole operation of loading,
is completed automatically before the case leaves the machine.
The nature and amount of turnover given to a cartridge has a
vital effect upon its performance. In order to insure a perfect
turnover, the attendant at each machine is supplied with a gauge,
Shot-Gun Ammunition 131
which exactly records the depth of tube to be left for the
turnover. As this gauge is used on one cartridge in every ten,
uniformity in this important respect is guaranteed. The turnover
is effected by a chuck revolving 3000 times per minute ; this
naturally effects a clean and polished turnover, there being none of
that roughness, creasing, or looseness of turnover sometimes
observable in the work of hand turnover machines turned at rates
less than 200 revolutions per minute.
The great feature that appeals to the sportsman on observing
the various routine duties and operations involved in the manufac-
ture and filling of these factory-loaded cartridges, is that every
mechanical device that human ingenuity and skill can accomplish
is employed in order automatically to carry out the various pro-
cesses, thus avoiding errors incidental to manual operation. Only
FIG. 63. — OPEX CARTRIDGE IN SECTION.
by this method may be insured the utmost uniformity in the load-
ing of cartridges and ultimate regularity of performance in the field.
The "Opex" is essentially an all-weather cartridge. Its construc-
tion enables it to repel the inroads of wet, either through direct
contact with rain or snow, or from exposure to a moisture-laden
atmosphere. As may be gathered from the illustration given,
Fig. 63, this important qualification of absolute water-proofness is
secured by building a paper case with a solid-drawn brass covering,
which extends along and slightly beyond the paper tube, thus
affording complete protection to the turnover. Considerations
as to the keeping qualities and the storage of cartridges are
occasionally matters of concern to the sportsman, who may,
perchance, have some remaining over from one shooting season
to another, or, possibly, may have occasion for sending or taking
ammunition abroad.
Naturally, the " Opex," from its construction, is better qualified
132 Modern Sporting Gunnery
to fulfil the requirements of either situation than is an all-paper
case.
The " Kynoid "case is built with a deep head, and, in addition, the
paper is treated with a water-proofing solution so that it may the
better resist the damp. This, of course, increases the cost of
production, rendering these cartridges somewhat dearer than the
grade next to be considered.
The "Primax" cartridge has a long brass head, which, as in the
case last mentioned, extends some f inch up the tube, as seen
in the accompanying illustration. This assists to render ejection
easy. Save that the paper of this case is not subjected to the
water-proofing process, the materials of which the " Primax "
cartridge is composed equal in all respects those of the " Kynoid."
The <c Bonax" although a low-priced cartridge, is of sound
K Y N O -CfWr^-Q ,A D ED
«1
FIG. 64.— PRIMAX CARTRIDGE.
manufacture throughout. The paper, anvil, cap, and brass ot
which the base of the head is made are of the same quality as
in the best cases.
In order most fully to assure myself that both the methods ot
manufacture and the loading of cartridges as practised at Witton
are productive of thoroughly good and consistent shooting, a box
each of "Opex," "Kynoid," "Primax," and "Bonax" were taken
indiscriminately from stacks aggregating several millions lying in
the storeroom direct to the trial-ground. These cartridges were
then shot at the target for pattern from an ordinary game gun
and from the Housman gun for recoil, pressure, and velocity.
The following remarkably even and regular average results were
obtained, 10 shots from each batch of cartridges being fired,
the shot charge in each case being i^ oz., No. 6. The powder
charge, in fact, wadding and everything, being Kynoch standard
loading.
Shot-Gun Ammunition
PATTERNS ON 3O-INCH CIRCLE.
CYLINDER BARREL.
"Range."
"Bonax."
"Primax."
"Kynoid."
"Opex."
yds.
35
40
162
128
I58
128
1 66
J33
1 60
125
CHOKE BARREL.
40
I96 | 193
209 | 191
CHRONOGRAPH, CRUSHER GAUGE, AND RECOIL RESULTS.
Recoil in ft.-lb.
Velocity, feet
per second.
Pressure at breech in
tons per sq. in.
" Bonax "
iii-5
1146
2'97
" Primax "
110-9 1145
2-84
« Kynoid "
109-0 1125
2'35
"Opex"
104-3 JI3^
2-46
It may be easily understood that with a perfect organization
like Kynoch's, where each shop or department is kept to its own
special work, there could not well be any mixture with regard
to the quality of metals and materials. Kynoch's realize that in
placing a low-priced cartridge on the market it must, in order to
maintain its position, be of first-rate quality, and in every way
reliable, otherwise it would not sell. Lasting good could not result
from making inferior ammunition.
The main difference between qualities of cartridges like
" Opex," " Primax," and "Bonax," is in the quantity of brass
134 Modern Sporting Gunnery
used in the building of the cartridge, and, naturally, this effects
one result, that is, the perfect working of all grades in the gun.
The brass in the <c Bonax " case alone costs as much as all the
other material, /. e. paper, composition in the cap, the iron cup in
the head, and the labour in making everything ; therefore the
advantage gained in buying the better qualities consists in an
increased strength of head due to the larger quantity of brass,
which assists ejection in an ejector gun.
With regard to the materials used in the manufacture and load-
ing of the above-named proprietary cartridges, it will, doubtless,
interest the gunner to learn that the cap is the same in each grade
of ammunition. The powder, also, in each class is precisely of
the same quality throughout. The shot, too, is the same, chilled
or soft.
The " Bonax," however, is loaded with a brown wool wad as
against the white wool wad in the higher-priced cartridges. I am
told that white wool has a higher commercial value on account
of being used in many industries where brown wool is not permis-
sible ; also that brown wool answers very well the practical
requirements of the sportsman. This being so, it may be asked
why the brown is not used in the higher-priced cartridges. A
prejudice exists among a certain class of shooters against anything
except white felt wads. The card wads may be dismissed with
the simple statement that as regards materials, size, thickness, and
so forth, they are identical in each grade of loading.
Having fired during the past years many thousands of Kynoch
cartridges, I am in a position to speak with some show of authority
as to their behaviour in the field. My experience of these car-
tridges has been of the most varied description, including as it
does nearly all calibres in both paper and brass, from the big 4-bore
down to the diminutive '410 cartridge.
For several years I was engaged in conducting an extensive
series of experiments with guns, cartridges, and black and nitro
powders for the Field, the Shooting Times, and other sporting
journals. These tests were made not alone at the target, but also
upon game and wildfowl under every conceivable condition, and
I have long since come to the conclusion that whilst other makers
may turn out cartridges as good as those of Kynoch, Ltd., I have
Shot-Gun Ammunition 135
yet to meet with any that excel theirs in the matters of strength
and regularity of shooting.
Some cartridge-loaders may strive to attain high velocities in
the conviction that that is the summum bonum ; whilst others are
impressed with the idea that abnormally close pattern will best
insure success in the field.
If I find cartridges exhibiting any greater degree of force than
is usual, further research invariably reveals the fact that such car-
tridges are deficient in the other important respects of pattern or
regularity of performance ; or that in the event of exceptionally
high patterns being secured, there is deficiency in the force
generated.
Experience teaches that to insure the utmost success in sport,
one's cartridges should comprise such happy balancing of advan-
tages, of high velocity consistent with even pattern, of perfect
ignition and combustion of the propellant, and so forth, by which
alone may be secured the paramount feature in all really good
cartridges — regularity of performance.
For my own shooting I would far sooner have cartridges with a
velocity even so low as 950 feet per second, provided I knew
what I had to start with and that this velocity would be constant,
than I would have those having a nominal reputed velocity of
1 200 feet per second and yet ranged from 1000 to 1400 feet
per second. The best shot who ever handled a gun could not
hope to perform creditably with the latter, whereas he might
shoot really well with the former, once accustomed to the reduced
velocities.
Given good guns, the only hope of the poor performer and the
good shot — the one to attain to proficiency, and the other to
maintain his reputation in the field — lies in the use of cartridges
whose chief characteristics comprise regularity and consistency of
performance.
Summed up, therefore, the chief points that I have been able to
elicit relative to the manufacture and loading of Kynoch car-
tridges in the factory, and by taking cartridges from the store-
room, and testing them on the firing range for velocities, pattern,
pressures, and recoil, and by actual use on game in the field, are
the following —
136 Modern Sporting Gunnery
1. Suitability and soundness of materials.
2. Uniformity of manufacture and of loading.
3. An intelligent balancing of loads.
4. Maintenance of a high and consistent standard of shooting.
5. Regularity of performance in the field in any weather.
I might add here, that on completion of the loading process, all
Messrs. Kynoch's own proprietary cartridges are packed and sealed
down in boxes. Thus they reach the consumer in a form which
insures perfect inviolability of all cartridges as issued from the
factory.
In days gone by, some sportsmen at home, and very many
abroad, preferred to load their own cartridges. It may be admitted
that there was then justification for the adoption of such measure,
for with black powder then in regular use, cartridge-loading proved
a comparatively simple process. Now, however, -amidst the multi-
plicity of powders, each differing from the other, the need exists
for the due following of certain fixed and more or less intricate
formulae. Thus cartridge-loading has developed from a com-
paratively inexact to an exact process, involving an exercise of
care and knowledge not at all likely to be bestowed upon the
work by the amateur loader of average ability and experience. In
some cases the form and consistency of the nitro powder makes it
impossible for the sportsman to load it with even the best kind of
hand machine. Apart from this consideration, the due loading
of explosives of the higher development, whose constancy and
certainty of action may alone be secured by the close observance
of strictly defined methods involving apothecarial exactitude in the
weighing of charges, of mathematical precision in the selection and
seating of suitable forms of wadding, and the employment of some-
what intricate machinery for the proper fulfilment of the scheme,
involves the bestowal of care and attention such as the average
amateur loader could not insure.
The best instruction I can offer those desirous of exploring the
unknown with regard to new nitro powders, abnormal loads, etc.,
is to first consult the manufacturer of the explosive. Depend upon
it, the loads recommended by the several makers have not been
arrived at without much painstaking and laborious experiment, and
Shot-Gun Ammunition 137
the advice tendered with regard to proportion of powder to lead,
nature of wadding, primer, cartridge-case, and turnover, is at least
worthy of the serious consideration of the amateur experimentalist.
PRIMERS.
Due ignition of the powder charge is a matter that has ever
been fraught with interest to the sportsman. This interest
was much greater in the days of flint and steel and the early
detonating locks, when guns were solely loaded through the
muzzle. In this advanced age it is both interesting and amusing
to read the trials and tribulations of a former race of sportsman.
A century or so ago, one Colonel Thornton published an in-
teresting account of an extensive sporting tour undertaken by
him through the Highlands of Scotland, and he thus describes the
sport obtained on one of the last days of his memorable progress.
" Day tolerable, but cold, and on the moors very windy. On
this day I took my farewell of moor game, I found them very
wild, and my fire being constantly blown from the powder, made
it the most unpleasant day I ever had. After much walking, I
determined to contend no longer against the weather, and re-
turned homewards. At eight good shots my gun mist fire,
though I put in five different flints : at as many bad ones it
went off, and at some of them I killed."
Consider this, ye modern central-fire men, and be thankful that
no amount of wind can disturb your ignition, neither can any-
thing short of the supernatural in the way of rain damp your
priming. It is extremely probable that muzzle-loading gunners
were better acquainted with the strength, usefulness, and chief
characteristics of gun-caps than are the general run of sportsmen
in these days. This scarcely forms matter for surprise, as since
the introduction of the central-fire cartridge and its further im-
provement, there has existed little need for inquiry, the whole
arrangement for ignition being at least ready to the sportsman's
purpose, if not, indeed, so invariably reliable as he might desire.
Within recent years, however, there has been far less to grumble
at upon the score of reliability, our cartridge-case makers having
bestowed much attention upon the question of ignition.
138 Modern Sporting Gunnery
In the early nitro powder days sportsmen experienced many
drawbacks in the use of these new compounds, it being then most
noticeable that as regards regularity of action they fell considerably
behind their predecessor, black powder. These irregularities gave
rise to much comment, and doubtless greatly retarded the freer use
of the nitros ; whilst blame was freely thrown here and there upon
the powder manufacturers. Certain trials carried out by the Field
newspaper, Mr. Chas. Borland of the E. C. Powder Co., and Others,
clearly established the fact that many faults were directly traceable
to excessive variations in the strength of the caps. The gun-lock
and its striker play a far more important part in the ignition of
the cartridge than, perhaps, many sportsmen realize. And also
it is true that the skill and time devoted in the designing of the
cap, both as regards the quality of the metal used, the ingredients
which form the cap composition, of which fulminate of mercury
plays an important part, the proportions of the latter can be nulli-
fied to some extent by the relation of the cap to the chamber
in which it is fitted. For instance, with a too tightly-fitting cap,
and a weak striker, there may be hang-fires ; with a weak striker
and a cap-chamber low in depth, you may have a miss-fire.
Then again, the cap can also suffer from a high anvil, which,
in the operation of capping, crushes or fractures the composition.
This may again cause hang-fire or miss-fire. In the case of a low
anvil and weak strikers, miss-fires are only too apparent.
As regards ignition of powders, this is a subject that claims
attention, and a great amount of labour has been devoted to it.
It is hardly necessary to point out to the most uninitiated that
the different nitro compounds now on the market almost necessitate
the designing of a cap specially suitable for each one of them.
Some powders require a strong cap ; others require heat and flame,
and so on.
In discussing this question of percussion gun-caps with a
practical cap manufacturer connected with the largest firm in
this country, I am told that if the caps are produced according
to the best accepted methods — and these methods are properly
carried out with a due observance of the selection of materials
and of their mixing — a good batch of caps is certain to result.
As the alleged trouble with caps is but of isolated occurrence,
Shot-Gun Ammunition 139
there must be truth in this statement. Therefore, miss-fires,
hang-fires, pierced caps, blow-backs, or gas escapes, are all due
to the bad relation of the cap to its chamber, to strikers that are
too weak, too powerful, too short, too blunt, or too pointed.
In high class guns these troubles will not arise ; first, because
the striker is made of the right length ; and second, because the
correct weight of blow has been provided by a due relationship
of weight of spring to the stroke of the hammer.
As this standard of efficiency is guaranteed in first-class guns,
so, I find it to be the case in regard to the caps and cartridges of
the high-class ammunition maker. In this imperfect world, under
conditions of the greatest skill and care, just as a striker may break
on rare occasions, so may a cap prove weak or may even miss-fire
once in a million times. In both cases common-sense recognizes
that the manufacture of both the gun and the cartridge, nevertheless,
may be of unexceptionable standard.
In the matter of the incompleteness of combustion of the powder
charge there have been occasional growls to record. With some
powders personal discomfort exists to some degree in respect of an
excess of residue or of unconsumed particles which when firing
in a vertical position or in a breeze fall or are blown back into the
face and eyes of the shooter. The careful gunner rejects a powder
of this nature, and this in large measure accounts for the introduc-
tion of the newer 33-grain nitros, in which type of explosives
there is a lessening of the solid constituents. In this connection
it may be noted that Kynoch, Ltd., claim to have entirely removed
all blowback, their latest production in the way of a nitro powder
leaving no residuum on combustion, and it, moreover, is practically
smokeless. This important improvement will no doubt be fully
appreciated by sportsmen.
GUNPOWDERS.
At the present day sporting explosives, for use in the shot-gun,
may be divided into four distinct classes as follows —
1. Black gunpowder.
2. Bulk nitro compound.
140 Modern Sporting Gunnery
3. The intermediate form of semi-concentrated, or, as now
often termed, 33~grs. nitro.
4. Condensed or concentrated nitro.
No. i on this list is, of course, our old and well-tried friend,
. black gunpowder, the original explosive, in fact, the only one
possessed by the shooter until close upon forty years ago.
Famous among black powders have been, and still remain, the
" Diamond Grain " of Messrs. Curtis and Harvey, and the
" Nonpareil " of Messrs. Kynoch, than which no more thoroughly
reliable black powders are to be found in any quarter of the globe.
Black powder served the sportsman's purpose for a very
extended period, the first really formidable rival being the nitro
compound now familiarly known as " Schultze." To this explo-
sive, in its original crude condition, was originally applied the title
of " Sawdust " powder — a fitting term seeing that the powder pre-
sented the appearance of small rough particles of wood. This
sawdust formed the basis or holding medium for the explosive
chemical constituents. In subsequent years Schultze was altered
considerably in form, as also in composition, its various particles
were rendered round or granular, and were at the same time
subjected to a treatment which rendered them both less compres-
sible and less susceptible to the inroads of moisture. Since the
advent of Schultze a host of new sporting explosives have been
presented to the notice of the shooting public. Some have stood
the test of time, others have sunk into oblivion.
With regard to No. 2 on the above powder list, we have as
reliable and typical examples —
1. Schultze.
2. Amberite.
3. Kynqch smokeless sporting powder commonly designated
K.S.
These powders give evidence of considerable elasticity under
treatment, and in their behaviour within the gun-barrel are more
nearly related to black powder than are the intermediate or
33-grain and the condensed or semi-condensed nitros. The term
" bulk " has been applied to them by reason of the fact that they
Shot-Gun Ammunition 141
were designed to occupy the same space as black powders in the
cartridge, though only half the weight. Thus, the normal 12-bore
charge of any of the above weighs 42 grs. to the 84 grs. charge of
black powder, and, measure for measure, are the same.
Under the heading No. 3 come the more recently introduced
33-grs. nitros. These include —
1. E.G. No. 3.
2. Imperial Schultze.
3. Diamond Smokeless.
4. Henrite.
5. K.S.G.
Class No. 4 comprises the condensed powders. Of these the
charges proper to use are arbitrarily determined by the manu-
facturers. A typical example is —
I. Ballistite, of which the normal 12-bore charge is 26 grs.
With bulky powders the combustion is more or less continuous
along the barrel. With the dense powders a different set of con-
ditions prevails ; in their case the combustion must be practically
completed at or near the breech, as the reduced pressures further
along the barrel will not so completely insure the combustion of
dense powder grains not ignited by the cap flame.
POWDER PRESSURES AND BARREL BURSTS.
The Housman Pressure and Recoil Gun is undoubtedly one of
the most ingenious devices extant for the accurate recording of
chamber and barrel pressures. As mentioned on page 123 this gun
simultaneously registers pressures, at six different points along the
barrel, and recoil as well. Whilst, further, in conjunction with
the chronograph it assists in the taking of shot velocities. Thus,
by making one conjoint function of these several services, far more
accurate results are obtainable than was the case with previous
methods where a separate instrument was needed for each
operation.
Although a breech pressure of 3 tons per square inch has been
very properly named as a safe working pressure in ordinary game
guns, there can remain little doubt that in most of these guns of
142 Modern Sporting Gunnery
really good quality, this strain may be considerably exceeded
without injurious effect. Assuming the general safety of all
sporting powders, /'. e. normal pressures with normal loads, and
guns of sufficient strength to withstand them, the cause of burst
barrels is undoubtedly due to some obstruction within the bore.
Obstructions which have been proved to have strained or burst
gun-barrels may be enumerated —
1. Turf, mud, wet leaves, and snow, etc.
2. A wad, or any other constituent part of the cartridge load or
a part of the cartridge-case sticking in the barrel.
Foreign substances which characterize the obstructions included
under item (i) result from lack of care upon the part of the sports-
man or his servant, for it is difficult to imagine that such
material could be received into the barrel without the shooter
or loader knowing it. A man does not need to be very
wide awake to keep an eye on this point. But undoubtedly
it has happened to many sportsmen to fire their gun all ignorant
of the presence of such an obstruction in the barrel, and with
results more or less disastrous.
General opinion asserts that obstructions of this nature confine
their effects to the muzzle end, or at all events so far forward of
the breech as to remove risk of injury to the shooter's hand.
This view has much experience to favour it. But in matters
affecting the personal safety of the shooter, it is cold comfort
to contemplate the law of averages. One can rejoice that ninety-
nine Smiths have escaped with a whole skin, and so, happily, have
contributed to such assuring statistics ; but as Brown one may par-
donably object to be the defunct or maimed exception to any rule.
Therefore, as it is conceivable that an obstruction which has
entered by way of the muzzle may occasionally travel towards
the breech end, and this is especially so with regard to snow and
earth of a clayey or semi-liquid consistency, it is not safe to rely
upon the view that would solely confine the effects of such
obstruction to the muzzle end, or to any other position not
likely to cause injury to the shooter.
The obstructions mentioned in item (2), i.e. from a wad, etc.,
are caused by defective cartridges, which may be summarized as
Shot-Gun Ammunition 143
consisting of cartridges without powder, or with shot charge
omitted, cartridges charged with unreliable powder, or loaded
cartridges with an imperfect cap. To these conditions are due
imperfect ignition and non-ignition. Miss-fires, to speak correctly,
occur only when the cap fails to explode, /. e. non-ignition of any
kind. In this case no obstruction would arise, as no force would be
generated against the cartridge load, and no movement of any
portion of the charge would result from a miss-fire pure and simple ;
and therefore this condition, however annoying to the sportsman,
does not enter into the consideration of burst barrels.
(i) In the case of an insufficient quantity of powder, (2) of
bad powder in conjunction with a perfect cap, or, (3) of proper
load of powder, and with an imperfect cap, there would only be
partial ignition. This the sportsman would, under some circum-
stances, regard as a miss-fire, /'. e. there would be no audible report,
such as is given by a perfect cartridge, properly exploded. In
other cases, the report would be faint and slack, and " plunk " on
the ear like a stone dropped into still water, while at times it
might be a mere fizzle.
The foregoing three examples of partial propulsion of the
load are responsible for the lodgment within the barrel of a
part or whole of the cartridge charge, which forms so highly
dangerous an obstruction for the next cartridge, that in any case it
is certain to damage the barrel, and, indeed, may burst it and so
cause injury to the shooter. There still remains that other
source of obstruction from a portion of the cartridge-case being
blown by the explosion from the chamber into the barrel and
left there.
PARTIAL COMBUSTION.
Partial combustion of the powder may fail to carry the shot
charge out of the muzzle, while still developing force enough
to dislodge it from the cartridge-case and leave it half-a-foot or
so up the barrel. When this partial propulsion of the shot and
wads is solely due to one of the two following causes —
(a) Short powder charge. — There is more likelihood of the con-
tents of the cartridge being blown far towards the muzzle end, and,
144 Modern Sporting Gunnery
indeed, experiments have proved that when the powder charge
reaches 5 grs., in nearly every instance, but not in a//, as the experi-
ments given will show, the whole of the contents of the cartridge
are driven from the barrel.
Short powder charges, due to careless loading, which are more
likely to occur with cheap than with the best ammunition, are
responsible for a fair proportion of obstructions.
(h) Bad powder ^ or powder difficult of ignition. — In these cases, to
the force of the cap we get the assistance of the force derived from
the amount of powder ignited, and if the cap be of normal
strength, the contents of the cartridge may be blown through the
gun-barrel, but as to this nothing is certain. Bad powder, or
powder difficult of ignition, or a cap too weak for a powder
that was never intended for use with it, such conditions, present in
defective ammunition, give rise to some of the most serious risks
that the shooter is called upon to encounter. Occasionally the
powder charge is not incompletely ignited, yet sufficient force is
generated to drive the bulk of it, with the wads and shot, eight or
nine inches or more along the barrel. On not a few occasions I
have personally seen a considerable remnant of unconsumed
powder grains left in the barrel, although wads and shot have in
these cases left the muzzle. I have found by experiment that an
obstruction consisting of the shot charge and wads remaining in
the barrel 8| to 10 inches from breech does not burst, but only
slightly bulges, the barrel on the firing of another cartridge.
But under exactly similar conditions, when a powder charge
of 42 grs. Schultze, laid like a train, was added to the obstruc-
tion of the wads and shot, the result on firing was a complete
burst.
When shooting in the field, I have known many cases of ob-
struction, due to defective cartridges, some of which have bulged,
slightly or seriously, whilst others have burst the barrels. In all
cases the damage has been located seven to nine inches from the
breech. The nature and position of such obstructions vary, but
I am inclined to the belief that when a burst occurs from such
obstructions, both a considerable portion of the powder charge
and the shot wads are present in the barrel, and the following
experiments support this view. In the case of—
Shot-Gun Ammunition 145
IGNITION ONLY OF CAP, WITHOUT ANY POWDER CHARGE.
Assuming that the cap is perfect, it has been asserted by some
experimentalists that the force of the cap, when no powder is
present, is alone sufficient to drive the wads and shot charge along
part of the barrel. This may be so with a light turnover specially
prepared for the purpose, as I have proved, but with an ordinary
turnover there is practically no effect of the cap upon the contents.
Conditions vary, however, for the late Mr. R. W. S. Griffith,
of the Schultze Gunpowder Company, who was one of the fore-
most authorities upon shot-gun ammunition, reported in the County
Gentleman of November 23, 1901, that I gr. of smokeless powder
placed on the top of the cap nearly always insures the shot
leaving the barrel, though often the wads are left behind in the
barrel, u but when the powder reaches 5 grs., in nearly every
instance the whole of the contents of the cartridges are ejected
from the muzzle."
These statements, true enough in his own experiments, cannot
be accepted as of general application. They are not always borne
out by my own experiments. In dealing with this question, it is
unreasonable to assume that the odd grain of powder will lodge
just upon the top of the cap. I have on repeated occasions fired a
cartridge with only 2 grs. of powder, and also with 5 grs. placed
in a haphazard way in the case, with the result that the shot charge
and wads were driven only over a portion of the barrel, while 10
grs. inserted in the same way are, generally, only just sufficient to
blow the shot out of the barrel, leaving the powder wads behind.
I append here an account of a few experiments concerning this
important question.
ACCOUNT OF EXPERIMENTS.
(Barrel : Westley Richards special steel — tensile strength, 33
tons; elastic limit, 19 tons; elongation in 4 inches, 26*2 per
cent.)
10
146 Modern Sporting Gunnery
TEST.
(SHOT TUBE, CHOKE, 12 GAUGE, OF USUAL GAME GUN WEIGHT,
/. e. I LB. 7 OZ., 30 INCHES LONG.)
1. In order to foul the barrel six shots of ordinary Schultze
were first fired through.
2. A charge of shot, i^ oz. No. 6 chilled, with usual wads in
position, Field^ felt, and card ; and card over shot, were placed in the
barrel. The Field wad was 8J inches from breech ; the over-
shot wad 10 inches from breech to form an obstruction such as
might be left within the barrel from a defective cartridge, either
due to a faulty cap or to the omission of the powder, which has
been known to arise in imperfectly-loaded cartridges.
BULGED -OI4
FIG. 65.— BARREL BULGED -014, 9^ INCHES FROM BREECH.
3. With this obstruction present, an ordinary cartridge, 12
gauge, loaded with 42 grs. Schultze powder and ij oz. No. 6
shot, same wads, was fired from the barrel.
Result — A bulge took place 9^ inches from breech. The
height of the bulge from the level of the bore measured -014 inch,
viz. —
Diameter of bore . '7^O
„ outside .... -826} before firi"g
„ to summit of bulge outside -840
Height of the bulge = -014
5. This test, as compared with the Field trial with Poldi steel
Shot-Gun Ammunition 147
barrel made November i, 1902, shows the superiority of Westley
Richards steel. The Field barrel measured before firing —
External diameter . . '875
Summit of bulge . . -970
Height of the bulge = -095
The Field placed their obstruction 16 inches from breech.
Trials of cap only and no powder ; and also with 2, 5, and 10 grs. of
powder. (March 21, 1905. Gun, No. 16174.)
1. Diamond case, medium cap, no powder^ wads and shot charge
in usual position.
2. Pegamoid, special cap, no powder^ wads and shot charge in
usual position.
Result — Failure to even open turnover, it only being slightly
disturbed.
3. Pegamoid special cap, 2 grs. Schultze^ wads and shot with
turnover as usual.
Result — Charge driven 6£ inches up the barrel ; the charge
occupied i\ inches — i.e. end of charge 22 inches from muzzle of
a 3O-inch barrel, cylinder.
4. Pegamoid special cap, 5 grs. Schultze^ usual wads and shot as
above.
Result — Drove shot charge up choke barrel 21 inches; end of
charge 7 J inches from muzzle ; charge left occupying space of I %
inches as before.
5. Pegamoid special cap, left barrel choke and 10 grs. Schultze,
usual wadding, etc., as above.
Result — Just dropped the shot 25 yards away ; gun fired level
with elbow and shot dropped at distance named with little or no
force. It left in the barrel a felt and two card wads ; first wad
284 inches from breech, card wad i inch from muzzle. The
over-shot wad was not driven out but rested endwise on the card
wad immediately over the felt.
6. U. M. C. Co., Ballistite special cap, 2 grs. Ballistite^ usual
wads and shot, left choke.
Result — Blew charge up the barrel, first wad 3! inches from
148 Modern Sporting Gunnery
breech end, wad 20 inches from muzzle. Wads and shot occupied
6^ inches ; shot wad slightly turned, no shot escaped.
7. Ballistite, 5 grs., usual wads and shot.
Result — First wad 22f inches from breech, shot wad 2 inches
from muzzle ; charge occupied space of 5^ inches.
8. 10 grs. Ballistite^ usual wads and shot.
Result — Fired all right with fair report, and shots reached the
target 40 yards distant.
Trials solely without powder. (March 24, 1905.)
"Diamond Smokeless" cartridge-case, medium cap, 12 gauge.
1. No powder, ordinary wads, and ij oz. No. 6 shot.
2. No powder, ordinary wads, and ij oz. No. 6 shot.
Result — Slight disturbance of turnover only.
1. Nitro cases, 12 gauge as above.
Result — Slight disturbance of turnover.
2. Nitro case, 12 gauge as above, with a slight turnover,
almost imperceptible.
Result — Card wad, shot, and card wad driven 3! inches up
barrel, the felt wad only forced to end of cartridge-case.
3. Pegamoid, 12 gauge as above, ordinary turnover.
Result — Slight disturbance of turnover.
4. Pegamoid, 12 gauge as above, with very light turnover.
Result — None of contents driven from case.
5. Ballistite case, 12 gauge as above.
Result — Less disturbance than any.
6. Ballistite case, 12 gauge as above, no turnover.
Result — Wads not driven out although card shot was forced to
the end of the case.
Report on the effect of wads in gun-barrels. (March 31, 1905.)
(a] 12 gauge single barrel, bored 734/-69O, choke. Obstruction
consisting of regulation wadding and shot load placed 21 inches
from the breech. Ordinary 12 gauge Schultze cartridge with
i^ oz. shot was then fired.
Result — Large burst, rent 2 inches along one side of the barrel,
at 22 to 24 inches from the breech (vide Fig. 66).
Shot-Gun Ammunition
149
(b) 12 gauge single barrel, bored '734/'690, choke. Obstruction
consisting of 12 grs. Schultze powder with regulation wadding
and shot load was placed at 28 inches from the breech. The gun
was then fired with regular 12 gauge Schultze cartridge and ijoz.
shot.
Result — The barrel bulged, a ring -^ inch larger than diameter
of the barrel formed at 28 inches from the breech (vide Fig. 67).
FIG. 66. — BURST BARREL.
(c) 12 gauge barrel, bored "j^/'6()O. Shot with 12 gauge
Schultze cartridge, previously placing the wads at 28^ inches, the
over-shot wad lying transverse to the bore, the shot lying loose.
Result — The barrel showed no effect from this.
The omission of powder altogether, one would at first blush
think, is of more likely occurrence than a partial omission, /. e. an
BULGED -IO2
FIG. 67. — BARREL BULGED '012, 28 INCHES FROM BREECH.
error whereby only a few grains of powder would be placed in the
cartridge-case. Complete absence of powder from the cartridges,
with caps of normal strength, as we have seen, is not a cause of
obstruction. The presence of only a few grains, as proved, is a possible
cause of obstruction, and, indeed, the latter condition is more likely
to arise in the loading of cartridges. The machine through which
150 Modern Sporting Gunnery
the allotted charge is transmitted into the cartridge-case may be
faulty, clogged, or in some way defective. In such circumstances,
the whole charge is not completely excluded, a few grains or so would
certainly get through, and this I consider is one of the more likely
sources of obstruction due to defective ammunition.
Under those conditions which would produce a burst in a
Damascus barrel, experience teaches that a steel barrel would
be less likely to give way. Although I have given an account of
a Damascus barrel which only bulged under an excessive strain,
it must not be inferred that this constitutes any sort of guarantee
as to the general behaviour of Damascus barrels or steel barrels
under stresses of an exceptional character, which ought not to exist,
but unfortunately have to be contended against. The employment of
properly-loaded cartridges, primers, and powders, having regularity
of performance certified during an extended period of public service,
would considerably assist towards the elimination of mishaps and
accidents to barrels, and possible injury to the sportsman, which,
although rare, we still hear of from time to time.
Foreign cases are largely used in this country, and, frequently,
sportsmen are induced on account of their cheapness to patronize
them, and, I am afraid, in most cases without reference to their effi-
ciency or safety. The powder used in them may never have been
heard of by their maker, and, in any case, the complete cartridge
is a nondescript, powder and cap being an ill-assorted couple best
apart. Sportsmen would do well to eschew these cheap and
unsatisfactory cartridges, and make it an axiom of their policy and
practice — u Best cartridges for best guns."
Safety, reliable shooting results, and general efficiency, depend
as much upon the cartridge as upon the gun, and my advice to all
sportsmen is that, whatever the gun may be, be it a cheap farmer's
quality or the highest production of a first-rate gunbuilder, always
use the best ammunition. There may be some excuse for the owner
of the former class of guns, who has only occasional shooting, and
is, therefore, inclined to think that the cheaper cartridges will serve
him well enough. In any case, it may be that he fires too few
cartridges for his gun to be affected by the ammunition to a serious
extent, whereas the owner of the higher grade gun has no such
excuse, and it does seem to be a lack of consistency to spend a
Shot-Gun Ammunition 151
large outlay on an expensive gun and then to use for this carefully-
constructed weapon cheap ammunition of inferior guarantee. It is
false economy, and little doubt can be entertained that the causes of
bursts and damaged barrels, to which I have referred, would be, to a
large extent, minimized by the use of only the highest standard of
ammunition. It need not be the dearest of its kind. Standard
ammunition is generally sold at a standard price. In a cartridge
of this class each component part is well adapted to the whole,
and cap, wad and powder being well suited one to the other, produce
an unfailing and reliable ignition, combustion and propulsion, upon
which so much depends for effective shooting.
I should like to offer another piece of advice, and I think it may
be stated as a golden rule, viz. that before loading the gun, either
when beginning to shoot or during shooting, the barrels should be
looked through previous to the insertion of the cartridge. This is
a habit that soon becomes familiar, and causes no delay in shooting.
Generally speaking, a glance down the barrel after shooting takes
up almost no time, and this applies equally to shooter or loader.
I have observed that this practice is already followed by a large
number of shooters, but not so generally as is thoroughly con-
sistent with safety. It is, I have noticed with interest, the invariable
rule of gunmakers to look through the barrels before inserting a
cartridge into any weapon, and from personal experience I can say
as a sportsman, when once the habit is acquired, it may be continued
unconsciously. If this were habitually done, accidents from ob-
structions could never arise.
SHOT VELOCITY.
In the course of my investigations relative to the processes of
manufacture, loading, and testing of cartridges at Witton, I found
that Kynoch, Ltd., carry out three important tests for ascertaining
shot velocities in the following respects —
1. Time up the barrel.
2. Average speed over the first 10 yards from the muzzle.
3. The velocity at 30 yards.
The first chronographic test registers the extremely short
152 Modern Sporting Gunnery
interval of time occurring between the impact of the striker upon
the cap and the passage of the shot to the muzzle of the gun. It
will be seen that this test not only records the speed of the shot
up the barrel, it also affords most valuable information relative to
the reliability of the primer, as evidenced by the rate of ignition
and the speed of combustion of the powder. It has been found
that the time occupied by the shot in
passing along the barrel should approximate
to "005 second if the best and most service-
able results in the way of shot propulsion
are to be insured in a manner that is most
agreeable to the shooter.
The measurement of periods of time so
remarkably minute of necessity involves
the employment of electric time-recording
instruments of absolute and inviolable
sensitiveness and accuracy. This the old
form of chronograph was not ; therefore
Kynoch, Ltd., have planned and provision-
ally patented a new type of instrument
which will register spaces of time so short
as the two-hundredth part of a second with
much greater precision than its predecessor.
The second test, above mentioned,
ascertains the average velocity of the shot
over the first ten yards from the muzzle of
the gun. As a powder test this, too, is of
FIG. 68.— THE KYNOCH great value, as at this short distance the
CHRONOGRAPH. , r , 111 i r \_ •
value of the records has less chance of being
impaired by such influences as the stringing out of the shot charge
and the deformation of individual pellets.
The third on the list may be regarded as a test of the actual
killing power of gun and cartridge. It is a chronographic record
of the time taken by the shot whilst travelling over the space of
five yards at an average distance of thirty yards from the muzzle
of the gun. Velocity tests conducted at this distance, taken in
conjunction with records of the pattern of the shot, afford valuable
data for the sportsman.
Shot-Gun Ammunition 153
As ascertained by the chronograph, and recorded in the Field
newspaper, the velocity imparted to a charge of No. 6 shot, by
modern nitro powders, and 12-bore game guns of the day, is about
1050 feet per second over a distance of 20 yards, the muzzle
velocity being some 200 feet higher. This has been termed the
Field standard.
If there is one thing more than another that has forcibly struck
the average sportsman with regard to the press reports of powder
trials in recent years, it is the remarkable unanimity of results dis-
played. The reports have made all powders, English and foreign,
practically equal in the race for supremacy — in fact, like the con-
testants in the memorable race in Alice in Wonderland, they
have all been awarded prizes, and first ones at that. The sports-
man has been left to assume that there is little to choose between
them in the matters of pressure, velocity, pattern and distribution
of the shot, penetration, absence of smoke, fouling and recoil.
This reminds one of the old toper's pronouncement relative to his
favourite beverage, said he — " There is no bad beer, only some's
better than others." The experienced sportsman knows, however,
that powders vary considerably in behaviour. Although he be
ignorant of chronograph, pressure gauges, or other instruments in
the scientific equipment of the laboratory expert, he rightly retains
a common-sense belief in certain powders whose superiority has
been demonstrated at practical work in the field.
Quite recently I read the statement — "'On the whole, however,
it may be said that nearly all powders are alike." As a practical
field sportsman, and having myself carried out numberless experi-
ments with guns and loads, I must say that this is distinctly at
variance with my experience. I grant that they may appear to be
alike inasmuch as they may have been loaded expressly to conform
to an ideal with regard to a 3-ton breech pressure, and the 1050 feet
per second velocity set up by the Fie/dand others. Such ideal may or
may not show a powder at its best, and to set up a breech pressure
of 3 tons per square inch and a velocity of 1050 feet per second over 20
yards as absolute and impassable standards can only be likened to the
imposition of a barrier to all progress.
Progress, however, as a force is irresistible, and refuses to be
stayed, just as the incoming tide refused to be stayed at the bidding
154 Modern Sporting Gunnery
of Canute. When in conversation, some years ago, with a well-
known gunmaker, I happened to suggest that shot velocities might
be accelerated with advantage. I was much struck with the answer
I received. This was to the effect that velocities were high
enough, that to increase them would probably result in the upset-
ting of the gunmaker's and cartridge manufacturer's arrangements,
that game already was killed at ranges sufficiently lengthy, and
— well, let well enough alone. Fortunately all do not stagnate
under a like policy, the truest conservatives have ever .been
progressive.
Chronographic records of velocity taken over distances so
short that No. i shot is given pretty nearly the same value as
No. 6, do not convey much practical information to the sports-
man with regard to the penetrative values or ranging power of the
shot. He knows that whilst these records may be practically on
an equality, they do not convey in even approximate degree
information as to the relative shot energies, for the larger shot
will be killing well and cleanly at ranges long past the point
where the small shot had lost its effective velocity.
On reading W. W. Greener's book, The Modern Shot Gun, I
was much surprised to find so practical a gunmaker completely mis-
apprehending the value of chronographic records in relation to
penetration. He states that " a velocity of 700 feet is equal to a
penetration of 36 sheets (Pettit's pads) with No. 6." He informs
us that the actual mean velocity of a charge of No. 6 shot fired
from a 12-bore gun, is 723 feet per second at a range of 60 yards, as
measured by Mr. R. W. S. Griffith, and published in the Field
newspaper. If Mr. Greener or any other gunmaker can build a
12-bore gun to penetrate 36 sheets of Pettit's pads at 60 yards,
with a loose charge of No. 6 shot, even though using ad libitum
powder charges, I shall be exceedingly pleased to purchase that gun
at an enhanced price. As this estimate is probably three times in
excess of what may be accomplished in the way of actual penetra-
tion of Pettit's pads, at the 60 yards range, it will be seen how
utterly futile and misleading are all such computations as to pene-
tration based solely on calculated proportions of the sort. The
perfect test from the sportman's standpoint would be that in which
pattern and penetration were registered simultaneously at practical
Shot-Gun Ammunition 155
killing ranges. The taking of records of penetration at killing
ranges is in the highest degree essential, if we are to ascertain with
any degree of accuracy the true value to the sportsman of the shoot-
ing of any gun or cartridge.
SHOT.
One frequently hears people discussing the question of small shot
with far greater volubility than acumen. They run the whole
gamut of sizes, and can tell you exactly how many pellets are con-
tained in i oz. of each ; they extol the merits of No. 6, of
No. 6^, and having selected a size to suit their special requirements,
they think that everything necessary to success has been secured in
respect of the missile section of their armament. More care than
this must, however, be exercised if it is desired to insure accuracy
and uniformity in shooting results, both at the target and in the
way of game killing. In order to insure, as far as possible, regu-
larity of shooting, and deadliness of effect at all practical ranges, the
following main qualifications are necessary in all shot —
1. Perfect sphericity.
2. Evenness of size.
3. A good degree of hardness.
4. Smoothness of surface.
5. A high polish.
These are the main essentials, the due observance of which render
the pellets serviceable to their fullest capacity. I will consider these
desiderata in the order given.
1. Sphericity. — Pellets must be ,round in order to possess in
maximum degree, in proportion to weight, accuracy of flight and
extent of ranging power.
2. Evenness of size is important, for with a shot charge of mixed
sizes the smaller pellets lag behind in flight, consequently all do
not reach the object with precision, and the destructiveness of the
charge is minimized. This effect will not be observable when
shooting the gun at a target, as the pattern displayed upon a plane
surface will not reveal this defect ; this tailing off will, how-
ever, certainly tend to reduce the sportsman's percentage of kills,
156 Modern Sporting Gunnery
particularly where the shooting is undertaken at lengthy ranges and
strong game.
3. Hardness. — Personally I prefer chilled shot, because pellets
of this nature withstand much better than soft shot the tremen-
dous impact of the powder explosion, the friction against the bore of
the barrel, and the violent hustling and compression received in
passing through the cone, and in the case of a choke through the
constricted portion of the barrel. Crushing of the pellets exists in
greater or lesser degree with all guns as now bored. This deform-
ation is much accentuated in the case of soft shot. Mr. Leslie
Taylor (Westley Richards) is now concentrating a considerable
amount of attention upon the boring of guns in a special way in
order to mitigate the evil, or practically remove this hindrance to
good shooting. This means much to the sportsman ; any con-
siderable reduction in the number of malformed, ill-flying pellets
would result in a far greater percentage of game being brought to
hand. Moreover, such game would be killed outright instead of
merely wounded, and afterwards chased half-way across moor or
manor before capture.
To place 300 round pellets in a 12-bore and promptly knock
100 or so of them out of shape and all resemblance to their
original condition is a pure waste of energy and material. If
any one will carry out the simple experiment of counting the
number of pellets contained in his, say, No. 6 shot cartridges, and
will then fire at a target 6 feet square at a distance of 50 yards, he
will find that some pellets are missing when the marks on the
target are totalled up. From some cause or another the missing
ones have not been able to preserve a course sufficiently straight to
enable them to reach even a target 6 feet square. Probably they
are the battered and flattened pellets that have flown off at a
tangent. These are the missiles which cause those seemingly
unaccountable accidents in the shooting field, sometimes wounding
man or dog, that but for the erratic flight of such shot would have
been well out of the danger zone of fire. To reduce the number
of such accidents will in itself be an achievement worthy of
highest commendation, whilst to reduce the number of deformed
pellets in marked degree must have for its result a most valuable
increase in the efficiency of the shot-gun.
Shot-Gun Ammunition
'57
4. Smoothness of surface tends to accuracy of flight, whilst
(5), a high polish, the result of the application of plumbago or
blaclclead, acting as a lubricant, reduces friction upon the shot
and minimizes the injury received in its passage through the barrel.
Shot sizes vary considerably in the count as turned out and numbered
by the different makers. Some variation in this respect may also be
noted in the different batches put up by any single firm of manufac-
turers. When perfect accuracy of results is desired whilst comparing
one set of target experiments against another, it is imperative that
the number of pellets per ounce should be ascertained.
The following list gives the numbers and count of pellets in an
ounce of each size of shot as numbered and turned out by one of
the best-known British shot manufacturing firms, Walkers, Parker
& Co., London and Newcastle —
Size.
LG
MG
SG
PATENT SHOT
COMPRESSED AND MOULDED, BUCK-SHOT.
Pellets per ounce.
Pellets per ounce.
4i
6
71
Size.
SSG
SSSG
DROP SHOT.
AAA
AA
* A
BBB
BB
B
i
2
3
4
36
41
44
5i
55
64
79
96
119
J73
200
9
10
ii
12
22O
240
270
300
345
450
600
800
1000
I2OO
158 Modern Sporting Gunnery
The above is that known as soft shot. This firm having taken
over the business of the original makers of the " Pyramid " brand
of Newcastle chilled shot'now manufacture this also in the sizes as
given below —
NEWCASTLE CHILLED SHOT.
Size.
AAA
AA
A
BBB
BB
B
i
2
3
4
4i
5
6
7
8
9
10
ii
IOOO
Diameter in millimetres.
5-0
475
4-50
4-25
4-0
3-53I
3'5o
3*25
3-125
3-0
2-89
275
2-50
2-25
2'0
1-875
1-75
1-50
Another English firm, one which claims to be the only one in
Great Britain devoting the whole of its time to the making of
shot, is the Abbey Improved Chilled Shot Company, of Newcastle-
on-Tyne. Appended is this firm's schedule of sizes —
Size.
Pellets per ounce.
LG
6
SG
84-
SSG
ii
SSSG
i5
3/A
40
2/A
48
A
S6
Size.
Pellets per ounce.
3/B
66
2/B
84
B
98
i
104
2
122
3
140
4
I72
Shot-Gun Ammunition
159
Size.
Pellets per ounce.
Size.
Pellets per ounce.
5
218
9
580
5i
240
IO
850
6
270
II
1040
H
300
12
1250
7
340
D
26OO
8
450
Another old-established firm of shot manufacturers is Cox
Bros., of Derby. As the sizing of this firm's shot differs from
that of the others named it may prove useful to give the figures,
which are as follows —
MOULD SHOT.
Size.
LG
MG
SG
Pellets per ounce.
ii
PATENT SHOT.
2/S
48
s
57
2/B
77
B
89
i
104
2
122
3
140
4
172
5
218
Size.
Pellets per ounce.
LM
14
SM
17
2/A
27
T.
Si
240
6
270
6*
300
7
340
8
450
9
580
10
850
12
IO4O
)ust
1760
The table (p. 160) of the American sizes of shot may prove
of some service to sportsmen anxious to compare notes, or who
may be shooting on the other side of the water.
In various countries on the Continent shot sizes differ con-
siderably as between each other and our manufacturers' sizes. It
is probable, therefore, the table on p. 161 may be useful to
sportsmen contemplating shooting in the countries named.
160 Modern Sporting Gunnery
NUMBER OF PELLETS TO AN OUNCE OF SHOT.
o
4
1
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d
o~
bo
4
jL
o
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if
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w'fl
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J<
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rtX
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IE
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3
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rt
PH
c/3*
o
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Fine Dust
10784
_
~z~
~3~
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Dust
12
4565
2326
1963
2326
2812
24OO
2326
4565
2326
3248
24OO
5910
3316
2024
II
1346
1345
1346
1577
1414
1346 1346
15 ;o
1414
1660
1406
io-Trap
1056
1052
—
—
—
—
— -
—
10
9-Trap
848
688
842
698
848
1012
854
848
848
896
854
950
903
9
568
560
568
610
596
568
568
680
596
615
623
8-Trap
472
473
—
500
—
—
—
8
399
400
399
476
434
399
399
456
434
426
457
7-Trap
338
337
425
7
291
286
291
363
323
291
291
338
323
305
350
6
218
209
218 251
216
218
218
248
216 245 250
5
168
157
168 ! 205
172
1 68
168
187
172 182, 193
4
132
125
132 157
146
132
132
143
146 130 150
3
1 06
98
106 1 20
118
1 06
106
128
118
118 119
2
86
82
86 99
92
86
86
100
92
90 98
I
71
69
71 77
75
71
71
81
75
80
79
B
59
58
59
62
62
59
59
65
62
63
67
BB
50
49
5°
53
53
5°
56
53
55
57
BBB
42
42
46
46
42
42
48
46
48
48
T
36
35
36 | -
—
—
37
TT
3i i —
—
—
. —
—
—
36
32
TTT
—
27
—
28
TTTT
—
24
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
o
—
—
39
38
36
36
42
38
—
—
00
—
—
—
34
33
31
31
37
33
—
—
ooo
—
—
—
29
27
26
27
30
27
—
—
F
27
—
27
! —
—
—
—
—
22
—
FF
24
24
Shot-Gun Ammunition 161
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11
CHAPTER VII
MODERN SPORTING RIFLES
CjITUDINAL rifling, that is to say, straight or
parallel grooving, was invented in the sixteenth
century, according to Lieut.-Colonel Hardy, of the
Musee d'Artillerie, Paris, and other authorities. The
spiral grooving now in general use, from all evidence
to hand, was a, subsequent adoption. Fremantle, in his Book of
FIG. 69. — WHITWORTH RIFLING,
8 GROOVES,
FIG. 70. — HENRY RIFLING,
7 GROOVES,
the R.ifle, is of the opposite opinion, but does not prove his
case. He, like other writers, alludes to the use of rifling at the
outset being employed to receive fouling. But that alone was not
the purpose of grooving the barrel. In smooth bore weapons,
the ball was supposed to be driven to one or the other side of
the barrel, which was said to give it a deflection in one direction
or another, and the longitudinal grooving was instituted in order
to prevent this bias.
162
Modern Sporting Rifles 163
In an old work entitled An Essay on Shooting, which I have
before me, we read : "To correct this bias, the only means . . .
is by giving to the ball a motion which will counteract any
FIG. 71. — HENRY RIFLING, 9 GROOVES,
•45o-BoRE.
FIG. 72. — METFORD RIFLING,
7 GROOVES, '458-BoRE.
accidental one, and will preserve its direction by making the
resistance of the air in its fore part continue the same in every
FIG. 73. — METFORD RIFLING,
7 GROOVES, ^C
FIG. 74.— ENFIELD RIFLING,
5 GROOVES, ^
part of the flight. The contrivance for this purpose is termed
* rifling,' and consists in forming, on the inside of the barrel, a
number of furrows either in a straight or spiral direction. . . .
Barrels of this construction have been in use on the Continent
164 Modern Sporting Gunnery
since the middle of the sixteenth century. The spiral rifle barrels,
however, have entirely superseded the straight rifle barrels,
because, although the latter prevented the rolling motion of
the ball, yet they do not communicate any other motion
that could serve to correct the variations that may occur
during the flight."
It seems incredible, if spiral grooving were the first attempt
in rifling, that builders of rifles should have changed afterwards
to the straight form, thus abandoning the spiral, which gave them
all the longitudinal groove provided and something in addition.
Both authority and common-sense join in the opinion that straight
FIG. 75. — HIGH-VELOCITY NITRO EXPRESS RIFLING, 7 GROOVES,
•360- AND '4OO-BORES.
grooving preceded the spiral form which besides providing place
for fouling and steadying the projectile, also made progress in
spinning the projectile for the purpose of further increasing
its flight.
Judged by modern standards, muzzle-loading sporting rifles and
early breech-loaders were poor weapons. The best of them had
but short range, high trajectory, and inaccurate flight of bullet —
three points of vital importance to the sportsman which urgently
needed the special attention of the gunmaker.
Any rifle which proves itself superior to another in one, or in
all of these important qualities, thereby becomes the more service-
able for the pursuit of game. It is possible with -a given limited
range to have a high trajectory curve with an excellent standard of
Modern Sporting Rifles 165
accuracy ; or lower trajectory with a lesser degree of accuracy at
this range.
On the other hand, accuracy may be even increased, i.e. a
longer ranging power insured, without flattening the trajectory of
the bullet, whilst at the same time retaining killing power to the
full distance of the rifle's capacity.
1. Let us take the muzzle-loading rifle, shooting in comparison
with its bullet a light charge of powder, in which case we have
high trajectory and comparative accuracy.
2. Take an ordinary black powder express rifle with its light
bullet and heavy powder charge, and here we have a flatter tra-
jectory, but with some decrease of accuracy, within a limited
sporting range. An extension of this principle by which the same
weight of bullet is retained with an increased powder charge, while
giving a still flatter trajectory, results in a further reduction of
accuracy.
3. Or we may also assume the same lines of construction as
exemplified in No. i, and, instead of increasing the powder charge
alone, increase also the weight of the bullet proportionately, by
which we obtain — without flattening the trajectory — greater
ranging power and accuracy of flight, which cannot be obtained
by the methods adopted in the other examples mentioned.
Thus, briefly stated, these examples may be said to mark out
the main lines of difference between the sporting rifles used by our
ancestors. Individual makers occasionally might use special charges
of powder and certain weights of bullet, so modifying to a slight
degree the features of these individual types or combine, to a cer-
tain extent, the ranging power of the one and the flatter trajectory
of the other, which permitted a degree of accuracy then regarded
as sufficient for sporting purposes.
In designing rifles for purposes of sport, the following may be
cited as the main considerations from the sportsman's standpoint —
i. SAFE CONSTRUCTION . . . i.e. Barrels and action of suf-
ficient strength and sub-
stance to be safe with all
charges and under every
condition of usage.
1 66 Modern Sporting Gunnery
2. EASY MANIPULATION ^ ^, . , ,
I . . These, with the next two con-
?. BARREL LENGTH . , , , . c
siderations, are the chief
factors towards insuring
handiness.
4. BALANCE Equalling that of the high-
class shot-gun.
5. WEIGHT As light as may consistently
assure due strength of parts
and accuracy of shooting.
6. RELIABILITY OF MECHANISM . Insuring against double dis-
charges, premature explo-
sions, miss-fires and hang-
fires.
7. SIMPLICITY OF MECHANISM . Insuring ease, speed, and dura-
bility in working.
8. SIGHTING . Simple, efficient, and quick to
adjust.
9. ACCURACY OF SHOOTING . At all ranges to which the
rifle is sighted and regulated.
10. BULLET EFFICIENCY . . . Penetration and shock-giving
properties duly apportioned
for the work in hand.
11. TRAJECTORY Bullet velocity high, so that
its trajectory — /. e. curve of
flight — may be as flat as pos-
sible, consistent with accur-
acy and other sporting needs.
12. RECOIL As light as may be consistent
with securing high bullet
energies. With double
rifles lightness of recoil is
of greater importance than
with single rifles, that is, if
prompt and due efficiency
with the second barrel is
to be secured.
Modern Sporting Rifles 167
EXPRESS RIFLES.
The terms " Express " 'and <c High-Velocity " as applied to rifles
are more or less synonymous. At their best both appellations are
somewhat vague. In the first place, they apply rather more to the
ammunition than to the rifle ; whilst in the second, they do not
fix with any degree of precision the rate of speed of a bullet's
flight. The name " Express " was first given to rifles in the
muzzle-loading black powder era, the bullet velocity necessary to
assure such title being at least 1600 feet per second. This rate
of speed was secured by the employment of heavy powder charges
and light bullets, the proportion as regards weight of propellant
and projectile being about one of powder to four of lead. The
early forms of Express rifle shot well up to 100 yards. Beyond
this distance they were not so reliable, as, by reason of the form
and lightness of their bullets, velocity rapidly diminished and
accuracy suffered in consequence.
The object of the projectors of the " Express " rifle was both
to secure flatter trajectory, so minimizing the sportsman's errors
in estimating distances, and greater bullet expansion with cor-
responding increase of deadliness.
Since the term " Express " rifle first came into prominence in
the sporting world, there have been launched innumerable variants
from the first examples. If I mistake not, Purdey was the first
gunmaker to apply the cognomen " Express " — " express train " I
believe he called it — since when, rifles termed " Express " have been
made in all bores ranging from -256 to '600. These " Express "
rifles very properly may be divided into three classes, as follows —
VELOCITY.
1. Black powder express rifles . 1600 to 1950 feet per second.
2. Cordite, or other nitro-com-
pound, high-velocity rifles . 1800 to 2200 feet per second.
3. Axite powder accelerated velo-
city rifles . . . 2 200 to 2700 feet per second.
This latter type of rifle was first introduced by Messrs. Westley
Richards, and the title of " Accelerated Express " applied by that
firm, very happily describes its prominent characteristics.
1 68 Modern Sporting Gunnery
The old Snider is a good example of a rifle which has a long
ranging power and a high bullet curve. This weapon has proved
itself effective as a sporting arm in various parts of the world.
In centra-distinction to this type, the old *45o-bore rifles and
other calibres, constructed on what is now known as the " Express "
system, may be instanced as examples of weapons possessing a flat
bullet curve and limited ranging power. The standard of excellence
the practical gunmaker of the past set himself was frequently in-
capable of attainment, owing to physical conditions which have since
been altered or improved. He had to encounter excessive fouling,
which resulted from the use of black powder and lead bullets.
Hence we read that an admirable rifle designed in 1865 by
Mr. Purdey, of less than loo-bore (practically ^Go-bore) although
proving most effective, was not adopted because its fouling was
excessive. As a matter of fact the high express velocities obtained
in those days were in advance of the practical acquirements of the
time, being incompatible with the nature of the explosives and the
form of projectile then available, even though a slow pitch of
rifling was employed to rotate the bullet.
Had it been practicable, gunmakers of that day would have
employed a quicker pitch of rifling, but the soft material of lead
of which the bullet was composed rendered it impossible to drive
such a bullet at a high velocity through a barrel having a quick
spiral twist of rifling.
The chief difficulty which had to be met was the stripping of
the lead bullet within the bore, and so clogging up the barrel ; but
for this, a bullet of weight and length proportioned to its diameter
and a suitable powder charge with which to propel it, would
doubtless have been arranged, and so would have made the express
rifle of the past answer to its name, not only in flatness of trajec-
tory, but in ranging power and accuracy. These, briefly expressed,
were the limitations within which the gunmaker of forty years
ago was permitted to work.
Despite all this, the '45o-bore sporting and target rifle was
developed to a degree of efficiency which might be considered
remarkable, considering that this class of rifle had to shoot the lead
bullet and black powder.
Conspicuous amongst this type of weapon were the Martini and
Modern Sporting Rifles 169
Westley Richards No. 2 Musket Rifles. The former using 85
grs. black powder and 480 grs. bullet ; and the latter 76 grs. black
powder and 480 grs. bullet. These two weapons are instanced,
because they occupy a prominent position in the sporting annals
of South Africa, where they have been indiscriminately used at all
kinds of game, from the smallest buck to the elephant. Perhaps
as a purely sporting weapon, the Westley Richards No. 2 Musket
Rifle has had the greater popularity of the two rifles. Even to
this day, while few hunters would have the temerity to employ
either of them at the bigger game, both weapons continue in large
demand for use at buck and kindred game.
In another section, I shall describe the various kinds of weapons,
both single and double, and the cartridges they shoot, in use to-day
throughout our South African Colonies.
Although treating of modern arms, there are two early rifles
deserving of mention from the fact that they possessed exceptional
merits, and attained to great celebrity as being successful for
both sporting and target purposes. The first was the Westley
Richards Breech and Muzzle-loading Capping Carbine, invented in
the year 1858. This weapon instituted a new system both as
regards its barrel and its breech action.
The second arm referred to was the Metford rifle introduced
about 1876. This system solely concerned the method of boring
and rifling of the barrel, the construction of bullet and cartridge
load ; and the improvements effected in those directions were
applicable to a variety of breech actions.
The Westley Richards Capping Carbine, earlier than the Snider
or Martini, achieved many distinctions. It was the first breech-
loader adopted by the British Government.
At the National Rifle Association's Annual Meeting, then held
at Wimbledon, it won the Duke of Cambridge prize eight years
in succession. Hundreds of thousands were supplied to the Boers,
who acquired with these weapons their unique proficiency in
marksmanship. As Montague says, in his Tales of a Nomad
— "They made the Boers perfect shots and judges of distance."
Metford, the celebrated engineer, to whose scientific achieve-
ments credit has never been fully accorded in print, will always
occupy a foremost place amongst those who have bestowed close
i jo Modern Sporting Gunnery
attention upon rifle problems. In knowledge of the barrel, its
rifling, and of ballistics generally, he has no superior even at the
present day. He devoted his life to the development and perfecting
of rifle shooting. His Metford rifling, whose undeniable merits
were fully recognized by the practical gunmakers and experts of
the day, was adopted by the Government of this country fourteen
years or more after he had established it as a success. Many years
prior to this tardy recognition of its great merits, rifles bored on
this system, constructed by Gibbs of Bristol and Westley Richards
of London, who were Metford's exclusive licensees to make his
system of rifling under royalty, had for years carried all before
them at Wimbledon, making highest possible scoring results at
long ranges even up to noo yards or more, with a standard of
shooting previously thought to be unattainable. These highly
successful results doubtless influenced the Military Authorities to
adopt the Metford Rifling, as certainly they taught sportsmen in
various parts of the world to prefer it to any other.
By the use of seven shallow grooves and a segmental cut of
rifling, which almost stamped the system as being a semi-smooth
bore, the Metford system of rifling had just that degree of influence
upon the flight of the bullet, which extracted from its energy the
maximum of steadiness. Coupled with this was a specially pre-
pared and hardened bullet constructed of proportional length to
diameter, all properly controlled by a due relationship to the bore
of the barrel and pitch of rifling, consistent with the powder charge
or velocity, to impart the necessary rotation to the bullet. The
hardening was produced by tin and antimony as follows —
Lead, 100 ; tin, 2 ; antimony, 2 ; or, lead, 100 ; no tin ;
3J antimony, or 30 to I.
After sizing, the bullet continued to increase in hardness for a
period of two months.
The remarkable record achieved by this system as applied to
match rifles as well as to sporting weapons, speaks volumes for the
amount of skill and science which were then applied to develop the
cartridge loaded with black powder and lead alloy bullets.
Although, in the "303 Service rifle, the Metford rifling has been
superseded by the Enfield form of groove,' there are still those who
consider that the shooting quality of the Metford system, as
Modern Sporting Rifles 171
Metford designed it, is superior to the Enfield. The lightly-formed
Metford rifling was abandoned, for military purposes, on account
of the enormous wear its light groove was subject to, and the
flatter or squarer Enfield, which is claimed to give a longer life to
the barrel, adopted in its place.
But in point of accuracy, the Metford system stands supreme.
To this day there are hundreds of sporting rifles in all bores from
•303 to "577 in use with rifling cut on the pure Metford system,
and I imagine that the best constructor of sporting rifles will be slow
to discard the Metford system of rifling. This rifling was first
introduced in connection with the *45o-bore.
DETAILS OF METFORD RIFLING.
(HARDENED BULLET — SHALLOW RIFLING.)
Number of grooves, 7.
Depth of grooves, '003.
Pitch, as below.
Metford claimed to have invented a system of rifling with the
pitch accelerating towards the muzzle to take up the spin of the
bullet at the point it was believed to be losing its velocity, dependent
upon the evolving of the gases.
The Metford pitch that I have had an opportunity of measuring
started at the rate of about one turn in 50, and ended in about one
turn in 16, in a 33-inch barrel, the precise measurements being
as follows —
In the first nj inches from breech, there is |- turn at the rate
of 46 inches (/'. e. one turn in 46 inches).
In the next 7 inches (up to i8J inches) J turn in 28-inch pitch.
>•> » $2 It )> 24 » )5 )5 28 » >,
„ „ 4 » 5> 28 „ „ „ I5|toi6-inch
pitch.
/'. e. one turn in 28-inch sporting barrel.
I5j-inch pitch for last 5 inches — /'. e. practically the same as a
33-inch barrel, ending in one turn in 15 J inches, or practically
34 calibres of
172 Modern Sporting Gunnery
It is I think established that the accuracy of the Metford nominal
•450 rifle was due in no small degree to the accelerated pitch, and
was the most practical way of extracting the highest possible
accuracy from a lead bullet. A uniform quick pitch owing to
fouling not being practicable.
In modern rifles, shooting nickel-covered bullets, the Metford
principle of shallow grooves and segmental cut, are still adopted,
but, owing to the nickel bullet and smokeless powder, a quick pitch
is permitted to be employed throughout the barrel, thus practically
abolishing leading and fouling.
Sporting testimony as to the efficiency of the ^o-bore Metford
rifle is not lacking, and among others, we read of Mr. F. C.
Selous, of South African celebrity, saying — " You can kill anything
that walks on the earth with a -450 rifle by Gibbs."
It is an undoubted fact that the Metford rifle has succeeded on
many occasions in bagging big thick-skinned animals of the largest
type, such as elephant and rhinoceros, with a single bullet, and that
the original Metford system doubtless may be regarded as having
reached the acme of efficiency and accuracy under black powder
conditions.
The system was further extended by Westley Richards, who, ten
or twelve years ago, built ^oo-bore double and single rifles on a
similar system to the *45o-bore, known as the long-range game
rifle, which was successfully used by many big game-hunters in
preference to the short-range <c Express."
On this rifle, Mr. Teasdale Buckell, in his Experts on Guns and
Shooting, writes as follows —
" This long-range Westley Richards sporting rifle is new to us.
It has very much the character of the old match rifle, and it will be
seen that its projectiles retain much greater energy at 300 yards
than do those from the 'Express' of similar calibre with their
44O-grs. bullets.
" Although the drop of the bullet is obviously much more than
that of the l Express,' the energy is higher at every point after
100 yards, and of course beyond 300 yards, if such distances
in sport are wanted, the retained energy of the heavy bullet is
proportionately increased.
" We do not know that any other maker takes so much trouble
Modern Sporting Rifles 173
to turn out a rifle, and suitable ammunition for it, that will do so
many things."
The Metford system of rifling and bullet undeniably would have
had a much greater vogue had it not been that at the time when
all its merits had been made plain, smokeless powder and nickel-
covered or compound bullets received the approval of Military
Authorities, whose weapons — as we know to a large extent, but
without justification — set the fashion to sportsmen.
The metal-covered bullet was used in military arms twenty years
ago, a copper-coated bullet being then employed in conjunction
with black powder. I think the Guedes rifle adopted by Portugal
in 1885, is the first of this type. It shot 71 grs. of powder with
a hard lead bullet, copper envelope, point bare, calibre '315.
BLACK POWDER RIFLE?.
Although not in great demand, rifles of the following bores
shooting black powder are, nevertheless, employed by sportsmen in
India, Persia, and parts of Africa. Also in Java and Borneo for
slaying the larger mammals and dangerous game.
I2-BORE.
Weight, 12 Ib. to 13 J Ib.
Length of barrel, 28 inches.
Charge of powder, 5| dr. to 7 dr.
Sights, fixed standard to 50 yards and leaves beyond.
Range, 250 yards.
Bullet, 585 grs. spherical, or short bluff-headed conical bullet.
IQ-BORE.
Weight, 13 J to 14! Ib.
Length of barrel, 28 inches.
Charge of powder, 9 to 10 dr.
Sights, fixed standard to 100 yards and leaves beyond.
Range, 200 yards.
Bullet, spherical, 700 grs. ; or short conical bluff-headed bullets,
1000 grs.
174 Modern Sporting Gunnery
S-BORE.
Weight, 15 J to 1 6 Ib.
Length of barrel, 24 inches.
Charge of powder, 10 to 12 dr.
Sights, standard to 50 yards and leaves beyond.
Range, 200 yards.
Bullets, conical, 1257 §rs' i spherical, 884 grs.
4-BoRE.
Weight, 19 to 21 Ib.
Length of barrel, 24 inches.
Charge of powder, 12 to 14 dr.
Sights )
Range jlo° ^ards to I5°
Bullet, conical, 1882 grs. ; spherical, 1250 grs.
These represent the best and most approved types, but modified
patterns, mostly of lighter weights and shooting lighter charges,
were also used.
The records of rifles of the bores above given are stamped with
such success that they will always occupy a prominent place in
sporting history, and as their position is probably unique, it is only
well that their past service should receive recognition. It may be
said that but for present innovations and improved small bores
adapted to the same purpose in use to-day the reputation of these
rifles would die hard. Big game we know has been successfully
bagged by the small '450, and even the '303, but the most cele-
brated game hunter perhaps of the last century deliberately
employed a weapon weighing more than double the modern
type, and after all it is the achievement of these bygone weapons
that we mostly talk about.
The best types of heavy wide-bore weapons follow the lines of
the rifles adopted by Sir Samuel Baker, one of whose favourite
weapons for elephant hunting was a four-bore by Gibbs. This
weighed 21 Ib., its barrel was three feet long, and its load con-
sisted of 1 6 dr. of black powder and a 4-oz. bullet.
Baker remarked of it that — " An extraordinary success attended
Modern Sporting Rifles 175
this rifle, which became my colossal companion for many years in
wild spots for dangerous game." It will be observed that the
powder charge was one-fourth the weight of the projectile, and not
only a tremendous crushing power, but an extraordinary penetration
was assured.
It has been continually stated that Baker was the most mighty
elephant hunter who ever handled firearms. Most of his success
has been attributed — and no doubt correctly — to his great physical
endurance and strength, whereby he was able to carry and dis-
charge the heaviest rifles and loads. He bore unflinchingly a
recoil that would utterly have demoralized most shooters. Another
favourite weapon of his was a double 8-bore weighing 16 lb.,
carrying 12 dr. of powder and 2-oz. ball.
The doughty doings of this Samson among hunters have been
amply recorded ; suffice it, therefore, to say that in five days'
hunting in Ceylon Baker killed thirty-one elephants — truly a Gar-
gantuan bag — fourteen of these large beasts falling to his rifle in one
day. Once, if not indeed oftener, two elephants dropped dead as
the result of a clean right and left with his double rifle.
Baker's big 4~bore once stopped a buffalo bull at a distance of
nearly 800 yards, sending its 4-oz. ball completely through the
animal, and crushing in its passage both hip-joints.
Since the introduction of the ball and shot gun, rifled only at
the nose on the Fosbery principle, popularized by Messrs. Holland
and Holland, or an alternative system of a shallow rifling through-
out the bore, and other similar modifications, such as the Colindian,
these formidable weapons in 16, 12, 10, and 8 bores can be con-
structed of much lighter weight in proportion to their power, and
moreover without undue recoil.
In speaking of these large bore black powder rifles, the consider-
ations of trajectory and ranging power spoken of previously were
comparatively of little importance by reason of the fact that the
bigger game was invariably killed at close distances.
Nevertheless it is on record that eminent gunmakers have been
requested by innocent missionaries in the early days of South
African development, to construct rifles effective to distances more
than necessary to exclude possible danger.
A former bishop once wrote to an eminent gunmaker for a
176 Modern Sporting Gunnery
4-bore rifle to kill elephants at 1000 yards, and the ingenuity of
even the British gunmaker was confessedly unequal to the task.
Brave in combating supernatural enemies, the good bishop un-
doubtedly found his sporting courage at the best when distance
lent diminutiveness to the animal ; or the more it approached the
unseen.
For instance, although Sir Samuel Baker did make an extra-
ordinary shot, killing a buffalo at 800 yards, this was a truly
phenomenal incident, and the bulk of his shooting was doubtless
conducted at distances seldom exceeding 100 yards. In all pro-
bability most of the animals he killed were bagged at even shorter
ranges.
I also append below specifications of the double express rifles
to complete the black powder series. These double express
weapons are fast becoming obsolete in view of the introduction of
the smokeless powder rifles, but there are certain bores which are
still preferred by sportsmen in the East. Smokeless powders have
been adapted more or less successfully to these rifles and cartridges.
DOUBLE RIFLES FOR BLACK POWDER.
i. — '36o-BoRE EXPRESS.
Weight, about 6| Ib.
Barrel, 28 inches to 30 inches.
Charge powder, 55 grs.
Bullet, 190 grs.
Muzzle velocity, 1700 feet per second ; 100 yards' velocity,
1381 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 1218 feet per second ; 100 yards' energy, 803
foot-lb.
Cartridge case, straight taper, 2T76- inches.
2. — '4OO-BORE EXPRESS.
Weight, 7£ to 7J Ib.
Barrel, 27 inches to 28 inches. -
Charge powder, 80 grs.
Modern Sporting Rifles 177
Bullet, 230 grs.
Muzzle velocity, 1850 feet per second ; 100 yards' velocity,
1500 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 1747 foot-lb. ; 100 yards' energy, 1152 foot-lb.
Cartridge case, bottle neck, 2f inches.
3. — '40O-BoRE EXPRESS. — MAGNUM.
Weight, 8 to 8J Ib.
Barrel, 28 inches.
Charge powder, no grs.
Bullet, 230 grs.
Muzzle velocity, 2000 feet per second ; 100 yards' velocity,
1630 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 2041 foot-lb. ; 100 yards' energy, 1336 foot-lb.
Cartridge case, bottle-neck, 3^ inches.
4. — '450-BoRE EXPRESS.
Weight, 8i to 8f Ib.
Barrel, 28 inches for W. R. No. I Express cartridge.
Charge powder, no grs.
Bullet, 300 grs.
Muzzle velocity, 1859 ^eet Per second; 100 yards' velocity,
1495 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 2299 foot-lb. ; 100 yards' energy, 1420 foot-lb.
Cartridge case, bottle-neck, 2f inches.
5. — '45o-BoRE EXPRESS.
Weight, 8J to 8f Ib.
Barrel, 27 inches.
Charge powder, no grs.
Bullet, 270 grs.
Muzzle velocity, 1900 feet per second ; 100 yards' velocity,
1521 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 2162 foot-lb. ; 100 yards' energy, 1386 foot-lb.
Cartridge case, bottle neck, 2| inches.
12
178 Modern Sporting Gunnery
6. — *45o-BoRE EXPRESS. — MAGNUM.
Weight, 8f to 9 Ib.
Barrel, 28 inches.
Charge powder, 140 grs.
Bullet, 325 grs.
Muzzle velocity, 1950 feet per second ; 100 yards' velocity, 1625
feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 2741 foot-lb. ; 100 yards' energy, 1907 foot-lb.
Cartridge case, *5oo/'45o magnum.
7. — *45o-BoRE LONG RANGE GAME RIFLE.
Weight, 8f to 9 Ib.
Barrel, 28 inches.
Charge powder, 125 grs.^lFor use to f Also no grs. and Express
Bullet, 480 grs. j 300 yards.\bullet 300 grs. to 200 yards.
Cartridge case, bottle-neck, 2| inches.
8. — W. R. *5oo-BoRE DOUBLE EXPRESS.
Weight, 8| to 9^ Ib.
Barrel, 28 inches for W. R. No. 2 Express cartridge.
Charge powder, 125 grs.
Bullet, 360 grs.
Muzzle velocity, 1650 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 2612 foot-lb.
Cartridge case, bottle-neck, 2^f inches.
9. — '5oo-BoRE EXPRESS.
Weight, 8f to 9! Ib.
Barrel, 28 inches, taper cartridge.
Powder, 136 grs.
Bullet, 340 grs.
Muzzle velocity, 1925 feet per second ; 100 yards' velocity, 1549
feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 2794 foot-lb. ; 100 yards' energy, 1809 foot-lb.
Cartridge case, straight taper, 3 inches.
Modern Sporting Rifles 179
10. — '500-BoRE EXPRESS. — MAGNUM.
Weight, 9! to 10} Ib.
Barrel, 28 inches.
Charge powder, 164 grs.
Bullet, 440 grs.
Muzzle velocity, 1880 feet per second; 100 yards' velocity,
1590 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 3451 foot-lb. ; 100 yards' energy, 2468 foot-lb.
Cartridge case, bottle-neck, 3^- inches.
ii. — W. R. *5oo-BoRE LONG RANGE SPORTING RIFLE.
Weight, 9 Ib.
Barrel, 28 inches.
Powder, 120 grs.
Bullet, 570 grs., shooting to 500 yards j also 500 grs. bullet for
shorter ranges.
Muzzle velocity, 1542 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 3005 foot-lb.
Cartridge case, taper, 3 inches.
12. — W. R. '577-BoRE DOUBLE EXPRESS.
Weight, ii Ib.
Barrel, 28 inches.
Charge powder, 160 grs.
Bullet, 520 grs.
Muzzle velocity, 1775 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 3634 foot-lb.
Cartridge case, taper, 2f inches.
13. — W. R. '577-BoRE DOUBLE 3-iNCH CASE.
Weight, nj to 12 Ib.
Barrel, 27 inches.
Powder charge, 167 grs.
Bullet, 570 grs. Also 610 grs. solid.
Muzzle velocity, 1725 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 3761 foot-lb.
Cartridge case, taper, 3 inches.
180 Modern Sporting Gunnery
SINGLE-LOADER RIFLES FOR BLACK POWDER, MAINLY
USED FOR SOUTH AFRICAN SPORT, MAY BE SAID TO
COMPRISE THE FOLLOWING : —
Martini sporting rifles and sliding-block under-lever rifles, of
which there are three or four types, present no real differentiation.
MARTINI-HENRY SPORTING RIFLE, *45o-BoRE.
Cartridge, Martini, 85 grs. of powder.
Bullet, 480 grs.
Weight, from ;J to ;f Ib.
Velocity, 1315 feet per second.
Energy, 1841 foot-lb.
MARTINI SPORTING RIFLE,
Cartridge, Westley Richards No. 2 musket, 76 grs. black
powder.
Bullet, 480 grs.
Weight from 7 Ib.
Velocity, 1238 feet per second.
Energy, 1632 foot-lb.
WESTLEY RICHARDS SLIDING-BLOCK UNDER-LEVER RIFLE —
OR SIMILAR TYPE, ^o-BoRE.
Cartridge, Martini, 85 grs. black powder.
Bullet, 480 grs.
Weight, 7J to 7f Ib.
The foregoing rifles are frequently constructed to the above
specification, but with Metford rifling.
WESTLEY RICHARDS SLIDING-BLOCK UNDER-LEVER RIFLE —
OR SIMILAR TYPE, ^o-BoRE.
Cartridge, Westley Richards No. 2 musket, 76 grs. black
powder.
Bullet, 480 grs.
Weight, from 6 Ib. 12 oz.
Modern Sporting Rifles 181
WESTLEY RICHARDS SLIDING-BLOCK UNDER-LEVER RIFLE,
•450-BoRE.
Cartridge, No. 2 musket, Metford loading.
Powder, 80 grs.
Bullet, 570 grs.
Velocity, 1300 feet per second.
Energy, 2136 foot-lb.
Weight of rifle, 7^ Ib.
The foregoing are average weights, with 28-inch barrels, but of
course extra length of barrels, form of barrels, addition of ribs
top or bottom, or both, and other items of general make-up
obviously would increase these weights proportionately.
This in natural sequence brings us to the consideration of rifles
of small bore, which by means of smokeless powder and compound
bullet mentioned, give a much higher velocity coupled with a
greater degree of accuracy, an adaptation which has now been
applied to the bigger calibres of rifles for sporting purposes.
The best known types of these small bores which have proved
successful, are the Lee-Metford, and Enfield -303 ; the Mauser
•275- and *3ii-bores, and the Mannlicher -256.
Practically the whole of the civilized world has adopted the
small-bore rifle as its military arm, none being larger than "315,
with a bullet from 230 grs. to 244 grs. as in the case of France
and Austria, nor smaller than '256-bore with a bullet of 162 grs.,
as in the case of Japan.
SINGLE-LOADER RIFLES — UNDER-LEVER SLIDING-BLOCK
ACTION.
•256-bore. 28-inch barrel.
Charge powder, 31 grs. cordite.
Charge bullet, 160 grs.
Weight of rifle, 7 Ib. 4 oz.
Sights, fixed standard and folding leaves.
Muzzle velocity, 2395 feet per second ; 100 yards' velocity,
2182 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 2094 foot-lb. ; 100 yards' energy, 1702 foot-lb.
1 82 Modern Sporting Gunnery
MANNLICHER MAGAZINE RIFLE — 5 CARTRIDGES IN MAGAZINE.
•256-bore. 28-inch barrel.
Charge powder, 31 grs. cordite.
Bullet, 1 60 grs.
Weight of rifle, 7 Ib. 12 oz.
Sights, as above.
Muzzle velocity, 2395 feet per second ; 100 yards' velocity,
2182 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 2094 foot-lb. ; 100 yards' energy, 1702 foot-lb.
MANNLICHER SCHONNAUER MAGAZINE ACTION — 5 CARTRIDGES
IN MAGAZINE.
•256-bore. 28-inch barrel.
Charge powder, 31 grs. cordite.
Bullet, 1 60 grs.
Weight of rifle, 7 Ib. 8 oz., etc., as above.
MAGAZINE MAUSER RIFLE — 5 CARTRIDGES IN MAGAZINE.
•275-bore. 28-inch barrel.
Charge of powder, 38 grs. nitro-cellulose or equivalent in
cordite.
Bullet, 172 grs.
Weight of rifle, 6 Ib. 12 oz.
Sights, fixed standard and folding leaves.
Muzzle velocity, 2296 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 201 1 foot-lb.
MAGAZINE, LEE-METFORD AND ENFIELD RIFLE — 10
CARTRIDGES IN MAGAZINE.
'303-bore. 28-inch barrel.
Powder, 31 grs. cordite.
Bullet, 215 grs.
Weight of rifle, 7 Ib. 9 oz.
Sights, fixed standard and folding leaves.
Muzzle velocity, 2000 feet per second ; 100 yards' velocity,
1831 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 1920 foot-lb.^ 100 yards' energy, 1609 foot-lb.
Modern Sporting Rifles 183
SINGLE-LOADER RIFLES.
*3°3~bore. 28-inch barrel.
Cartridge, as above.
Weight of rifle, 7 Ib. 2 oz.
Sights. ^
Muzzle velocity. \- Same as above.
Muzzle energy. J
MAGAZINE MAUSER RIFLES — 5 CARTRIDGES IN MAGAZINE.
'311-bore. 28-inch barrel.
Powder, 41 grs. special, or equivalent in cordite.
Bullet, 227 grs.
Weight of rifle, 7 Ib. 5 oz.
Sights, fixed standard and folding leaves.
Muzzle velocity, 2093 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 2090 foot-lb.
• MAGAZINE RIFLE WITH LEE ACTION — 4 CARTRIDGES IN
MAGAZINE.
'375-bore. 28-inch barrel.
Bullet, 270 grs. solid and patent capped expanding bullet.
Powder, 40 grs. cordite.
Weight of rifle, 7 Ib. 9 oz.
Sights, as above.
Muzzle velocity, 2000 feet per second, 100 yards' velocity;
1778 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 2396 foot-lb. ; 100 yards energy, 1893 foot-lb.
MAGAZINE RIFLE MANNLICHER ACTION (AS ABOVE).
'375-b'ore. 28-inch barrel.
Weight of rifle, 6 Ib. 13^ oz.
SINGLE-LOADER RIFLE.
'36o-bore. 28-inch barrel.
Powder, 41 grs. cordite.
Bullet, 314 grs. ' " •
184 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Weight of rifle, 6f Ib. to ;£ Ib.
Sights, as above.
Muzzle velocity, 1875 feet per second ; 100 yards, 1707 feet per
second.
Muzzle energy, 2450 foot-lb. per second; 100 yards, 2030
foot-lb.
Single-loader rifle, *375-bore, same weight.
In addition to the above, Messrs. Rigby have recently introduced
a *35o-bore Mauser action magazine rifle of which report speaks
well.
There are other *36o-bore cartridges of practically the same
ballistics, with modifications in form of cartridge, bullet, etc., to
suit the maker's particular fancy.
SINGLE-LOADER RIFLE — Shooting Cartridges of Semi-H.-V.
Type.
'36o-bore. 28-inch barrel.
Powder, 30 grs. cordite.
Bullet, 300 grs.
Weight of rifle, 6| Ib.
Sights, as above.
Muzzle velocity, 1650 feet per second ; .100 yards, 1484 feet
per second.
Muzzle energy, 1812 foot-lb. ; 100 yards, 1466 foot-lb.
In addition to the folding sights, tangent sights are frequently
adopted. For high-velocity rifles up to 300 yards, however, there
is no practical need for more than one fixed sight, the amount of
bead taken through the " V " giving the correct elevation for each
range. This matter is dealt with in the chapter referring to
Trajectory.
American magazine rifles of well-known types, hitherto, have
been confined to special cartridges little known to the average
British big game shooter, but of late years firms manufacturing
the Winchester, the Marlin and the Savage rifles, have adapted
their arms for certain forms of what they term " High Pressure
Modern Sporting Rifles 185
Cartridges," which are more or less reproductions of the British
high velocity series, having approximately the same ballistics.
The above list practically exhausts the rifles available or neces-
sary for animals included in the category of deer, although they
are often used for bigger game — the "360 and "375 having proved
effective at tiger. The following series show larger bores of
single rifles and double rifles mentioned later, being especially suit-
able for the bigger antelopes and dangerous large game.
As sporting barrels may be somewhat shorter than 28 inches,
and vary considerably, the velocities and energies will be propor-
tionately modified. For instance, a -256 Mannlicher rifle with a
barrel 25 £- inches long instead of 28 inches (the usual sporting
length) under the same conditions gives a reduced velocity of 2276
feet per second, as against the standard muzzle velocity of 2395
feet per second given with a 28-inch barrel. And, of course,
slight variations will be shown in each similar case.
The Mannlicher rifle with barrel of military length, i.e. 31'!
inches, gives a muzzle velocity of 2433 feet per second.
Besides the solid bullet, all these weapons shoot sporting bullets
of more or less excellent design and general effectiveness. Amongst
these are the soft-nosed, copper-tubed, split bullet, and the latest
design of sporting bullet — the capped expanding bullet.
WESTLEY RICHARDS HIGH-VELOCITY NITRO-£XPRESS RIFLE,
'4OO-BORE.
Muzzle velocity, 2150 feet per second ; muzzle energy, 4100
foot-lb.
100 yards' velocity, 1953 feet per second ; 100 yards' energy,
3385 foot-lb.
Cordite powder, 60 grs. Bullet, 400 grs.
Also with 300 grs. bullet and lighter charge. With heavy
charge it is equal in smashing power to the old -577 Express rifle.
WESTLEY RICHARDS HIGH-VELOCITY NITRO-£XPRESS RIFLE,
•45o-BoRE.
Muzzle velocity, 2150 feet per second ; muzzle energy, 4922
foot-lb.
1 86 Modern Sporting Gunnery
ioo yards' velocity, 1944 feet per second ; 100 yards' energy,
4024 foot-lb.
Cordite powder, 70 grs. Bullet, 480 grs.
Weight of single rifle from 8^ to 9 Ib.
WESTLEY RICHARDS HIGH-VELOCITY NITRO-EXPRESS RIFLE,
Muzzle velocity, 2.100 feet per second ; muzzle energy, 5577
foot-lb.
ioo yards' velocity, 1893 &?* Per second; ioo yards' energy,
4532 foot-lb.
Cordite powder, 80 grs. -Bullet, 570 grs.
Weight of single rifle, from 8J to 9^ Ib.
WESTLEY RICHARDS HIGH-VELOCITY NITRO-EXPRESS RIFLE,
•577-BoRE.
Muzzle velocity, 1950 feet per second ; muzzle energy, 5483
foot-lb.
ioo yards' velocity, 1730 feet per second ; ioo yards' energy,
4310 foot-lbs.
Cordite powder, 90 grs. Bullet, 650 grs.
This powerful weapon is also constructed to shoot a lighter
charge of cordite, and a special soft lead bullet, which expands
freely on impact, and inflicts a most deadly wound.
Weight of bullet, 560 grs.
Muzzle velocity, about 1950 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, about 4700 foot-lb.
Weight of single rifle, from 10 to II Ib.
•
WESTLEY RICHARDS HIGH-VELOCITY. NITRO-EXPRESS RIFLE
(MAGNUM), '577-BoRE.
Muzzle velocity, 2050 feet per second ; muzzle energy, 6990
foot-lb.
ioo yards' velocity, 1818 feet per second; ioo yards' energy,
5680 foot-lb. .
Cordite powder, iob grs. Bullet, 750 grs.
Weight of single rifle,, n. to n| Ib.
Modern Sporting Rifles 187
WESTLEY RICHARDS HIGH-VELOCITY NITRO-EXPRESS RIFLE,
•6oo-BoRE.
Muzzle velocity, 1850 feet per second ; muzzle energy, 6831
foot-lb.
100 yards' velocity, 1635 feet per second ; 100 yards' energy,
5337 foot-lb.
Cordite powder, 100 grs. Bullet, 900 grs.
Weight of single rifle, 12 to 13! Ib.
For weights of double rifles of the above class, vide Chapter
VIII.
The subject of sporting bullets is fully dealt with under its own
special chapter.
Having now detailed the varieties of sporting, rifles to-day in use,
it may be well to inquire whether all conditions of sport are
adequately met by such weapons, and whether or not further modi-
fications of present types, or altogether new types of rifles would
be likely to further the sportsman's needs.
Two complaints are sometimes levelled against modern rifle
makers.
1. That they too frequently regard the construction of sporting
rifles from the standpoint of military rifles.
2. That they have paid too much attention to the quality of
penetration, and not sufficient to the expansion of the bullet.
When the -303 British Service Magazine Rifle was first em-
ployed at game, it was asserted that this high power small bore,
owing to its superior velocity, was suitable for use against the
bigger kinds of game, and from time .to time accounts were pub-
lished of satisfactory performances with this weapon at elephants,
rhino, hippopotamus, and a variety of deer. These records,
although remarkable, -must be considered exceptional, arising
probably, that .by a lucky chance vital spots were struck. Even
though the accuracy was of an improved order and the trajectory
flatter, the element of luck was not absent in placing shots just
where the hit would be fatal, considering that a deviation from that
spot of a fraction of ^n inch might result only in a wound which
would permit the animal to escape.
Modern Sporting Gunnery
What has been proved after many years' experience of these
high-velocity small-bore rifles is, that on the whole their bullets
are lacking in the necessary degree of expansion and shock-giving
qualities.
A writer in the Indian Field of March 8, 1906, says: "I have
fired a large number of rounds from a Mauser, and my experience
is as follows. The accuracy of the rifle is phenomenal, and for
antelope, gazelle, and other small fry it is a splendid weapon. For
ibex, birrel, schapoo, etc., it is not so good. Of course, providing
the bullet is correctly placed, any mountain game will drop to it.
It is, however, given to very few, if any of us, to make a certainty
of thus hitting an animal every time ; and, in addition, wind has
sometimes a good deal to do with lateral deflection on the moun-
tain side. I have found that an animal hit full in the middle of
the body, but a hair's-breadth or less too far back from the shoulder,
not infrequently goes off as if nothing had happened. I have
known a case of an ibex, hit a few inches too far back, going off
and climbing up a cliff like the side of a house, and although he
was recovered afterwards, until we saw the blood on his side, one
could have sworn that the shot was a clean miss. I think all will
agree that this sort of thing is not good enough. It is the wish of
sportsmen to kill or miss, and these small bores do not by any means
do this, and we want something heavier for the work."
Some forms of bullet are much more effective than others. I
am convinced that under the foregoing conditions the proved
capacity of the Westley Richards copper-capped bullet to insure
a larger wound-channel and impart greater shock than any other
form of bullet, would considerably lessen, if not entirely remove,
the reasonable objections referred to as attaching to the small-bore
rifle.
A tide of opposition set in against this fashion in ^c^-bore and
similar bores some few years ago, which brought about the intro-
duction of smokeless powder rifles of much larger calibre and
higher power, but, unfortunately, carried the change to an opposite
extreme j many of such rifles having too much power, coupled
with the extreme penetration first associated with the small-bore
military rifles. This, in truth, may be said of all the bores
which this new series added to the catalogue of modern sporting
Modern Sporting Rifles 189
rifles, excepting perhaps the '577- and '6oo-bores, which are
especially intended for shooting the larger mammals against which
projectiles with the highest order of penetration are frequently
essential.
Military and sporting rifles have different and distinct uses.
One or the other may be used for either purpose, but rightly con-
sidered they occupy a different category.
The sportsman goes out to kill, and feels that he has a grievance
if he only succeeds in wounding his game. While killing is part
of the business of war, we read that wounding your enemy is
frequently the better strategy.
With this view in mind, modern military rifles have been con-
structed. It would have been better for sportsmen if the manu-
facturer of sporting weapons also had always kept before him the
objects and the conditions of usage of the sporting rifle, and as
faithfully carried them into practical effect as the military rifle
constructor has done with his particular arm.
The series of high power rifles from "360- to *6oo-bore for the
most part are excellent sporting weapons and have very fine per-
formances to their credit. But they err on the side of excessive
penetration, and especially is this so when used against lightly-built
and thin-skinned animals.
Placing these rifles in their various categories, the high power
weapons of large calibre, with very high penetration, may be con-
fined to the larger mammals ; the '450- and ^oo-bores, with
solid-nickel and expanding bullets, to the bigger antelope and for
use perhaps even at rhino.
Still there remains a class of shooting which demands a rifle
that shall stand midway between the old express black powder
rifles and the modern high-velocity cordite rifles. The smallest of
these, "360, would be capable of accounting for the largest stag,
and the '400- and *45o-bores being especially adapted for shooting
the larger deer and other animals of a non-dangerous character ;
while the '500- and '577-bores would be reliable for use against
tiger, lion and animals of a dangerous type.
For such sport the ideal expanding bullet is one made of lead in
one form or other. For smokeless powder a modified form of lead
bullet constructed with a nickel base has been found necessary.
i go Modern Sporting Gunnery
This form of bullet has, however, brought in its train an increase
of velocity as compared with the black powder express cartridges
of the same bore and type, with a correspondingly greater penetra-
tive force, which has, therefore, diminished the expansion of the
old express bullet already found too little against certain animals.
Hence the request for a smokeless powder rifle shooting a
cartridge which will revert to the old express system of expansion
and, if possible, even will increase that degree of expansion. The
interest created by the attention given to sporting projectiles and
their developments throughout the past six years has resulted in
many changes in bullet construction ; the very necessity of making
the solid nickel bullet expansive has brought about improvements
capable of application to lead bullets of the past.
In this case at least we have a verification of the proverb,
" Necessity is the mother of invention."
One of the improvements consists in making a nickel base lead
bullet with a metal cap or tip. By this means the degree of
expansion is considerably increased.
Weapons built for smokeless powder and shooting such bullets,
having a degree of expansion superior to any other kind hitherto
known, will be appreciated by sportsmen engaging in that class
of sport where the desideratum is expansion pure and simple as
opposed either to penetration alone or to penetration and expansion
combined, which other kinds of shooting may render necessary.
Particulars of these rifles are given at the end of Chapter XII,
under the title of " Nitro-Expansive Express Rifles."
CHAPTER VIII
MODERN SPORTING RIFLES— continued
Single-loading, Magazine, and Double Rifles.
PRACTICALLY, in the past only two kinds of sporting
weapons entered into the consideration either of the
sportsman or of the rifle-maker, viz. the single barrel
containing one cartridge, and the double barrel weapon
containing two cartridges.
The improvements effected in magazine weapons, leading to
their adoption by the Governments of the world, subsequently
introduced to the sportsman the magazine system of loading,
thereby adding a third weapon to his choice.
There are many different views as to the best type of
sporting weapon, and after all the choice of system must be
left to the sportsman himself, whose decision will be dictated
by the conditions of sport on the one hand, and the spirit
with which he enters into that sport, on the other.
It is a significant fact that for the last half-century sportsmen
of renown, and a large number of other proficient but less-known
shooters, have successfully hunted game in Africa with single
loading rifles ; and during the same period a considerable number
of sportsmen in India and elsewhere have also employed the
same system of weapon. There must have been something in
the economic conditions of Africa which led to such an universal
and unalterable attachment to the single loader, because as
compared with the double rifles the price is frequently less than
half; moreover, the prevalence of game of all kinds, which formerly
existed in vast quantities, and therefore proved readily accessible,
perhaps did not call for a more effective or quicker firing weapon
than the single loader.
191
i ga Modern Sporting Gunnery
Doubtless other influences were at work ; but whatever the
cause, I am only interested in the fact that fifty years' use of
the single-loading rifle has proved that it was capable of
satisfying the most ardent sportsman.
No doubt those who have become accustomed to a single loader
frequently find difficulty in changing to a double ; or it may
be that men are satisfied with their single loaders, and on
meeting with others who use doubles, begin to search about
for reasons why the single loader is so satisfactory. I have
heard African sportsmen say that they could do all with a
single loader that a man could do with a double, and do it
better ; the reason given being that under the circumstances
of an inaccurate aim through imperfect alignment of the rifle,
the sportsman cannot adjust his aim unless he moves the gun
from his shoulder deliberately, and takes an entirely fresh aim.
Where a man attempts to readjust his aim with the rifle at
his shoulder, a failure usually results.
However, during the time it takes a man to remove his single
rifle from his shoulder, he has also the time to open the
breech and insert another cartridge. Therefore it was argued
that with a double rifle, should the first barrel be badly aimed
the second would certainly be so, unless there was a subsequent
readjustment of the gun to the shoulder.
Except by the Boer hunters, who generally were most con-
servatively attached to their weapons, many people satisfied
with the single loader have been induced to take the magazine
in preference, probably owing to game being driven further afield,
with the result that as good hunting grounds are removed to
greater distances visits become scarcer, and sportsmen doubly
anxious to make the most of time and opportunities.
Probably many men who now take single or magazine
loaders would be satisfied with a double rifle but for the high
price of the latter. The price of magazine rifles is temptingly
low, and thus the very cheapness may lead true sportsmen to
be unsportsmanlike, and so create a class of shooters who
indulge in an excessive slaughter of game.
Rightly considered, like the pump gun of America, the
magazine rifle is not a desirable weapon for general sport.
Single-Loading and Magazine Rifles 193
But apart from this there are practical objections to the
magazine system.
The keen and cautious sportsman goes about his work with
studied silence ; he detests noises of all kinds, and this essential
and vital quality of the sporting habit and instinct is absolutely
impossible with the rattle and jar of the magazine rifle.
The single-loader rifle is practically noiseless when manipu-
lated. However carefully you operate a magazine rifle of any
kind you get that objectionable rattle which is fatal to successful
sport ; the result is that the magazine rifle, by frightening game,
is provocative of disappointment which is possibly responsible
for a waste of ammunition and unnecessary cruelty through
wounding of animals by snap shooting out of range. It is,
in short, a demoralizing factor, and the use of such weapons
will probably ultimately result in the production of a degenerate
race of sportsmen, however much regulations to limit the bag
may be formulated.
In a recently published work, The Modern Sportsman s Book
for India, edited by F. G. Aflalo, Lieut.-Gen. Sir Montague
Gilbert Gerard, in writing on the shooting of tiger, panther,
and bear, remarks —
" If a sportsman employs a single barrel, he should use a
sporting and not a military action (such as the Lee-Metford),
as the clatter of the bolt when reloading is hopeless in a quiet
corner."
Again, in this same book, Lieut.-Col. P. R. Bairnsfather, says —
"There is need for absolute silence. . . . Of all the deer,
the sambur is the most timid and cunning in refusing to
be driven ; at the last moment he will suddenly break back,
charging right through the beaters, or over any man who bars
his way, and so many drives are in vain. Adequate conceal-
ment and perfect silence and stillness are therefore necessary."
It is plain that under such circumstances, and indeed under
all conditions where wild and wary game is being circumvented,
the far-sounding clatter of a magazine rifle will frequently scare
game and lead to loss of sport. It is singular that American
sportsmen should have been so alive to the absolute need for
silence in stalking game as to have originated that expressive
194 Modern Sporting Gunnery
term " still-hunting," and yet be guilty of using one of the
noisiest weapons possible, to wit, the magazine repeating rifle.
In order to show the distinction between the two systems,
I give a specification of the highest type of modern sporting single
loader rifles, in comparison with a magazine sporting rifle of similar
quality.
SPECIFICATION.
MODERN UNDER-LEVER SINGLE-LOADING RIFLE.
Action, under-lever system.
Automatic top safety bolt as on high-class sporting double
rifles.
Pull off, adjustable from 3 Ib.
Barrel detachable with the same ease and readiness as is
the barrel of an ordinary game gun.
MAGAZINE RIFLE, SAME BORE.
Action, Mauser system.
Safety bolt, not automatic, clumsy to use.
Pull off, adjustable from \\ to 5 Ib.
Weight of action, af to 3 Ib.
Barrel generally fixed and incapable of detachment in this
case.1
The short, compact and light action of the single loader enables
the rifle-maker to produce perfectly-balanced single rifles in all
bores.
MAGAZINE MAUSER SPORTING.
Weight of action, 2 Ib. 14^ oz.
Number of parts, 30.
MAGAZINE MANNLICHER.
Weight of action, 3 Ib.
Number of parts, 33.
MAGAZINE MANNLICHER SCHONAUER.
Weight of action, 2 Ib. 15 oz.
Number of parts, 39.
1 Recently Messrs. Westley Richards have applied their detachable barrel system
with solid locking lugs to magazine rifles ; and there are other systems in vogue.
Single-Loading and Magazine Rifles 195
MAGAZINE LEE-METFORD, '303.
Weight of action, 2 Ib. I2|- oz.
Number of parts, 30.
W. R. UNDER LEVER.
Weight of action, 2 Ib. 5| oz.
Number of parts, 32.
FOREIGN UNDER LEVER.
Weight, 2 Ib. 15 oz.
Number of parts, 35.
Single loaders,
and will take
any rim car-
tridge.
FIG. 76. — MAUSER MAGAZINE RIFLE WITH WESTLEY RICHARDS PATENT
DETACHABLE BARREL AND SOLID LOCKING LUGS.
In comparison with the magazine rifles, it will be seen that the
single rifle actions weigh so much lighter although they consist
of practically the same number of parts, and thus by their very
construction we are enabled to obtain a lighter weight in the
196 Modern Sporting Gunnery
middle of the weapon which ensures more perfect balance, a
quality extremely desirable to an ideal sporting weapon. In this
respect the argument is altogether in favour of the single loader
merely as a matter of construction, but the argument becomes all
the more valuable when we note that each time a cartridge is ejected
from the breech of a magazine rifle the balance is thereby dis-
turbed. In a five-loader, for instance, when four cartridges dis-
appear this will be appreciated.
In comparison with the magazine loader, we find in the single
loader that smoothness of action and that almost silent or noiseless
motion which are such enormous aids to a sportsman. It is said
that in time those even of the smallest experience amongst sports-
men come to learn the great value of stillness and silence in sport
previously alluded to. These qualities, albeit of the utmost im-
portance in stalking or in tracking game of a wary or sensitive
kind, or in countries where the number has been considerably
reduced, do not specially appeal to those sportsmen who may be
invading virgin soil where game exists in such abundance that the
difficulty is not to shoot it.
In some countries game is so plentiful and unsuspecting that it
requires little or no skill on the part of the sportsman to get a good
bag. Whether in such cases a sportsman uses a magazine, a single
loader or a double loader, is not a matter of much importance to
our present discussion, because from the very abundance of game
to be killed, a sportsman naturally takes in hand that weapon
which would enable him 'quickly to gather the biggest bag. No
doubt this wholesale shooting will find its limitations in the restric-
tions which civilization and a wide regard for the future impose
upon the killing of game, and that those restrictions will, at the
same time to a certain extent, counteract the use of magazine
rifles, which otherwise would become veritable game exterminators.
At the present time, in the new districts opened up in British
East Africa, in portions of the Congo, in Uganda, and in the
country beyond, the plethora of game and the magazine rifle
both combine to bring about an abuse of true sport. When sport
in these districts settles down to normal conditions there is little
doubt that proper consideration will be given to the question of
weapons, and that in the main the sportsman's choice will fall
Double Rifles 197
upon a single loader or a double - barrelled breech - loading
weapon.
Too much importance cannot be attached to the question of
safety. A system which provides safety, and at the same time
saves the sportsman trouble and time in effecting it, is so much
superior to a system which calls upon the sportsman personally to
attend to the safety of the arm after cocking the weapon by
means of a further manual operation. No magazine rifle is fitted
with a safety equal to the automatic safety now supplied on single
loaders.
The practised sportsman will appreciate the detachable barrel,
first, on the ground of portability, which is a point to be con-
sidered when on an expedition, apart from the question of space,
and also for the safe carrying of the arm. Second, by reason of
being able more readily to ascertain the condition of his barrel,
and keep it in good preservation. Third, from the fact that dupli-
cate barrels or interchangeable barrels of different bores may be
fitted to the same stock.
These are the points which I think any impartial judgment will
decide as those upon which a single loader is superior to the
magazine, but after all has been said, the magazine rifle still appeals
to a certain class of shooter by its capability of rapid firing whether
such may be necessary or not.
DOUBLE RIFLES.
A double-barrelled weapon may be regarded as the beau-ideal of
a sporting rifle. It gives to the sportsman, by reason of the two
cartridges with which it can be charged at one time, just that
advantage which enables him to achieve success in a sportsmanlike
manner. These two shots give sufficient reserve to enable the
sportsman to retrieve the failure of an ill-aimed first shot, which
becomes all the more important when its use at dangerous game is
considered.
In this reserve of ammunition lies one of its chief claims as a
sporting weapon. But beyond the question of reserve, which may
equally apply to a single-barrel magazine rifle, there is the great
recommendation that its build and general lines of construction
198 Modern Sporting Gunnery
approximate very closely to that of the ordinary breech-loading
gun with which the average sportsman is so familiar.
Take a high-class modern game gun and compare it with a
double rifle of similar type, and you will find the same top lever,
ejector, and safety-bolt, requiring the same movement on the part
of the sportsman to manipulate, and thus in the aggregate you
have a weapon which, although heavier, offers practically the same
balance and general handiness.
A sportsman accustomed to ordinary game shooting can take up
the double-barrelled sporting rifle without having to learn anything
afresh. This fact becomes all the more appreciable when, as it
frequently happens, sportsmen abroad find that at times they
have to employ alternatively the double-barrelled game gun and
the rifle.
Over and above the latter consideration, there remains the fact
that the handiness of the double rifle, built as it is on shot-gun
lines, assists materially towards the killing of moving game. But,
further than this, the two shots of a double-barrelled rifle, if desired,
can be taken much more quickly than two shots with any other
existing system of rifle. They may be fired so quickly as to be
almost simultaneous, and, indeed, if at a charging animal of
dangerous type it were desired to fire both barrels together, the
two triggers can be actually pulled together as one, as has been
done on not a few occasions by sportsmen in emergency.
Comparing the two shots of a double-barrelled rifle with two
shots of a magazine rifle, it can be seen how superior is the former.
The magazine rifle requires the sportsman after firing one shot to
loose the grasp of the stock and take his hand away from the
trigger in order to open his breech, eject his cartridge, push
forward the bolt to carry the cartridges from the magazine into
the chamber — operations which take a few seconds of time for
accomplishment — in which time a mishap may have ensued or
the game may have got out of reach.
With perfectly constructed modern rifles, miss-fires seldom
happen, but they are serious possibilities to be faced. The neces-
sity of a quick double shot may not frequently arise, but when it
does, the double rifle is there to supply the instant need, where the
magazine would fail. Likewise, in the case of a miss-fire with
Double Rifles 199
the first barrel, the double rifle provides an immediate second
shot to nullify this possible effect, whereas in the case of a miss-
fire with the magazine rifle, the amount of time required to re-
charge might prove fatal. As a matter of fact, three shots can be
fired quicker from a double rifle than three shots from existing
magazine bolt rifles. Again, the double rifle, in regard to the
quality of noiselessness in its action, must be placed before even
the single loader, and in this respect possesses an unique recom-
mendation for sporting purposes. As the highest type of sporting
weapon, the double-barrel system has long held sway, and it is
difficult to conceive a system which can replace it.
To summarize the conditions it offer
1. It is most sportsmanlike.
2. It is more quickly fired than any system offering two
shots.
3. It is therefore safer.
4. Its construction is familiar to the wing shot.
5. Its balance and general handiness are superior to the
magazine or single loader.
6. Practically noiseless in action.
In earlier times the double-barrelled rifle was disparaged by some
critics on account of the supposed difficulty of constructing the two
barrels to throw their shots accurately together. This was a charge
that was unjustly levelled in those days, at all events, at the highest
type of double-barrelled rifles, although to construct them with
such a degree of accuracy as was desirable, demanded skill of no
mean order. Such skill, even when exhibited to the full, although
insuring the flight of the bullet to sporting distances equal to that
which can be obtained with any single-barrel rifle, could not in-
crease the standard of accuracy obtaining at that day, but neverthe-
less, the highest accuracy in the best rifles by the best makers was
secured. To-day, when the standard of accuracy owing to the in-
troduction of nitro powders, nickel bullets, and increased spiral of
rifling has reached a higher mark, the best riflemakers still main-
tain with their double rifles a degree of accuracy which no single
rifle at sporting ranges can surpass, and this shows that the skill of
the rifle constructor has advanced proportionately with the demand
2oo Modern Sporting Gunnery
for increased reliability to meet the stress imposed by the enormous
pressures of modern ammunition.
High-class double-rifle barrels are, as a matter of fact, so solidly
constructed that under these increased pressures they will maintain
for many years their high degree of accuracy unimpaired.
DOUBLE -577 ONE-TRIGGER RIFLE, 100 GRS. CORDITE. 750 GRS. BULLET.
RANGE 100 YARDS. TEN CONSECUTIVE SHOTS IN 3! x 2| INCHES.
FIG. 77. — DIAGRAM MADE BY A DOUBLE '577-BORE RIFLE AT
100 YARDS. ACTUAL SIZE.
If we take ordinary single loader, magazine, and double
rifles of the same bore, firing the same ammunition under equal
conditions, it will be found that the high-class skilfully-constructed
double rifle will hold its own in point of accuracy to 500 yards,
and will stand equal wear and tear.
Double Rifles 201
While the standard of accuracy set for express rifles of the past
accepted a 6-inch diagram at 100 yards, there were a few rifle-
makers whose weapons could throw a group of shots into a still
smaller area, say 4 to \\ inches. This was considered an
exceptionally fine diagram. High- velocity modern rifles of
the finest type, issued by the best makers, are now constructed
to shoot within a 4-inch standard, and very fine examples to
shoot ten consecutive shots at 100 yards in less than 4 inches.
DOUBLE RIFLE -256-BORE. TEN CONSECUTIVE SHOTS AT 100 YARDS
IN 2§ X 2£ INCHES. ElGHT SHOTS IN if X I§ INCHES.
FIG. 78. — DIAGRAM MADE BY A DOUBLE -256-BORE RIFLE AT
100 YARDS. ACTUAL SIZE.
In proof ot this superior standard or accuracy I give an
authenticated diagram of ten consecutive shots, five each right
and left at 100 yards, made with a heavy double high-velocity
rifle *577-bore weight, shooting 100 grs. cordite and 750 grs. nickel
bullet. It will be seen (Fig. 77) that all the shots occupy a space
of 3^ by 2f inches, truly a remarkable performance at this distance
for so heavy a rifle.
2O2 Modern Sporting Gunnery
A double *6oo-bore, shooting 100 grs. cordite and 900 grs.
bullet, for six consecutive shots was even better, all shots occupying
a space of 3f by if inches. This rifle was built by Westley
Richards (No. 8657), and the shooting was made on February 5,
1906.
In order to compare with the foregoing shooting, accomplished
with heavy big-game rifles, I give a diagram showing the
fine work that may be done with the smallest calibre high-
velocity double rifle. This was a double '256 (Mannlicher
cartridge), from which ten consecutive shots were placed in 2f
by 2\ inches, or eight shots in if by i-jj- inches (vide Fig. 78).
WEIGHT OF HIGH-VELOCITY NITRO EXPRESS
DOUBLE RIFLES, TOP LEVER HAMMERLESS
EJECTOR, PISTOL GRIP, CHEEK PIECE.
DOUBLE RIFLE AS ABOVE, *256-BoRE.
Length of barrel, 26 inches.
Cordite, 31 grs.
Bullet, 1 60 grs.
Weight, 8 Ib. 15 oz.
DOUBLE RIFLE AS ABOVE,
Length of barrel, 28 inches.
Cordite, 31 grs.
Bullet, 215 grs.
Weight, 8 Ib. 10 oz. to 8 Ib. 12 oz.
DOUBLE RIFLE AS ABOVE,
Length of barrel, 28 inches.
44 grs. Axite.
Bullet, 215 grs.
Weight, 8 Ib. 10 oz. to 8 Ib. 12 oz.
Double Rifles 203
DOUBLE RIFLE AS ABOVE,
Length of barrel, 28 inches.
Cordite, 41 grs.
Bullet, 314 grs.
Weight, 8£ to 8| Ib.
DOUBLE RIFLE AS ABOVE, '375-BoRE.
Length of barrel, 28 inches.
Cordite, 40 grs.
Bullet, 270 grs., or cordite 40 grs. and 320 grs. bullet.
Weight, 8£ to 8| Ib.
DOUBLE RIFLE AS ABOVE,
Length of barrel, 28 inches.
Cordite, 60 grs.
Bullet, 400 grs.
Weight, 9 Ib. 6 oz. to 9 Ib. 12 oz
DOUBLE RIFLE AS ABOVE,
Length of barrel, 28 inches.
Cordite, 60 grs.
Bullet, 400 grs.
Weight, 9 Ib. 6 oz. to 9 Ib. 12 oz
DOUBLE RIFLE AS ABOVE,
Length of barrel, 28 inches.
Cordite, 70 grs.
Bullet, 480 grs.
Weight of rifle, ioj- Ib.
DOUBLE RIFLE AS ABOVE,
Length of barrel, 28 inches.
Cordite, 70 grs.
Bullet, 480 grs.
Weight, i o-i- Ib.
204 Modern Sporting Gunnery
DOUBLE RIFLE AS ABOVE,
Length of barrel, 28 inches.
Cordite, 80 grs.
Bullet, 570 grs.
Weight, i of to ii Ib.
DOUBLE RIFLE AS ABOVE, ^y
Length of barrel, 26 inches.
Cordite, 90 grs.
Bullet, 650 grs. (Also lighter charge, 560 grs. bullet.
Weight, 1 1 \ Ib.
DOUBLE RIFLE AS ABOVE,
Length of barrel, 25 inches.
Cordite, 100 grs.
Bullet, 750 grs.
Weight, 12^ to 13 Ib.
DOUBLE RIFLE AS ABOVE, -6oo-BoRE.
Length of barrel, 25 inches.
Cordite, 100 grs.
Bullet, 900 grs.
Weight, i6Jlb.
There are lighter charges in "400, '450, and ^oo-bores for those
who require less powerful weapons, but the weights of the rifles
would be practically the same as here given.
A further slight modification of these weights would result
from the use of shorter barrels, and, personally, I think that
barrels need not be longer than 26 inches.
DOUBLE RIFLES WITH ONE-TRIGGER MECHANISM.
The author of Guns and Game, etc., Mr. Evan G. McKenzie,
gives an interesting account of experiments conducted by the
Double Rifles 205
County Gentleman in conjunction with the late Mr. R. W. S.
Griffiths, which went far to prove that the rebound from the
shoulder of the gun after firing, occurred at a period of time
7-|- times later than the involuntary pull ; and therefore it was
assumed that the double discharge of a one-trigger gun was
never due to the rebound of the gun from the shoulder.
It, however, may be said that all instances of double discharge
are not necessarily of a simultaneous character, the cause of which
was the principal point of their investigation ; because a sportsman
who involuntarily fires his second barrel, even at a fairly long
interval of time after the first barrel has been fired (through the
rebound of the gun from his shoulder causing the trigger to come
in violent contact with the finger), always alleges that under these
circumstances his gun has double discharged. And so it has, al-
though not simultaneously. Considering that the rebound after
recoil is taken on the average of three-tenths of a second or more,
it still occurs in an extremely rapid period of time, so rapid that
before the mind has grasped the fact of what is going on, the
rebound has passed and the second barrel fired without the
sportsman being able to prevent it.
It is, therefore, desirable to have a one-trigger mechanism which
is insensible both to the convulsive operation of the finger which
causes an involuntary pull ; and to the violent blow of the finger
against the trigger subsequently occurring, caused by the concussion
of the gun against the shoulder and its subsequent rebound
therefrom.
Seeing that the experiments reveal the fact that the second
barrel under an involuntary discharge is fired on an average of
one-fiftieth of a second after the first barrel has been fired, I think
that they furnish the strongest argument against a timed mechan-
ism. It is practically impossible to make an efficient mechanism
timed to act with such exactitude that it can control the light-
ning speed of the involuntary pull or the subsequent movement of
recoil. Consequently, it is absolutely necessary to construct one-
trigger mechanism which, in its action, does not have to take into
account either the involuntary pull or the subsequent rebound
of the gun from the shoulder.
Owing to this inherent defect in timed mechanisms, and to
2o6 Modern Sporting Gunnery
the further difficulty presented by the increased weight of their
recoil, it has not until recently been found possible to construct
reliable double rifles on the one-trigger system.
The only mechanism with which I am familiar that acts in-
dependently of recoil is the Westley Richards, and with this
mechanism double rifles from '256 up to '450 and ^yy-bores can
be constructed to act with reliability, and, as a matter of fact, have
been in satisfactory use for some years. The reason of this is that
the mechanism is so arranged that it does not have to take into
account the force or duration of recoil ; nor the personal element,
inclusive of that muscular tension or nervous action which varies
with each individual and under different circumstances.
As we have seen, each barrel is independent of the other, and
in the case of a miss-fire with one there is no third pull, and
consequently no delay in manipulating the second barrel.
SPECIFICATION OF A
MODERN DOUBLE-BARRELLED SPORTING RIFLE.
System of action, automatically-cocking hammerless.
Top lever, treble grip fastening.
Shell ejector.
Detachable locks with duplicate pair of interchangeable locks.
Spare strikers.
Steel barrels, 26 to 28 inches long (28 inches is not necessary).
FlG. 79. — TOP RlB SUNKJBETWEEN BARRELS.
Easy cut non-fouling rifling.
Top rib sunk between barrels.
Double Rifles
207
Permitting of low sights to obviate mirage.
Automatic top safety-bolt, fitted with a movable stop bolting
the safety slide in order to prevent accidental discharge when
carrying the weapon in jungle shooting, or removing it from its
waterproof cover when so carried for deer stalking.
Pistol grip stock, with cheek piece.
FIG. 80. — SHOWING STOP BOLTING THE SAFETY SLIDE. THIS PREVENTS THE
SLIDE FROM BEING ACCIDENTALLY MOVED FROM THE SAFETY POSITION.
Iron cap at end of pistol grip with trap for carrying within
extra strikers or fore-sights.
Back-sights with fine " V " and platinum line in the centre, or
FIG. 81.— SHOWING STOP MOVED ASIDE AND THE SAFETY SLIDE PUSHED
FORWARD FROM THE SAFE POSITION.
with platinum pyramid. If fitted with folding leaves, the leaves
should be supported by a spring to prevent their being jarred down
on the concussion of firing.
Fine bead fore-sight platinum tipped, with lift-up enamel bead.
Extra fore-sights of barleycorn or other patterns.
The fore-sights should be longitudinal and let in from the front,
secured by a pin.
Swivels for sling, not loops.
2o8 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Sling without swivels when used with these barrel swivels
prevent rattle.
FIG. 82. — SLING WITHOUT METAL SWIVEL.
Swivels on the barrel to be blued or bronzed, and not bright.
Fic.83. — METAL CAP WITH SPRING TRAP AT END OF GRIP FOR
EXTRA STRIKERS OR FORE-SIGHTS.
Triggers of substantial strength and nicely rounded to prevent
injury to the fingers.
Double Rifles
209
The pull off should be heavier than with a shot-gun. The
extra weight of the rifle lightens the feel of the ordinary pull-off,
which therefore should be adjusted accordingly. This the expert
rifle maker will, of course, arrange for ; but mere weighing with
the steelyards or drop weight to ascertain the actual pull-off in
pounds in comparison with that of a favourite shot-gun will not
satisfactorily settle the question. It requires skill and judgment ;
FIG. 84. — SAFETY MECHANISM.
Here, it will be noted, the pulling of the right trigger has drawn back the swinging
bolt A against the tail of the left-hand sear C, and so prevents its movement
under the firing of the right trigger. The pulling of each trigger, by this
means, bolts the opposite lock.
but no point of detail is of such importance for insuring success in
sport. If on your light shot-gun you require only a 3^ Ib. pull,
on your heavy nitro rifle of nearly twice the weight, you would
find a 5 J Ib. pull feel no heavier under actual firing.
The ideal rifle will have one trigger for both barrels. This
14
2io Modern Sporting Gunnery
system is quicker to fire, and in an emergency, this is of im-
portance. No possible damage can occur to the shooter's hand
through the trigger as in the case of the two-trigger rifle.
If a two-trigger system, the weapon should be fitted with a special
safety mechanism in addition to the ordinary safety, for the
purpose of bolting the unfired lock during recoil. The pulling
of one trigger automatically bolts the opposite lock and prevents
the possibility of double discharge which may arise under a heavy
recoil. This system, introduced by Westley Richards in 1894,
proved most efficient. The jar of the explosion affects the
opposite lock through its effect upon the other trigger, which
having a certain amount of play freely moves up and down under
the shock of firing, and strikes with force against the sear often
sufficient to release the tumbler. That is why in a two-trigger
rifle it is necessary to nullify the vibration of the trigger by
bolting the lock mechanism during the time the recoil lasts.
With a one-trigger arm this cause of discharge by recoil is non-
existent. There being no other trigger for the recoil to influence,
the mechanism remains undisturbed during the recoil from the
first barrel.
Given a fastening like the Westley Richards original extension-
rib and doll's- head dovetailing into the solid breech, there is no
better or reliable fastening for double-barrel rifles than the top
lever. Some have argued that for high-power rifles the under
lever action is the better. An under-lever action is no doubt
better than an inferior system of top lever, but the top-lever system
in its original strength has for very many years proved itself
thoroughly efficient and durable, having successfully withstood
the stress of repeated firing with high-power cartridges from '256
to '6oo-bore. It is much more convenient to manipulate than the
under lever, and is therefore to be recommended in preference for
double sporting rifles.
It is recommended as a wise precaution for sportsmen to have all
weapons fitted with duplicate locks as well as with spare strikers.
Duplicate locks in many systems are difficult for the sportsman to
remove and attach, but now that hand removable locks are obtain-
able which can be attached in a few seconds without the aid of
tools entirely by hand, there is no need for the sportsman to suffer
Double Rifles 211
even temporary inconvenience through . any break-down of his
locks, even though he is hundreds of miles up country.
Solidity and strength in double and single sporting rifles are
qualities of prime importance. The strength which secures the
capacity of the rifle to withstand the repeated strain of firing, and
so insures the shooter's safety — vital as it is — does not pretend to
include the rigidity of all separate parts when combined together.
Only high craftsmanship and conscientious work can provide this
guarantee, upon which sustained accuracy of shooting entirely
depends. In order to prevent the stock springing from the action
under the jar of firing, various devices hitherto have been
resorted to. Some encased the grasp of the stock in a metal
sheath, others have sought to bind the action and stock more
closely by extending the iron strap of the action over the top of
the hand, and partly along the comb or ridge of stock. Both these
methods involve the cutting away of the stock and thereby weaken
the very parts requiring strength. There is only one method of
obtaining rigidity and strength of combined parts, and that is good
workmanship. The wood should be hard and tough ; the system
of weapon one that can assure reliability, and the screwing together
of the wood and iron parts should be faultless. With these
assured, the outside aids or supports mentioned are best absent.
The question of battery depends upon circumstances. For an
expedition in Africa we would recommend the following —
A pair of 8 or lo-bore ball and shot-guns of the best type.
A pair of high-velocity rifles, ^o-bore.
A double ^yy-bore rifle, shooting 100 grs. of powder and
750 grs. bullet, and
A i2-bore " Explora " ball and shot-gun, or
A 2O-bore " Fauneta," also
A single loader, chambered for the *375/*3O3 or -318 Accelerated
Express cartridge.
The following would also form an excellent battery for
Africa —
A pair of high-velocity rifles, ^yy-bore, shooting 100 grs. of
powder and 750 grs. bullet.
212 Modern Sporting Gunnery
A pair of Accelerated Express rifles, *375/'3O3 or 3i8-bore.
A i2-gauge " Explora" or a 2O-gauge "Fauneta," and
. A single *375/'3O"3 or ^iS-bore rifle.
A moderate battery for Africa and India would consist of —
A -3 1 8-bore magazine rifle or an Accelerated Express riffe of
other bore. .
A heavy ^yy-bore double rifle.
A 12-gauge "Explora" or other^ good ball and shot-gun in
addition.
Some authorities consider sufficient a 12-bore ball and shot-gun
and a "400 or *45O-bore cordite rifle.
Many sportsmen would manage well on a nitro-expansive
Express rifle '400 or *45O-bore, and a 1 2-gauge " Explora " ball
and shot-gun, or a 20-bore " Fauneta." . •
RlFLE-AND-SHOT-GuNS.
The rifle-and-shot-gun is a double barrelled weapon, and derives
its title from having one barrel constructed for the ordinary shot
cartridge, and the other barrel rifled and chambered to shoot a
rifle cartridge and bullet.
They are extremely useful and effective weapons for mixed
shooting, and have long been popular in Cape Colony and other
parts of South Africa, and they still continue in large use at the.
present time.
The principal patterns are made with one barrel 16- or i2-bore
for shot, and the other for ^o-bore cartridges. Considerable
numbers have been made and are in demand to-day on the
following lines —
1. Right barrel, i6-bore ordinary cartridge.
2. Left barrel, "450, for Westley Richards No. I Carbine
cartridge.
3. Charge, 55 grs. black powder.
4. Bullet, 380 grs.
5. Sighted to 1000 yards.
6. Weight, 8 to 8J Ib.
Double Rifles 213
1. Right barrel, i2-bore ordinary cartridge.
2. Left barrel, -450 for Westley Richards No. 2 Musket cartridge.
3. Charge, 76 grs. black powder.
4. Bullet, 480 grs.
'5. Sighted to 1200 yards.
6. Weight, 8 J lb.
1. Right barrel, 12-bore ordinary cartridge.
2. Left barrel, -456 for Martini cartridge.
3.- Charge, 85 grs. black powder.
4. Bullet, 480 grs.
5. Sighted to 1 200 or 1500 yards. .
6. Weight, 8flb.
Other combinations exist, some taking the short range Express
cartridges of the same bore or larger bore.
Since the introduction of the '303-00^, there has been a
growing demand for a combination weapon having the right
barrel i6-bore, left barrel -303 for Service cartridge; weight^
7f lb. ; or, right barrel, 12-bore, left -303 for Service cartridge ;
weight, 8J to 8i lb.
The long range accuracy of the *3O3-bore cartridge for African
sport being a special recommendation for buck shooting, there is no
doubt that these combinations will become more and more popular
amongst South African sportsmen.
The longer range ball and shot-guns of the <c Explora " and
" Fauneta " types, which recently have come into use, make
excellent substitutes for the rifle-and-shot-gun, and possessing
as they do ..the important advantages of greater lightness and
better balance, doubtless will also successfully appeal to sports-
men throughout our South African Colonies.
To CLEAN RIFLE BARRELS AFTER USING NITRO POWDER.
If possible, pour boiling water through the barrel. Wipe dry
and apply oil or vaseline.
214 Modern Sporting Gunnery
A CLEANING FLUID FOR NITRO BARRELS.
Dissolve caustic soda in methylated spirits until saturated. A
wine-glass of this to a pint of Rangoon oil ; use liberally.
The barrels should always be cleaned after a day's firing ; and
in addition should also be wiped through the following day.
Swansdo'wn wipes are recommended in preference to tow.
When not in use, after thoroughly cleansing the barrel, swans-
down wipes, smeared with vaseline, placed both at the breech and
muzzle ends, are preventives of rust. The interior of the barrel
should be examined and wiped out from time to time.
HAMMERLESS RIFLE-AND-SHOT-GUN FOR SOUTH AFRICAN SPORT.
CHAPTER IX
THE NEW ACCELERATED EXPRESS RIFLES AND
AXITE POWDER
UNTIL very recently the Mannlicher rifle, -256-bore,
represented one of the highest velocity small-bore
weapons. It has a muzzle velocity of 2433 feet
per second, but this was slightly lower than the
velocity of -236-bore, the United States Navy
Lee straight-pull rifle, the velocity of which is 2489. The
•236-bore has since been discarded, we may therefore accept the
Mannlicher -256 as heading the list of the small-bores. This rifle,
however, has now in turn been outclassed by the introduction of
*375/'3°3~b°re> which shoots the Kynoch new Axite cartridge.
This cartridge was tested in double and single rifles, designed and
manufactured by Westley Richards, at a demonstration attended
by officials from the British War Office and Admiralty, by
representatives of the Japanese, Russian, Italian, and other
Governments, as well as by the chief gunnery experts, prominent
gunmakers, and representatives of the principal sporting and daily
newspapers, which was held at Kynoch's works, Witton, on June
27, 1905, when the following results were obtained —
"375/'3°3 AXITE CARTRIDGE WITH 2OO-GR. BULLETS.
Velocity, 2726 feet per second.
Pressure, 20-95 tons.
*375/'3°3 AXITE CARTRIDGE WITH 2I5-GR. BULLETS.
Velocity, 2498 feet per second.
Pressure, 19^24 tons.
In comparing the Government service -303 cordite Cartridge
215
216 Modern Sporting Gunnery
with the same cartridges loaded with Axite, the results were as
follows —
•303 CORDITE CARTRIDGE.
Velocity, 2010 feet per second.
Pressure, 15*67 tons.
•303 AXITE CARTRIDGE.
Velocity, 2179 feet per second.
Pressure, 1576 tons.
From this we learn that the Axite powder gives an increase in
velocity with practically the same pressure. At this public demon-
stration the accuracy obtained by Axite loaded
in a '375/'3O3 cartridge was shown by firing
seven rounds from a machine-rest at a target
fixed 100 yards from the shooter, and the
result was that six of the seven shots could be
covered by a penny-piece, the other shot
being just outside. Since then, at the Westley
Richards range, I have seen made a diagram
Fl<ON8A HALFPENNY?^ ty OnC °f the rifleS at IO° 7al"ds rangC °f
. seven shots, fired from the shoulder, all within
a space which a halfpenny-piece would cover.
Axite possesses lubricating action which avoids friction and
nickeling, increases velocity, and conduces to greater accuracy.
At the Kynoch trials an increase of velocity, due to the lubri-
cating effect of Axite, of 97 feet per second was obtained. Axite
is comparatively free from those erosive and corrosive results
which are difficulties always present with cordite powder.
Both gunmakers and sportsmen have experienced great trouble
in dealing with the corrosive effect of cordite, and no matter
what the care exercised in cleaning the barrel it was practically
impossible to entirely remove the chemical residue, which invariably
sets up fouling or rust which seems to exude from the pores of
the metal. Erosion had a very deleterious effect upon the boring,
principally at the breech-end near the cone, frequently eating
away the lands of the rifling and pitting the barrel in other parts.
The trials I have alluded to seem to prove that these objections
have been removed, which is a cause for gratification.. A rifle was
Express Rifles and Axite Powder 217
there shown from which ten charges had been fired twenty hours
previously without cleaning the barrel. The barrel after this
time was in the same condition as it was twenty hours before,
and when it was wiped out with a Government " pull-through,"
it was found to be absolutely uninjured.
In order to facilitate cleaning the barrel after firing cordite
powder, the use of cordite soap or a similar preparation was often
O 1 Z 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1O 11 12 15 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 25 24 25 26
FIG. 86. — TRAVEL, OF BULLET IN INCHES. COMPARATIVE PRESSURE CURVES
AT EQUAL VELOCITIES WITH "303 SERVICE AXITE AND '303 SERVICE CORDITE.
•
resorted to. This is no longer necessary, a boon the sportsman
will appreciate. The treatment of barrels when using the Axite
cartridge, in fact, should be exactly the same as for black powder.
The barrel should not be wiped out or oiled while still hot, as the
oil will remove the protective coating and so make it liable to rust.
Rust will make subsequent thorough cleaning more difficult. At
the Bisley meeting of the National Rifle Association in 1905,
Mr. Caldwell shot his Axite rifle right through the Match Rifles
Series, and in the Elcho Match it was not until he had fired at
2i8 Modern Sporting Gunnery
900 yards distance that a wire brush was put through the barrel.
This was done for the sake of safety, as it was a very hot day ; the
scratch brush was not, even then, necessary. Great trouble was
experienced by other competitors using cordite, and in some cases
several barrels were used up by the same man during the first week.
I have alluded to the accuracy of the single loader with the
>O BOO 90O 10OO
RANGE IN YARDS.
FIG. 87. — TRAJECTORY CURVES SHOWING FLIGHT OF BULLETS OVER
1000 YARDS.
new Axite cartridge, the particulars below serve to show the high
standard of shooting when fired from a double rifle.
A Westley Richards double hammerless ejector sporting rifle,
No. 15847, weighing 8 Ib. 12 oz., was shot at 100 yards range
from the shoulder, shooting Axite cartridges '375/'3O3 bore with
a velocity of 2500 feet per second.
A series of twenty-six consecutive shots, 13 each right and
left, were placed within a space of 3 -f^ X 3 J inches. Seventeen
shots were in a space of 2 X 2 inches.
Express Rifles and Axite Powder 219
At the Bisley meeting, 1905, single rifles constructed expressly
for Axite powder were permitted the opportunity of further
publicly exhibiting their accuracy at the longer ranges.
FIG. 88.— DIAGRAMS.
With the Westley Richards Axite rifle *375/'3O3, at a distance
of 1 100 yards, firing fifteen shots, Mr. Caldwell, of the Ulster R.A.,
won the Wimbledon Cup.
In the Elcho Shield, 800, 900 and 1000 yards, two members
22O Modern '. Sporting Gunnery
of the winning Scottish team used a Westley Richards Axite rifle,
Mr. Caldwell scoring second place with 210 points, and. Mr.
MacGibbon fifth place with 203 points. In the Association Cup
Mr. Caldwell scored 49 points out of a possible 50, and there were
other minor achievements which go to show that the accuracy of
this new powder demonstrated at the public Kynoch trials were
confirmed by shooting at Bisley.
The following rifles were used in the Kynoch trials — .
No. i. Westley Richards under-lever action sporting rifle,
sliding-block, single-loader, half-stocked, length of barrel, 27!
inches ; weight, 6 Ib. 15 oz.
No. 2. A magazine rifle with Mauser breech action, military
pattern.
No. 3. A magazine rifle with Mauser breech action, military
pattern with ordinary tangent back-sight on barrel, fitted with
Westley Richards patent wind-gauge and vernier elevating screw,
for use with the ordinary military fore-sight. In addition, the rifle
was furnished with an orthoptic match back-sight attached to the
butt, and for use with the same, an attachable wind-gauge collar
fore-sight, with interchangeable sights with disc patterns. The
match back-sight was likewise provided with the same patent
wind-gauge arrangement, and micrometer divisions on the milled
head for readily obtaining minute adjustments.
No. 4. Westley Richards double hammerless ejector sporting
rifle, 26-inch special steel barrels, stand-up and five-fold sights
to 500 yards, bead fore-sight, enamelled-tipped, anti-recoil heel-
plate, pistol-grip and cheek-piece, fitted with Zeiss patent telescope
sight with Westley Richards pivoted attachment. The telescope
can easily be attached as well as detached, when it is desired to
use the ordinary sights. Weight with telescope attachment or
bed, 8 Ib. 12 oz.
The following are the particulars of this new cartridge, which
Messrs. Westley Richards term the New Accelerated Express —
Length of cartridge case, 2 Jf inches ; length of complete car-
tridge 3^i inches ; weight of cartridge, 440 grs., about I ounce.
The weight of the bullet is 215 grs., and is made in both solid
and copper-capped form. Up to the present time the copper-
capped has been made with a cupped or indented nose, but this
Express Rifles and Axite Powder 221
has been found on trial not to be quite so effective as the rounded
nose. It is claimed that the indented nose results in a loss of
penetration without increasing the expansion.
The velocities and striking energy are as follows —
Velocity: muzzle, 2500 feet per second; 100 yards, 2279 feet
per second; 200 yards, 2074 feet per second; 300 yards, 1119
feet per second.
•375/303 AXITE
PATENT CAPPED BULLET
100 yds
FIG. 89. — THE '375/'303 CAPPED BULLET AT A STEEL PLATE IN COMPARISON
WITH A HIGH VELOCITY -450 SOLID NICKEL BULLET.
Striking energy : muzzle, 3000 foot-lb. ; 100 yards, 2490 foot-lb. ;
200 yards, 2076 foot-lb.; 300 yards, 1757 foot-lb.
I give above an illustration of the effect of these bullets fired
at a steel plate, in comparison with that produced by a solid
•450 nickel bullet, fired from a high velocity cordite rifle, driven
with a velocity of about 2000 feet per second.
It will be seen that the hole in the steel plate made by the
'3°3-bore capped bullet, is actually as large as that made by
the -450 solid nickel bullet. In fact, the diameter made by the
222 Modern Sporting Gunnery
cap bullet is very nearly *6oo-bore, an increase of over 60 per
cent, on its own diameter. This I consider a remarkable result,
and testifies both to the combined penetrative force and expansive
quality of the bullet. The cap bullet is the only system which
possesses this exceptional combination.
Other interesting trials carried out at the Kynoch demonstration
confirmed this point, which is of great interest to sportsmen. In
proof of this, the following is extracted from the London Dally
Telegraph, on June 28, 1905 : " A Westley Richards rifle, service
charge of Axite, with a patented copper-capped bullet intended for
FIG. 90. — '375/'303 COPPER CAPPED BULLETS EXTRACTED FROM FLESH.
RANGE, 100 YARDS.
killing big game, displayed considerable power of penetration against
steel plates, at the same time showing wonderful capacity for
setting up or expanding so that a hit would be fatal."
Both at live animals and at steel plates, the enormous capacity
of the copper-capped bullet is fully exhibited. It will be seen
that these trials confirm the peculiar qualities claimed for this
system of bullet, namely, while the maximum penetration desired
is obtainable, it is coupled with an unusual capacity for expansion.
Independent trials testify to the perfect behaviour of the bullet at
the flesh of animals.
Above are given illustrations of bullets extracted from these
Express Rifles and Axite Powder 223
animals. In some cases the wound-channel made by this bullet
was 3 inches in diameter. The trials were conducted by
Mr. Percy Easte, M.R.C.V.S., who, in his report, states: "The
opinion I have formed after these trials is that in the copper-
capped you have a bullet capable of inflicting the greatest possible
amount of damage, both on hard and soft tissues, with great
shocking power, and not too much penetration."
Since these trials, the Accelerated Express Rifles '375/303 have
been tried in sport in various parts of the world, and many reports
are to hand which confirm both their unprecedented accuracy
of shooting, and the satisfactory performances of the capped
bullet.
One sportsman bagged "a couple of < Nilgai Bulls,' one being
as large as a horse. The first dropped to a single shot through the
neck, the bullet breaking up and not going through. The other fell
to a shot through the ribs, followed by a second through the
shoulder. Death was instantaneous with the first, and the second
animal dropped dead to a second bullet. Distance, 100 to 150
yards. In no instance did a bullet go through the animal."
And I have also seen an account of this weapon from another
sportsman in India, who said —
"It is one of the best killing weapons I have ever used. I have
killed about half-a-dozen beasts with it, including tiger. I should
use it with confidence on every beast except perhaps bison and
elephant, for which animals I prefer big bores.
" The Capped Bullet works splendidly. I have several bullets
before me, cut out of animals, and they have all set up in the best
possible way."
The advantages which this new weapon confers upon the
sportsman consist —
1 . TRAJECTORY. — This is flatter than the Mannlicher rifle, which,
as the highest velocity sporting rifle hitherto made, is the one most
affected by sportsmen. The heavier bullet of the New Accelerated
Express rifle, i.e. 215 grs. as against 162 grs. of the Mannlicher, is of
steadier flight and less disturbed by wind.
2. COMPARATIVE STRIKING ENERGY. — I give below the respec-
tive muzzle striking energies of the best-known sporting magazine
rifles now in use.
224 Modern Sporting Gunnery
The Mauser, about 2000 foot-lb.
The Mannlicher, "256, 1900 foot-lb.
The British, -303, 1920 foot-lb.
The New Accelerated Express, '375/'3O3, 3000 foot-lb.
At 200 yards the striking energy of this new cartridge is
2076 foot-lb., or 156 foot-lb. greater than the '303 service
cartridges at the muzzle. For sporting purposes, the accuracy and
efficiency of the new Axite cartridge have been fully established,
and sportsmen are now able to obtain a weapon far superior to
anything that was offered in the past. For military purposes,
Axite seems to be of great promise, but only trials extending over
a long period of time, in which the effect of the powder upon the
barrel and rifling, and also pressure upon the breech-action and
other important considerations, will enable us to judge.
There is some objection raised in certain quarters to the bore
of this new weapon, but we have not yet seen the latest develop-
ment of this matter, even considering the immediate future.
Apart from the question of calibre, there is another and perhaps
more urgent reason for improving this New Accelerated Express
*375/'3°3 r^e- This arises through the somewhat imperfect action
of the rimmed cartridge when used in the magazine rifle. There
are two objections to this cartridge. It does not lend itself, in the
first place, to the perfect clip-loading system, and in the second
place, it is with difficulty adapted to the magazine action. Both
of these causes may result in occasional jamming, which are due
to the presence of the rim. The best types of magazine rifles
are clip-loaders with rimless cartridge, and the latest improvement
is a high velocity accelerated express cartridge, clip-loader and
rimless case, of the Mauser type, which can be stripped off by
hand readily into the magazine of the rifle. Messrs. Westley
Richards & Co., who designed it, have submitted to me a rifle
and cartridge on the magazine principle, which is adjusted for a
clip-loader cartridge of the type described, as follows —
Calibre, -318.
Weight of bullet, 250 grs.
Type of bullet, solid nickel and patent copper-capped
expanding bullet.
Express Rifles and Axite Powder 225
Powder, self-lubricating Axite.
Muzzle velocity, 2400 to 2500 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 3194 to 3466 foot-lb.
Pressure, 19 tons.
Weight of cartridge, 493 grs.
Length of cartridge, 3*483 inches.
This New Accelerated Express Rifle -318 bore is the highest
of its type, and both it and its cartridge lead the way in the
development of small-bore sporting weapons.
The rimless cartridge, however, is not suited to single-falling
block-action rifles and double drop-down rifles generally in use
constructed for cartridges with rims. This is a great drawback,
from the fact that a sportsman having a magazine rifle and a double
breech-loading rifle for this "318 rimless cartridge, would require
to carry two different kinds of ammunition — one for each system
of weapon. This is to be avoided if possible, both for the sports-
man's sake and for the sake of the manufacturer and dealer, who
are already unduly troubled with multiplied types of the same
ammunition which might well be reduced, and which certainly
is a condition of affairs that the authors of new departures should
not aggravate.
Messrs. Westley Richards have, therefore, devised a system of
double breech-loading rifles and single-loader sliding and falling
block rifles which will shoot the rimless cartridge, so that in future
a man may use the same type of ammunition both in these
weapons and in the magazine loader. This I consider an im-
provement of vast importance.
The slight increase of bore over the *375/'3O3 will not destroy
the special characteristics of lightness and handiness which dis-
tinguish the small bores, and rightly are of such great value in the
eyes of the modern big game hunter.
WESTLEY RICHARDS NEW ACCELERATED EXPRESS RIFLE,
•318 BORE.
Weight of single loader rifle . 7^ to 7! lb..
Weight of magazine rifle . . 7-*- to 7! lb.
Weight of double rifle . . 8J lb. to 8 lb. 15 oz.
J5
226 Modern Sporting Gunnery
In Chapter XI I have dealt with the trajectory of modern
sporting high-velocity rifles from -256 to -600 bores, but the
Accelerated Express rifle, *375/'303, representing as it does the
latest development of the modern rifle, stands in a class of its
own, and so I deem it best to give below particulars of its sporting
trajectories.
A '375/'3O3 WESTLEY RICHARDS UNDER-LEVER ACTION
RIFLE.
Barrel, 28 inches.
Axite powder.
Bullet, 215 grs.
Muzzle velocity, approximately 2500 feet per second.
200 YDS lOOYos
FIG. 91.
Distance of target from shooter, 200 yards. At 100 yards away
from shooter was placed a paper screen. The diagram illustrates
the point at which the bullet passed through the screen, and shows
a rise of 4 inches above the line of sight at this range.
Distance of target from shooter, 300 yards. At 100 yards and
3OO YDS 100 YDS ISO YDS
FIG. 92.
150 yards respectively from shooter were placed paper screens.
This diagram illustrates the points at which the bullets passed
through the screens, and shows over this range a rise of 8| inches
above the line of sight at 100 yards, and of 10 inches above the
line of sight at 150 yards.
The following particulars show the exact amount above or
Express Rifles and Axite Powder 227
below the point aimed at the bullet would strike, under certain
errors of taking sight at various distances indicated —
(1) Shot at i oo yards with 200 yards sighting, the bullets go 4" high.
(2) „ „ loo „ „ 300 „ „ „ „ „ 8|" „
(3) „ » 2oo » » 300 „ „ „ „ „ 81" „
(4) „ „ 200 „ „ loo „ „ „ „ „ 8J" low.
„ „ 200
(6) ,> „ 3°° »> v> I0°
These figures assume that no correction of sighting for the error
has been attempted on the part of the shooter, under condition
No. 4. A drop of 8J inches under such circumstances seems a
great deal, but it is entirely corrected, as we see in Figs. 94,
95, 96, by taking all the bead instead of half.
Further, as in instance No. 6, when aiming at an animal 300
yards away with the 100 yards sighting, a bullet drop of 27 inches
below the point aimed at seems enormous, but again it dwindles
to a very small item when we know that all the fore-sight bead
and its stem seen through the <c V " of the back-sight corrects a
27-inch drop.
As compared with the Mannlicher rifle — hitherto the rifle
having, as we have seen, the flattest trajectory — the new '3 7 5/^303
shows itself superior. With this latter weapon, using the 100
yards sight and sighting, that is, taking same aim and amount of
bead up to 200 yards, any decent-sized animal would be well hit.
The accompanying diagram, illustrating the actual grouping of
shots fired under the conditions of sighting named, prove this.
With the 100 yards sight, etc., as described, shooting at the
following ranges, viz. —
TOO yards all shots are placed at point aimed at.
150 yards all shots measured from centre of group are placed
4-J- inches below point of aim.
200 yards all shots measured from centre of group are placed
about 8^ inches below point of aim.
This diagram (Fig. 93) also illustrates four shots from the same
rifle, fired at 160 yards with the 200 yards sight up, in order to
show the actual effect on elevation, if a sportsman should fire
228 Modern Sporting Gunnery
under such circumstances. It will be seen that the shots only rise
4 inches above point of aim. Whatever system of sighting is
AXITE
DOUBLE RIFLE
>. wirti 200yds.Si$MT
ariOOyds. wifh lOOyds. Si^htT
-i
8j
*l
l>
.faf 150yds. wifH lOOyds. Si^hr 1 >
AO
i -j
•O j
gc^r^0^y^.witlTlpO_yds.Si^hr_ _^
Drop between lOOycls. £ SOOyds.
say QVs. Inches.
FIG. 93.
adopted an error of aim to this extent is possible, and the sportsman
thus sees at a glance what value in inches the error costs him.
There are many sportsmen who will still continue to use
standard and folding and leaf sights, but as a matter of fact only
Express Rifles and Axite Powder 229
one back-sight is necessary for these high-velocity rifles with flat
trajectory, if properly constructed. Briefly, this is arranged as
follows, aiming with the 100 yards back-sight —
At 100 yards all shots group together by aiming with top of
bead as shown.
At 200 yards all shots group together by aiming with full bead,
as shown.
At 300 yards all shots group together by taking not only all the
bead but the stem as well.
DIAGRAMS.
Position of shots on ani-
mal, distant 100 yards, with
IOO yards sight, taking fine
bead.
AT 100 YDS.
FIG. 94.
Position of shots on ani-
mal, distant 200 yards, using
100 yards sight with full
bead, correcting a bullet drop
AT 200 YDS.
FIG. 95.
AT 300 YDS
FIG. 96.
of 8^ inches.
Position of shots on ani-
mal, distant 300 yards,
taking aim with the whole
of the bead and stem of the
fore-sight showing through
" V " of rear-sight, correct-
ing a bullet drop of 27
inches.
230 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Between 100 yards and 150 yards the drop of the bullet would
be only 3 inches ; allowance in aiming not being necessary.
Between 100 yards and 250 yards, would require the correction
of only a very full bead.
Unless a sportsman is familiar with his rifle, and knows the
value of more or less bead at the other end, he is liable to over-
estimate the allowance required to fairly hit a going-away animal
and so shoot over it, scoring a miss, which he might in ignorance
easily attribute to the .reverse course, i.e. under-sighting.
With modern flat trajectory rifles having longer ranging power
and more accurate grouping, there is liability to err on the side of
making too much allowance, as with the low power high bullet-
curve rifles of the past there was to under-estimate the necessary
rise in elevation under equal circumstances. In the latter case
the difficulty was, on the spur of the moment, to estimate the rise
in elevation sufficient to counteract the fall of the bullet. In the
former case of high velocity weapons, dealing with a correction
which has to be rapidly decided — instinctively as it were — the
difficulty is not to over-do it.
A sportsman in possession of these practical trajectory tables,
which he can confirm in personal practice, would easily be able to
avoid any such error.
For further particulars of the capped expanding bullet, vide
Chapter XII.
CHAPTER X
BALL- AND SHOT-GUNS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT
SINCE about the year 1885 these weapons have been used
in various parts of the world. Early in this period the
principal systems were the Paradox, the Colindian, and
the Cosmos. Recently a new type has been introduced
by Westley Richards, which is deserving of special
mention, as it advances this useful weapon to a larger degree of
usefulness.
In the year named, Colonel Fosbery first advanced a system of
barrel-boring for the ordinary shot-gun termed " rifle-choke," by
means of which one and the same barrel could be made to throw
small shot with fair precision at 40 yards range, and also a single
projectile up to 80 or 100 yards. This dual purpose was effected
by boring the barrel smooth from the breech end to within a few
inches of the muzzle, at which point the bore was constricted, this
choked portion being rifled throughout.
It will be seen that this weapon differs from the ordinary arm
known to us as the rifle for shooting bullets only, and must be
considered solely from the special combination provided by the
principle, /'. e. of shooting both shot and bullet from the same barrel
of the weapon, which to all intents and purposes in design, weight,
and balance is a shot-gun.
In treating of this system it must be borne in mind that its basis
is a shot-gun having the weight and general handiness of its kind ;
and in dealing with the question of accuracy obtainable with the
bullet, we must acknowledge that whatever its development in
that direction it must always be less than .that exhibited by the
rifle pure and simple.
Messrs. Holland & Holland, of London, were amongst the first
gunmakers to identify themselves with the Fosbery principle, and
232 Modern Sporting Gunnery
the sporting public, more especially that section shooting mixed
game in foreign countries, was not slow to seize upon the advan-
tages conferred by this system, one gun of this type being practically
the equivalent of two arms, viz. a fair cylinder shot-gun and a
low-power rifle.
There was nothing striking or novel in the mechanical principle
of rifling at the nose. Barrels had previously been rifled at many
parts of the bore, and in various ways, and Messrs. Westley Richards
inform me that continental weapons of much older date are known
to have existed with the muzzle rifled ; and, furthermore, that
they themselves and others had made rifling at the muzzle a subject
of experiment long prior to the introduction of the Fosbery gun.
It is difficult to accurately fix the point at which the Fosbery
arrangement becomes entitled to recognition for independent
research and development, but it may be conceded that Colonel
Fosbery first successfully demonstrated the idea that a smooth-bore
barrel having its muzzle rifled could be satisfactorily used with shot
as well as with bullet.
Other types of ball- and shot-guns soon followed on the Fosbery
system. The barrels instead of being rifled at the nose were rifled
throughout with very shallow and almost imperceptible grooves,
hence the term " invisible rifling." Even this form varies ; but
whatever particular pattern adopted of rifling throughout, while
shooting accurately with the bullet, the shot patterns are, as regards
distribution, inferior to the rifle choke system. It is a variant, and
not a development, and, therefore, needs no further mention.
Previous to these systems the ordinary shot-gun was the only
alternative for such a combination ; in addition to firing a shot
cartridge, cylinder-bored guns were also arranged to shoot a
spherical ball weighing about 600 grs., and at a later period choke-
bore guns were also built for spherical ball.
We read in Big Game Shooting, Badminton Library series,
" one of the advantages which the ball-gun has over the ordinary
rifle is its lightness and handiness compared with the latter, but
the serious drawback to its wide use was, in the first place, that it
would fire spherical bullets only, and consequently lacked penetra-
tion ; and in the second, that it gave but irregular shooting except
at very short ranges. This state of things was completely reversed
Ball- and Shot-Gims 233
by the introduction of the Paradox gun. . . . This weapon fires a
conical bullet, hollow or solid, up to 100 yards or more with the
accuracy of a good express." As a matter of fact, at this distance
it would throw a group of ten shots in from 4 to 6 inches.
The spherical ball was extremely effective and accurate up to
50 yards, and indeed up to 75 yards gave fairly good results.
However, it will be seen that the Fosbery invention practically
doubled the efficiency of the old smooth bore with ball cartridges.
Excellent shot patterns with ordinary game loads are obtained
from these ball- and shot-guns. Sportsmen have been known to use
these weapons through an English season's shooting with no little
satisfaction, which speaks well for their efficiency as a shot-gun.
FIG. 97.— THE PARADOX BULLET, i2-G/\UGE.
This bullet is also made copper-tubed, and is sometimes cross-cut at the nose
for the purpose of expansion.
Beyond 100 yards the best systems of original type, such as the
Paradox, Colindian, Cosmos, and others, were not to be relied
upon, and, indeed, were not recommended by their manufacturers
for use beyond this range, or thereabouts. Even at 120 yards
range the shooting became wild, the bullets frequently "key-
holing." I have seen that ball- and shot-guns were not reliable
beyond 80 yards. Some of the best-made weapons on the most
approved system which I have tried have failed to shoot in
20 inches at the short range of 120 yards.1
The weight of the conical bullet used in the 12-bore ball- and
shot-gun is 750 grs., its diameter is -734 inch and its length -982
inch. Even this length was only obtainable by the formation of
1 The Fitld newspaper on December 19, 1903, authoritatively stated as follows :
" The limitation of the ball- and shot-gun is not in regard to striking power, but
a matter of range; it is not accurate beyond 100 yards; 50 to 70 yards shows
it at its best."
234 Modern Sporting Gunnery
a groove one quarter inch wide in the middle of the bullet, in order
to reduce the weight, as shown by the foregoing illustration,
representing the actual size of the projectile. Without this groove
a bullet of this weight would have been a bluff-headed missile with
a capacity for flight scarcely greater than that of the spherical ball,
driven by the same velocity, namely, about 1000 feet per second.
The extra length obtained by this method of forming the external
shape, alone gave accurate flight to 100 yards, or twice the range of
a spherical ball. But this bullet, nevertheless, is of stunted propor-
tion, which precludes accuracy beyond 100 yards or thereabouts.
It is probable, indeed I believe it to be true, that the ball- and shot-
guns of the earlier type have been used successfully up to a range
of 140 yards, but this is an exceptional performance that the
average weapon could not equal.
Black powder until recently was used with the bullet in these
weapons. Cordite a year or two ago was substituted, with the
result of lessening recoil and slightly increasing velocity, but
without any improvement in the ranging power of the bullet.
Both from a mechanical and a sporting point of view the short
range of the bullet in this Fosbery gun, and others of similar design
and loading, must be regarded as a drawback. Many sportsmen
have felt regret that such a handy weapon as the ball- and shot-gun —
a weapon so useful in its combination, and firing so powerful a
bullet — should have so limited a range when shooting with this
bullet. Many practical difficulties stood in the way of improve-
1 ment ; but it was impossible to stand still, and already great strides
in advance of the early systems have been made, and we may,
without straining imagination, look for even still further develop-
ments in this class of sporting arm in the future.
The advent of the long-range ball- and shot-gun has already
aroused wide and fresh interest in this system and its development.
Long-range shooting with these weapons will henceforth be
associated with the name of Westley Richards & Co., who were
the first to offer to the public, after twenty years' experience with
the original systems, their long-range Explora gun, which they
claimed propelled a bullet of the ordinary 12-gauge weight with
accuracy up to 300 yards — a claim that has been abundantly
justified. It is interesting to note here that this increased range
Ball- and Shot-Guns 235
is due principally to the construction and form of the bullet.
But in reality this is also true of the Paradox, and other types of
ball- and shot-guns which effected the same purpose, although in a
lesser degree, namely, an increase in range as compared with the
spherical projectile fired from an ordinary shot-gun.
We read in The Rife: Theory and Practice (A. Walker,
1864)-
" We may observe that the projectile forms an even more
important part in musketry than the gun from which it is
fired."
We find the Belgian, General Borman, in his work on Ordnance
O 5 /
stating —
" It is an error to suppose that the value of the system of fire-
arms depends upon the gun alone ; whether with the smooth or
rifle bore, the projectile has always a more extended influence than
the piece which throws it."
Sir William Armstrong lays down the rule —
" The projectile should use the gun, not the gun the projectile,
for as the shot has to do the work, it evidently must be proper first
to determine what kind of missile is required, and then to devise
the form of gun best adapted to throw it."
Speaking solely as concerns the bullet, in these weapons of the
Paradox type no new principle was introduced, the principle of
giving a rotary or spinning motion to a conical bullet by means of
rifling was known to be necessary for the flight of such projectile
in order to keep it end on ; and, under the conditions governing,
the weapon in question, it was not desirable to attempt to shoot a
bullet in 12-bore guns heavier than 750 grs. Such a bullet, made
of cylindro-conoidal form, without the external groove character-
istic of the Paradox bullet, and weighing 750 grs., would have been
too short to carry beyond 50 yards ; therefore, as we have seen, the
increased accuracy of bullet flight with these early ball- and shot-
guns is in a large measure due to the external shape and construc-
tion of the bullet, which is hollowed out in the middle and tapered
off at the front with the object of obtaining greater length for the
purpose of flight than the ordinary form of bullet would have
permitted.
Just as the construction of this original form of ball- and shot-
236 Modern Sporting Gunnery
gun bullet considerably aided in improving the flight, effecting a
twofold improvement as compared with the spherical ball, so has
the novel and improved construction of the Westley Richards
patent Explora bullets assisted in achieving accuracy to 300 yards
or more, by which a threefold advance in point of ranging power
has been attained over the Fosbery ball- and shot-gun and others
of that type.
Before proceeding to fully describe the Westley Richards Explora
system and bullets, it may be remarked that improvements already
effected, however great, give promise of even better things in the
future. We have seen that we must build all improvements of
this system upon the shot-gun basis, and must in no degree alter
its characteristic, nor in considering the advancement made con-
fuse its purpose with that of any other weapon of a different
character and type. Although some critics and sportsmen have
shown a tendency to regard improvements in the bullet's flight
of the ball- and shot-gun as an encroachment on the rights and
privileges of the rifle proper, they can in no way be considered
as doing anything of the kind. They are not capable of com-
parison. The rifle pure and simple does not, and cannot, shoot
shot, and it is therefore useless to attempt comparison of it with a
weapon which does shoot shot in addition to the bullet. We
must view the progress of the ball- and shot-gun as a weapon of
a distinct type ; and comparisons of the present standard to which
it has arrived must be confined to the standard set up for the ball-
and shot-gun of the past. By this means alone shall we obtain
the true measure of the advance made.
A writer in the Field stated that the velocities, trajectories, and
the general ballistics of the ball- and shot-gun did not conform to
the modern conditions ; but keeping before us the idea of the ball-
and shot-gun, and all that it means, whatever improvement has
been made on the system represents the modern conditions of
that system. It would seem unnecessary to make this statement
but for the fact that the Field writer gave his authority to an
expression of opinion which confuses the issue and might influence
a sportsman against an impartial consideration of this question.
The short projectile of the Paradox type for the ball- and shot-
gun being incapable of flight to long ranges, the problem presented
Ball- and Shot-Guns 237
to the gunmaker was how to provide a means of increasing the
length of the bullet without materially adding to the weight. The
length of the Explora bullet is 1*4 inch as compared with the
Paradox, which measures '982 inch. It is this length in proportion
to weight and diameter which gives superior ranging power to this
bullet.
In November 1904, the Field newspaper, in commenting upon
this new projectile, declared it to be " a bullet of exceptional
qualities, having such a peculiar relationship of length to weight."
In order to attain this end, Mr. Leslie Taylor invented a new
system of constructing bullets. In 1899 he had already obtained
patent protection for the use of a solid cap in compound bullets, and
in his specification, No. 3897, of 1901, he further applied this prin-
ciple of fitting the bullet with a light metal cap or forepart to the
ordinary lead bullet, and as the words of the specification declare:
u The advantages of this arrangement are, that I lengthen the
bullet without materially increasing its weight, and greatly increase
its accuracy and capacity of flight. By applying this hollow cap
to a bullet, I obtain a greater mushrooming up of the bullet upon
impact."
There are two advantages secured by this system : ( I ) Greater
accuracy ; (2) increased expansion.
It will be seen that the weight of the bullet was not increased
as compared with the short bullet of the earlier system, and there-
fore no additional weight in the weapon was needed. It remains,
as before, to all practical purposes a shot-gun in weight, balance,
and handiness.
It may have been possible to obtain accuracy to 300 yards by
other methods. The simplest method was the obvious one of
making the solid lead bullet of the same length as the Explora
capped bullet, and, further, of increasing the powder charge suffi-
ciently in order to propel this heavier bullet to the longer ranges.
The weight of this longer bullet as a solid bullet would have
weighed 1350 grs. Even when made with a hollow front it
would have weighed over 1200 grs., and this would have required
a powder charge of about 12 dr. and a weight of weapon somewhere
about 15 lb., by which it will be seen that the whole purpose and
aim of the ball- and shot-gun would have been destroyed. When
238 Modern Sporting Gunnery
we compare this fact with the practical and definite advantages
secured by this simple method of bullet construction, as repre-
sented by the Explora system, we are able to fairly estimate the
benefit which this new design of bullet has helped to confer upon
the sportsman.
What are the conditions of the ball- and shot-gun of the past
as compared with those of the present? The 12-bore ball- and
shot-gun of the past may be summed up as follows —
Weight of bullet, 750 grs.
Charge of powder, 3 dr. black.
Velocity, approximately 1000 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 1663 foot-lb.
Range of bullet, 100 to 120 yards.
Shot pattern with ordinary game cartridge, equal to a good
cylinder gun.
There are two kinds of bullets used, the solid lead bullet and a
hollow-fronted lead bullet, with or without a copper tube. The
latter possessed very little more qualities of expansion than the
former.
The present conditions of the ball- and shot-gun as represented
by the Explora system are as follows —
Weight of bullet, 730 to 750 grs.
Charge of powder, 35 grs. cordite.
Velocity, 1270 to 1300 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, approximately 2700 foot-lb.
Range of bullet, 300 yards.
Shot pattern with ordinary game cartridge, equal to that of a
good cylinder gun.
There are two kinds of Explora bullets, which widely differ
one from the other. A bullet with brass cap or front which is
expressly designed for penetration, and indeed has this quality to
a degree that is obtainable from a steel-fronted bullet. This cap
may also be made of aluminium, but this form is not considered so
good. Also, a patent all-lead bullet, which is the antithesis of the
former, possessing the greatest degree of expansion, and thus in this
respect superior to any other form of lead bullet. Fig. 98 illustrates
Ball- and Shot-Guns 239
the Westley Richards brass-capped Explora bullet ; Fig. 99 the all-
lead bullet, having the external appearance of a solid lead bullet, but
hollow within, which causes the bullet to mushroom on impact
— sections of these two bullets are given in Chapter XII.
The advantages shown by the modern conditions or development
at which the ball- and shot-gun has arrived, show over 25 per cent,
increase in velocity, more than 60 per cent, in energy, 300 per
cent, in ranging power, and in addition increase of penetration
with superior expansion, which will be gathered from the tests
that follow. The introduction of the Explora bullets has, I gather,
aroused criticism in some quarters, and there are those who have
endeavoured to minimize the importance of the improvement, even
FIG. 98. — WESTLEY RICHARDS FIG. 99. — WESTLEY RICHARDS
BRASS-CAPPED BULLET. LEAD-CAPPED BULLET.
going so far as to say that the principle of construction disclosed
by the Explora and Fauneta types of bullets had been anticipated,
and that they display no novelty.
All authority, as expressed in Military Text-books, and in other
sporting works, I may say, fail to show that this view can be
upheld. There are, of course, many hidden sources of invention
and experiment which are not always to be explored, but I have
taken the trouble to consult an old and retired master workman,
who spent fifty years of his life in the manufacture of moulds for
every conceivable variety of bullet that has seen light during the
last fifty years up to the date of the Explora bullet. This interest-
ing individual, of the name of Guy, has made bullet-moulds for
all the gunmakers during the period of his working days. He
made moulds for bullets on the Forsyth principle, the Lord Keen,
240 Modern Sporting Gunnery
the McCleod, the Snider, and for all bullets that had some portion
FIG. 100.
1 6 Consecutive Shots from a Double Explora, 8 each right and left, in a space of
9| x 7^ inches. 14 of these shots occupy a space of 6J x 7| inches.
First 8 Consecutive Shots in a space of 6g x 4^ inches. 200 yards.
of their body hollow, and he informed me that the Explora bullet
revealed to him a novel method of bullet construction and pro-
Ball- and Shot-Guns
241
duced results in advance of all the bullets with which he was
familiar, and he has had experience of every kind, for all purposes,
and in all bores.
The following diagrams testify to the accuracy of this system
at all ranges —
TESTS.
Westley Richards's double hammerless ejector Explora ball-
and shot-gun —
Gauge, 12.
28-inch barrels.
FIG. 101. — TARGET, 100 YARDS, HALF SIZE.
Weight, 7 Ib. 2 oz.
Distance, 100 yards.
Charge, 73O-gr. brass-capped bullet.
Velocity, 1158 feet per second.
Shot before the editor of the Field, November 1904.
Ten consecutive shots, five each right and left, in a space of
5 by 3! inches, as illustrated above.
A remarkably fine diagram.
In December 1905 I had the opportunity of conducting
experiments with this system at Westley Richards's range at
16
242 Modern Sporting "Gunnery
Bournbrook, Birmingham. Gun of the same weight and descrip-
tion as above, shooting 73O-gr. bullet, with a muzzle velocity of
1270 feet per second. Range, 100 yards. The following diagram
obtained shows eight consecutive shots, four each right and left,
in a space of 2*90 by 3*60 inches.
This diagram has beaten all previous records of ball- and shot-
guns for the same minimum number of shots.
The Explora at 150 yards. Ten shots in a space of 6 inches.
The Explora at 200 yards, 8 by 7 inches, 10 shots.
The Explora at 250 yards, 9^ by io|- inches.
3- 60 ->
FIG. 102.
At 300 yards, before the editor of the Field, a diagram was
obtained of 8 consecutive shots in a square with i ij inch sides.
Since my own trials I have seen a diagram made by a double
12-gauge Explora gun of ordinary game gun weight and pattern ;
this, with a bullet velocity of 1300 feet per second, placed eight
consecutive shots in a space of 2^ inches by 2^ inches at 100
yards. The Explora system, I am convinced, has, in addition to
improving the long-range shooting, raised the standard of accuracy
at all distances.
In testing the penetration of bullets, both the military and
sporting authorities of this country fall into the error of adopting
as the medium some substance which does not represent the actual
conditions of either sport or war ; so we find in military text-books
Ball- and Shot-Guns 243
scarcely anything but penetration taken at either steel plates or
beech planks or clay, which no doubt represent the behaviour
of the bullet at these substances, but certainly it does not inform
the investigator as to the bullet's behaviour at the living thing, be
it biped or quadruped.
Sporting experts have added to the confusion by choosing
another medium, such as putty and dry and wet sawdust, and
both authorities have endeavoured to deduce from the good results
of trials at these media, conclusions as to the actual behaviour of
the bullets at the objects that they have mostly to encounter either
in sport or war, and I venture to think that in doing this they have
been led astray as to the comparative effect and value of various
bullets when used under the actual conditions of sport or warfare.
In order the more fully to test this matter, I prepared a platform
at 300 yards, upon which I mounted and secured a huge piece of
beef, consisting of the whole of the fleshy part of the hind-quarter,
weighing 208 Ib. ; all bones being removed purposely to avoid any
flattening of the bullet except through the medium of pure tissue.
The thickness of the beef thus presented as a target was 20 inches
or more, a card upon which was marked a 1 2-inch bull's-eye being
placed in front of the beef, and the resultant shooting was as
follows —
BRASS-CAPPED EXPLORA i2-GAUGE BULLET. RANGE, 300 yards.
No. i. Struck just outside the bull's-eye and penetrated the beef
to a depth of 16 inches.
No. 2. In bull, but remained in beef.
No. 3. In bull, penetrated beef to 19 inches.
No. 4. Struck just below the bull, and passed through the beef
and into the earth beyond.
NOTE. — Beyond considerable cupping of the brass cap, these
brass-capped bullets when recovered exhibited comparatively slight
alteration of form, thus showing their great penetrative quality,
for which they are expressly designed.
ALL-LEAD EXPLORA BULLET. RANGE, 300 yards.
No. i. In bull, pulled up in beef at 15 inches.
No. 2. Just clear of bull, stopped in 10 inches of beef.
244 Modern Sporting Gunnery
No. 3. In bull, penetrated and stopped in 12 inches of beef.
NOTE. — In all cases the Explora all-lead bullet completely
mushroomed. The outer diameter of the head of the mushroom,
being i^ inches, produced very great destructive effect upon the
beef.
Firing at a steel plate one-tenth inch thick, at a distance of
300 yards, I find that the brass-capped bullet goes completely
through.
The long-range shooting of the Explora ball- and shot-gun
FIG. 103. — EFFECT OF EXPLORA BULLET ON STEEL PLATE.
in no way detracts from its usefulness as a jungle gun for close-
range shooting. Sportsmen can use this weapon with the greatest
confidence for attacking dangerous game at close quarters, as the
following trials show.
It was assumed that the sportsman would have his 100 yards
sight in position, and under this condition it was proposed to
ascertain what would be the position of the bullet fired at a
charging beast at the respective distances of 10, 20, 35 and 50 yards,
Ball- and Shot-Guns
245
in comparison with the bullet fired with the same sight at a
stationary animal at 100 yards.
Difference in elevation between 10 and 100 yards, with 100
yards sight at each distance, with Westley Richards 12-gauge
Explora gun, 73O-gr. capped bullet. All shots in a space of
4i x 5i inches.
FIG. 104.
A, Correct sight for 100 yards.
B.
C.
D.
E.
50 yards range, TOO yards sight.
35 „ ,, ioo „ „
20 „ „ ioo „ „
IO ,, IOO
It will be seen from the accompanying diagram of the actual
position of the shots fired upon the target in this trial, that at
whatever distance enumerated, the weapon was fired with the
246 Modern Sporting Gunnery
100 yards sight up — i.e. whether we take 10, 20, 35, 50 or
100 yards as the objective, the whole ten shots struck within a
space measuring 4^ by 5!- inches.
At each of the five ranges two shots were fired. Taking
100 yards as the standard, it is found that the bullets at 50
yards go 2f inches high, at 35 yards they go 2 inches high, at
20 yards the shots are practically on a level with those fired
at 100 yards, whilst at 10 yards they are only, practically, i inch
lower.
These being the result of actual experiments, afford a practical
guide to sportsmen such as no table of calculated proportions can
equal.
In continuation of these trials, it has been found that the
drop of the bullet from 100 yards to 150 yards is 8J inches;
or, in other words, supposing a sportsman were aiming with the
100 yards sight up, and the animal should be 150 yards away,
the bullet would strike 8J- inches below the point aimed at.
In the same way, with the 150 yards sight up, and the animal
distant 200 yards, the drop of the bullet below the point aimed
at would be i6|- inches. It will be wronging the sportsman
to think that at these short ranges his miscalculation of distance
could be so great, but they are adduced as extreme cases which,
even granting a sportsman may sometimes meet them, are readily
and effectually overcome by a moderate allowance or correction
of aim, and in respect of this allowance the call upon the skill
and judgment of the marksman is insignificant as compared with
the same demand which ordinary winged game shooting with the
shot-gun lays upon him.
Again, when using the Explora ball- and shot-gun with
its bullet at the extreme range of 300 yards, at which distance
it was designed by its inventors to be of practical utility, we
know that from its accurate grouping and smashing power at
intermediate distances, and even to this extreme range, it is
capable of thoroughly effective sporting work. It is obvious that
this demands sportsmanlike qualities of ability to reasonably esti-
mate distance and some acquaintance with the habits of the game
pursued. Much game is undoubtedly caught stationary, and, if
it be moving, some knowledge of its action and speed of progress
Ball- and Shot-Guns 247
is necessary, and, indeed, this should be a badge and qualification
of sportsmanship.
Given these qualities, the Explora ball- and shot-gun may be
relied upon to answer to the call of many varieties of sport,
from which the short range ball- and shot-gun of the old type
was barred. But in the case of the tyro, the man who has yet
to gain his experience, and can only gain it from actual sporting
experience, we assume that greater errors of judgment, both as
regards distance and the habits and movements of game, may be
made as compared with those permissible with the full-fledged
sportsman. Even in his case, it will be granting the probability
of an extreme error to presume that at 200 yards he might be
using his 250 yards sight; or, at 300 yards, he might attempt
to shoot with the 250 yards sight up.
In the first of these cases, actual experiment has shown that
the bullet would go high 20 inches above the point aimed at,
and that the sportsman would have to make an allowance of
aiming 20 inches low in order to correct his misjudgment of
distance ; while, in the second place, we find that the drop of the
bullet below the point of aim would be 21 inches, and again, in
actual trials at the target, I have ascertained that the amount
of correction necessary for this misestimation of distance can be
met by aiming 21 inches above the object. In both cases, there
is practically the same degree of allowance to be made, that is,
about i foot 9 inches. This may seem on , paper an error very
difficult to deal with, but in actual sport viewed in relationship
to the distances involved, it is one that is well within the capacity
of reasonable marksmanship.
If the game-shot at 40 yards should find it necessary to aim
a couple of feet above a rising bird, or two or even more feet
ahead of a crossing bird, it would not be considered a tax beyond
the capacity of the novice. At this distance the amount of
allowance mentioned appears to be considerable, but the same
amount of allowance at more than seven times the distance is
reduced to such small dimensions that the sportsman might
almost be said to make the allowance unconsciously. While it
is possible that a novice may make an error such as that indicated,
we do not think that it in any way represents the average error
248 Modern Sporting Gunnery
of which the inexperienced sportsman is likely to be guilty. No
tyro desirous of becoming a sportsman would legitimately claim
such an allowance, but the duffer, whether tyro or not, might
do so.
The foregoing are actual tests, and not calculated results, but
whether one or the other, it is incumbent upon the sportsman
himself to test the capacity of the rifle, which he could easily do
by firing it under various conditions, before he engages in actual
sport, in order to familiarize himself with the behaviour of his arm
and ammunition, in the same way that it is incumbent upon him
to master the habits of the game and the lay of the country in
which he operates. This is true whether it refers to dangerous
game shot at close quarters or to less dangerous game, which
frequently has to be bagged up to 300 yards or more.
The longer range shooting, to 300 yards or more, is necessary
in African sport or on open plains with but little cover. In some
kinds of Indian shooting, such as hill shooting, where aim has to
be taken, say, across and down ravines, 150 yards is, according
to some sportsmen, the maximum distance which can be judged
accurately. It will, I think, however, be conceded that the long-
range ball- and shot-gun, even taking 150 yards as the limit,
justifies its existence by being absolutely accurate at this short
range where older systems failed.
We have seen that, consistent with the greatest accuracy up to
the reasonable range of 300 yards, the weight of the bullet under
the existing conditions must be 730 grs. This weight permitted
a certain length in proportion to diameter which ensured the
desirable accuracy, but improved methods of constructing this
form of bullet have already resulted in the production of a lighter
bullet of practically the same length as the 730-gr. bullet. The
advantages of the lighter bullet lie in the fact that a sportsman
can have a gun weighing only 6|- lb., shooting both bullet and
shot, a weight that is even lighter than the average shot-gun.
The Explora bullet used in this arrangement weighs only
600 grs., and flies accurately to even 300 yards, with a slight
reduction of energy ; the energy obtained, however, although lower
than that resulting from the use of the heavier bullet, is one that
is far above the requirements for ordinary sporting purposes.
Ball- and Shot-Guns 249
The pressures obtained by the present charges of cordite powder
and bullet in the Explora ball- and shot-gun are of comparatively
low standard even when using the full weight bullet, 730 grs.
The maximum pressure obtained under the tests which have been
carried out by Messrs. Kynoch, is 3^ tons at the breech, with a
maximum muzzle velocity of approximately 1300 feet per second.
Gun and rifle constructors are, therefore, confronted with the
further problem of securing an increase in the velocity of the bullet
without unduly increasing pressure or lessening the accuracy of
the bullet's flight at the reasonable range of 300 yards. Obviously,
with the ball- and shot-gun weight, a heavy bullet cannot be
propelled with such a velocity that will, to an appreciable extent,
advantageously influence the trajectory. Such a provision can
only be sought for by lightening the bullet, and using a powder
charge that will increase the velocity so as to raise it to the level
of the old express rifle.
The old express system we know consisted of a heavy powder
charge and a light bullet. Even in this relationship the 6oo-gr.
bullet, for the 12-bore Explora is much heavier in proportion as
compared with the bullet and the powder charge of the old
•450 express rifle.
With an Explora 12-gauge bullet weighing 530 grs., a
velocity of close on 1400 feet has already been obtained,
with a pressure of 3-*- tons. At this weight the bullet is con-
structed of practically the same length as the 73<3-gr. bullet, which
ensures accurate flight to the longer ranges. It is, therefore,
not too much to say that even a still higher velocity is within
practical reach; a velocity of 1800 yards is the minimum ideal.
This attainment is extremely desirable, and will register a very
marked improvement in the sportsman's armament. Let us
hope that the future sportsman will have at command a 12-bore
weapon weighing some 2 Ib. lighter than the cordite rifles of
to-day, and equally effective for sporting purposes, with the
additional advantage of combining with its efficiency as a rifle,
utility of no mean order in the shooting of shot like an ordinary
game gun.
Weight, Explora gun, 12-gauge, 6^ Ib.
Powder, cordite.
250 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Bullet, 530 grs.
Velocity, 1400 feet per second.
Energy, 2318 foot-lb.
THE FAUNETA EXPRESS BALL- AND SHOT-GUN.
Messrs. Westley Richards & Co. have quickly seized the oppor-
tunity of applying the new system to smaller bores. This intro-
duces an important development, owing to the fact that a bullet
of a length suitable for accurate long-range flight can be made of
a weight approximating to the old *45o-bore express bullet, which
can also be arranged to fly with the velocity imparted by this
latter weapon, but with the superior advantage of greater accuracy
and ranging power, and therefore, as the old express rifle was
practically limited to 100 yards range, the new small-bore express
ball- and shot-gun increases the accuracy threefold over this reliable
weapon of the past.
The weapon that achieves this result is termed by its manu-
facturers theFauneta express ball- and shot-gun. It is constructed
as follows —
Length of barrel, 26 inches.
Calibre, '558 inch, approximately 28-bore.
Length of cartridge-case, 2^ inches, metal covered, and
special lining.
Charge of powder, 28 grs. axite, or 27 grs. cordite.
Weight of bullet, 290 grs. — (i) brass cap for penetration,
(2) copper cap for expansion.
Muzzle velocity, approximately, 1660 feet per second.
Muzzle energy, 1772 foot-lbs.
Ranging power, 300 to 400 yards.
Weight of weapon, about 5-J Ib.
In addition to the bullet charge, it shoots a shot charge con-
sisting of 25 grs. amberite powder and f oz. shot, with which
excellent results from 30 to 40 yards are obtainable.
For deer-stalking and kindred game, it is no longer necessary
to carry a double- barrel weapon weighing between 7^- and 8 Ib.
Ball- and Shot-Guns 251
The greatest efficiency is ensured with this new Fauneta
weapon, which weighs only 5! lb., and is as light in the hand
as a stick. It will be seen from its muzzle energy that the
striking force of the bullet is sufficient to bring down the biggest
horned animal. The striking force is greater than the original
12-gr. Paradox to the extent of no foot-lb. It has been used,
so I am informed, with excellent effect at hartebeest, duiker-buck,
bush-buck up to 250 yards, and has also performed satisfactorily
with shot for feathered game for the pot in British East Africa.
In fact, as a "scoff" gun, it would be difficult to beat.
In Cape Colony, where mixed shooting prevails for buck
shooting or for bustard, it is exceedingly useful. I am told that no
shot-gun of ordinary power is capable of bagging the bustard under
their conditions of sport, and that a bullet is usually resorted to
for this class of shooting, and it is the long-range capacity of the
Fauneta bullet that will especially appeal to shooters of this wild-
fowl. It is, further, useful for shooting round the homestead,
being so very light it may be handled by a lady for this purpose,
or even for more serious kind of shooting should occasion arise,
as I am told it frequently does in some parts of the colony.
I have seen a report from an experienced Indian sportsman
who stated that, owing to the breakage of the striker in his
*45o-bore single weapon, he had to fall back upon his Fauneta,
which he reported to be a little ripper. Fuller particulars as to
the shooting he had with it have not yet come to hand.
This weapon has also been used with success for stag in Austria,
and at the same time for feathered game. In foreign countries
where mixed shooting obtains, and where the feathered game is
shot at shorter distances than in this country, this weapon should
prove of great value to the sportsman.
In order to severely test the killing power of this Fauneta ball-
and shot-gun, a friend and myself fired at 24 blue-rocks, first at
1 8 yards rise and then at 25 yards rise. Out of these 21 birds
were dropped in good form, and the remaining three being the
only pigeons not dropped within bounds. The charge used
was 25 grs. amberite, and f oz. shot. I afterwards tried this
extremely handy little ball- and shot-gun upon some clay birds
thrown over a hedge to represent driven partridges, and broke
2 $2 Modern Sporting Gunnery
40 of these without a miss j in only one instance was the second
barrel made use of.
FIG. 105. — "FAUNETA" DIAGRAM, 100 YARDS — ACTUAL SIZE.
The above diagram testifies to its bullet accuracy.
The velocity reaches a higher standard than has hitherto been
practicable with the ball- and shot-gun system, and consequently
the trajectory is much flatter, and indeed in this respect compares
Ball- and Shot-Guns
253
favourably with the old black powder express rifles. It has
been ascertained from actual experiment, that with the Fauneta,
using axite powder and 29O-gr. bullet, firing with the 100 yards
sight up at a distance of 150 yards, the shots would fly into
the same group as if firing at 100 yards with the same sight.
That is to say, shots fired at 100 and 150 yards measured to-
gether would occupy a space of 6 inches. The trajectory of the
rifle is, therefore, sufficiently low to counteract the miscalculation
of 50 yards up to 150 yards, an error of judgment hardly likely to
arise with the practised sportsman.
Although a combination weapon, shooting both bullet and shot,
the Fauneta may, nevertheless, be considered solely from the rifle
FIG. 106. — THE " FAUNETA " EXPRESS BALL- AND SHOT-GUN CARTRIDGE.
28-'GAUGE. WEIGHT OF CARTRIDGE COMPLETE, 510 GRS. ; ij oz. FULL.
FIG. 107.— SECTION OF SAME
BULLET.
FIG. 108. — THE "FAUNETA" CAPPED
BULLET (290 GRS.).
standpoint. So judged, we see that it forms a deer-stalking rifle
of considerable efficiency and merit. In its energy, ranging power,
and trajectory, it compares favourably with the old express deer-
stalking rifle ; that is its claim to efficiency. Its claim to merit
over other types of deer-stalking weapons lies in the extreme light-
ness and handiness of the weapon. It is handier than a 2O-bore,
and about as light, and balances beautifully. It should be tried in
order to fully appreciate what it means to the sportsman to have a
highly effective rifle with double barrel, weighing only 5-f Ib.
This quality of lightness gives the shooter great advantages over
the heavier weapons to which he is at present accustomed. It
means greater steadiness, easier alignment, and less fatigue. This,
254 Modern Sporting Gunnery
without any drawback in respect to recoil, or indeed any other
characteristic.
In addition to the 29O-gr. brass-capped bullet, this Fauneta
express ball- and shot-gun shoots a copper-fronted or capped
bullet of a highly expansive nature. The brass-capped bullet
in itself is a very suitable bullet for ordinary sporting purposes,
combining a large measure of expansion and penetration.
Having personally tried this Fauneta gun at deer, grouse, and
other game, I must agree with the editor of the County Gentleman,
who witnessed a public trial of this weapon, when he says, " It
seems almost incredible that a little weapon that handles like a
FIG. 109. — 8-BoRE FIG. no. — EXPLORA FIG. in. — EXPLORA 8-BoRE
PARADOX BULLET. 8-BoiiE BULLET. BULLET AFTER FIRING.
walking-stick can be so deadly with its bullet and so useful with
its shot."
I have seen a report from an Indian sportsman, stating that
with the No. 9 shot he had been very successful at quail, using
the Fauneta, and this confirms my own experience. Better shot
patterns would be an advantage, approaching more nearly to those
needed for shooting in this country, but these can only be obtained
by using a larger bore.
Westley Richards for this purpose have introduced a 2obore
which will shoot an ounce of shot (bare) giving practically the
same averages as a 2O-bore cylinder gun, and without any sacrifice
of the velocity, flat trajectory, and long range shooting with the
bullet which distinguish the smaller bore.
I believe this Fauneta 2O-bore will be of great service to sports-
Ball- and Shot-Guns
255
men who do not object to a slight increase in weight. The great
advantage of the 28-bore is that it is a double rifle as well as a
shot-gun weighing only 5^ Ibs. The 2o-bore constructed on
these lines weighs between 6|- to 7 lb., but this weight is not
objected to on the part of Indian sportsmen who do not carry their
own arms, and will in reality put no tax upon the endurance of an
African sportsman.
South African sportsmen are accustomed to sturdy weapons,
and 7 lb. is by them regarded as not excessive, in fact, it is
considered to be rather a light weight for a combination arm.
The 20-bore Fauneta is arranged to shoot a bullet of 320 to
380 grs., and a powder charge sufficient to give a bullet velocity of
about 1600 feet per second, and in this case also both the brass-
capped and the all-lead bullet are available.
The Fauneta ball- and shot-gun 20- and 28-bores are both made
by their inventors as single loaders, using their under lever system
of sliding block action with detachable barrel.
The Explora ball- and shot-gun is made in gauges 16, 10 and
8, and in all sizes has proved itself to be a remarkably successful
arm. The 10- and 8-bore are especially suitable for some forms
of jungle work, where dangerous animals such as the buffalo
require a very heavy blow to stop them effectively. Illustrations
of the 8-gauge Explora bullets are given on previous page.
CHAPTER XI
THE SIGHTING OF RIFLES— TRAJECTORY
sighting of rifles is a matter requiring much care
and special knowledge. The utmost exactitude is
necessary in all points concerned ; the elevation must
be correct, the alignment of back-sight with fore-
sight perfect, the shape and cutting of the " V's" or
notches accurate.
Many different forms of sights are now attached to sporting
rifles ; amongst the principal back-sights may be enumerated —
1. Open sights.
2. Peep, or aperture sights.
3. Telescopic sights.
FIG. 112.
FIG. 113.
The military pattern of tangent back-sight is seldom, if ever,
employed on sporting rifles, unless in the case of rifles for South
Africa, where it is used in conjunction with the ordinary open-leaf
"V" sights, and is essential for the long range shooting there
affected.
The form of sighting now most widely used for sporting
purposes is that first mentioned, and as here illustrated in two
patterns.
256
The Sighting of Rifles 257
In this familiar method the back-sight, as will be seen, consists of
a flat bar attached to a bed, situated transversely near the breech end
of the barrel, and usually having a notch or "V" cut in its upper
edge. This is known as the " standard " or <c fixed " sight, and is
more frequently accompanied by leaves hinged to the bed, which lie
FIG. 114. — FOLDING LEAVES AND TANGENT SIGHTS AS USED PRINCIPALLY
IN SOUTH AFRICAN SPORT.
flush with the rib when down, and stand up — the same as the fixed
bar — when raised for use. In the better quality rifles these leaves
are provided with springs to keep them rigid when shooting ; those
without springs soon become loose in wear, and are liable to be
jarred down by the explosion of the cartridge.
The pattern of fore-sight mostly used in conjunction with these
back-sights is one having a small globe or bead raised on a short
FIG. 115. — BEAD FORE-SIGHT FIXED FIG. 116. — BEAD FORE-SIGHT DOVE-
LONGITUDINALLY IN RlB AND TAILED IN TRANSVERSE SLOT
PINNED IN. ON RIB.
neck or stem attached to its bed, and the actual illustration shows
that the form of this fore-sight is more or less elongated and spear-
shaped.
These forms naturally are chosen with a view to the correction
of lateral movements of the muzzle of the rifle ; thus when the aim
is true, the fore-shortened view of the fore-sight then presented
258 Modern Sporting Gunnery
appears simply as a bead or globe. The fore-sight is placed upon
the barrel in close proximity to the muzzle.
The bead is, as a rule, faced with silver or platinum ; the latter
FIG. 117.— BEAD FORE-SIGHT WITH
LIFT-UP ENAMEL GLOBE OR
NIGHT-SIGHT.
FIG. 118.— BEAD FORE-SIGHT WITH
GLOBE DOWN.
for preference. Sometimes it is ivory-tipped, and fore-sights with
white enamel facings are also much employed.
In Africa, fore-sights of triangular or barleycorn pattern are
supplied in addition to the beadlike or globular form, and these are
FIG. 119. — BARLEYCORN
FORE-SIGHT.
FIG. 120. — AMERICAN FORE-SIGHT
IN GENERAL USE.
interchangeable at will. Sometimes they are made completely of
ivory, and sometimes of iron or steel, faced or plain.
I am told that it is a common practice with Boer hunters, on
receiving a sporting rifle from England not provided with ivory
FIG. i2i.— PLATINUM TRIANGLE
ON LEAF SIGHT CENTRING
THE "V."
FIG. 122. — LEAF SIGHT WITH
PLATINUM TRIANGLE AND
WITHOUT THE "V."
sights, to discard the forms mentioned and fix in a fore-sight made
of hippopotamus ivory.
Ivory sights are liable to damage, being too brittle to withstand
rough usage, but, of course, when stalking amidst rocks or in a
heavily timbered country, a fore-sight protector may be used.
The standard, or leaf, of the back-sight is usually centred by a
The Sighting of Rifles 259
vertical straight line from its base to the bottom of the " V," to
enable the shooter more quickly and certainly to centre his front
bead in the notch, as will be gathered by reference to Fig. 112.
Occasionally a platinum triangle, with its apex turned towards
the bottom of the " V," is substituted for the straight line
(Fig. 121) and in some sights, either with the vertical line or
with the platinum triangle, the " V " or notch is dispensed with
(Fig. 122). Ivory lines and triangles, or pyramids, are also
employed, but ivory is very difficult to work and make secure
in its steel setting.
The question of narrow or wide cc V's," or of leaf back-sights
practically without " V's," but with a wide sloping top edge,
is a matter that does not admit of any definite preference. It is
one of personal taste, though, given clear strong sight on the part
of the shooter, the narrow " V " lessens the chance of lateral
Narrow " V." Medium " V's." Wide-Open " V."
FIG. 123. — VARIOUS FORMS OF "V's" OR NOTCH ON BACK-SIGHT.
error through canting the rifle. The medium " V," as shown,
seems to be the one most in favour, and this is especially adapted
for snap-shooting, such, for instance, as is often required in the
jungle, whereby a ready bead can be aligned on the animal.
All said and done, in the matter of his rifle sights, a sportsman
will be guided by personal requirements and the conditions of his
shooting.
The peep or aperture sights of the Lyman type are well known
amongst sportsmen. The peep sight is again a question of
personal taste. In certain lights, when taking a slow shot, some
consider it better than any form of "V," although the narrow
"V" is especially adapted to deliberate aiming. But the aperture
sight does not lend itself to accurate alignment when snap-shooting
or in any case where a quick shot is needed. These peep sights
are generally provided with the inner ring of the aperture fitted
with a hinged piece which, on being moved down, gives place to a
larger hole, so that the sportsman has the choice of two sizes of
260 Modern Sporting Gunnery
ring or aperture through which to aim. This sight is raised or
lowered by turning a collar or the outer milled covering which
carries the sight, as illustrated.
America for many years has been foremost in the production of
this class of sight, mainly owing to the huge scale on which com-
mercial conditions in that country permit these sights to be made.
There rifle-shooting is a national pastime, and thus the question
of turning out sights of one pattern in large quantities, and at
cheap rates, has largely occupied attention.
FIG. 124.— LYMAN PEEP
SIGHT.
FIG. 125. — WESTLEY RICHARDS
PEEP SIGHT.
Of late, English makers have developed an interest in the
manufacture of aperture sights, and one form now in use possesses
points of merit superior to anything that the American manu-
facturers have as yet been able to produce. A novel and highly
advantageous addition to the peep sight is the wind-gauge appliance^
which causes the pillar and aperture to travel in a direct horizontal
plane across the weapon.
This arrangement is doubly useful, for it corrects the natural
deflection of the bullet due to lateral wind pressure, and it also
assists to correct any inaccuracy in the shooting of a rifle due to
wear, damage, or other cause.
The Sighting of Rifles 261
The milled head screw which controls the cross movement is
provided with a micrometer arrangement, slits being cut in the
head, and into these a spring engages with an audible snick when
the head is turned. The head may be so provided that the slits
represent one minute or half-minute spaces ; the latter representing
on the target one inch at each 100 yards, that is to say, two
FIG. 126. — WIND-GAUGE APPLIANCE.
inches at 200 yards, and three inches at 300 yards, and so
on. This fine adjustment, so easily manipulated, is a very great
factor towards insuring accuracy in sport ; it enables the shooter,
say, at 100 yards, instantly and definitely to alter the position of
his shot to the point aimed at, to the extent of one inch. This
system of wind-gauge micrometer allowance is more fully described
as applied to military sights alluded to further on.
FIG. 127. — LYMAN
FORE-SIGHT.
FIG. 128.— BEECH FORE-SIGHTS.
In conjunction with these sights there are special pattern
fore-sights of the Beech and Lyman well-known designs, as
illustrated.
These fore-sights are preferred by some. They may also be
used in conjunction with the open sights.
Before passing on to telescope sights, I will deal with military
pattern (lift-up) sights.
262 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Since about the year 1852, the military form of back-sight has
been of the tangent or upright system ; now, upon the new short-
service weapon recently adopted, the pattern of sight has been
changed and the flap-up back-sight, first employed upon continental
rifles, has taken its place.
Westley Richards's tangent sight was capable of folding down
either way. In 1854, the Government adopted a new back-sight
combining the principles of both Mr. Westley Richards and Mr.
Charles Lancaster, in conjunction with the Ordnance pattern sight
fitted to the Minie rifle.
In the Westley Richards sight the flap can be put down on the
barrel from or towards the muzzle. In the Lancaster sight the
flap is protected by flanges, and in the Ordnance pattern adopted
the flap is kept in a perpendicular position by a spring.
Fifty years ago we find that wind-gauge sights engaged the
attention of rifle makers. I have seen several models of tangent
sight made upon the wind-gauge principle by Westley Richards.
(i) The Westley Richards Wind-gauge Sight adopted fifty years
ago. The tangent leaf moves across the bed by the action of a
screw worked by a milled head or separate key carried in the pocket.
FIG. 129. — SIGHT UP. FIG. 130.— SIGHT DOWN.
The bed of the sight was dovetailed on to a bottom piece,
across which the sight and its bed were moved by a screw arrange-
The Sighting of Rifles 263
ment working at the side. This was by no means an experiment,
but a practical and efficient wind-gauge movement.
I have before me, as I write, a Westley Richards Capping
Carbine, military pattern, No. 1158, made in the year 1862, in its
original form, and it is fitted with the old wind-gauge back-sight
described and illustrated. The fore-sight on this rifle is also made
on the same mechanical principle for wind-gauge adjustment. I
have also seen at Westley Richards's factory, amongst their relics,
other examples of this wind-gauge sight.
Now that the interest in wind-gauge sights has been renewed
and stimulated by recent events, this old system has been revived
and " re-invented " as a novelty, although being nothing but a copy
of the original.
(2) Tangent sight with wind-gauge slide, fifty years old. The
slide or cap is worked by a screw across the tangent leaf. The
milled head of " A," on the left side, moves the slide across.
The one marked " B " is for tightening the slide in position
against the side of leaf and prevents its disturbance under firing.
FIG. 131.— SIGHT UP.
FIG. 132. — SIGHT DOWN.
(3) Match slide for M. B. L. rifles employed by eminent match
rifle makers for thirty years or more. The cap or slide is moved
264 Modern Sporting Gunnery
across the leaf by means of a screw. It is an application of the
older mechanical device illustrated in Figs. 131 and 132 ; its
form differing in unimportant details.
FIG. 133. — SIGHT UP.
Another method of effecting lateral adjustment, adopted by
gunmakers on best sporting and military target rifles for Africa
during the last half century, consisted in moving the bar in a
dovetail across the slide of the tangent leaf, either with or without
a screw arrangement. This well-known design, so long in general
use, has also now been re-invented and introduced as a novelty, and
even has received the favourable attention of the sporting press,
whose archives evidently do not embrace the operations of the
private gunmaker dealing with every branch of the gun and rifle
trade and with interests scattered almost all over the globe.
Another device familiar to gunmakers, of which I have seen
many old examples, is the screw arrangement for elevating the
slide. This screw arrangement was fitted to the ordinary tangent
sight, especially for use upon rifles adopted by the Boer marksman
for target purposes. It is perhaps not so familiar to the shooting
public of this country as it is in Africa, but the same design and
principle were exhibited in the orthoptic match back-sight on
target rifles made famous in the old Wimbledon days by Gibbs,
Westley Richards and others, and is still in use on the match
rifles of to-day. Nevertheless, only recently I have seen a sight
having this old movement, which was represented as a novelty,
and for which even patent protection was applied, although the
idea and the design are as "old as the hills."
The Sighting of Rifles 265
(4) Vernier Elevating Tangent Sight, as used by Boer marks-
men for upwards of fifty years. The slide is moved up and down
the tangent leaf by means of the screw.
FIG. 134. — VIEW SHOWING THE
ELEVATING SCREW AND
VERNIER SCALE.
FIG. 135. — VIEW SHOWING SLIDE
WITH "V" AND LINE.
(5) Vernier Elevating Tangent Sight combined with wind-gauge
slide, as supplied by Westley Richards to the Boers, on rifles of a
bygone pattern.
FIG. 136.
The first notable advance in the wind-gauge mechanical move-
ment, fitted to the perpendicular tangent leaf, was introduced by
Westley Richards & Co. in the year 1900. The early wind-
gauge sight made by the late Mr. Westley Richards, as we have
seen, moved the bed by carrying the leaf across a dovetail fitted
266 Modern Sporting Gunnery
upon the barrel. The later arrangement referred to introduces a
new movement of carrying the leaf alone across its bed. Roswell
Cook, an American inventor, had already attempted this arrange-
ment. His sight is illustrated below.
(6) The Roswell Cook Tangent Sight, invented 1880. The
tangent leaf works on a fixed screw across the bed. This, I believe,
was the first attempt to move the tangent leaf separately across
the bed. The spaces on either side of the tail-piece of tangent
" A " are liable to get clogged — a serious objection.
FIG. 137. — LEAF UP.
In the Westley Richards construction of sight, the tangent or
leaf is attached to a round peg, which forms the pivot on which
the sight leaf turns. This pivot or pin slides through shoulders
formed on the sight bed, as shown in Figs. 138, 139 and 140.
Fig. 139 shows the formation of the shoulders and the guide slopes
for the self centring of the leaf, or its return to the normal position
on being folded down, after having been set across for wind-gauge
allowance.
When the tangent leaf is lowered, it bears against the guide
slope K which automatically presses it towards the centre. This
saves the trouble of pushing upon the pivot pin to carry the sight
back from the wind-gauge position. This motion is also useful
for making minute readjustments of wind-gauge allowance.
Divisions are marked upon the back of the bed.
The Sighting of Rifles 267
(7) The Westley Richards Push Pivot Wind-gauge Sight —
arranged for automatic self centring of the tangent leaf.
/D
J
H
1
0
L,
FIG. 138.
FIG. 139.
FIG. 140.
This makes a very strong and effective military sight. It is
the pattern adopted on the Mark I Original Westley Richards
Sherwood rifle.
In 1901 a further improvement was effected in this tangent
sight. Messrs. Westley Richards & Co. gave thoughtful attention
to the adjustment of elevation, which they desired to make capable
of the same accurate movement as their former invention had
provided for the wind-gauge or lateral movement.
(8) The Westley Richards Pivot Wind-gauge Sight, worked by
traversing screw with vernier elevating slide, with spring catch or
clutch.
For this purpose they laid under contribution the old elevating
screw for moving the slide up and down the leaf, to which I
have already alluded. The movements permitted by a screw
thread are nicer and finer than any hand adjustment, but to rely
solely upon this screw movement, and thereby to exclude the slide
from any other method of movement, was to confine its use to
a tedious and slow operation. Consequently the inventors con-
structed a special form of slide with a spring catch or clutch.
268 Modern Sporting .Gunnery
The screw clutch or catch referred to is shown in Fig. 145 applied
to the flap-up new service sight. This clutch has formed upon it
screw threads to correspond with the threads of the elevating
screw, with which, when pressed upon by its spring, it is held in
FIG. 141. — PIVOT WIND-GAUGE SIGHT AND VERNIER ELEVATING SLIDE.
The slide is fitted with a patent screw clutch, and can either be moved up
and down by means of the screw or independently ; after fixing the slide to the
line indicating the required range, subsequent adjustment of extreme fineness
can be made by means of the elevating screw. The wind-gauge slide is moved
across the leaf by a screw. The screw-head has Westley Richards micrometer
arrangement — a spring snicking into notches formed in the screw-head. This
is an adaptation to a Lee-Metford or Lee-En field Service Leaf.
close engagement, and thus prevents any movement of the slide
through jar upon firing, and, when desired, can be moved by the
turning of the elevating screw. By this means, on pressing upon
the ends of the slide with the thumb and finger, the clutch or
catch is released from engagement with the screw, and the slide
The Sighting of Rifles 269
can then be moved up and down the tangent leaf by hand in the
usual way. Thus* we have provided in this arrangement both a
means of ready elevation, and also of fine vernier adjustment. A
shooter having obtained the position of, say, 500 yards upon the
leaf, and wishing to correct his elevation to the fine point of a few
inches up or down, can readily effect this nice adjustment by
For attachment to the Government
Service Lee-Enfield and Lee-Metford
Le,af.
FIG. 142. — WIND-GAUGE BAR WORKED
BY TRAVERSING SCREW, WITH VERNIER
ELEVATING SCREW AND SCREW CLUTCH
FITTED TO SERVICE LEAF.
Attached to Service Leaf.
FIG. 143. — WESTLEY RICHARDS
WIND-GAUGE MICROMETER SLIDE.
turning the screw, which in the past would require the attachment
of a separate vernier, which is slow to adjust, and has to be carried
separately in the pocket. Thus, in one and the same sight, we
now have a perfect wind-gauge movement as well as a vernier
elevating screw without any disadvantage.
This is the pattern adopted on the Sherwood Rifle Mark II.
There is a further advantage possessed by this sight which is
especially serviceable in target shooting. The milled head is
270 Modern Sporting Gunnery
constructed with a micrometer arrangement, which affords a
ready means for computing the amount of wind-gauge allowance
taken. The traversing pin is cut with a screw of a suitable
number of threads to the inch, and the head of the pin is
FIG. 144. — UNDER-SIDE OF THE LEAF, WITH WESTLEY RICHARDS
VERNIER ELEVATOR SCREW.
divided into notches of either four or six at equal distances. A
spring fitted underneath snicks into or engages with each notch as
the milled head is turned, thus at each quarter turn or a turn of
FIG. 145. — THE WESTLEY RICHARDS ELEVATOR SCREW AND SPRING CLUTCH,
SCREWED AT A. B AND C ARE THE POINTS UPON WHICH THE SCREW
REVOLVES, C ALSO ACTING AS AN ADJUSTING PIN.
one-sixth of the screw, a movement of a fractional part of an inch is
obtained and indicated, representing a definite value in inches of
wind-gauge allowance upon the target or object at every unit of
range. Four divisions to the complete turn represent each about
i inch for each 100 yards.
The shooter by this means not only obtains minute corrections of
The Sighting of Rifles 271
wind-gauge allowance, but the exact amount registered is conveyed
to his ear and to his touch without calling upon him to read
off the wind-gauge scale. This is illustrated in Fig. 149 referring to
the flap-up pattern of sight of the kind fitted upon the new short-
service rifle recently introduced.
On the flap-up sight now adopted on the short-service rifle there
FIG. 146. — SEPARATE VIEW OF COMPLETE SLIDE AND SPRING CLUTCH.
is a wind-gauge or lateral movement of the " V," and thus for the
first time upon our service rifle the need for a wind-gauge sight so
long advocated by rifle experts is recognized by military authorities.
There is nothing novel in the system employed for moving the
" V " laterally in the service sight now under discussion. It is, in
short, the old and well-known screw arrangement adopted in the
FIG. 147. — THIS FORM HAS THE GOVERNMENT HEAD AND WIND-GAUGE.
past, as we have seen, to move the bar across the slide upon the
tangent leaf. It is also a common arrangement in the construction
of wind-gauge fore-sights of half-a-century back. The leaf or flap
is provided at each side with deep grooves : each division of the
ratchet or groove gives a 50 yards rise, and the spring catch
elevating slide engages in these grooves. For fine elevation the
head of the sight upon which the " V " is attached is made in two
parts — one dovetailing into the other, and a screw underneath raises
272 Modern Sporting Gunnery
or lowers the movable part to which the " V " is attached for this
fine adjustment.
This method of obtaining vernier adjustment is unmechanical
and difficult to manipulate, as the sight flap has first to be raised
before the screw underneath can be operated.
There are further objections to this service sight. The vernier
scale and the scale for elevation are not on the same plane, and
this makes it necessary for the shooter to turn his weapon round
when desiring to read the fine adjustment scale. This sight is
complicated, consisting of nineteen parts.
Tubular Hollow formed in Head.
Round Wind-gauge Pin and Milled
Head or Wheel.
Sight Bar.
Axle Wire.
FIG. 148.— SIGHT HEAD, SHOWING WESTLEY RICHARDS PATENT
WIND-GAUGE AND COMPONENT PARTS.
Messrs. Westley Richards have applied the improvements which
I have mentioned as touching the tangent sight, and have also
added others of recent invention to this form of flap-up sight.
In their new model the grooves at the side of the leaf are omitted,
and instead, a screw fixed within the leaf on the under-side
engages with a spring clutch of the kind already described, as
used upon the ordinary tangent sight (Fig. 147). This gives, in
addition to the ordinary method of obtaining elevation, an easy
method of minute corrections, the sight being in one combination
a vernier and elevating sight, dispensing with the pocket vernier,
The Sighting of Rifles 273
the same as in the tangent sight constructed on a similar mechanical
principle.
The illustrations show that the milled head of the screw
fitted within the leaf (as seen in Figs. 144 and 147) projects
through the upper surface of the leaf or flap, and can be worked
by the thumb with ease.
In place of the antiquated wind-gauge screw arrangement on the
Government flap-up sight, Westley Richards move the head or "V"
notch in the following way. The " V " notch is attached to a round
Tubular Hollow formed in Head.
Round Wind-gauge Pin and Sight
Bar, and Milled Head, showing
Ratchet at D.
Spring Leaf, snicking into Ratchet.
FIG. 149. — SIGHT HEAD, SHOWING ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING
WESTLEY RICHARDS PATENT WIND-GAUGE, WITH OR WITHOUT RATCHET.
This method of construction illustrated is the same in principle as the micrometer
arrangement described in conjunction with the tangent form of sight.
pin.
which traverses a tube or hollow formed in the head of the
flap ; this pin is screwed, as shown above, and is worked by a milled
head or wheel fixed at the right-hand side of the sights (Fig. 148).
The vernier scale and the scale for elevation in this improved
sight are upon the same plane, which obviates the difficulty of
having to turn the rifle round to read the vernier scale. The
sight consists complete of ten pieces, as compared with nineteen in
the service sight ; it is easier to make and manipulate, and more
18
274 Modern Sporting Gunnery
efficient and mechanical than the short service sight. The ten
parts are as follows —
(1) Back-sight Leaf.
(2) „ Slide.
(3) „ Slide Screw Clutch.
(4) „ Slide Clutch Spring.
(5) „ Slide Elevating Screw.
(6) „ Slide Elevating Screw Adjusting Pin.
(7) » Wind-gauge.
(8) „ Wind-gauge Screw Head.
(9) „ Wind-gauge Axle.
(10) „ Wind-gauge Axle Pin or Wire.
When made with the micrometer divisions on the screw, to
give definite and minute fractional parts of wind-gauge allowance,
the number of parts are increased to thirteen. This latter form
of sight is more especially recommended for sporting weapons or
for fine match target shooting, as opposed to military purposes.
This sight, made in reduced proportions, would, I think, make
an ideal sight for single and double and sporting rifles, because the
method of elevating the slide is of the finest description and easily
effected. The sportsman can get what he never had before,
namely, fractional adjustment to a yard, or less, if necessary. In
short, he is not tied down to the rigid control of sights fixed to one
elevation, and can himself arrange a basis of elevation to suit the
special needs both of the sport in his district and his personal
requirements. For instance, he can elevate his rifle sight from
90 yards to 100 yards, or from 100 yards to 1 10 yards, etc. At the
same time he is always sighting through one and the same rear sight
and " V," the shape and height of which are not altered. The rise
in the flap of this pattern sight to 300 yards or more is insensible ;
and for larger ranges up to 1000 yards is not objectionable.
The wind-gauge movement is not always necessary, but even
in short-range shooting, down ravines for instance, it would
prove of advantage, and will, I think, be welcomed for long-range
shooting in Africa and elsewhere. Moreover, the wind-gauge is
there for the correction of errors, whether personal, or due to
wear or injury to the rifle or other outside conditions.
The Sighting of Rifles 275
TELESCOPE SIGHTS.
Telescope sights now have a recognized place in sport For
the last twenty years or more fitful attempts have been made to
overcome all the inherent difficulties with regard to the attach-
ment and durability of telescope sights as applied to rifles. At
first opticians had not given close attention to the construction of
a telescope especially adapted to sporting rifle work. An ordinary
tube with suitable magnifying glasses was thought to suffice ;
with this the field of view was narrow, whilst the instrument
proved ungainly, and was unprovided with any means for ready
attachment and detachment. The use of these instruments was
mainly confined to miniature rifles or rook rifles, but, in effect,
these crude magnifying glasses were not found to be superior to
the ordinary methods of sighting ; moreover, the users of telescope
sights are always confronted with the difficulty that every hostile
condition is exaggerated four or five fold. In a bad light the
difficult features interfering with good aim are intensified, a murky
atmosphere is still more murky, and unsteadiness of holding is
increasingly apparent.
When these sights are applied to heavy sporting rifles, or in any
rifle where there is considerable jar from the explosion, the cross
wires or hair lines, which form the means of sighting upon the
object, are liable to break under the sudden shock. American
manufacturers have long given attention to the question of tele-
scope sights, but they are mostly applied to small bore miniature
rifles, although a goodly number are used on hunting weapons ;
the latter, however, are not such powerful weapons as the old
heavy, black powder rifles, or the modern high velocity series now
in such general use for game shooting throughout the world.
To continental makers we owe considerable improvement in that
class of telescope suitable for sport on high-velocity weapons, single
and double ; notably to Carl Zeiss, of Jena.
Telescope sights may be employed for different purposes. They
may be required merely to counteract defective vision, or to
increase the normal vision, and, therefore, the sportsman's chance
of success at long distances. Or they may be used both for the
purposes of a sight and a telescope. It is admitted that a rifle
276 Modern Sporting Gunnery
cannot be held still when shooting from the shoulder without any
rest for the rifle. The magnifying power of the telescope multi-
plies the movements on the part of the shooter and renders sighting
under such conditions the more difficult with some and impossible
with others. It is for this reason that a low power telescope for
shooting purposes is preferable to a high power, but the telescope
also — like any other form of sighting — must be constructed to
meet the vision and the personal needs of the shooter.
FIG. 150. — ZEISS TELESCOPE SIGHT WITH WESTLEY RICHARDS ATTACHMENT.
The Zeiss telescope alluded to has every recommendation as a
sporting telescope sight. It has a field of view nearly three times
as large as that in the best types hitherto used. At 100 yards the
diameter of the field of view is 23 \ yards, which is approximately
a quarter of the distance. The magnifying power is two and
a half, thus facilitating aim without, at the same time, producing
that multiplied movement or swaying of the image referred to,
which sportsmen more or less experience when shooting without
a rest.
It is a prism telescope , with which it is claimed that, besides the
large field of vision, distinctness and brightness of the image up to
The Sighting of Rifles 277
the margin are obtained. The maker claims that the brightness
is greater than any other known prism telescope.
Messrs. Holland, and Rigby, and other well-known gunmakers,
have given attention to telescope sights, and now make very suc-
cessful ones. The difficulty of elevation to give different distances
of the sight was tackled some years ago by Messrs. Holland, who
made a satisfactory sight arrangement.
Westley Richards also had a similar system, which consisted
in an external radial screw which moved the sight lines up
FIG. 151. — WESTLEY RICHARDS TELESCOPIC RIFLE SIGHT ATTACHMENT.
SHOWING TELESCOPE DETACHED.
and down, the value of the divisions for each rise or fall being
marked on the top of the screw. In the Zeiss sight, the
elevation is obtained by means of a similar screw, which is
capable of adjusting the elevation from zero to 2000 yards. Some
makers use these sights with different attachments. They are
usually attached rigidly to the rifle, but the rigid attachment is liable
to break the glasses, and this has been a serious cause of trouble.
Again, I have seen telescope sights with these fixed or rigid
attachments which, after some little use, become loose. If the
rigid attachment held, the chances are that the wires or other
278 Modern Sporting Gunnery
parts would give way under the vibration of the explosion. The
only way of meeting this difficulty is to provide the telescope with
a movement under firing which will absorb the jar or vibration.
The arrangement in Fig. 150 meets this objection by pivoting
the telescope, and I describe their method below, and illustrate the
attachment both for double and single rifles, Mauser rifles, and also
for the Sherwood rifle.
FIG. 152. — WESTLEY RICHARDS TELESCOPIC RIFLE SIGHT ATTACHMENT.
This method of attachment, besides obviating the trouble caused
by the constant jar of recoil, permits of the instant removal of the
telescope by hand, without the aid of tools. I consider it to be a
further advantage that the telescope sight can readily be detached
for the purpose of carrying it in a separate case, and so protected
from damage when travelling. Again, when it is desired to shoot
with open sights, a free and unobstructed view is best obtained by
the absence of the telescope.
A bed or platform, to which the telescope sight is pivoted, is
placed in front of the ordinary sight. A plunger controlled by a
The Sighting of Rifles 279
spiral spring is fitted within the block attached underneath the
tube, which tends to keep the telescope in its position on the bed.
This pivoting of the telescope permits its being raised in a ready
manner, as shown in Fig. 152. This sketch shows the sportsman
lifting up the telescope with the thumb of left hand, in order to
clear it out of the way of the bolt while the right hand is manipu-
lating the bolt to cock and load the weapon, and is the simplest
means yet devised for satisfactory use of the telescope sight upon
magazine bolt rifles. When the weapon is discharged, the
B
1X1
FIG. 153. — WESTLEY RICHARDS PATENT TELESCOPE SIGHT ATTACHMENT
FOR SINGLE AND DOUBLE RIFLES.
freedom of movement thus allowed to the telescope absorbs the
jar or vibration set up by the explosion, and so avoids straining or
breaking the delicate wires or otherwise dislocating the sight — a
frequent source of trouble in those types of fixed fastenings which
are supposed to keep the sight rigid. In practice it is found that
these so-called rigid fastenings give way under the shock of the
explosion, and so destroy the accurate adjustment.
The bright pin underneath the block, if turned outwards,
elevates the zero, that is, raises the elevation. A half-turn is equal
to about 100 yards of elevation. The right and left pins move the
280 Modern Sporting Gunnery
dovetail either way to correct horizontal adjustment. A fine line
is shown on front of block, and a movement either way to the
extent only of the thickness of the line equals a deviation of about
eight to ten inches in 100 yards, according to the length of the
telescope tube. ,
The slit in the attaching pin is broad enough to take a copper coin.
B
\
FIG. 154. — WESTLEY RICHARDS SHERWOOD RIFLE TELESCOPE, WITH PATENT
HINGED ATTACHMENT AND MICROMETER SIGHT ELEVATOR.
The stud S at either side of the telescope block fits into the
slots provided at either side of the bed on the barrels, and allows
the telescope to pivot. The spring stud A holds the telescope in
position. The screw B alters, when turned, the pressure of the
spring which controls the stud A. When turned up under the lip
C, as shown above, the tension is taken off the spring, and allows
the spring stud A to be easily compressed, and the telescope with-
drawn from the bed. When the screw B is turned down, it puts
tension upon the spring of spring stud A, which serves to keep the
The Sighting of Rifles 281
telescope in the normal position when the telescope is attached.
To give the proper tension to the said spring, you turn down the
screw B half-way between the points C and D. To detach
telescope, therefore, turn screw up till the head reaches point C.
Press on end of telescope gently and firmly, which will compress
the spring stud A, and then slide telescope out of the bed. It
draws away most easily. To attach it, slide it along the bed until
the spring stud A snicks into position, and screw down the screw
B as stated, to give the proper tension.
The elevating set pin X should not be interfered with ; it is the
pin used by the makers in sighting the telescope. Each telescope
is sighted from 100 yards, and is sent out with the set pin X in
the correct position for this distance. If, for any possible reason,
the 100 yards' elevation should not be found correct, then, by
turning the pin X slightly, it can be correctly adjusted. A half-
turn of this pin gives a difference of a little over 100 yards.
The above sketch shows the Westley Richards Sherwood
rifle fitted with tube telescope sight, in addition to the ordinary
sights, with their patent attachment. The telescope can be
attached or removed instantly, and without the aid of tools.
It has a magnifying power of four, which is the size they
recommend on the above pattern telescope, enlarging the bull four
times the size it appears to the naked eye at all ranges.
The method of attachment, described briefly, is this : a steel
lug is fixed on the forward end of the telescope lengthwise as at
A. Through the front lower end of this lump, a piece of wire is
run, which protrudes at each side. This forms the axle or pivot
on which the telescope lifts up and down, and practically
completes the joint. A bed is fixed on the barrel of the rifle at
the breech end B, in the middle of which a slot is machined to
receive the lug A, with grooves on either side, along which the
axle or pivot is pushed. These two grooves turn up a short
distance at the end, allowing the axle to bed nicely in these
upward grooves ; a plunger controlled by a spiral spring, fitted at
the end of the bed, keeps the telescope in its downward position.
By turning the milled head screw II, the tension is taken off the
spring, and the pivot or axle can be pushed back along the grooves
already described, thus enabling the telescope to be fitted on the
282 Modern Sporting Gunnery
rifle and removed again in less time than it takes to tell. The
screw I controls the elevation.
TRAJECTORY.
Trajectory is the arc or curved line described by a projectile in
its flight from the muzzle of the gun to the point of its impact.
The adjectives flat and high and low, as applied to trajectory and
to velocities, must be accepted in a general sense, otherwise they
are liable to be misconstrued. Strictly speaking, the term flat
trajectory is a misnomer, for one cannot well describe a curve as
" flat." Flattened, or flattish, trajectory might answer, but a flat
curve one never yet did see. A high trajectory results from a low
projectile velocity ; a low trajectory from a high bullet velocity.
This curved aerial path of the bullet may be described as the arc ;
the line of vision, from shooter's eye to objective, forms the chord
to that segment.
Elevation of the muzzle of the firearm is essential as counteract-
ing the effect of gravity upon the projectile ; consequently the
greater the elevation the greater the trajectory curve.
In the days of black powder, with spherical bullets, and the
loose methods of rifling the barrel then practised, trajectories were
so exceedingly high that it was necessary to point the rifle
skywards in order to hit an object distant but a few hundred
yards. The process of reducing this high trajectory has been
steadily progressing for a number of years. First, an improve-
ment in the rifling of barrels ; second, the change from spherical
to cylindro-conoidal projectiles; and, third, the improvement in
gunpowders, effected marked advances in this direction.
Modern gunmakers with improved systems of rifling, and
modern powder manufacturers with one or another form of
smokeless powder, have still further reduced bullet trajectories.
In fact so low is now the trajectory with the latest type of modern
high velocity rifles that a slight variation in the exposure or
elevation of the bead fore-sight through the notch of the 100 yards
back-sight, which can be readily and accurately effected, will
insure hitting an object at all ranges from 100 yards to 300 yards.
The question of trajectories given by the various military rifles
Trajectory 283
in use has been dealt with by authorities in the past, who have
endeavoured to make plain to the ordinary reader the value of the
somewhat abstruse tables they presented. Such figures, however,
do not appeal to the average sportsman who is not acquainted with,
and cares little for, mathematical calculations in connection with
gunnery. Perhaps there is only a very small proportion of
shooters who really quite understand what is meant by them
or how they are arrived at.
Therefore it has always seemed to me desirable, in the interests of
the every-day sportsman, to frame a table of trajectories especially
applicable to sporting distances, and to express in plain figures
gathered from actual tests, the height of any bullet above or below
the line of aim taken, instead of relying upon the results calculated
mathematically.
This latter method has been generally adopted in the past, and
has therefore failed to clearly present to the sportsman's mind the
true effect resulting from error in judging distances.
I think it will be generally conceded that average sporting dis-
tances do not extend beyond 300 yards. As a matter of fact, much
game is shot at ranges not exceeding 150 yards. To this general
statement, of course, we have the exceptional long range shooting
which characterizes a great deal of the South African sport, where
small buck and kindred game are shot on the veldt at ranges of
several hundred yards.
But taking that class of sport which necessitates the use of a rifle
sighted to 300 yards as a fair sporting range, such as obtains in India,
it has been sought to ascertain what is the value of the error in
shooting a weapon so sighted with any one of its three sights at any
probable range between its first and third sights. For instance, in
the case of a sportsman having a rifle sighted to 300 yards, and
treating that range as the maximum, we require first to ascertain
what would be the result of a shot fired at 300 yards with the 100
yards sight ; secondly, the result, using the 100 yards sight at a range
of 200 yards, and also the result with the 300 yards sight at either 100
or 200 yards. That is ascertaining the position the bullet would
occupy on the object aimed at under the aforementioned conditions.
If the sportsman knows this, and he can know it from data ascer-
tained by actual experience, and moreover, if such data is expressed
284 Modern Sporting Gunnery
in inches, then in the case of error in taking either a low sight or
a high sight, he knows the corresponding rise of the bullet above or
the fall of the bullet below, the mark aimed at. He will thus
possess such a thorough knowledge of the behaviour of his rifle that,
in the conditions we have assumed, he will be able to definitely cor-
rect the fault either way by a corresponding adjustment of his aim.
This adjustment of aim will be all the more accurate from the
fact that the sportsman is in possession of a table which gives, with
almost absolute exactitude, the result in inches of the bullet's
position with regard to the point of aim, thereby permitting him
to make the correction, not by mere guess work as in the past, but
by knowledge which permits of a more or less definite allowance.
I have prepared trajectory tables ascertained from actual shooting
by means of interposing screens, so as to see the exact position of
the bullet ; measuring the rise of the bullet above the line, or the
fall below the line of sight, in most kinds of sporting rifles now
in use, when shot at distances supposed to be ill estimated to
various extents.
I believe that this is the first time any practical attempt has been
made on these lines. It will be seen that the figures in the tables
apply to every bore of sporting rifle, from '256- to *6oo-bore.
In the old days, when black powder rifles were in use, their
trajectories were higher. With express rifles of '450- and *5oo-bore
the rise of the bullet at 50 yards, when shooting at 100 yards, was
more than that of nitro express rifles of the same bores fired with
100 yards sights at twice the distance.
The accompanying series of trajectory tests, by firing through
screens, have been carried out at Westley Richards's range at
Bournbrook, and have been verified from time to time. The
diagrams in each case show the following —
(a) The distance of target from shooter — /. e. firing point.
(/>) The respective distances from the firing point at which
the paper screens were placed.
(c) Result, indicating the point at which the bullet passed
through the screens, and showing the amount of bullet rise
or trajectory height above the line of sight at each distance
when shooting at the ranges given.
Trajectory
285
For example, with the Mannlicher -256 rifle we see that with
the target 200 yards distant from the shooter the screen was
placed 100 yards away. This diagram shows that the bullet
under these conditions rises 4,} inches above the line of sight.
Again, with this rifle with the target 300 yards distant, paper
screens were placed at 100 yards and 150 yards from the shooter.
The diagram illustrates that at this range the bullet rises 9^ inches
above the line of sight through the 100 yards' screen, and 1 1 inches
above the line of sight through the 150 yards' screen. The exact
rise in accordance with the above description is ascertainable in
each case from the diagrams given.
i. — MANNLICHER, -256-BORE.
Barrels, 26 inches ; cordite powder, 3 1 grs. ; bullet, 160 grs.
muzzle velocity, 2395 feet per second.
SCREEN
200 YDS
100 YDS.
SIGHT LINE
0V
TARGET
300 YDS.
100 YDS J50 YDS.
FIG. 155. — TRAJECTORY.
Shot at 100 yds. with 200 yds,
„ 100 „
„ 200 „
„ 200 „
55 3°° 55
55 3°° 5,
55
300
55
55
55
9i
55
55
55
300
55
55
55
10
55
55
55
IOO
55
55
55
10
55
low.
„
2OO
55
55
55
15
55
55
„
JOO
55
55
55
28^-
55
55
286 Modern Sporting Gunnery
2. — A '3O3-BORE WESTLEY RICHARDS DOUBLE RIFLE.
Barrels, 26 inches; cordite powder, 31 grs. ; bullet, 215 grs. ;
muzzle velocity, 2000 feet per second.
SCREEN
200 YDS
SCREEN
SCREEN
300 YDS
tOO YDS 150 YDS
FIG. 156.— TRAJECTORY.
Shot at i oo yds. with 200 yds. sighting, bullets go 5| inches high,
55
IOO
35
53
300
33
33
200
55
35
300
33
35
2OO
35
33
IOO
33
53
3OO
35
33
2OO
33
33
3OO
55
33
IOO
33
I2
12
34
55
33
33
35
35 55
55 33
35
low.
3. — A '36o-BORE WESTLEY RICHARDS UNDER-LEVER RIFLE.
Barrels, 26 inches ; cordite powder, 30 grs. ; bullet, 300 grs. ;
muzzle velocity, 1650 feet per second.
SCREEN
TARGET
TARGET
30O YDS
150 YDS
FIG. 157. — TRAJECTORY.
Trajectory
287
Shot at 100 yds. with 200 yds. sighting, bullets go 8| inches high.
100 „ „ 300 „ „ „ ,,I7 55 55
200 „ „ 300 „ „ „
200 ,, ,»
55 55
55 "-^^ 55
55 3°° 5,
26|-
55
low.
This is a medium powder rifle, and should not be included in
this series ; but its performances in point of trajectory may prove
of interest.
4. — A '375-BORE MAN NLICHER- ACTION RIFLE.
Barrel, 26 inches ; cordite powder, 40 grs. ; bullet, 270 grs. ;
muzzle velocity, 200O feet per second.
SCREEN
200 YDS.
100 YDS.
TARGET
SCREEN
300 YDS.
100 YDS 15OYDS.
FIG. 158. — TRAJECTORY
TARGET
Shot at 100 yds. with 200 yds. sighting, bullets go 6 inches high.
100
55 55
55 200 „
5, 3°° 55
55 3°° 55
55 300
55 3°°
5, 200
5, 100
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
55
J5
J2 „
„
55
55
55
55
*7 55
low.
55
55
55
55
34^ 55
55
5. — A '4oo/*36o WESTLEY RICHARDS UNDER-LEVER ACTION
RIFLE.
Barrel, 27 inches; cordite powder, 41 grs. ; bullet, 314 grs. ;
muzzle velocity, 1875 feet per second.
288 Modern Sporting Gunnery
SCREEN
TARGET
200 YDS.
100 YDS.
SCREEN
TARGET
300 YDS
150 YDS.
FIG. 159. — TRAJECTORY.
Shot at 100 yds. with 200 yds. sighting, bullets go 7 inches high.
100
200
200
300
300
300
300
100
2OO
IOO
14
H
14
20
37
33
low.
6. — A *45o/'4OO WESTLEY RICHARDS UNDER-LEVER ACTION
RIFLE.
Barrel, 26 inches ; cordite powder, 60 grs. ; bullet, 400 grs. ;
muzzle velocity, 2150 feet per second.
SCREEN
TARGET
SIGHT LINE
200 YDS
100 YDS.
SCREEN
tO;
300 YDS
100 YDS
150 YDS
TARGET
FIG. 160. — TRAJECTORY.
Shot at loo yds. with 200 yds. sighting, bullets go 5 inches high,
IOO
200
200
300
300
300
IOO
2OO
IOO
» 33
J3 33
>3 33
33 33
>5 33
i°i
II
IO-
16
32
33
low,
33
33
Trajectory
289
7. — A *45O-BORE RIFLE.
Cordite, 70 grs. ; bullet, 480 grs. ; muzzle velocity, 2150 feet
per second,
SCREEN
z;
SIGHT LINE
200 YDS.
100 YDS.
TARGET
••>
I
SCREEN
300 YDS.
100 YDS
150 YDS
TARGET
FIG. 161. — TRAJECTORY.
Shot at 100 yds. with 200 yds. sighting, bullets go 4^ inches high,
loo „ „ 300 „
200 „ „ 300 „
2OO „ „ IOO „
300 „ ,,200 „
>j 3°° » 5> I0° »
3> » '
» ))
)5 3) Avy2
» » 32
)?
))
)J
J) )»
3) »
55
low.
8. — A *5oo-BORE WESTLEY RICHARDS UNDER-LEVER ACTION
RIFLE.
Barrel, 26 inches ; cordite, powder 80 grs. ; bullet, 570 grs. ;
muzzle velocity, 2IOO feet per second.
SCREEN
200 YDS.
IOO YDS.
TARGET
SCREEN.
SCREEN
300 YDS
100 YDS 150 YDS.
FIG. 162. — TRAJECTORY
TARGET
290 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Shot at 100 yds. with 200 yds. sighting, bullets go 5^ inches high.
55
1UU „
55 6
uu
55 55
55 55 1U2 55 55
55
55
200 „
200 „
55 3°°
55 IOO
55 55
55 55
5, 55 II
55 55 H 5) 1°W-
55
300 „
„ 200
55 5)
55 55 I/ 55 55
55
3°° 55
55 IOO
55 55
5, 5, 33 55
9- — A '577-BoRE WESTLEY RICHARDS DOUBLE RIFLE.
Barrels, 26 inches ; cordite powder,
muzzle velocity, 2050 feet per second
IOO grs. ; bullet, 750 grs. ;
FIRING
POINT
SCREEN
^^
z] ^-^^ TARGET
20
/
SIGHT LINE
-H! ^^^^ r--»
»o; ^J
OYDS
100 YDS. l^J
FIRIN
POIN
30<
r° ^>f
/^ SIGHT L
SCR
EE»
4 SCREEN
z!
« f!
i
ii
A
JOJ
^^^v^^ TARGET
^S^
DYos
100 YDS 150 YDS I^J
FIG. 163. — TRAJECTORY.
Shot
at 100 yds.
with 2OO
yds. sighting,
bullets go 5^ inches high.
,, IOO ,. .. "2OO
77 // 77 ,_)
55 55
55 55 ^8 55 55
„ 200 „
55 200 „
„ 300 „
55 3°°
55 IO°
„ 200
55 55
55 55
55 55
55 55 IO"2" 55 55
55 55 "I 55 10W"
55 55 I" 55 55
„
3°° 55
55 IO°
55 55
55 55 33 55 55
10. — A -6oo-BORE WESTLEY RICHARDS DOUBLE RIFLE.
Barrels, 26 inches ; cordite powder, IOO grs. ; bullet, 900 grs. ;
muzzle velocity, 1880 feet per second.
Trajectory
291
SCREEN
TARGET
TARGET
300 YDS
100 YDS. 150 Yes.
FIG. 164. — TRAJECTORY.
Shot at 100 yds. with 200 yds. sighting, bullets go
100 » » 3°° » » » »
300
IOO
inches high.
„
200 „
200 „
3°° »
3°o „
2OO
IOO
Hi
20
37
•>•)
77
low.
These rifles were shot with open sights and with Kynoch
cartridges, and also capped bullets, except "256, *6oo, '360 and
'375-bores.
It may be explained that any bore of rifle with a velocity of
2000 feet can be so constructed with one standard back-sight with
a suitable depth of " V " and a corresponding height of bead fore-
sight, which permit either more or less of the bead to be readily
drawn upon the object. By this arrangement the shooter is in the
position of being able to place the shots accurately on the object
with one and the same fixed standard sight at distances of from
IOO to 300 yards, merely by varying the amount of fore-sight
taken through the "V." With such a rifle, assuming that the
radius of the back- and fore-sights is 18 inches, the fore-sight bead
should measure in diameter Tf ^ of an inch, equal -05 inch. Its
height should be from T£¥ to Tf ^ of an inch above its stem, and
the c< V " in the back-sight correspondingly deep.
(i) Taking top of bead in "V," or, say, T£F of the of
2 92 Modern Sporting Gunnery
its size, will insure hitting the spot aimed at, firing at 100 yards
range.
(2) Taking the whole y-j^ round of the bead in the " V,"
without any of the stem being visible, would give six inches rise at
100 yards on the object aimed at, which is equivalent to a back-
sight elevation required in order to give correct sighting at 200
yards range.
The bead is supposed to be, and generally is, T^- of an inch in
diameter ; and the stem also is, or should be, y^ of an inch long,
the two equalling y1^ of an inch in height. Therefore, supposing
a rifle is sighted to throw into the bull at 100 yards, with all the
bead taken into the " V," then, when the sportsman wishes to aim
his rifle with the 100 yards sight at an object 200 yards distant,
that is six inches higher, he can sight his back-sight " V " so as to
see the whole of the stem in addition to the bead fore-sight at the
bottom of the " V," which gives him the necessary rise of six inches.
With an 1 8-inch radius under 2000 feet velocity, y^W equals
one inch of elevation when dealing with either back- or fore-
sight ; therefore, if taking T££^ °f bead *s sufficient for 100
yards, there are xf^ left, which equal, at the rate of y^nnr to tne
inch, six inches, /. e. the average fall in trajectory of rifles con-
structed on the 2000 feet velocity between 100 and 200 yards.
Suitable sighting, /. e. depth of " V " and size of bead and stem,
can be arranged in order to carry out this method in all bores and
velocities of the express types we are dealing with.
In Chapter IX I have shown that with the highest velocity
sporting rifle in use, viz. the *375/'3O3, that taking all the bead
and stem of the fore-sight through the " V " of the back-sight will
correct the drop of the bullet between 100 and 300 yards.
Taking the • 4.00 /• 360 cordite rifle, having a velocity of about
1875 feet per second, one of the modern rifles of a moderate
velocity, it will be seen from the diagram given that up to 150
yards the 100 yards sight can be used, the drop of the bullet under
these conditions being only five inches. Using the 100 yards back-
sight at 200 yards with solid bullet the drop is 14 inches, and this
error would be corrected by taking a very full bead.
Assuming, then, that the Accelerated Express '375/'3O3 stands
for the highest type of nitro-express rifle, and the '4.00/^60 as the
Trajectory
293
lowest in point of velocity, the foregoing tables and diagrams will
W.R. 40%60 UNDER LEVER.
4I6K5. 3!4<oKs. BulletT
ShoraflOOyds. witK 100 yds
q
ShoTaT I50yc?
0
FIG. 165.— APPROXIMATE VELOCITY, 1875 FEET PER SECOND.
show what little correction it is necessary to make for even 100
yards error in estimating distance.
294 Modern Sporting Gunnery
The sporting capped bullet used in this ^oo/^o-bore is, I may
explain, of greater length with equal weight than the solid bullet,
and the drop of the capped bullet is not so great. For instance,
between 100 yards and 200 yards it is 12 inches, as against 14
inches with a solid bullet, as repeated trials have shown, and there-
fore for sporting purposes the actual correction of the amount of
bead taken under the circumstances stated would be less than that
given in each case.
CHAPTER XII
SPORTING BULLETS
FOR the following remarks upon the question of bullets, I
am indebted to Mr. Leslie B. Taylor, the managing director
of Westley Richards. For seven or eight years he has
devoted great attention to the improvement of bullets. He
has patented several new and thoroughly successful forms of
bullet for pistols, sporting rifles, and modern ball- and shot-
guns, and is now recognized as a foremost authority on the
construction and use of sporting projectiles.
f~ "^HE subject of expanding bullets is of vital interest
to the sportsman. The lead bullet of the type in
use with black powder rifles is well known, and
JL. consisted of the solid form, and the hollow point,
with or without a copper tube ; the expansion of
either the one or the other kind being suited to requirements.
Many rifles of the black powder type are in use to-day, but
arranged to shoot nitro powder, in which case it has been found
desirable and necessary to employ a lead bullet with a nickel
base. This nickel base is applied to the lead bullet in order to
provide a sufficient gas check and to prevent fusing of the lead,
which more or less results from the combustion of smokeless
powder. These bullets are, likewise, constructed in the three
patterns mentioned as representing the black powder lead bullets.
The introduction of the small-bore high-velocity rifle brought
into existence a new kind of bullet, namely, the compound form
known as the nickel-coated bullet necessitated in order to over-
come the excessive " leading " produced by the ordinary lead bullet.
This bullet in itself is much harder and possesses greater penetrative
force than the hardened-lead solid bullet of the past, and being
of smaller bore and projected with a high velocity, it fails to
expand under almost all sporting conditions.
295
296 Modern Sporting Gunnery
The covering of this bullet or envelope is principally composed
of cupro-nickel, but sometimes steel is used, and in rare cases
a copper covering is substituted. In the latter case there is a
tendency to expand, but it is not of suffrcient degree to form a
substitute for a reliable expanding bullet.
The increased penetrative quality due to the construction of
the nickel-covered compound bullet was further augmented by
the small calibre and reduced striking area, which rendered the
bullet ineffective unless a vital spot were struck. The energy
of the bullet instead of being expended within the object was
lost in flight after passing through the animal.
To give a concrete example, I may quote from the Reports on
the Effect of Military Bullets now in use in India, dated July 6, 1899,
which refers to the Chitral campaign. In one passage we read
that u the Lee-Metford bullet has not sufficient stopping power.
... I have been informed that one native of the Swat Valley,
who was treated at Chakdara, has recovered from six Lee-Metford
bullet wounds, four of which must have been fatal had they been
inflicted by Martini-Henry bullets. This account is perfectly
authentic."
Further, on page 7, "A corporal was accidentally shot by a
Lee-Metford bullet. The wound entrance was small and healed
in a fortnight. The patient stated that he scarcely felt the wound
at the time of its receipt, that it did not make him fall, and
that he walked about the camp for some time after its receipt."
The report concludes with the following statement : " The Lee-
Metford bullet produces much less damage to bones and soft
tissues than was anticipated. It is also doubtful if this bullet
would stop an enemy unless it took effect in a vital spot, and
therefore it is less reliable in fights with frontier tribes than the
Martini-Henry would be"
The conclusions arrived at by this report are that —
1. The entrance and exit wounds are very similar, the latter
being somewhat smaller than the former.
2. The bullet drills through a bone, and does not fracture it.
3. At close quarters, although important structure may be
injured, the injury is insufficient to immediately cause shock or
death.
Sporting Bullets 297
4. Haemorrhage is comparatively slow owing to the smallness of
the wound.
It is further recorded, on unimpeachable authority, that at the
time of the Jameson Raid the arsenal chief at Pretoria was struck
by a nickel-covered solid bullet *3O3-bore, which passed through his
body without injury, and some few days after he was walking about
proudly showing what little effect this missile had upon him.
Many attempts have been made to impart to the highly pene-
trative nickel-covered small-bore bullets the quality of expansion,
which have resulted in the production of the following bullets —
No. i. Nickel-covered bullet with the outer case cut with a series
of slits, known as the " split " bullet.
No. 2. The half-mantle bullet with the solid lead nose exposed.
No. 3. The half-mantle bullet with the solid lead nose made
hollow.
No. 4. The half-mantle bullet, with solid lead nose, made
hollow, with hollow filled in with a copper tube.
No. 5. The pegged bullet.
No. 6. The capped bullet.
These I think truly represent the various types of sporting
bullets in use throughout the world.
The object of all attempts on the part of military authorities
to improve the small-bore compound bullet has been to obtain
the highest destructive effect consistent with humane consider-
ations, practically to increase the small-bore bullet to the same
level of effectiveness as the Martini bullet. This object, so far
as military purposes are concerned, has not yet been attained
and probably never will be, owing to the intervention of the
Hague Conference, by which our Government tacitly consents, at
all events in warfare against civilized foes, to forego all kinds of
expanding bullets.
The inventors of improvements in the sporting bullets enumerated
have had an identical object, and have sought to make these small-
bore bullets at least as effective on soft-skinned animals as were
the larger bore lead bullets of the past already referred to. It
is admitted that the effect of the ordinary military pattern solid
nickel bullet upon a soft-skinned animal is, for the time being,
very small.
298 Modern Sporting Gunnery
It is not to be wondered at, when we keep in mind the Chitral
campaign report, that soft-skinned animals can carry away three
or four of these bullets, as the slight wounds inflicted do not
seriously trouble them, and the loss of blood arising therefrom
being slight, they are difficult to track, and therefore only a small
percentage of those wounded are actually bagged.
SOLID NICKEL BULLET. No. i. — THE SPLIT BULLET. Nos. 2, 3, 4.
No. 6. — CAPPED BULLET.
No. 6.— CAPPED BULLET IN
SECTION.
FIG. 166. — BULLETS BEFORE FIRING. Nos. 2, 3 AND 4 REPRESENT
SOFT-NOSE SOLID, HOLLOW AND COPPER-TUBED.
The solid nickel small-bore bullet is an unsportsmanlike missile,
excepting for the bigger mammals, and its adoption for general sport
is a retrograde step, which has often resulted in the mere wounding
of animals.
During the month of February 1906, there was published a
report in the daily press on lion hunting, in which a sportsman
stated that the '303 was absolutely unreliable even at lion —
Sporting Bullets 299
that after giving an animal seven of them he failed to bag ; the
writer concluding with the remark that " he took them like pills."
There is no doubt that different conditions of sport, such as
the toughness of hide, the thickness and general build of the
animal and its vitality, require bullets of varying expansion as
generally understood. A certain form of bullet which has per-
formed to one sportsman's satisfaction, under one set of conditions,
may be condemned by another sportsman, who may have to deal
with an entirely different set of conditions. We hear from one
source favourable reports — say of the " split " bullet, and from
another, conclusions quite hostile. One man says that the
copper-tubed bullet is the best form of expanding bullet in use,
and on other occasions we are told that it breaks up too much,
and wastes its energy in disintegration.
But whether the reports are favourable or not, the sum of
our information is that the sportsman is always looking for an ideal
expanding bullet. That he will ever get a bullet which will at
every size of game be just to his desire, and, as he may will,
exhibit either the quality of penetration or the quality of expansion,
is impossible.
But what are the desiderata of an ideal sporting bullet under
practical conditions ? Is it not a form of bullet which combines
in equal degree the two separate qualities of expansion and pene-
tration— one which has a just balance of these two most desirable
features ?
If we take existing bullets seriatim, we shall be able to estimate
which, if any, answer to this condition.
The " SPLIT " BULLET is one which has structural deficiencies,
it is liable to strip in the barrel, and has a greater degree of penetra-
tion than of expansion.
The SOFT-NOSE SOLID BULLET has also the objection that its
penetration outweighs its expansive qualities, and if this is improved
by making the lead front more exposed, stripping within the barrel
may ensue, and in any case greater leading is set up in the barrel,
with not only reduction in accuracy but with a certain greater
wear upon the rifling.
The SOFT-NOSE HOLLOW BULLET, with or without the copper
tube, is an excellent sporting bullet, and both forms have a great
300 Modern Sporting Gunnery
degree of expansion, but each possesses the fault of too great a
tendency to break up in the object, and so of reducing effective-
ness, especially is this the case when meeting hard muscle or bone.
The PEGGED BULLET has a loose peg in the hollow nose, and
this tends to break up the bullet on impact.
The CAPPED BULLET was designed with the object of lessening
to the largest possible extent this tendency to break up, while at
the same time to insure <c setting-up " or " mushrooming," so as
to retain the greatest possible weight under impact. There is
abundant testimony to show that this has been achieved, and that
this bullet at the same time has a larger degree of penetrative force
than any other form of expanding bullet.
There is this further unique quality attaching to the capped
system of bullet, and it is the larger area of destruction it produces,
apart from the " mushrooming," as the term generally understood in
connection with expanding bullets. The hollow cap, which is made
of very thin metal, " cups-in " on impact, and this " cupping-in "
acts like a drill, continually enlarging the area of the channel.
This action is continued during the passage of the bullet, and
aids expansion or mushrooming, which is a subsequent effect.
Thus, it affords this advantage, that whether the capped bullet
should expand or not it always makes a larger hole of entry
than any other form of expanding bullet, the wound channel
increasing in size as the bullet travels within the object, and
therefore it is more effective. The cupping-in operation is
shown in the ^extract from the Field report, quoted later on, and
is, further, confirmed by firing at steel plates ; the perforation made
by the capped bullets is consistently of larger diameter than that
produced by other kinds of expanding bullets.
The foregoing conclusions are the result of actual tests made at
live animals and at flesh in this country, as well as of those derived
by sportsmen from their actual experience in the pursuit of game,
and further have been verified by trials at steel plates in com-
parison with other types of sporting bullets.
Elsewhere in this work reference has been made to the fact
that military and sporting authorities have not chosen a suitable
material for testing the comparative effect of bullets ; pine planks,
wet sawdust, and other unsuitable substances being, as a rule,
Sporting Bullets 301
employed. The conclusions founded upon the behaviour of bullets
under these circumstances are unreliable when considered in re-
lation to the comparative effects of the same bullets fired at living
game.
Personally I think that tests at beef with any kind of bullet
form a satisfactory guide to an estimate of the comparative value
of different sporting bullets in point of penetration and expansion.
Shin- or thigh-bones afford the best media for ascertaining the
solidity or holding together capacity of a bullet. Some may be
inclined to object that tests at beef do not represent the actual
conditions of shooting at live animals, but they cannot substantiate
that objection.
In 1897 a pamphlet was published by Professor Von Bruns,
First-class Surgeon-General, attached to the Royal Wurtemberg
Ambulance Corps, entitled : The Effects and Importance of the
Mauser Automatic Pistol from a Surgical Point of View, and it is
there stated that shooting experiments carried out on a very large
scale by the Medical Department of the Royal Prussian Ministry
of War, have definitely settled that it is scarcely possible to point
out any material difference between the effect of shots at living
and of those on dead bodies.
Again, it has been the practice of military and sporting
experimentalists in this country to proceed rather by methods
of calculation than by the more practical methods of actual
experience. They have resorted to the use of a reduced powder
charge in order to give at 50 yards the calculated velocity
of the full charge at 200 yards, and firing at 50 yards with this
reduced charge they claim to have arrived at the bullet's actual
behaviour at 200 yards when using the full charge.
In this respect the methods are again unreliable. In Professor
Von Bruns's work it is stated that "Experiments with reduced
powder charges at short ranges are a mere make-shift, and do not
altogether tally with existing conditions. . . . Experiments show
that firing with reduced powder charges does not, as a rule, produce
equal, but, on the contrary, inferior effects to those produced by
full charges fired at the respective full ranges."
In the numerous trials I have had conducted in order to
ascertain the comparative value of the various kinds of bullets
302 Modern Sporting Gunnery
in use for sporting purposes, I have invariably fired at the
actual ranges, and have used substances which more or less corre-
spond to actual game conditions, so that it will be understood the
results I put forward are not calculated, but practical results
which I believe may be safely regarded as reliable guides by
sportsmen.
The capped system of bullet possesses, as results show, an equal
degree of expansion and penetration. Before proceeding to
demonstrate the expansive qualities, I will refer to the penetrative
capacity of the capped bullet.
A steel plate J inch thick was taken, at which the solid and the
Westley Richards capped bullet were fired at a range of 100 yards.
The solid nickel bullet failed to perforate the complete plate, it
penetrated only to a certain extent, the size of the hole being
normal. The capped bullet completely perforated the plate, and
made a hole considerably larger than the diameter of the bullet,
exerting a greater local rending of the metal.
On another occasion, the solid bullet also failed to pass through
the plate, while on a third occasion complete perforation was
effected.
On no occasion has the capped bullet failed to drive right
through a steel plate of the thickness mentioned, and under the
same conditions.
From this it will be gathered that the capped bullet has a very
high degree of penetration which is so desirable when meeting
bone or tough hides. This in no way detracts from its expanding
quality after entering the object, which insures fracture of the
bone and greater local injury of other substance.
The soft-nose bullet, under identical conditions, makes even
less indentation on the steel plate, upon which it breaks up. This,
I think, proves that the soft-nose form of bullet has insufficient
penetration, and goes to pieces more quickly, thus wasting its
energy in broken particles instead of retaining, after impact, a
considerable and effective portion of its mass.
In 1904 I carried out trials of the tubed -303 bullet, which I
regard as the best of the older type of expanding bullet in com-
parison with the copper-capped bullet. They were fired at beef,
22 inches thick, from which all bone had been removed. A
Sporting Bullets 303
piece of leather £ inch thick being placed over the beef. Range,
200 yards.
Result No. i. Both the tubed and the copper-capped bullet
were pulled up in 14 inches of the beef.
Result No. 2. Firing without the leather cover both bullets
penetrated the beef to about 20 inches.
The entrance hole made by the copper-capped bullet, and its
subsequent passage into the beef, were considerably larger than
with the tubed bullet ; further, the tubed bullet broke up into
smaller pieces, and in some cases it was difficult to trace them.
The copper-capped bullet mushroomed perfectly and did not
break up. On weighing the extracted copper-capped bullets, one
weighed 180 grs. and the other 170 grs., thus losing respectively 30
and 40 grs. of their original weight. This trial demonstrates the
qualities of this form of bullet both as regards necessary penetration
and desirable expansion, while at the same time to the largest
possible extent retaining a solid and effective mass within the animal
struck. Independent trials with the same object were, at a later
date, carried out at living animals by Mr. Percy Easte, M.R.C.V.S.,
Lond., of which I append a summary —
Distance: 100 to 200 yards. Objects : Stomach, bowels, liver,
lungs and heart.
HEART. — Entry irregular in shape, measuring 2 inches diameter ;
exit, 4 inches, entirely destroying the lower part of this organ.
LUNGS. — Entry irregular, f inch in diameter, wound-channel,
\\ inches ; exit about the same — not so much internal damage
done as in the less elastic organs.
LIVER. — Similar in all respects to the heart.
STOMACH. — Entry irregular shaped, 2^ inches diameter ; exit
in one shot measured 5^- inches, and in a second trial 4 inches,
there being no difference in the size of entry.
VISCERA. — The effects upon these parts were in every way
similar to those upon the stomach, with this difference, that
the exit varied in size and shape upon the part of the bowel
struck, due to the nature of its contents.
A series of trials were made upon the above organs with the
tubed bullet at the same distance, and in all cases, except the
bowels, were the entries and exits smaller. The internal damage
304 Modern Sporting Gunnery
done to the heart, lungs and liver was less, the wound being cleaner
cut and less jagged, and of a smaller calibre.
In both cases the penetrative power was very great, but more so
in the tubed, it being almost impossible to get the tubed bullet
to remain within the body.
It will be observed that the entrance hole made by the capped
bullet is in some cases more than six times the size of the bullet's
diameter. It is in this respect that the capped system of bullet is
superior to all others. The perforations made by other forms of
bullet are frequently so small as to be of no more service than the
solid bullet, in which case there is not immediate lessening of
vitality ; but in all cases the wound-channels are considerably
narrower than with the capped bullet. This increased wound-
channel insures greater shock, and a more immediate deadly effect.
It has in this respect reached the aim of all modern investigators,
namely, of bringing the small bore's capacity for expansion up
to the level of the larger bores which it supplanted.
The larger entrance hole and wound-channel insured by the
capped bullet are, it will be seen, of great practical sporting value.
Primarily it means a more rapid diminution of vitality so essential
when pursuing dangerous game, and, further, the freer emission of
blood is a great aid in tracking wounded game. It is for the latter
purpose that many sportsmen of to-day adopt the larger calibres.
The capped system of bullet gives the desired result even in the
smaller bores.
I have received highly satisfactory accounts of the bullet's
behaviour under sporting conditions in India, Africa and elsewhere.
An interesting experience of the capped bullet is related by an
Indian sportsman, who wrote to me as follows —
" Your capped bullet for jungle shooting, where the bullet in its
course is liable to strike up against twigs and stalks before reaching the
quarry, is the best I have ever used. ... I fired at a black buck
through a babul bush at 60 yards or so range, hit the beast on the
off shoulder, making a wound 4 by 2 inches, and smashing three
ribs. The buck dropped dead to shot. I was using a -450
capped bullet."
It may be interesting to give here a brief account of the develop-
ment of this bullet. When the Mauser pistol was first introduced
Sporting Bullets 305
into this country just prior to the Boer War, its small bore '300
nickel- covered bullet was considered to be ineffective, and there
were some grounds for what was, however, a mere belief, when
comparing the weapon with the Army service revolver of '450
bore.
In addition to the solid nickel bullet, the Mauser pistol shot the
nickel-covered soft-nose bullet, but this, in practice, was found to
have about the same penetration as the solid bullet, retaining its
shape, without expansion, even at the hardest substances. In order
to lessen the penetrative force and to increase the effectiveness of
the bullet, experiments led me to adopt a flat-ended bullet, the end
consisting of the lead core exposed, as illustrated.
This bullet, while proving accurate to 200 yards, by its con-
struction had a very deadly effect, making an entrance hole
varying from f to I inch, and continuing this throughout the
length of the wound-channel, thus practically trebling the effect
of the ordinary solid and soft-nose
pointed bullets.
To this bullet shortly after-
wards was added a metal cap,
hollow within, which was intro- FlG. 167.— WESTLEY RICHARDS
duced principally for the purpose ALL-RANGE MAUSER PISTOL
r . . BULLET.
or increasing the ranging power,
as well as for insuring a greater degree of expansion of the bullet
in order to give heavier shock. This bullet is illustrated on
the next page.
The entrance hole made by this bullet, owing to its expansive
qualities, due to the metal cap, was also about three times that
of the original bullet.
Owing to the success of the capped bullet, the system was
applied to other bores, and in 1901 a public trial was conducted
before the editor of the Field, and I extract the following from
his report of this bullet in '360- and ^oo-bores —
" The lead core is firmly held in the jacket by a crimping at
the shoulder, which seems to be right in principle, as tending to
prevent the separation of jacket and core, a contingency that seems
liable to arise with ordinary solid-base bullets. The cap is fastened
by a process of spinning the edge into a groove formed by the
20
306 Modern Sporting Gunnery
crimper. The edges in contact are milled, so as to prevent the
cap turning on the bullet. In the present case, the bullet seems
to take the rifling very well, and shots recovered after firing into
tow, show that the gas has been well checked. An interesting
feature about the bullet is the behaviour of the nose of the bullet,
even when striking a light, fleecy
material ; the nose seems in-
stantly to assume a cup-like
shape, which no doubt accounts
for the destruction of tissue
FIG. i68.-W^TLEY RICHARDS around the track of the bullet>
CAPPED MAUSER PISTOL of which further particulars are
BULLET. • 11 5)
given below.
" We witnessed trials with two forms of sporting cartridges, as
follows — *4OO-bore : 60 grs. of cordite, bullet weight, 400 grs. ;
and '36o-bore : 41 grs. of cordite, bullet weight, 314 grs.
" Our wish being to assure ourselves that the bullet satisfied the
primary condition of good shooting, we confined our attention to
FIG. 169.— BULLET AFTER FIG. 170.— CAPPED BULLET
FIRING INTO Tow. EXTRACTED FROM FLESH.
a firing test for accuracy. Some thirty shots were fired from rifles
of these two bores 5 every shot was accounted for, and struck close
to the mark. We also witnessed the shooting of the ^o-bore
rifle, when a series of ten shots fell within a space of 4-6 by 27
inches at 100 yards. We decided to shoot the rifle again on some
less foggy day, but on the next opportunity our whole attention
was given to the ^oo-bore rifle, with which two good diagrams
were made.
Sporting Bullets 307
" Having thus proved, in the case of the bullets tried, their
satisfactory character as projectiles, we next turned our attention
to expansion. Although it was self-evident that such a bullet
must of necessity expand on entering flesh, we desired to have
more precise information. Understanding that Messrs. Westley
Richards had caused a very interesting series of veterinary trials
to be conducted with the bullet, we asked to be placed in com-
munication with the veterinary surgeon who had done the work.
Being convinced as to the seriousness of the trials carried out,
and the painstaking thoroughness with which the results had been
recorded, we ourselves retained the gentleman who had carried out
the tests, employing him professionally to write a supplementary
report of a kind likely to be of interest to our readers. Mr. P.
Easte, M.R.C.V.S., writes under date November 27, 1901, as
follows —
" REMARKS. — In all, some twenty shots were fired at all kinds of
bones and thicknesses of muscle, at varying distances, but in most
cases it was difficult to recover those bullets that had passed
through the object fired at. Especially was this so with the solid
bullet.
" Comparing the wounds caused by the projectiles, whether on
hard or soft substances, those in which most destruction or lacera-
tion occurred were caused by the * New capped.' Noticeably was
this so where soft tissues were encountered first — such as a bullet
passing between the ribs and into the heart or lungs, also through
the abdominal wall into the intestines.
" In these cases the shot-channel was very large, the bullet appear-
ing to expand immediately on impact, and throughout its passage
presenting far greater destruction than either the soft-pointed or
solid varieties.
" On hard bones the fissures extended longer from the margins
of perforation, and more displacement of the splinters took place
than was the case in either the solid or hollow-pointed.
" The greatest penetration was reached by the solid, but the
injury to muscle and soft tissue generally was far below that
caused by either the < New capped ' or c Soft-pointed/ and in
many cases there was a tendency for the nickel covering to split
up and leave the bullet.
308 Modern Sporting Gunnery
" The < Soft-pointed,' on coming in contact with bone first, had
a more restricted area of destruction — the fissures not extending
beyond point of impact — although the destruction of the part of
bone struck was about as complete as that of the < New
capped.'
" In comparing the penetrative powers of the c Soft-pointed ' and
* New capped,' the trials did not point to much difference."
Since then the capped system has come into more general use,
and is now made in practically all sporting weapons. From the
Mauser pistol size up to '375-bore high-velocity nitro rifle, it
is made with a copper cap, and in '400 and upwards, with a
nickel cap.
A copper-capped bullet is found to expand better while retaining
the desired penetration, in the smaller bores, and the harder nickel
cap is considered preferable for the larger bores mentioned.
Some time ago, when the *375/*3O3 Accelerated Express rifle
was introduced, the copper cap was made with an indented nose,
but, effective as this bullet was, on the whole, it is not considered
so satisfactory in all respects as the <c Ogival " nose without any
indentation.
In considering the question of expanding bullets, the sportsman
has to take into account the velocity of his rifle and the toughness
of the hide of the animal, and its weight. With a lightly-built
animal, and the best form of expanding bullet driven with the
highest velocity yet attained, it is hardly to be expected that expan-
sion will invariably result. For such light game it would be far
better to take a lower power rifle. With high-velocity rifles of small
bore, with small animals such as black buck, the effect of the
bullet may be that recorded in the report referring to the Chitral
campaign, if the bullet should happen to strike only tissue. In
such case it is more likely that it would pass entirely through,
with but little expansion, no matter what the system of bullet,
but the drilling effect of the capped bullet will always ensure a
larger wounding effect under any circumstances.
In the military text-book on small arms, 1904, we read with
reference to expanding bullets the following —
" At long ranges, where velocity is low, the shock of impact
against flesh is not sufficiently great to alter the shape of an
Sporting Bullets 309
expanding bullet, it then causes no more damage than if its
envelope had been continuous."
This remark appears to be confined to the short-mantle or
soft-nose bullet, or bullets of that type, although at the date of
writing the capped bullet had been in existence three or four
years ; but this remark, in any case, is not true with regard to the
capped bullet.
In tests I have made with the -37 5/303 capped bullet, at
100, 200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 yards, I have found that
alterations in the shape of the bullet are maintained up to 600
yards, the maximum distance at which I have tested it. The
copper-capped '303 bullet at 600 yards, fired into beef 19 inches
thick, invariably alters its shape, and otherwise sets up. In some
FIG. 171.— ACCELERATED EXPRESS '37S/'3°3 COPPER-CAPPED BULLETS
EXTRACTED FROM BEEF. FlRED AT 6OO YARDS.
cases the bullet broke up, leaving the copper cap within the beef,
and in other cases a good mushrooming effect was produced.
In a public trial of Axite powder at Kynoch's Witton works,
held June 27, 1905, the expanding and effective qualities of the
capped bullet were demonstrated at a range of 300 yards. The
bullet was fired at a card target, placed over a wooden box con-
taining wet sawdust. The thickness of the wood was about y\ inch.
The hole made in the cardboard was normal, but in the match-
board it measured over i inch in diameter, while later on the
bullet was extracted from the sawdust packing in which it had
"set up" or "mushroomed."
From these and other experiments I have formed the con-
clusion that, given a bullet of construction like the copper-capped
bullet, so long as the bullet has sufficient remaining velocity to
penetrate flesh, " setting up " would occur at all ranges, and that
the contention advanced in the military text-book cannot be upheld.
310 Modern Sporting Gunnery
The following particulars were furnished to me by an inde-
pendent experimentalist, who took the solid, soft-nose and capped
bullet, respectively of ^c^-bore, and fired them at a piece of
lead I inch thick by 3 inches long with the following results —
No. i. SOLID BULLET. — Entrance hole, ij inches diameter;
exit hole, not clear. Lead pushed aside about I inch in diameter.
No. 2. SOFT-NOSE BULLET. — Entrance hole, i| inches diameter.
Bullet failed to perforate, the lead only being partially broken
through.
FIG. 172. — No. i. SOLID BULLET. FIG. 173. — No. 2. SOFT-NOSE BULLET.
No. 3. CAPPED BULLET. — Entrance hole, i-| inches diameter,
and greater local effect. Complete perforation, the exit hole
measuring i-| inches, and also showing greater local disturbance at
the point of exit.
These confirmatory experiments demonstrate that the capped
bullet has greater penetration and expansion than the soft-nose
bullet, and is not inferior in penetration to the solid bullet at
any substance likely to be encountered in sport. It is more
destructive than either of these bullets by reason of the larger
area of its effect. The capped bullet, in short, possesses even
greater advantage as compared with the soft-nose bullet than
the latter does over the solid type.
Sporting Bullets 311
It may have been an unhappy attempt in the department of
nomenclature to christen this bullet the " Capped Bullet," but
for better or worse there it remains. My eyes have been opened
to the fact that many in the sporting world have interpreted the
title to mean that it is "loaded with an explosive," and that
to such the term " capped " has a similar significance to that
appertaining to the percussion-cap. Of course this is nothing
of the kind, and therefore it is perhaps necessary to make this
explanation — that the cap is a mere metal covering joining the
rear portion of the bullet, and leaving a space between the end
FIG. 174. — No. 3. CAPPED BULLET.
of the inner lead core and the cap, this cavity aiding considerably
in the expansion of the bullet, besides insuring a greater degree
of accuracy and steadiness in flight.
But I am not surprised at the confusion of thought, since
personages of highest authority in military circles not long ago
synonymously used the words u explosive " and " expansive " —
words by no means interchangeable. If they were, one might,
for instance, just as well refer to an " expanded " idea as to an
"exploded" idea.
The late Sir Samuel Baker advocated solid soft-lead bullets in
*577-bore for use at soft-skinned animals, and hardened bullets for
the tougher game, and his experience is confirmed by other big game
312 Modern Sporting Gunnery
hunters using the black powder rifles. Such weapons are now often
used with a charge of smokeless powder equivalent to the black
powder charge, and a lead bullet which is made with a nickel base,
this construction being found necessary for use with the nitro powder.
This modification in no way prevents the use of either the
solid, soft-, or hard-nose bullet recommended by such authorities.
Experience seems to teach that the copper-tubed lead bullets are
not so reliable as the solid bullet made of soft lead.
The introduction of high-velocity rifles, as we have seen, rendered
necessary the employment of a metal mantle to protect the lead
for the purpose of preventing the stripping of the lead bullet and
its consequent injurious effect upon the barrel, resulting in impaired
accuracy. This involved the sacrifice of the quality of expansion
in the bullet. The nickel-coated bullet generally employed does
not set up even when used against the tough hide of a rhino,
and only slightly deforms. In the case of large game of lesser
toughness, no alteration results in the shape of the bullet, which
may pass through the animal in its original shape, except for the
indentations due to its passage through the grooved barrel.
The solid pure lead bullets of large bore, with their larger
striking surface, recommended by Sir Samuel Baker and others,
possessed in no small degree the combined qualities of penetra-
tion and expansion, two indispensable qualities of an efficient
sporting bullet. The nickel-coated bullet, constructed upon the
capped system, exhibits these desiderata to a degree never before
achieved, and in this respect is a more reliable bullet than the solid
soft-lead bullets of the past. It can confidently be recommended
as superior and more useful in all circumstances where those lead
bullets were formerly considered to be the most efficient of their
kind, on account of the enormous area of injury it produces on
impact, and its exceptionally large wound-channel.
The advantages of the Westley Richards capped expanding
bullet, as compared with other sporting bullets, are, viz. —
1. Greater expansion and greater shock.
2. In conjunction with a greater degree of penetration than that
possessed by any other kind of sporting bullet.
3. A larger wound-channel, and therefore greater haemorrhage.
Sporting Bullets 313
4. Less liability to break up in the object.
5. A more humane or sporting bullet, because more immediately
effective.
The capped form of bullet originated in 1899 was soon seen
to be applicable to all kinds of bullets, lead or otherwise, of the
older type. In 1899 the cap was made either solid with the bullet,
or else hollow, as described. In 1900 this cap was tested by me
on lead bullets, with the result that I found their accuracy was
considerably increased ; such bullets also have much greater
expanding qualities than the older form.
By attaching this cap, either made solid of light metal, or hollow,
to the ball- and shot-gun bullet of lead, which had been in existence
for some twenty years, I was able not only to increase the ranging
power of the bullet, but also the penetration when desired ; or
by using a lead cap instead of the brass or copper cap, to add to
the degree of expansion. This system has been dealt with in a
previous portion of the book, but as it "is one that closely concerns
the subject of bullets, these remarks would be incomplete without
reference to the bullets in use for the ball- and shot-guns of the
Explora and Fauneta type which Westley Richards have introduced.
In addition to the hollow brass- and lead-capped bullet, I have
introduced a new method of constructing lead bullets in one piece
externally, and having the appearance of the solid bullet, but
hollow within from end to end, or for any portion of the external
length for the purpose of giving the desirable degree of expansion.
This bullet, made wholly of lead, is capable of accurate flight to
long ranges, and yet will mushroom up instantly on impact with
the softer-skinned animals, in this respect being far superior to
any other bullet. This fact will be recognized when it is
understood that the bullet is a complete shell, of the same weight,
nevertheless, as the 73O-gr. bullet, brass-capped, and is therefore
capable of inflicting a deadly blow, which is further augmented
by the facility with which the bullet crushes up on impact.
This bullet differs from all previous forms of lead bullet in the
important feature of being solid at the base, hollow within, and
constructed in one piece^and of having a better balance owing to
this novel construction. Previously, lead bullets having hollows
314 .Modern Sporting Gunnery
within, of which the Snider is the chief example, were designed
upon lines the reverse of the " All-lead " Explora bullet. The
No. i.— COL.
THIERRY'S BULLET.
No. 2.—
DELVIGNE BULLET.
No. 3.—
TAMISIER BULLET.
l/M
No. 4.—
MINIE BULLET.
No. 5.— No. 6.— No. 7.—
MINIE BULLET. PRITCHETT BULLET. SNIDER BULLET.
No. 8.—
FOSBERY
BULLET.
No. 9.
Sectional view of the Leslie
Taylor Brass- or Copper-
Capped or Aluminium-
Capped Explora Bullet.
12-Gauge.
No. 10.
Sectional view of the Leslie
Taylor All- Lead Explora
Bullet. .12-Gauge. Actual
Size.
FIG. 175. — THE LATEST FORMS OF CYLINDRO-CONOIDAL BULLET.
hollow at the rear of the Snider renders it comparatively lighter
at the base than at the nose. The "All-lead" Exrjlora bullet,
on the contrary, is heavier at the base than at the nose — a far
Sporting Bullets 315
more practical form of projectile, insuring a steadier spin and more
constant flight.
The Forsyth explosive bullet was made with a hollow to receive
the detonating compound, the base of the bullet being subsequently
wedged in and swaged over. This construction was mechanically
unsound, and, the two parts easily became loose. Although possibly
a good explosive bullet, it was ill designed and not capable of
accurate flight.
Above are given illustrations of all the known forms of Ogival
or cylindro-conical lead bullets of the past, in comparison with
modern bullets of a similar type.
In all these earlier forms of bullet here illustrated, the object of
the hollow at the base was to produce expansion of the bullet
within the rifling. The Snider bullet was constructed with
cavities formed both within the fore part and at the base, the
latter being filled with a boxwood or clay plug. The principal
recommendation of this method was claimed to be a more
certain and uniform expansion, and subsidiary advantages consisted
in decrease of fouling and corresponding facility of loading with
increased accuracy of shooting, due to the extra length of bullet,
and to getting its centre of gravity in the proper place.
The " Explora " and " Fauneta " bullets initiated (i ) lead bullets
with a separate cap of brass or suitable metal which permitted the
construction of a bullet with a solid base and an unbroken hollow
within, giving thereby greater length for insuring accurate
long-range flight without any increase in weight ; (2) lead bullets
with lead cap, or all lead in one piece, solid base and hollow within
from end to end, practically for the same object in regard to
flight, but also for the important purpose of augmenting expansion
by mushrooming up without going to pieces.
The system of constructing lead bullets with a metal point
hollow has brought about altogether new conditions. In the
Fauneta express ball- and shot-guns of 28-bore, instead of
making for the purpose of expansion a bullet of all lead, the lead
bullet with a hollow copper cap has been substituted, which is
found to expand satisfactorily. With such light bullets as are
necessary in order to obtain the increased velocity, the all-lead
form is not found to have sufficient rigidity.
316 Modern Sporting Gunnery
In the 2O-bore ball- and shot-gun of the Fauneta type, it is
possible to obtain a bullet of the desired length for accurate rang-
ing power made entirely of lead, the weight of which permits of a
structure which will resist the pressure of the rifling when driven
by a fairly high velocity through the bore of the barrel, thereby
insuring both accurate flight and ready expansion on impact.
The Sherwood bullet adopted for sport is one made with a
nickel mantle ending in a copper cap, and this form has done
remarkable service in sport at a variety of animals in Scotland,
India, Burmah, and British Columbia, which subject has been
dealt with in a previous chapter.
Westley Richards have introduced for use in their new miniature
rifle, the Minex, a nickel-base lead bullet with a brass cap, similar
in principle to the Fauneta bullet.
The bore of this rifle is -298. The bullet weighs 140 grs ; for
FIG. 176. — MINEX BULLETS.
sporting purposes — owing to its great expansion — it is superior
to the excellent Sherwood copper-capped bullet. It flies with
great accuracy.
Above are illustrated the Minex bullets before and after firing
at 100 yards. As shown they mushroom perfectly. The Minex
rifle, referred to in another chapter, has a velocity of 1450 feet per
second, and in conjunction with this kind of bullet makes a very
effective sporting combination, having a far more deadly effect
upon small game than bullets of higher power of penetration, but
not designed for ready and complete expansion.
Many sportsmen still prefer the old lead bullet, and with
smokeless powder, the only kind hitherto available is the lead
bullet with nickel base already referred to. The tubed lead
bullet of this description breaks up too easily, while the solid
lead nose cannot always be relied upon for the necessary expansion.
Sporting Bullets 317
Both difficulties would be obviated by the use of these bullets
constructed with a small brass cap or tip upon the Minex principle,
by which is secured ready expansion at soft-skinned animals, and a
rigidity or absence of tendency to break up at bone, being in these
two important respects superior to either the tubed, hollow, or
solid-nose lead bullets. Such bullets permit the construction of
light medium game rifles of superior power and accuracy to the
old express system for use against deer and all soft-skinned animals,
including tiger, as follows —
WESTLEY RICHARDS NITRO-EXPANSIVE EXPRESS RIFLES,
DESIGNED AND CONSTRUCTED FOR USE WITH CAR-
TRIDGES GIVING THE HIGHEST DEGREE OF ExPAN-
SION. PATENT LEAD BULLETS WITH NICKEL BASE
AND METAL TIP AT NOSE.
BORE, -360.
Cartridge case . . 2\ inch straight taper.
Powder charge . • "53 grs- Cordite or equivalent in Axite]
Weight of bullet . . 185 grs.
Velocity . . . 1700 feet per second.
Energy . . . -993 foot-lb.
Weight of rifle . 6 Ib. 10 ozs.
BORE, -400.
Cartridge case . . 2§ inch bottle-necked.
Powder charge . . 40 grs. Cordite or equivalent in Axite.
Weight of bullet . . 230 grs.
Velocity . . . 1850 to 1900 feet per second.
Energy. . . . 1747 foot-lb., approximately.
Weight of rifle . . 7 Ib. 4 ozs.
BORE, -450.
Cartridge case . . Bottle-necked No. i.
Powder charge . . 50 grs. Cordite or equivalent in Axite.
Weight of bullet . . 325 grs.
Velocity . . . 1950 feet per second.
Energy . . . .2741 foot-lb.
Weight of rifle . . 8 Ib. 8 ozs.
318 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Cartridge case
Powder charge
Weight of bullet
Velocity
Energy .
Weight of rifle
Cartridge case
Powder charge
Weight of bullet
Velocity
Energy .
Weight of rifle
BORE, -500.
3 inch straight taper.
53 grs. Cordite or equivalent in Axite.
340 grs.
1925 feet per second.
2794 foot-lb.
8 Ib. 14 ozs.
BORE, -577.
3 inch straight taper.
77 grs. Cordite or equivalent in Axite.
600 to 610 grs.
1700 feet per second.
3910 foot-lb.
lo Ib.
The following table of velocities and energies, calculated upon
a bullet of 100 grs. weight, was furnished to me by Rear- Admiral
Julian A. Baker. The table speaks for itself, the calculations
W x V2
being based on the well-known formula E = .
2g
For any given weight of bullet the energy must be multiplied
by the number of 100 grs. the bullet weighs, viz. 480 grs. by 4-8,
250 grs. by 2'5, and so forth.
Velocity, feet per
second.
V2.
E VSxioogr., V*
7000 x 64-4 4508
ft.-lb.
Difference, Ib.
2500
625OOOO
I386
£
2475
6125625
1358
O *7
2450
60O2500
27
2425
5880625
1304
27
0 fj
2400
576OOOO
1277
27
2375
5640625
1251
26
2350
5522500
1225
2325
5405625
1199
26
2300
529OOOO
1173
2275
5175625
1148
2Z
Sporting Bullets
Velocity, feet per
second.
V,
V2 x 100 gr. V2
Energy = *_ = ___.
7000 x 64-4 4508
ft.-lb.
Difference, Ib.
225O
5062500
1123
O £
2225
4950625
1098
25
O f*
22OO
4840000
1073
25
2175
4730625
1049
24
O A
2150
4622500
1025
24
O A
2125
4515625
1001
24
O O
2IOO
4410000
978
23
2075
4305625
955
23
2O50
4202500
932
o o
2O25
4100625
909
23
oo
2000
4000000
887
J975
3900625
865
4,4
O O
1950
3802500
843
JkJt
1 T
1925
3705625
822
Z 1
i o
1900
3610000
800
JLJt
i r
1875
3515625
779
2, I
1850
3422500
759
O T
1825
3330625
738
2. 1
1800
3240000
718
1775
3150625
698
2O
T C\
1750
3062500
679
19
1725
2975625
660
J9
1700
2890000
641
T /"\
1675
2805625
622
I9
1650
2722500
603
I§
1625
2640625
585
TQ
1600
2560000
567
1 O
1575
2480625
550
18
1550
2402500
532
1525
2325625
5*5
16
1500
2250000
499
T ^T
H75
2175625
482
I7
1450
2102500
466
1425
2030625
450
6
1400
1960000
434
1
J375
1890625
419
l$
1350
1822500
404
l$
1325 i755625 389
15
320 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Velocity, feet per
V2
V2 x
F* nnrcrv —
ioo gr. _ V'2
second.
V .
•^ 6 J
7000
x 64-4 4508'
feet-lb.
Difference, Ib,
I3OO
I69OOOO
374
1275
1625625
360
J4
1250
I5625OO
346
1225
1500625
332
.
I2OO
1440000
3'9
3
1175
1380625
306
*?
1150
1322500
293
~
1125
1265625
280
-r ^>
IIOO
I2IOOOO
268
iz
1075
II55625
256
12
12
1050
II025OO
244
1025
1050625
233
1 1
12
looq
IOOOOOO
221
975
950625
210
II
IO
950
902500
2OO
IT
925
855625
l89
1
T O
900
810000
179
1 U
T r\
875
765625
169
1 U
850
722500
1 60
T r\
825
680625
150
1 U
800
640000
141
Q
775
600625
133
O
750
562500
124
Q
725
525625
116
O
Q
700
490000
108
O
675
455625
101
^
650
422500
93
625
390625
86
1-1
600
360000
79
I
575
330625
73
\J
A
550
302500
67
\J
6
525
275625
61
\j
6
500
250000
55
475
225625
50
c
450
202500
44'9
J
425
180625
40-0
400
160000
35*4
375
140625
31-1
—
Sporting Bullets
321
Velocity, feet per
second.
V2.
Energy =^ I0° &' - V*
7000 x 64-4 4508
feet-lb.
Difference, Ib.
350
122500
27-1
325
105625
23-4
300
90000
19-9
275
75625
I67
250
62500
I3'8
225
50625
11*2
2OO
40000
8-8
*75
30625
67
150
22500
4*9
125
15625
3*4
100
IOOOO
2*2
In the statements given I have endeavoured to view this
question of bullets with the strictest impartiality, and the con-
clusions are, I believe, derived from a just estimate of actual facts.
NlI.GIIAI SHOT WITH A LESLIE TAYLOR '360 CAPPED BULLET.
21
CHAPTER XIII
MINIATURE RIFLES FOR MATCH, TARGET, AND
SPORTING PURPOSES
ALTHOUGH for many years miniature rifles of various
bores have been used for different purposes in this
country, their place in the sportsman's armoury has
been neither important nor large. Hitherto, our
conception of this type of weapon has been confined
to the rook- and rabbit-rifle, and during the twenty years that
I have observed this question, a considerable number of foreign
saloon-guns, principally from Belgium, and similar weapons, mostly
in '22-bore, made in America and popularized by the Winchester
Company, the Marlin Company, and others, have found their way
into the good graces of not a few sportsmen.
The ordinary rook- and rabbit-rifles, the Belgian saloon-gun, and
the American '22, are too well-known for me to refer to further.
In order to give an accurate and detailed account of each variety
of miniature rifle embraced in those enumerated, one could fill a
respectable volume without, perhaps, rendering much useful service
to the reader. However, it may be worth while to place on
record the principal types of weapons in this category, giving
their size, load, and range, as also their system of breech-action.
Rook-rifles as used in this country may be said to be chiefly
represented by the following bores —
•297/-23O short, 3 grs. black powder, 37 grs. bullet. Velocity,
800 feet per second.
•297/-23O long, 5 grs. black powder, 37 grs. bullet. Velocity,
1 2 20 feet per second.
•250, 7 grs. black powder, 56 grs. bullet. Velocity, noo feet
per second.
322
Miniature Rifles 323
•295, sometimes called '300, 10 grs. black powder, 80 grs.
bullet. Velocity, noo feet per second.
•360, No. 5, 14 grs. black powder, 134 grs. bullet. Velocity,
1000 feet per second.
These cartridges are also loaded with Cordite and Axite powders,
which give an increase of 50 to 100 feet in velocity. They are
made as follows —
With side-lever action, and external hammer, weight 5^- Ib.
With top-lever action, and external hammer, weight 5| Ib.
With top-lever action, hammerless barrel-cocking principle,
weight 5^ Ib.
With under-lever sliding-block action, weight 5 Ib. 12 oz.
With Martini action, weight 5 Ib. 12 oz.
FIG. 177. — SIDE-LEVER ACTION, REBOUNDING LOCK.
The old "380- and *36o-bores have gone out of use as being too
powerful, and not sufficiently accurate.
The -22-bore I have not mentioned in this connection, as it is
too much of a toy to merit serious attention, although it has found
favour among certain people principally on account of the cheap
price, both of the weapon and its ammunition, which are mainly
American. These weapons, doubtless, would be made by British
firms, but for the fact that it would pay no manufacturer to lay
down costly machinery and tools for the production of the
comparatively small number bought in this country. Such trade
could alone be rendered profitable with the aid of those other
markets which are now closed to our gunmakers by heavy tariffs.
It is, however, inconsistent with the requirements of the sport
to adopt the '22-bore for rabbit shooting. The -25o-bore is
occasionally used with success, but more often than not it is found
324 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Miniature Rifles 325
to be of insufficient power to be thoroughly reliable for this kind
of shooting. The *25O-bore rifle with bullet made on the Minex
principle would doubtless prove effective.
For all-round efficiency ^oo-bore is now generally recom-
mended, but the adoption of this calibre is more or less of^a com-
promise which has taken into careful account safety, this rather
erring in the direction of modified ranging power. Evjen with this
bore, with its present power, however, unless there is -sufficient
background of clear country beyond, errors of aiming may result
in disaster to some wayfarer or farm-labourer in the fields situated
some few hundred yards away from the shooting-grounds* But for
this fact, larger and more powerful cartridges and bores of barrels
would have been adopted even for the bagging of such small game
as rabbits. I think I shall not be far wrong when I say that the
'3OO-bore is the best all-round miniature rifle for rook and rabbit
shooting.
The introduction of nitro powder, as in the case of other
weapons, has considerably increased the usefulness of miniature
rifles. And, moreover, since the late Lord Salisbury, in a memor-
able speech, pointed out the necessity of all male adults becoming
proficient rifle shots, a new interest in miniature rifles has been
created, and a great stimulus giverr to their manufacture and
development. Further, this has led to a greater consumption of
the foreign-made small calibre weapons to which I have alluded,
which has mainly resulted in increasing the foreigners' tiade.
But, as opposed to this, it has afforded some compensation in the
introduction of two or three new weapons, the sole product of
English manufacture. These have not only brought fresh com-
petition into miniature rifle manufacture, but have changed the
conditions of miniature rifle shooting, and lifted it out of the
drawing-room atmosphere and the toy element into the open and
practical field of trained and serviceable marksmanship.
One of these is the ^id-bore, which is principally associated
with the name of Mr. Greener, and is indeed an excellent weapon,
as the records of the last few Bisley meetings show, and has,
moreover, the merit of cheapness. This weapon, termed the
" Sharpshooter," is made with the Martini action ; it shoots a
cartridge as follows —
326 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Weight of powder, 5 \ grs. cordite.
Weight of bullet, 120 grs. lead.
Muzzle velocity, 1320 feet per second.
Weight of rifle, about 6J to 7 Ib.
Another is the Westley Richards " Sherwood " rifle, which is
also built upon an improved system of Martini action, which I
will subsequently describe.
Charge of powder, 7 grs. cordite.
Weight of bullet, 140 grs. lead, with nickel base and lead front ;
or nickel-covered bullets with patent copper cap.
Muzzle velocity, 1450 feet per second.
Weight of rifle, 6 Ib. 5 oz. to 6 Ib. 9 oz.
In comparing the ballistics of the two cartridges, according to
Messrs. Kynoch's tables, I find the following differences —
The -310. Muzzle velocity, 1320 feet per second.
The "Sherwood." Velocity, 1450 feet per second.
Difference in favour of" Sherwood," 130 feet per second.
The "310. Striking velocity at 300 yards, 890 feet per second.
The " Sherwood." Striking velocity at 300 yards, 992 feet per
second.
Difference in favour of " Sherwood," 102 feet per second.
The '310. Height of trajectory curve at half range, 100 yards,
3*25 inches.
The " Sherwood." Height of trajectory curve at half range,
100 yards, 2*44 inches.
Difference in favour of " Sherwood," *8i inch.
The '310. Height of trajectory curve at 300 yards, 43*0
inches.
The "Sherwood." Height of trajectory curve at 300 yards,
33-7 inches.
Difference in favour of " Sherwood," 9*3 inches.
Both these weapons are accurate up to 500 yards, and are
therefore eminently suited for teaching proficiency in marks-
manship to the youthful civilian who takes up shooting for the
Miniature Rifles 327
combined reasons of intelligent recreation and patriotic duty. Still,
it would seem that civilian rifle shooting has received but a cold
welcome from the heads of our official military departments. At
all events, without any intelligent or adequate reason, they have
preferred to regard it from the lowest elementary standpoint in
respect of both aiming and shooting. It is quite obvious that it
need not be so considered if a fair and proper estimate were taken
of the weapons and other adjuncts of this art.
With these two excellent and effective miniature rifles in
existence, it is difficult to understand upon what grounds the
National Rifle Association, ever since Lord Salisbury's famous
pronouncement, has refused to entertain competitions with these
weapons beyond 100 yards range at Bisley. It is not because
accurate marksmanship is not to be achieved at longer ranges, for
there is abundant testimony to prove that these weapons are capable
of performances which cannot be surpassed at 200 to 300 yards
even by the service rifle. It is not because the National Rifle
Association has not been requested to consider the question of an
extended range for miniature rifle shooting, this has been plainly
put before them by Westley Richards, and I believe other rifle
manufacturers, without avail, and up to the present time they
adhere to 100 yards as the limit for civilian shooters, and appar-
ently indulge the vain hope that practical and useful marksman-
ship can be taught under such limited conditions of range.
Happily, there are in existence civilian clubs which practise
shooting at much longer ranges, and it will be owing to them,
and not to the National Rifle Association or the military authorities
who direct its policy, that we shall have in the near future a large
number of proficient civilian marksmen.
Our colonists of Australia and New Zealand regard the matter
in a very different light. They do not limit the cadet shooting
to the petty range of 100 yards. Their school-boys, who form the
cadet corps, are in the habit of shooting up to 400 yards.
When the Prince of Wales visited New Zealand, His Royal
Highness took particular note of these trained and efficient
youthful marksmen, and in a speech made soon after his return
home mentioned these cadet corps as an example for the War
Office, which still thinks that 100 yards, and a ball cartridge
328 Modern Sporting Gunnery
that can only be compared to a toy, represent the conditions for
nationally cultivating civilian marksmanship.
In a report from Lieutenant-Colonel Loveday, commanding
public schools cadets, presented to both houses of the General
Assembly, New Zealand, 1903, we find the following —
" The shooting of the cadets from the various registers inspected
is very encouraging, and in several cases both * possibles ' and
near < possibles ' have been made ; and there can be no doubt that
in the near future the adults will find that the cadets will be able
to hold their own against them. The miniature Martini-Henry
rifles supplied by Messrs. Westley Richards are very accurate
weapons, and reflect great credit on that firm."
It will thus be seen that owing to the fact that the cadets
were trained with a miniature rifle shooting accurately to 400
yards or more, the hope is indulged as to their holding their
own against the adults. With rifle shooting conducted at 100
yards with toy ammunition of the *22-bore type, no such proficiency
could be achieved, and comparison with the shooting obtained by
adult corps with the service arm would not be possible.
In further reference to this important question, Lieutenant-
Colonel A. Paul, commanding the New South Wales public
schools cadet force, reported on August 5, 1905, as follows —
"The Westley Richards cadet rifle has, after several years'
experience, proved a most effective and reliable weapon, and is
giving every satisfaction. Those delivered in June last were
tested at 200, 300 and 400 yard ranges, by the adjutant and
quarter-master, also by expert shots — military instructors — and
by a squad of cadets. The tests were highly satisfactory."
It will be observed that neither the authorities nor the cadets
entertained the smallest idea of testing them at 100 yards range,
a distance they apparently ignore, but is yet considered one all-
sufficient for the purpose of training civilian clubs in this country.
In fact, the War Office and National Rifle Association's control
of miniature rifle shooting seems to be of a nursery character.
In South Africa mere youths, who form the cadet corps, are
trained to shoot with the Martini carbine, which shoots 76 grs.
of powder and 480 grs. bullet, and gives a recoil equal to, if not
Jn excess of, the service "303 rifle. The shooting of such a weapon
Miniature Rifles 329
trains them not only to long-range marksmanship, but to endur-
ance, neither of which qualities can be secured by toying with the
insignificant little '22 rifle, which is more suitable for a shooting
gallery.
This is no exaggeration, because indoor shooting with miniature
rifles is one of the accepted methods on the part of the authorities
who support the civilian movement. It is true that the N.R.A.
regulations for indoor shooting permit the use of bullets of 80 grs.
and 100 grs., having respective velocities of 1000 and 1200 feet
per second over 20 yards ; such ballistics, however, better apply to
outdoor work, but there is a wide difference between such weapons
and a '22 short cartridge shooting 3 grs. of powder and a 30 grs.
bullet. These smaller weapons, while they may be useful like the
higher types of air-gun for teaching aiming and sighting, rightly
considered are not practical outdoor weapons.
But if these conditions prevail, the British manufacturer can
supply rifles to meet the demand, and there is no occasion to
resort to rifles of foreign manufacture merely from the fact that
the encouragement of this kind of elementary shooting in other
countries has given their manufacturers the start.
The '22 long cartridge and the '22 long rifle cartridge are very
accurate, the latter is superior, and with it very good results are
obtainable at 150 and 200 yards under favourable conditions of wind
and light. Experienced marksmen have informed me that in a
fairly strong wind, as much attention has to be bestowed upon the
question of wind with the *22 long rifle at a range of 150 yards, as
would be necessary when shooting the service rifle at a distance of
1000 yards. Under the same conditions, taking the highest type
of miniature rifle under Bisley conditions, the Westley Richards
Sherwood, the comparison would be with the performance of
the Lee-Enfield service rifle at 500 yards, thus showing that the
larger bore and more powerful miniature rifles are better adapted
for outdoor shooting, where the factors of light and wind must be
considered. This requires trained eyesight and skilled judgment,
by which alone proficiency in marksmanship can be attained.
The Westley Richards ^oo-bore Sherwood rifle possesses great
merits as regards its ammunition, mechanism, and sight equipment.
With respect to the foremost of these three, it was stated in the
330 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Field of August 6, 1904, " That the Sherwood cartridge may
be regarded as the closest-shooting ammunition for its class
at present on the market." This cartridge has also many recom-
mendations for sporting purposes, which are dealt with later on.
The action is upon the Martini system, with improvements of
a most important nature. It is fitted with an automatic indicator,
which is always in sight when the rifle is cocked, and disappears
when the trigger is pulled.
FIG. 181. — DETACHABLE ACTION.
All the internal lock mechanism is removable by hand. A pin
taken out by hand frees the lock-work, and it can then be readily
detached for cleaning or repair, or any other purpose, and is as
easily replaced.
The Francotte system of removable action is well known, and
possesses undoubted merit. The mechanism is mounted upon a
separate frame, which is inserted within the shoe or breech. This
arrangement somewhat adds to the weight.
Further, the Sherwood possesses a detachable barrel. There are
many systems of detachable barrels now in use, but I regard the
Westley Richards system as the simplest and best. When, some
years ago, this firm introduced this detachable barrel, which is
Miniature Rifles
332 Modern Sporting Gunnery
attached by solicUocking lugs, and secured in position by the fore-
part, I advanced the opinion that, while the locking lugs were
secure, the fore-end attachment was of such a character that it
might not absolutely insure freedom from lateral motion of the
barrel within its breech.
For sporting purposes, even if my anticipations were confirmed,
Miniature Rifles 333
and wear occurred at this point, I do not consider that it would
affect shooting, but I am glad to note that, in their later forms of
detachable barrel, Westley Richards have improved the fore-end
attachment. This, after trial in high-power rifles, has proved to
be very secure. With such an attachment the detachable barrel
is practically as solid as the fixed barrel. It will be seen that the
spring ball, which receives into a corresponding socket, prevents
any lateral movement of the barrel. This ball is made of hard
steel, and is therefore subject to little or no wear under friction.
But wear, whether more or less, is taken up by the pressure of the
spiral spring against the steel ball which forces it further forward,
and so acts as a compensating fastening (Figs. 182 and 184).
SIGHTS FOR THE SHERWOOD RIFLE.
Too much importance cannot be attached to the question of the
sighting of rifles, for the purpose of securing accurate results and
as an aid to marksmanship. The sights fitted to the Sherwood
rifle have reached a high degree of development upon lines which
appeal to the thoughtful and 'intelligent marksman. They afford
greater facilities for accurate aim under difficult weather conditions
than are possessed by even the best European service weapons.
For instance, we have the important qualification of making
allowance for wind by a mechanical movement enabling the
shooter to laterally adjust the sight in order to counteract the
force of the wind upon the flight of the bullet.
All military authorities in the past alike have refused to acknow-
ledge the necessity of a mechanical arrangement of any kind for
making wind-gauge allowance. Their attitude may have been
caused by the absence of reliable and durable systems, but it is, I
consider, the more likely due to a desire not to confuse the ordinary
soldier, whose intelligence may have been underrated or his educa-
tion neglected. Marksmen, however, have invariably adopted with
eagerness such appliances wherever the opportunity presented itself.
In another respect, equally essential to the proper training of the
practical marksman, the sight possesses an improvement in the
vertical movement or elevation of the sight slide. By this
arrangement a nice adjustment may be calculated to the fraction
334 Modern Sporting Gunnery
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335
of an inch, instead of to several inches, and in a rough-and-ready
way as provided in other constructions of sights. The latter con-
dition prevails with all European rifles, so that when the expe-
rienced marksman in long-range target shooting is desirous of
adjusting his elevation to a more minute degree, he has to make
use of a separate instrument called the " Vernier," carried in his
pocket. This involves some little trouble and delay, but no
marksman worthy of the name, in this country at all events,
would think of entering into a competition without this vernier,
and, indeed, without it no first-rate
marksmanship is to be achieved.
Westley Richards have given
considerable attention to this im-
portant branch of rifle-shooting, and
for the first time have produced
practical wind-gauge and vernier
sights for attachment to their rifles
which fulfil the military needs of
strength and simplicity, and at the
same time form great aids to marks-
manship.
The mechanical principles of these
sights are fully described in Chapter
XI. It now only suffices to say that FlG-
these improvements, so necessary for
the military weapon, have wisely been adapted to the Sherwood
miniature rifle. The Mark I Sherwood rifle is fitted with the
ordinary tangent back-sight, but the leaf or tangent of this sight
is capable of lateral movement across its bed. By pushing on
the pivot the leaf is moved across for wind-gauge allowance. On
closing down the leaf it automatically centres itself and returns to
its original position, vide illustration above. This is extremely
simple, and easily understood and manipulated.
Mark II Sherwood rifle is supplied with the wind-gauge and
vernier elevating sight. The motion of the wind-gauge is the
same as on the Mark I, but the pivot is moved across by a
screw worked by the milled head, which gives a more accurate
adjustment, such as is frequently needed when at the target.
WIND-GAUGE
SIGHT.
FIG. 186. — VERNIER AND
WIND-GAUGE SIGHT.
336 Modern Sporting Gunnery
A further arrangement, securing accuracy of wind-gauge adjust-
ment, is provided in this sight. The milled head is divided into
six notches, and, on turning the head, a spring " snicks "
into . a notch, each notch represents
half-an-inch of lateral allowance
upon the target, which is conveyed
to the marksman by the sense of
touch and through the ear, without
troubling him to read the scale. This
sight is a vernier in itself, dispensing
with the separate vernier hitherto
carried in the pocket. By turning the
head of the screw fitted at the side of
the tangent leaf, an adjustment may
be obtained 'of half-an-inch up and
down. As a rule one inch represents
the minimum allowance of elevation, and the scale may be divided
into -th of an inch, a measurement equalling one inch for each
100 yards.
Some marksmen prefer a peep sight, and
Westley Richards have also applied to this
sight the pivot wind-gauge screw move-
ment for lateral movement of the sight to
correct the effect of the wind. This sight
also has the micrometer arrangement of
notches, as described above.
The National Rifle Association re-
gulations for the Bisley meeting, 1906,
concede the use of wind-gauge or
laterally adjusting back-sights in both
Miniature Rifle Competitions, Class A,
and also in the Military Miniature Com-
petitions, Class B. This is a step in
advance.
This new regulation is not solely for
the purpose of wind-gauge, it is more for the object of enabling
the shooter to correct any error of sighting, either due to the con-
struction of the rifle, to the operation of wear, or to faulty holding
FIG. 187.— WIND-GAUGE
PEEP SIGHT.
Miniature Rifles 337
and aiming on the part of the marksman. This narrow and
restricted use of this laterally moving sight is confined solely to the
Bisley meeting ; in reality, the new regulation is a great stride, and
opens up a field of promise for the cultivation of marksmanship
amongst civilian clubs, In those clubs where shooting is conducted
at longer ranges than 100 yards, advantage will be taken of the
wind-gauge sight for use to correct the deviation of the bullet due
to the wind, and it is to be hoped that, as a natural sequence, the
National Rifle Association will extend the range for miniature rifle
competitions, which the permission to use the wind-gauge sight
renders all the more practicable.
Since the principle of the wind-gauge sight in its fullest and
most practical aspect is admitted to be necessary upon the service
rifle, rifle shots may be permitted to hope for this much-needed
change in the regulations concerning miniature rifles.
N.R.A. REGULATIONS.
AMMUNITION FOR INDOOR SHOOTING.
With a bullet not exceeding 80 grs. in weight, observed velocity
must not exceed 1200 feet per second over 20 yards. Energy
equivalent to 222 foot-lb.
With a bullet exceeding 80 grs., not exceeding 100 grs. in weight,
observed velocity must not exceed 1000 feet per second over 20
yards. Energy equivalent to 256 foot-lb.
AMMUNITION FOR OUTDOOR SHOOTING.
Weight of bullet, maximum, 140 grs., observed velocity 1450
feet per second over 20 yards. Energy equivalent to 652 foot-lb.
The conditions laid down by these ofHcial regulations approxi-
mately reproduce the ballistics of the Westley Richards Sherwood
rifle.
It will, further, be noted that '32/40 cartridge is excluded from
the miniature classification, as far as Bisley is concerned.
Mr. Greener's club rifle is made in a variety of patterns for
target use and for sport. It has been used with satisfaction at
small deer in India.
22
338 Modern Sporting Gunnery
The Westley Richards Sher-
wood rifle is made in the following
models —
MARK I.
1. The Sherwood club rifle,
Mark I, with patent push-pivot
wind-gauge back-sight. Detach-
able barrel and action in two
qualities.
2. As above, but with fixed
action.
3. As above, but with fixed
action and ordinary tangent sight
and detachable barrel.
MARK II.
1. The Sherwood club rifle,
Mark II, with patent pivot wind-
gauge back-sight and vernier
elevator combined. Patent de-
tachable barrel and action in two
qualities.
2. As above, but with fixed
action.
3. As above, but with fixed
action and ordinary tangent sight
and detachable barrel.
Each of these eight models may
also be had in a variety of bores
for well-known cartridges of estab-
lished accuracy, such as the *22,
the '297/-23O, "250, and -300 rook-
rifle cartridges ; as well also the
•32/40, a most excellent cartridge.
Weight of bullet, 185 grs., nickel
base; muzzle velocity, 1440 feet
per second.
Miniature Rifles 339
The Sherwood is also made as a miniature match target rifle with
attachable peep-sight collar fore-sight with three interchangeable
discs of different sizes, and fixed spirit-level, chambered for the
Sherwood or the '32/40 cartridge. (Illustrated as on p. 338.)
The Westley Richards under-lever sliding-block rifle, cham-
bered for the Sherwood cartridge and copper-capped expanding
bullet for sport, with Axite powder.
With regard to accuracy, the Greener club rifle, the Sherwood,
and the "32/40, have distinguished themselves at Bisley. The
•32/40 is, however, a rifle that fairly may be considered outside
the miniature rifle question.
Last year at Bisley the Greener and the Westley Richards
Sherwood rifle both obtained highest possible scores at 100 yards
in the Miniature Rifle Competition.
In 1 904 the Sherwood rifle won the Miniature Rifle Competition
with a highest possible, both this diagram and the target made in
1905 being shot with a Sherwood rifle which had been in use for
a year or two. In 1904 it had already shot 3006 cartridges,
and last year (1905) over 4000 cartridges had been fired from
the barrel, a striking testimony not only to accuracy, but to
the lasting qualities of the barrel. At the Bisley meeting in 1903,
in the Sherwood Competition, the winning diagram made by the
Westley Richards rifle showed, out of seven consecutive shots,
six consecutive in a space of i| by iT3F inches.
The championship of the Leamington Rifle Club has been
won for two years in succession by a Sherwood rifle. In 1903,
the winner, Mr. Barr, out of 81 shots, giving a possible of 420
points, scored 403. On one occasion he made a possible of 35
at the distance of 350 yards, making a total of 103 at 100, 200,
and 350 yards, out of a possible 105 ; and on two other occasions
he dropped only one point at the 350 yards range. With such
a high standard of accuracy at the longer ranges, which have
been confirmed by the use of the weapon under sporting con-
ditions, it is inconceivable that the Bisley authorities still refuse
to provide competitions for miniature rifles beyond 100 yards.
Even the *22 long rifle cartridge shoots accurately to 200 yards,
but has not the steady and reliable flight of the heavier projectiles
recommended. The advantage of practising long-range shooting in
340 Modern Sporting Gunnery
civilian clubs is that the youths are early trained to. accustom their
eyesight to aim at comparatively long ranges. The eyesight form-
ing such an important factor in rifle shooting, the longer the range
under reasonable practical conditions, the better.
More efficient marksmen would result from a course of shooting
which had been carried on at from 200 to 500 yards than could
be possible with competitions conducted at 100 yards range or
thereabouts.
Introduced primarily for target purposes, the modern British
miniature rifle is, nevertheless, a satisfactory sporting weapon
within limits. The use of cordite and Axite powders, which per-
mit a comparatively high velocity with remarkable accuracy, has
made these simple-looking weapons of greater ballistic value than
their prototypes of the past. They are, in a word, endowed .with
a degree of effectiveness which only larger and more powerful
weapons could formerly lay claim to.
It is only to be expected that these improved qualities would
appeal to sportsmen, who welcomed the advent of a rifle so light,
neat, and handy, and yet so accurate and deadly. The deadliness
or effective killing power is further increased by the use of new
bullets, which, as it happens, have been introduced almost coinci-
dently with this modern system of miniature rifle.
Elsewhere 1 have fully described the capped bullet system.
The Sherwood cartridge has, during the last two years, carried
a compound bullet, covered with nickel at the rear end, also one
having a copper nose or front upon the capped system. The
latter form shoots with extreme accuracy, and the expansive
qualities have proved to be of a very high order, and are spoken
well of by all who have used this system of bullet in actual
sport.
Messrs. Westley Richards have, therefore, recently introduced a
double-barrelled rifle, rifled and sighted for this sporting cartridge,
which they call the " Double Sherwood." It weighs from 6 to
6 1 lb., has perfect balance, and although recommended for deer
shooting of the smaller kind, some very good shooting has been
done with it at stags weighing as much as 231 lb., and even bigger
species have been brought to bag by this little weapon.
Another pattern of miniature rifle for sporting purposes is the
Miniature Rifles 341
Minex, which has just been introduced by the firm of Westley
Richards. It is constructed on similar lines to the Sherwood, but
is -298-bore and is chambered for a bottle-necked cartridge instead
of the straight taper Sherwood pattern. Another and important
. difference lies in the bullet adapted for this new cartridge. It is
of the nickel-base lead pattern, but with the nose end surmounted
by a hollow brass or copper cap similar to that employed in the
Explora or Fauneta bullets. The Minex bullet is especially
adapted for sporting purposes at deer, black buck, cheetul stag,
and like game, and possesses remarkable expanding qualities.
The following particulars convey some idea of this miniature
express sporting rifle-
Weight of double Minex rifle, 6J to 6J Ib.
Weight of single Minex rifle, 6| to 6 Ib. 10 oz.
Length of cartridge case, if inches.
Weight of bullet, 140 grs.
As some people might be inclined to question the effectiveness
of this weapon, I have given in Chapter XV a few reports received
from Scotland, and I here give, others, confirming these results,
from British Columbia and India —
" I may mention that with your Sherwood rifle I have shot
black buck, and find your copper-capped bullets excellent. My
wife has also shot two small cheetul stags with it." — LIEUTENANT-
COLONEL D. M.
From BRITISH COLUMBIA — " . . . The caribou which I shot
at 220 yards with the Sherwood is the largest bag secured with a
rifle of such a bore."
. With a party outward to NICOMEN, B.C. — " Our party has had
at least passable sport along this game-frequented range, there's
plenty to shoot, but as our time is so limited we are unable
to follow far. The bag up to date is ten bears, two mountain
sheep, big horns, and a number of deer. The Sherwood -300
accounted for four black bear, one big horn, and a number of
smaller game."
The high standard of accuracy is, of course, a great factor of
efficiency, enabling the sportsman, as it does, to place his shots in
34-2 Modern Sporting Gunnery
a vital spot with certainty ; but accuracy alone would not have
enabled such a small-bore weapon, having a medium velocity,
to bag game so successfully, were it not for the superior expansive
qualities possessed by the copper-capped expanding bullet.
Frequently rifles, all too-powerful, are adopted for small deer,
the high-power Mannlicher and Mauser rifles to wit. These
weapons shoot bullets giving extreme penetration, owing to their
high velocity and lack of expansion. The -256 Mannlicher, I
know, is considered by some sportsmen unsuitable for chamois
shooting, as it does not always kill, and it is probable that
both for this sport and for ordinary deer-stalking at average
ranges, a lower velocity weapon shooting a bullet of greater
expansive quality would be more effective. It is, I consider,
on account of these qualities that the Sherwood rifle has proved
so successful.
There is another recommendation for these medium-power
small-bore rifles, and that is, that in a limited stretch of country
shooting can be conducted with greater safety. From time to
time one hears from sportsmen who use a Mauser, a Mann-
licher, or a '3O3-bore rifle for deer in thickly-populated India,
that villagers are occasionally shot by users of these long-range
weapons ; and these same weapons are also used for park deer at
home.
Unless shots are taken against a fairly high background, the
use of such weapons becomes dangerous, and, what is more, com-
plaints are made that their bullets often pass clean through the
object, allowing the beast to travel a considerable distance before
dropping. This can only be expected from such conditions,
namely, the high penetrative character of the bullet and the
lightly-built animal against which it is used.
It does not, of course, take much to bring down deer of the
smaller size, say of the fallow deer type and weight, and indeed
the latter have been shot with a Mauser pistol ; although when
properly hit with the solid and ordinary soft-nosed Mauser pistol
bullet the animal is not immediately stopped. The Mauser bullet
weighs 80 grs., and has a muzzle velocity of 1400 feet per second.
Sir Bryan Leighton, in the year 1899, wrote to Messrs. Westley
Richards that he had found the Mauser pistol when used with the
Miniature Rifles 343
all- range Mauser bullet to be effective, as the following particulars
show —
" He had previously condemned the Mauser soft-nosed bullet, as
he found it only wounded the animals without stopping them.
He fired a first shot at 60 yards, but as the deer went on he was
at first under the impression that he had missed, so he fired another
shot at 45 yards, after which the deer went on another 20 to 30
yards, and then fell. Finally, at a distance of 10 yards a shot was
fired at the neck for experimental purposes. The shot which
entered the shoulder was found to have penetrated the heart,
making a hole through it about seven-eighths inch in diameter,
and smashing a rib in two pieces with a hole of about the same
size. The nickel then separated from the core. The shot in
the neck passed right through to the other side and lodged
just under the skin, with two small pieces of lead, weighing a
few grains, detached. This bullet met the bone of the neck,
shattered it, and mushroomed perfectly, having lost in the
process only ten grains." Sir Bryan Leighton expressed himself
as perfectly satisfied with the bullets, and considers the result
gratifying.
But the all-range Mauser pistol bullet is far less effective
than the capped bullet, as my own extended trials have
shown.
The Sherwood bullet, it will be remembered, weighs 140 grs.,
having a muzzle velocity of 1450 feet per second ; the weight of
the bullet is, therefore, nearly twice as much as that of the Mauser
pistol bullet, which has proved satisfactory at fallow deer. From
this interesting comparison we are better able to realize the
effectiveness of the Sherwood, not only at the smaller, but even
at the larger kind of deer.
It is certainly a fact that in India rifles of a power far beyond
the necessity of sport are sometimes used. I have heard of high
velocity "450 express rifles being used against black buck. The
average weight of this beast is 85 lb., therefore conceive the effect
of a '450 bullet possessing a striking energy of 4900 foot-lb.
Doubtless this was not a weapon taken from choice ; the sports-
man was probably after more dangerous game, and happened to
come across the smaller animal. Such a lightly-built animal,
344 Modern Sporting Gunnery
however, would be better pursued with a Sherwood rifle, or one
of a similar description, and for shooting this kind of game in India,
Africa, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada, I do not think
one could have a more reliable weapon when used with the
copper-capped expanding bullet.
Messrs. Cogswell & Harrison are responsible for the introduction
of the Certus rifle for miniature target shooting. It is constructed
to shoot the '22 rim-fire short and long cartridge, and is a single-
loader with a bolt-action. The shoe which carries the bolt and
trigger mechanism is fixed to the barrel ; the stock and fore-end
are of one piece, and the barrel and shoe, together with the bolt,
can be readily detached from the stock by the removal of a pin,
which enables the shooter to pack the rifle away in a small com-
pass. Of simple construction and low price, we cannot apply too
stringent a view to the workmanship. On the whole it is an
efficient weapon, and as far as concerns low-priced small-bore
miniature rifles, the Certus is probably one of the best of its
class. There are several patterns of sighting. The standard
pattern consists of an upright strip of metal, which works in two
grooves fixed in a bed upon the barrel, and is lifted up and
down for the different ranges, which are marked upon the front.
The sight is made with a " V," and is held rigid by means
of a pin.
This method of sighting equals anything that is applied to
American and Continental weapons, but it falls below the best
British efforts in this connection.
Among the earlier types of American miniature rifles intro-
duced into this country for target purposes, was the single rifle
known as the Ballard. This had an under-lever falling block-
action, the block being actuated by the under lever. The lock
mechanism was cocked separately by hand. It was constructed
to shoot either the '22 rim-fire cartridge or a -22 central-fire
cartridge, known as the -22 Winchester, which fired 14 grs. of
powder and 45 grs. bullet, shooting with considerable accuracy up
to 150 and even 200 yards.
Almost concurrently with this weapon, both the Winchester
single-shot rifle and the Remington single-shot rifle, *22-bore, were
introduced here. They were regulated either for the *22 short
Miniature Rifles 345
rim-fire cartridge or for the long '22 central-fire cartridge men-
tioned. These constitute the American single-shot miniature
rifles in vogue in this country twenty years ago.
About that time the Colt and Winchester Companies placed
before the British sportsman their repeating rifles for the -32, -38,
and -44 calibre cartridges. The -32 calibre shooting 20 grs. of
powder and 100 grs. bullet in either pattern weapon shot with
considerable accuracy up to 200 yards and more.
Some little time subsequent to this the Marlin Company intro-
duced rifles shooting this cartridge as well as other sizes.
Amongst others was a repeating rifle shooting a "25/36 car-
tridge. This was a bottle-necked central-fire cartridge, the bullet
of -250 calibre, shooting 23 grs. smokeless powder and 117 grs.
bullet, an exceedingly accurate cartridge up to 500 yards. This
firm also introduced the ^oo-bore cartridge, with a long bottle-
neck, known as the '33/'3O smokeless ; charge 29 grs. smokeless
powder, 160 grs. bullet. This was quickly followed by a '320
calibre cartridge known as '32/40, also accurate to 400 or 500
yards.
Magazine rifles at the best are not ideal target weapons, the
cartridges occasionally get damaged in passing from the magazine
into the chamber ; besides this, the balance of the rifle is dis-
turbed at each shot, which is not conducive to the highest
accuracy.
Amongst modern American rifles enjoying considerable popu-
larity in this country is the Stevens -25 rim-fire rifle. This
cartridge is accurate enough to 200 yards ; its charge is 1 1 grs. of
black powder and 65 grs. bullet. This weapon is constructed on
the sliding-block principle, having an under lever to work the block,
as well as to effect the cocking of the arm. It has a detachable
barrel, although on a crude system, and can be packed in a
small compass. Owing to its low price and portability, and
shooting cheap ammunition, this weapon undoubtedly assisted in
popularizing miniature target shooting.
Another pattern of rifle by the same maker has a longer barrel,
and weighs from 2 to 3 Ib. heavier. This is known as the
"Ideal" rifle.
During the last twenty years the Remington Arms Company
346 Modern Sporting Gunnery
have sold a large number of their single-shot rifles in this country.
They were bored for the '22 rim-fire short and long cartridges.
There are now supplied amongst modern American rifles the
Stevens, Winchester, Savage, Marlin and others, as well as rifles
of Belgian manufacture, all shooting the '22 rim-fire cartridge
for gallery or indoor shooting. Such weapons have long been in
use at the shooting-galleries of country fairs, and if their capa-
bilities are to form the standard, the travelling caravan may
be regarded as the pioneer of civilian rifle-shooting.
Weight of Stevens' Favourite, '22 short ... ... 4^- Ib.
„ „ „ Ideal, English model, '22 short 5^ „
„ „ „ „ American match, '22 short, 7 „
„ „ Winchester single-shot, -22 short, from ... \\ „
„ „ Savage Target Rifle, *22 short, from ... 4f „
The War office has produced its own model of miniature rifle,
of which I understand the bolt, fore-sight protector and back-sight
are all of Government design. The other items have been selected
from six competing models which were submitted by gun manu-
facturers, whose sole reward, I am informed, lies in the honour
of contributing ideas which are regarded as unpatentable com-
binations. Had these gunmakers been responsible for the whole
effort, they would not have had much to boast about.
This miniature rifle is very much on the lines of the American
small-bore rifles, already alluded to and so familiar here during
many years, having the same pitch of rifling, and shooting an
American cartridge of *22-bore.
This Government miniature rifle is on the bolt principle.
Length of barrel, 24 inches.
Length over all, 41 \ inches.
Weight, 5 Ib. 5 oz.
Bore, -22 for long cartridge, rim-fire.
Charge of powder, 5 grs. semi-smokeless.
Weight of bullet, 40 grs.
Length of cartridge, fi of an inch.
Length of case, ff of an inch.
Weight of cartridge, 55 grs.
Miniature Rifles 347
It is sighted to 200 yards, which is an extreme range for the long
•22 cartridge, and is principally intended for indoor use at 25 yards,
and also for shooting up to 100 yards, in this respect confirming
the mistaken policy adopted by the National Rifle Association with
regard to the range for miniature competitions.
The best feature of the weapon is the back-sight. It is of
the flap-up pattern similar to the new service sight, and has a
wind-gauge bar, though of an antiquated pattern. The Westley
Richards sight of this pattern is far superior and of more mechani-
cal construction.
This new Government weapon has not yet been subjected to
a thorough test, but it may prove successful within its limit. If
produced cheaply, it may have a demand, but the civilian who
takes rifle-shooting seriously is more likely to prefer one of the
superior rifles of large calibre and longer range which I have
described.
In a small but very instructive pamphlet, entitled The Art of
Shooting with the Rifle, published in 1888 by the late Sir Henry
Halford — who gave a life-long devotion to the art of rifle-shooting
— we read at the conclusion of his work —
"I shall be well repaid for my trouble if I can induce one
Englishman to become a rifleman. Believe me, the use of the
rifle is a sport in itself. More than that — and far more —
the rifle of the present day is the long-bow of the middle ages.
If the youth of England could use the rifle, the strength and
power of the United Kingdom would be invincible."
When this experienced rifle-shot uttered these words, he was
only foreshadowing what we all hope may be the outcome of the
civilian rifle movement.
As a long-range shooter we may be sure that he would have
had little or no sympathy with the feeble methods of teaching
rifle-shooting now in vogue. The long-range rifle doubtless is, as
he says, the equivalent of the long-bow of the middle ages, but
many of us would have expressed surprise if we had learnt that
our ancestors taught their youth the use of the long-bow by means
of a catapult, which would be no more ineffectual for their purpose
348 Modern Sporting Gunnery
than the air-gun and the *22-bore are for our modern requirements.
Even with the long-bow good practice was made at 300 to 400
yards, and it strikes one as somewhat of a retrograde movement
for the youth of England in these times to have their tuition
confined to short-range shooting.
As stated in the retrospective chapter, the laws enacted in the
reign of King Henry VIII. demanded that every able-bodied man
should be trained in the use of the long-bow. But these laws
further insisted that shooting should not be conducted at shorter
ranges than 220 yards under a penalty. In the statutes of the
reign quoted concerning the practice of shooting, there is a pro-
vision forbidding shooting at a standing mark, except for a rover,
by which is meant snap-shooting, when a less range was permitted,
but even in this case a change of target was compulsory at each
shot.
Notwithstanding the great progress made in the construction
and capacity of fire-arms, by which their use has become effective
to a mile or so — more than trebling the effectiveness of the long-
bow— nevertheless, modern authority endorses the policy that
under the requirements of an increased range, three times greater
than that of the long-bow, marksmanship is to be taught and
acquired by practice at one hundred yards out of doors, and but a
stride or two away within doors. And this to those individuals
who will some day, perhaps, be called upon to handle the long-
range modern rifle, and expected to be proficient in its use at a
mile or more. Our ancestors well knew that proficiency in
marksmanship, even though the range of the firing apparatus were
limited to 400 yards, could not be taught or acquired at a less
normal range than 22O yards.
A word should be said about the sighting of the American rifles
as compared with the sighting of English rifles.
It is well known that in America rifles are made throughout
by machinery ; there is no handwork on them, and in many
instances builders of rifles do not make their own sights. They
obtain them from a company which confines its attention to making
all kinds of sights, and turns out both back- and fore-sights by
the thousand. The requisite slots are made in the barrels of the
rifles by the rifle-makers, and in the assembling of the machined
Miniature Rifles 349
parts after they have been blacked and hardened, the sights are
knocked in.
The rifles are constructed to shoot straight, but the fine adjust-
ment of the different distances is left to the shooter to arrange, and
we have always considered this a great drawback in American
rifles. Instead of following their rough-and-ready method of
sighting, makers in this country regard the sighting as being second
to no other process in the construction of the weapon, and each
target .rifle made by a trustworthy firm is carefully graduated and
sighted and shot at individual ranges which are marked on the
sight, thus saving the shooter considerable time and expense,
besides giving him a guarantee that the rifle has been tested and
shot for accuracy by an expert.
In the matter of sights the English gunmaker is undoubtedly
far ahead of his American competitor.
We have seen a number of wind-gauge sights patented and
made in America, but we have never yet seen one that we have
considered worthy to be put on a rifle with any pretensions to fine
workmanship. There are perhaps two sights in America that
are deserving of praise, those are the two sights extensively made
by the Lyman Company, generally known as the Lyman com-
bination rear-sight, fitted on the butt of the rifle, and the Beech
combination fore-sight. These two peep sights in conjunction
are undoubtedly a boon to target shooters, and have considerably
increased the possibilities of scoring. But, to be quite fair, we
may point out that both the principles of these sights were in
vogue in England years before America dreamed of making rifles
or sights.
This subject would not be complete without reference to the
modern air-gun or rifle. For the want of better practice out of
doors with a rifle of effective range, a large number of our citizens,
to whom the late Lord Salisbury's appeal was especially directed,
have enthusiastically taken up air-rifle shooting within doors. It
may not be much, but it is something towards the increase in the
interest all good citizens desire to have taken in this question, and
it is difficult to suggest a better solution of the problem which has
(i) to adapt its needs to smaller rooms than are suitable for longer
range work ; (2) to deal with a class of people whose occupations
350 Modern Sporting Gunnery
prevent them from daytime practice ; and (3), perhaps the most
important factor of all, viz. to provide weapons and ammunition
that will permit this recreation to be enjoyed at an infinitesimal
cost.
It is, at all events, a nursery ground for the elementary training
in marksmanship, which may inculcate an interest and a larger
and more serious attention to the question of practical outdoor
rifle shooting. Many of the air-gunners practising in small rooms
to-day may become the practised and proficient rifle shots of
to-morrow. This question has, therefore, given a great stimulus
to the makers of air-guns. A few years ago the air-gun was but
a toy, whose use was confined, for the most part, to the genus
boy. Upon the formation of air-gun clubs, greater accuracy was
found to be necessary. The ordinary smooth bore represented by
the then existent air-gun, of which the Gem pattern was one of the
chief exemplars, was not accurate and reliable. Thus an opening
was provided for the production of an improved weapon, and the
opportunity was seized by several gunmakers to introduce new
weapons of improved utility, and bored and rifled accurately in
order to make shooting more interesting, and therefore more
instructive.
Perhaps the best of these air-rifles is that manufactured by the
Birmingham Small Arms Company. The length of the barrel is
19^ inches, and it does not break down in order to load, as in the
old Gem pattern, but is fixed. The weapon is cocked by a separate
lever, which is situated underneath the barrel. As this lever is
pulled down, the spring operating the piston is compressed, and
the arm is cocked. The pellet or slug is inserted in the following
manner : A taper plug passes through the barrel at its junction
with the air-piston chamber. This plug is turned round by a short
external lever on the left side of the weapon, until it is clear of the
pellet chamber. After the pellet is inserted, the plug is turned
back again, carrying the pellet with it.
The makers claim that the plug and fixed barrel have great
advantages over the break-down system. There is this disadvan-
tage however, as constructed, the operation of loading is slow, two
more operations are necessitated by this separate plug movement
than in the break-down system. The operations are as follows —
Miniature Rifles 351
1. Opening the lever placed underneath the barrel.
2. Closing the lever placed underneath the barrel.
3. Turning the external lever and plug in order to expose the
loading aperture.
4. Placing the pellet within the aperture for entry within the
chamber.
5. Turning back the lever to close the aperture.
Messrs. Westley Richards have shown me an improvement
upon this system which obviates the objection of slow loading
in this B.S.A. rifle. It consists of an attachment between the
arm of the cocking lever and the external plug, which we have
seen has to be moved separately and independently. By this
attachment the depression of the lever causes at the same time the
plug to turn, and thus in two movements is done what the original
arrangement required four to accomplish. This system is very
cheap, and has the additional advantage that for an insignificant
price all existing rifles of the old type can be fitted with this
attachment,' which can be easily fixed by the owner upon his air-
rifle. Further, the rifle may be used, if desired, without this
attachment. The saving of mechanical operations in manipulat-
ing these air-rifles will, however, I think, appeal to the majority,
and if this be so, future supplies may be manufactured with this
external loading system provided as a fixture on each weapon.
This will enable the manufacturer to abolish the upright extension
of the loading plug, which is an objectionable and unsightly feature
of the present air-rifle.
The barrel of this rifle is bored '177 inch in diameter, and is
rifled with shallow poly-groove rifling, which is found satisfactory
for the accurate driving of the leaden pellets.
The weight of rifle is about 7 Ib. and the point of balance is
6J- inches forward of the trigger. The stock is supplied in three
lengths, 13^, 13!, or 14 J inches from the trigger to the centre of
the butt. The back-sight gives a maximum range of elevation of
T\5- inch, is nj inches forward of the trigger, and compares
favourably with the "303 rifle in this important point.
The sights are of a varied design. Some people advocate laying
down a definite pattern of open sight for use by the affiliated air-
352 Modern Sporting Gunnery
rifle clubs. This is to be deprecated, and marksmanship is much
more likely to be learnt by individual experiments with a range
of sights than by a rigid adherence to one pattern, which cannot
possibly suit all individual needs. The rifle is interchangeable, so
that worn parts can be readily renewed.
The best slugs or pellets for these weapons are manufactured
by Kynoch, Ltd. There are two varieties, the " Match,"
weighing 10 grs., and the " Witton," weighing 8 grs. The
" Match " is considered to be the most successful design.
The " Britannia " air-gun, of same calibre, is another pattern
which finds favour. It is an improved form of the Gem type,
with break-down barrel, and is supplied by all gunmakers.
Although it can scarcely be said that marksmanship can
properly be taught within doors, there is no doubt that many
points of elementary instruction may be there acquired by the
beginner. The Morris tube has helped in this direction, but its
ranges and general equipment are expensive. Now that efficient
air-guns built upon practical lines have been introduced, I believe
that they will be more and more used in the Volunteer and
regular corps, in place of the Morris tube. They have this
advantage, that they are suitable for the particular elementary
kind of training referred to, such as aligning the rifle, bringing up
the weapon to the shoulder, and snapping ofT within a given time ;
and so enable the shooter and instructor to quickly ascertain the
results of errors.
Messrs. Westley Richards & Co. have shown me an air-
gun with fixed barrel, of a type already described, attached to the
breech action and stock of a British Government service rifle.
This arrangement retains the service weight of the rifle, its
length of barrel, the external shape, form, and dimensions of
stock, and the same trigger and guard and magazine, so that
the handling of this combination air-rifle is the same as the
service rifle, which is of great importance in the training of
recruits.
One other matter, which is perhaps of greater value, is that it
enables the same form of back-sight and fore-sight to be employed
as on the service rifle.
These sights having the same radius, give the same angle in
s
8g
H H
£ 0
w o
Miniature Rifles 353
sighting as the service rifle, and are, therefore, of the same value
at any range ; a recruit having learned to snap-shoot with this
weapon and to estimate the exact value of any error in sighting at
a distance of seven yards indoors, has nothing to unlearn when he
takes the same weight of rifle with its other conditions for out-
door longer ranges. And so equipped with these rudimentary
instructions, he can now proceed to the serious business of learning
to shoot.
Since writing the above it is gratifying to note that the Army
Council has given official recognition to the Society of Miniature
Rifle Clubs, and agrees that the Society shall have equal powers
and be accorded privileges similar to those now enjoyed by the
National Rifle Association.
KYNOCH SLUG
FOR AIR-GUNS.
CHAPTER XIV
GUN FITTING— THE TRY-GUN AND ITS USES—
. STOCK FORM AND MEASUREMENTS— SECOND-
HAND GUN BUYING
OCCASIONALLY one hears of men who can shoot
well with almost any gun, but with the majority of
sportsmen how different is the case, for to them
a properly-fitted gun is of supreme importance.
This chapter will, so far as possible, show the points
to be considered in constructing the stock of a gun to suit the
physical and other requirements of the man who has to shoot it.
The introduction of the shooting-ground and the firing adjust-
able try-gun, has done much to facilitate the business of the
gunfitter, but there is the imperative need still for the employment
of the highest skill and knowledge he can bring to his aid. On
the introduction of the try-gun, some gunmakers, failing to appre-
ciate its limitations, were -prone to ascribe to it the wonderful
powers of an automatic " fit-finder," and many absurd blunders
resulted. In short, the servant became the master, and although
at that time the try-gun was a crude affair, they preferred to
regard it as infallible rather than take heed of the rules and lessons
that years of experience should have taught them. Even now,
improved as it is, the operations of the try-gun must be carefully
watched by an experienced fitter. Without this practical super-
intendence, accurate results in the shooting field cannot possibly be
expected.
There are two distinct methods of aiming with the shot-gun at
moving objects : ( i) The one-eyed deliberate or dead-bead system,
and (2) the two-eyed instinctive pointing of the gun in the
desired direction. In the first, one eye rigidly aligns the rib and
sight of the. gun upon or in front of the object. In the second,
354
The Fitting of Shot-Guns 355
both eyes, whilst wholly riveted upon the quarry, instinctively
assist in bringing the gun to bear in the desired direction. In
a general way, with people of normal vision using guns of good fit,
the first mode is the slower and less certain, the latter the speedier
and more effective method of aiming.
It has been asserted that it is manifestly impossible for both eyes
to take aim at the same time, and that when shooting one eye
alone should dominate the movement of the barrels. If this be
admitted, the first question to decide is : Which eye is to do this ?
Unconsciously, in testing a straight-edge one eye is neutralized
and the other used by every one, the same when taking deliberate
aim along a gun-barrel at a fixed object. But in any case, should
one eye be the stronger, that eye is the master eye.
Although it is generally safe to assume that the eye used for
testing a straight-edge would be the one used for aiming, when in
the shooting field it is not always the case, and there seems no
simple method of determining the question as to which is the
master eye, except by actual trials with a firing gun adjustable to
both eyes.
In theory, the ideal method of shooting would be to use one eye
and cover or shut the other, but in practice this is unsatisfactory,
as it is next to impossible to judge distances with one eye only.
A simple experiment will illustrate this ; place two pins one a
little behind and on one side of the other, a good distance off on
a smooth surface such as a billiard-table, and on glancing with
the eyes level with the surface, the pins appear to be abreast of
each other if one eye only is used, but with both eyes open their
actual position is immediately evident.
Some men appear to be physically incapable of keeping both
eyes open when aiming a gun. In my opinion the utmost
proficiency in shooting with the shot-gun — /. e. speed coupled with
certainty of aim — is attainable from the use of both eyes. Even
those good and careful shots who from habit shut one eye, might
even excel their present form were they to keep both eyes
open. I think that the true secret of the highest success in
killing moving game with the shot-gun, and in much the same
degree with rifle also, is a due observance of the following
rules —
356 Modern Sporting Gunnery
1. Keep both eyes open.
2. Look steadfastly at the object and nothing else.
3. Think steadfastly of the object, avoiding all thought of the
gun, of the sight upon the rib, or of the background against which
the game is configured.
4. On no account alter the focus of vision from the objective to
the gun-sight in an attempt to bring the latter to bear upon or in
front of the former ; the moment this is attempted the gun is
involuntarily stopped and the quarry wins the race.
Whilst the dimensions of the gun-stock are of immense import-
ance to the shooter, we find that, as a rule, he is satisfied to leave
these measurements to his gunmaker. The question of fit has,
however, become so prominent during the past decade or so that
there has grown and is still growing a great interest in the matter,
and sportsmen are evincing the desire to know exactly in what way
the gun expert arrives at a proper fit. In order to do this, he will
have to set aside the idea that the dimensions of the stock, because
elementary in character, therefore become simple to attain.
Roughly speaking, the stock consists of three principal measure-
ments— length, bend, and cast-off. Each one of these, whilst
simple in form, is complicated by extensions of the principle
governing it. Thus, we have three points governing the length ;
the bend has to be taken at two points, while the cast-ofF, though
usually measured at the bump and also at the toe, becomes the more
complex when its measurement is taken from the comb.
In addition to these, we have measurements of a much simpler
nature to consider, but upon which a great deal depends in
order to secure a proper and correct fit with perfect control and
ease of handling the gun under all varieties of shots. These
measurements consist of the size and shape of the handle or grasp,
the length of the handle to the point of the comb, the grip of the
stock being made to suit the hand for which it is intended,
remembering that if the hand is large the thumb-hole must be of
proportionate length and depth, to prevent the thumb protruding
above the comb. The form and size of this comb, and finally of
the thickness, depth, and shape of the whole stock, matters which
are included in that comprehensive but indefinable technical term
" make-off." It is to this quality that a gun owes that smoothness
The Fitting of Shot-Guns 357
and ease of handling which especially distinguish those high grade
weapons upon which the finisher at the expenditure of much
patience has devoted hours in making-off the stock.
And when properly made-off by a workman who loves his work
and approaches it in the spirit of an artist, all who appreciate a fine
gun will recognize that he has pervaded it with a character so
subtle that it can only be expressed by je ne sals quoi.
Possibly it will be of interest to examine each principal measure-
ment seriatim.
First, the stock-length. This is usually measured from the
front trigger, or in the case of a one-trigger gun from the trigger,
FlG. 189.— TO TAKE THE MEASUREMENT OF A GUN STOCK.
Take a straight-edge sufficiently long to reach from the end of the barrels to the
end of the butt, lay it straight along the top of the rib of the barrels and over the
butt, measure up from the butt by the heel-plate, and from the comb or ridge just
behind the grip, which will give the bend of the stock. The lengths should be
taken from the fore-trigger to the edge of the heel-plate.
An ordinary gun measures —
li inches at comb"! /• , , r , ,
.inches at heel j *>r bend of stock.
14! inches from the fore-trigger to edge of heel-plate centre]
I4j\ inches from fore-trigger to edge of heel j- for length.
14! inches from fore-trigger to edge of toe J
Depth from toe to heel, 5§ inches.
Cast off, about £ inch.
to the end of the butt at three points, viz. the bump, the centre,
and the toe, as here illustrated and described.
In Chapter III has been discussed the question of length and in
what way it influences the shooter. It is a common belief, shared,
too, by many gunmakers, that so long as the length be taken from
the trigger, measurements of equal register at the points named give
the same results in practice, and are in fact identical. But this is
not the case, unless the trigger occupies the same position relatively
to the breech end of the barrel, and further, relatively both to the
35 8 Modern Sporting Gunnery
right hand which grasps the stock and to the left hand holding
forward and supporting the barrel. This length of stock affects
the shooter in two ways. In the first place, the measurements
from the trigger virtually give to his right arm and shoulder that
measurement of stock, which permits him to bed the stock com-
fortably at his shoulder, and when in that position to reach the
trigger with his pulling finger. But, after all, this is subservient
to the position at which the left hand grasps the barrel.
We all know the falsehood of extremes. To hold the left hand
too far away from, is as objectionable as holding it too near, the
trigger-guard. A shooter who holds at the end of the guard is
depriving his left arm of its power to fully assist in moving the
gun. He is usually a slow, poking, and ungainly shot. The man
who holds too far forward not only puts his left arm to a strain
but hampers its free use and so impedes the movement of the gun,
particularly at overhead shots, whilst at crossing shots this, by
lessening support, causes the muzzle of the gun to drop. There-
fore, by all means hold forward, not at the fullest stretch, but
leaving the arm in a natural unstrained position. This will give
the greatest support to the gun, and permit of the freest move-
ment at all kinds of shots, whether up or down, right or left.
If supposing a man having a length of stock which he can com-
fortably manage with the right arm, holds with his left arm just
in front of the trigger-guard ; then should he adopt a different
method and hold the gun with the left hand several inches for-
ward of the trigger-guard, the length of stock would have to be
altered accordingly ; and, therefore, just as a man holds his gun
far forward of the breech or closer up to it, so does the length of
the stock from the trigger to the three points named require
modification.
The consideration of this subject is of cardinal importance,
and from all points of view it is one that essentially concerns
the sportsman.
The misconception which is abroad respecting the measurement
of stock length arises from the fact that the right hand and arm have
been regarded erroneously as the governing factor in determining
the length of the stock, and little or no attention has been
given to the part played by the left hand which grasps the fore-
The Fitting of Shot-Guns 359
part of the gun. Having the latter consideration in mind, then
to fix the length measurement of stock from the trigger alone is
erroneous.
When shooting, the left arm is more or less extended, while the
right arm is not. Supposing we lengthen a stock already a fit
as regards its length measurement, and so readily enabling the
shooter's right hand to manipulate the triggers, it will be seen that
it would be imperative on the shooter's part to hold his lengthened
gun with the left hand nearer to the trigger-guard, in order to
use it at all, this drawing in of the left hand being equivalent to
shortening the stock. The left hand, which grips the fore-end
and holds the gun to the shoulder — while the right hand is used
FIG. 190.
A is length from fore-trigger to centre of butt, 14^ inches.
B ,, ,, left /, „ „ „ „ 131 „
C „ „ standing breech ,, „ ,, i6£ „
to pull the trigger — in the majority of cases governs the length
of the stock, and not the right hand.
In a two-trigger gun, the right hand moves easily from one
trigger to the other ; but, on changing the finger from the right
trigger to the left, the length of stock is not altered, it remains
precisely the same. The advantage of a one-trigger gun does
not lie in the fact that there is the same length of stock for both
barrels, as some claim, but because not having to relax your grip
of the stock you do not disturb the position of the gun at the
shoulder.
From this it is obvious that the real points of measurement, for
the length of the stock, are from the standing breech to the end
of the butt, and that the position which the triggers may occupy
is of only relative importance. In comparing a one-trigger gun
with a two-trigger gun, this point is illustrated. If both guns are
360 Modern Sporting Gunnery
to match in length they must measure the same from the standing
breech to the end of the stock, and providing the trigger of the
one-trigger gun is at, or between, the position occupied by either
the right or left trigger of a two-trigger gun, both weapons will
handle alike.
From the illustration, Fig. 190, of a typical stock length of 14^
inches from the fore-trigger, it will be gathered that the length of
the stock remains the same whatever may be the position of the
triggers. Therefore, to place one trigger anywhere within the
limits of the respective positions occupied by these triggers, i. e.
between the points A and B, cannot alter the length of the stock.
I should not have mentioned this self-evident fact, but for the
reason that some sportsmen, aye, and gunmakers too, maintain that
if one trigger is substituted for two triggers, and made to occupy
the position of the left trigger, the gunstock is thereby shortened,
and therefore, they have argued with confusion, that supposing
there is an inch between a right and left trigger, by adopting the
left trigger form on your one-trigger gun you must, therefore,
lengthen the wood of the stock an inch. Such a contention is, of
course, erroneous.
Westley Richards inform me that this point frequently arises,
but the sportsman invariably has to admit the view taken here ;
they have converted some hundreds of two-trigger guns to their
one- trigger system, giving the sportsman a left trigger occu-
pying practically the same position as the rear trigger did before
the gun was converted. Guns so altered have invariably given
satisfaction, and many sportsmen have found their shooting im-
proved thereby.
That is natural, in firing with one trigger instead of two, the
gun is not disturbed from the shoulder when letting off the second
barrel, as is the case with a two-trigger gun.
The effects of a stock made too long are —
1. Shooting too high and behind.
2. Kicking.
3. Slow shooting.
4. Frequently bruised fingers.
The Fitting of Shot-Guns 361
With a stock made too short you may have —
1. Tendency to shoot under or in front.
2. Kick.
3. Injury to the cheek.
It is, perhaps, difficult to say whether discomfort arising from
recoil is greater from a short or from a long stock. The longer
stock makes the muscles sore, but it is certain that the too-short
stock punishes the shoulder and gives more shock to the shooter,
thereby inducing gun-headache. The recoil of a shot-gun will
sometimes be felt severely on a prominent cheekbone, and the
forefinger may become bruised against the first trigger on pulling
the second, or the second finger may receive an injury by jarring
against the trigger-guard. The latter of these very unpleasant
experiences, however, may be due to an abruptly curved guard or
insufficient depth of checker to give the hand a firm hold, and the
former from lack of distance between the two triggers.
In order to keep a gun steady when in firing position, the end
or heel-plate of the butt should be checkered and made to fit the
shoulder ; thus a man with a rounded and well-developed breast
would require the bump and toe of his gun to exceed the centre
in length to a greater degree than would a flat-chested man.
THE BEND OF THE STOCK.
The chief factor controlling the elevation of a gun is the bend
of the stock, and the amount necessary is determined by the
physical development of the shooter and his mode of shooting. A
man with a short, stiff neck generally requires more bend than
one whose neck is long and pliant, owing to the difficulty the
former finds in bringing down his head to the stock. However,
some sportsmen, Americans especially, prefer to shoot with their
heads erect, and by an increased bend make the gun do the work
of coming to the eye, instead of lowering the face to the gun.
The bend requires very careful adjustment. Even the correct
length of stock that enables the shooter to align straight would be
neutralized by an incorrect bend, which may either make a man
shoot too high or too low. The expert gunfitter knows that for
362 Modern Sporting Gunnery
many reasons the tendency is to shoot low, and he counteracts it
by careful study of individual idiosyncrasies. The bend is a
simpler matter to arrive at, and I think it may safely be said that
the differences in a man's build, that is in the length of neck, are
not so wide as is the case with regard to his length or reach of
arm, and, therefore, the range or limit of measurements which
constitute the bend of a gun-stock is narrower.
Shooting beneath the object often results from the use of a
weapon with too much bend, and, of course, the opposite effect
follows if the gun-stock is too straight. A weapon sighted to
shoot a little high is an undoubted advantage, for flying game
nearly always rises ; a going-away hare or rabbit must be shot
over, not #/, if the distance be considerable, whilst for on-coming
driven birds the aim must also be high. Moreover, during a
heavy day's shooting the tendency is for the left arm to become
a little weak and tired and so allow the barrels to drop, for on
this arm falls most of the strain of aligning and keeping the barrels
at a true level.
CAST-OFF.
" Cast-off" is the deviation of the stock to the right or left of
the centre of the barrels. Nearly all old-fashioned weapons were
made perfectly straight, but now the consideration of this im-
portant point in the measurement of a gun receives the deserved
and careful attention of every gunmaker worthy of the name.
It is one of the most difficult of measurements, perhaps the
most difficult, and at all events the one requiring the greatest
nicety of adjustment.
When shooting, say with the right eye, the necessity of bending
the stock to bring the centre of the barrels in its direct vision is
evident, for supposing there is no casting off of the stock, the barrels
would be pointing to the left of the object, and the eye looking
at an angle across the barrels instead of down the centre of the
rib. Thus it will be seen that a gun which shoots to the left of
the object can be made to shoot straight by casting the stock
to the right ; and if it shoots to the right, by bending the stock
to the left. Instead of casting off the stock to the right the
comb is sometimes hollowed out where the cheek touches it, but
The Fitting of Shot-Guns 363
this practice greatly disfigures the gun, and should, where possible,
be avoided.
FIG. 191.
FIG. 192.
Correct length and bend enable a sportsman to shoot straight at
on-coming or going-away birds, or ground game. It is only by
364 Modern Sporting Gunnery
aid of the cast-off that the sportsman is able to obtain complete
mastery of the movements of the gun either to the left or to the
right. Whether it be more difficult to take a bird crossing to the
right or one crossing to the left is not my present purpose to
discuss; authorities differ. I think that generally speaking a sports-
man moves his gun. easier from left to right, but this is largely a
personal question, and I speak only from my own experience.
This question of cast-off it will be seen affects the fit of a gun
to a degree no other measurement can be admitted to do, because
it makes all the difference between success and failure when a
sportsman has to deal with the most difficult shots. This measure-
ment requires a considerable amount of thought and care, which I
believe the true expert is prepared to give it ; and, at all events, I
recommend sportsmen when being fitted to be especially careful
in getting an assurance that their cast-off is correct. Difficult
swinging shots will, nevertheless, at times continue to baffle the
best sportsman, and will need much patience and practice in order
to take them with a sense of ease and mastery. The sportsman
who is fortunate enough to have gained this excellent degree of
marksmanship will, to the unpractised sportsman, be apparently
bringing them down from the right or from the left with un-
studied ease ; and he will, furthermore, be unable to explain to his
less fortunate companion how he does it. One sportsman said to
another, " I'll hang if I can get these crossing shots ; how do you
do it ? " And his friend replied, " Well, I swing." And that is
all that is necessary to do, and keep on doing it.
The necessary cast-off can be ascertained only by actual trials
at moving and stationary targets, for it is practice alone that will
determine the part played by the eyes.
In individual cases special requirements are sure to arise from
time to time, but these questions can be generally solved by the
use of a little thought and common-sense. Above all things,
grotesque absurdity in design, which sometimes passes as gun-
fitting, should be avoided. I remember a man who was a fairly
good shot with a gun of average and respectable dimensions. But
once he appeared with a stock of fearful and wonderful shape. I
think he called it " middle-eyed," u central-visioned," or something
of the sort. Evidently seized with the "gun-fitting craze," then
The Fitting of Shot-Guns 365
just commenced, he decided to have the fit of his gun tested.
" How did it happen ? " said I. " Oh ! " he replied, " I fired down
a tube, the man said * One guinea,' and they sent it back like this ! "
When re-altered to a rational shape he again shot well enough, and
thereafter resolutely abjured the allurements of the freak-fitter.
In short, I do not agree with "rational stocks," "central-
visioned " or " oblique-eyed " stocks, or similar freaks of the
adventurous gunfitter ; and in this I am supported by Westley
Richards, who inform me they frequently have had guns of
this type to alter on lines of reasonable and practical dimensions
and form. Moral : Sportsmen should avoid the freak-fitter and
his abortions.
Having satisfied himself that he has been fitted with intelligence
and care, the sportsman when in the field will do well to forget all
about length, all about bend, and cast-off*, and think only of killing
the game in front of him. In fact, to quote the words of a sporting
poet of a hundred and fifty years ago —
" There's nothing more requir'd but steady care
T' attend the motion of the bird, and gain
The best and farthest lineal point you can ;
Carrying your piece around, have patience till
The mark's at best extent, then fire and kill."
PTERYPHLEGIA.
I am of opinion that, given a gun of proper fit and other details
answering to the sportsman's personal taste, one selected from
stock is preferable to one newly built to order, on the grounds
that it is well-seasoned and that time has been allowed for the
wood to settle down to the iron work ; in fact,- the gun has
matured, and with such a gun the sportsman starts with a better
guarantee.
TRY-GUNS.
The first firing gun with a stock capable of adjustment or
movement for altering the length, bend, and cast-ofF was, I believe,
an American production. Years before, the Field described a
"measurement" gun with the stock capable of being adjusted
to any required dimension within reason, manufactured by Westley
Richards. But this and other similar types no doubt gave
the cue to the firing gun with adjustable stock introduced to
366 Modern Sporting Gunnery
us from America, and was the means of the production of the
firing " try-gun " introduced by Mr. Jones, of Birmingham. The
system especially known as the " Jones Try-gun" was adopted by
Messrs. Holland and Holland with no little success. But now
all who pretend to the calling of gunmaker boast of their gun-
fitting " try-gun." At first, no doubt, there was more in the
claims advanced for the try-gun than in its performance. The
gunmaker hitherto had applied his trained experience to a
sportsman's individual needs concerning " fit." But the try-
gun, at the outset, was supposed to dispense with this. The
veriest^ tyro, "the man in the street," could now not err, it was
claimed, with this magic instrument. The mechanical device
would do it all, and no brains on the part of the fitter were
required. Even though years have passed there is much of this
spirit abroad, and frequently, because the try-gun operator is a
person of superficial knowledge as regards the actual requirements
of sport, misfits occur. It is questionable whether, taking the gun
trade as a whole and the body of shooters who buy and use
guns, the number of victims of ill-fitting guns has in any way
decreased.
The try-gun, like any other workman's tool, can only become
efficient in the hands of a skilled operator.
A skilled operator of the try-gun is not to be picked up at any
street corner. He is a product, and not a spontaneous growth.
He must have undergone a training of at least a lustrum — and two
would be better — before earning his diploma as a reliable gunfitter.
Few, however, amongst those who daily engage in this delicate
and important task of gun-fitting can claim to have undergone the
necessary apprenticeship.
Besides this misconception as to the capacity of the try-gun,
there is a similar error made in respect to the work of gun-fitting.
To an outsider it would appear that gun-fitting forms a separate
calling, independent of gun construction and of the expert know-
ledge from which it springs.
This view is natural, and doubtless proceeds from the establish-
ment of certain shooting schools, some of which exist principally by
gun-fitting, and are conducted by men who are not gunmakers, nor
have they been trained to any branch of gun-building.
The Fitting of Shot-Guns 367
It is from such unsatisfactory conditions that we get practices
concerning " stock measurement " altogether at variance with
what gunmakers know to be correct and necessary. A gunfitter
who is not a gunmaker sometimes holds " views " concerning
length, bend or cast-off; and either in one measurement or
another he will advocate for all shooters who come his way his
own particular and pet idea, turning out in this respect all " fits "
of one pattern.
Then an opposing school, for some reason apparently valid, is
found to be advocating measurements the reverse of the first man,
and the result is perplexity to the sportsman, and a badly-fitting
gun to boot. This would be avoided if the gun-fitter were a gun-
maker. I have no sort of doubt that the most perfect fitting guns
are produced by those gunmakers who have their own grounds and
personally have the gun-fitting branch under their own supervision.
I do not say that a sportsman will, even under these circumstances,
be able to ensure a correct fit, for this depends upon the gunmaker.
With this reservation I would, nevertheless, lay it down as a rule
that it is better to go to a gunmaker to be fitted than to any
person independent of the gunmaker's calling.
Shooting schools fulfil a useful purpose in affording opportunity
for practice to those having no other facilities. Personally, I con-
sider that the best practice can only be obtained in the field, but
others there are who do not altogether share my view. When,
however, these useful schools or practice-grounds trench upon the
gunmaker's calling without fitness or warrant, it is only right to
point the sportsman's attention to the actual facts.
The movements of the measurement gun referred to were
obtained by screw joints worked by keys. There are several
systems in use, not all of equal merit. The length of the stock
shows a detached portion of the butt fixed to a plate having screws,
which receive into the other portion and shorten or lengthen the
stock as they are turned out or in. This method is slow to adjust,
and is difficult to keep rigid, a most vital consideration in a test
gun. The simplest method of adjusting stock length I have seen
consists of separate butt pieces, which slide over and lock into
studs projecting from the opposite portion of the stock. They
can be attached and detached in a few seconds, and are perfectly
368 Modern Sporting Gunnery
rigid when fixed. Any number of separate butt-ends, varying
only ^2 inch and of all shapes, may be used, giving the sportsman
a more varied degree of butt-length at all points than any other
system.
The most up-to-date firing try-gun I have seen is the Westley
Richards, which I will describe and illustrate.
FIG. 193. — WESTLEY RICHARDS TRY-GUN STOCK, SHOWING ONE OF A
SERIES OF DETACHABLE BUTTS OF VARYING THICKNESS.
Double-barrel hammerless 12-gauge.
Top lever.
Ejector.
Detachable locks.
One-trigger, two pulls only.
Length of barrels, 30 inches.
The accompanying illustrations show one of the detached pieces
of stock and method of adjustment (see Fig. 193).
There are no fewer than 15 different detachable pieces for
determining the correct length and shape of stock.
Rifle Stock Measurements 369
RIFLE : STOCK MEASUREMENTS.
It is customary with sportsmen to send their shot-gun. as a
model for the stock measurements of any rifle they may have in
the course of construction. But in view of the fact that the rifle
may be often used in the prone position, as on occasion when
deer-stalking, it is advisable to have the stock a little shorter, and
for such use an increased bend is an advantage. Of course it will
not be advisable to go too far in the direction either of increasing
the bend or of reducing the length of the stock on a sporting
rifle, for the simple reason that neither the deer-stalker nor the
hunter of big game constantly fires from the recumbent position,
and besides, the elevation of the sights above the rib of the barrels
tends to lessen the objection. Still, the fact remains that most
sportsmen will secure the best all-round results if their rifles have
stocks somewhat shorter and more bent than are the stocks of their
shot-guns.
SECOND-HAND GUNS.
There are many sportsmen who, for some reason or another not
necessary to ascertain, use guns purchased in a haphazard sort of
way, second-hand from a gun-jobber, or from a friend, without
troubling about fit, or general suitability. Medium-grade guns
are only too often obtained from small dealers, local gunsmiths,
ironmongers, and what not, in fact from people not sufficiently
expert to know and to advise upon the general outlines of a gun
or of dimensions even approximate to the purchaser's requirements.
I have asserted, and it cannot be gainsaid, that not all gun-
makers are gunfitters ; and no gunfitter can, on the whole, be
reliable unless he is also a gunmaker.
But there is a whole army of shooters to-day " blaming their
luck " and suffering unnecessary disappointment from using guns
which are both ill-constructed and ill-fitting. Perhaps one reason
is that certain people imagine that makers of the very highest grade
guns are either incapable of catering for the medium-grade guns,
say at ^20, or do not desire to do so. This is an error. Some of
the makers of the finest guns, to my knowledge, turn out the most
reliable medium-grade guns, and guns for keepers down to £10 or
24
370 Modern Sporting Gunnery
less, and it may be asked who is most likely to be a good judge of
a gun and be capable of producing it — the man whose efforts are
specially devoted to the production of the highest grade of gun,
perfect in mechanism, finish, and shooting ; or the manufacturer
whose wares limit him to a lower standard in all essentials such as
mechanism and durability, as well as non-essentials, such as finish
and external embellishment ?
A gunmaker of acknowledged skill and repute in designing best
guns and rifles, if entrusted with orders for medium-grade colonial
and keepers' guns, may be relied upon to give better value for
money than the small maker, dealer, and jobber can afford to give.
He is in a larger way of business, and purchasing the materials
of construction in a wholesale way can thus buy to better
advantage.
If you want a best gun go to a best maker. If you need a
medium or low-grade gun, go also to a best maker (you are always
sure of getting a gun from a best-class manufacturer). You can
get a low-priced weapon elsewhere, but often, and decidedly, it is
not a gun. When buying a second-hand gun go to a bona-fide gun
manufacturer of repute, you will get better served than by going
to a mere dealer.
No respectable dealer, however, would refuse permission, if
requested, for the purchaser to submit the gun to the original
maker or make direct inquiry concerning it.
The guarantee of a second-hand gun, given by a high-class
manufacturer, although the gun is not of his own make, may be
safely taken, in all the essentials of soundness and efficiency. He
does not know, perhaps, the history of the gun, and in those cases
where fuller information is needed consult the original maker.
This is a purchaser's question, and not one incumbent upon the seller.
Possibly the seller may not be in a position to know that a gun
made by A has been converted to single-trigger by B, or has been
re-bored or re-stocked by C. He may apparently be in the position
of misleading the purchaser when, of course, nothing of the kind
may be intended.
Recently a gun-dealer advertised a second-hand single-trigger
gun by A for sale. The gun, certainly, was of A's make, but
the single trigger was by Z, and defective as to conception and
Second-Hand Guns 371
working. This was, of course, distinctly unfair both to the maker
A, who had a really good and reliable system of single-trigger, and
yet was made responsible for Z's defective system, and to the
purchaser, who believed he was getting A's single-trigger, not Z's.
The would-be purchaser should, therefore, make strict inquiry
of all that appertains to a second-hand gun, not of the seller's
own make, and be satisfied with a reasonable guarantee. When,
however, in doubt, consult the original maker, who, as a rule, can
reproduce from his records all particulars of any weapon he has
manufactured.
I think it possible that to those sportsmen whose instincts run
into second-hand transactions, and who prefer doing business with
dealers, jobbers, etc., the following advisory rules may be helpful —
1. See that the gun shoots standard patterns. If a 12-bore,
with normal charge and i-J oz. No. 6 shot, at a distance of 40
yards on a 3O-inch circle, a cylinder barrel should average not less
than 1-30, a modified choke 180, a full choke 210 to 216. If a
i6-bore, with normal charge and i oz. No. 6 shot, under same
conditions, cylinder barrels should average about no, modified
choke 130 to 1 60, and full choke 180.
2. A gun should balance properly in the hand. A gun
muzzle-heavy should be rigidly avoided. If slightly butt-heavy
this is generally an advantage to counteract tendency to shoot
under and behind.
3. If not fitted for your gun ascertain the dimensions of the
stock. If a man of average build and figure, a stock should measure
14^ or 14^ inches from fore-trigger to edge of the butt midway
between toe and heel. For a man of short stature and arm-reach,
a 14-inch stock would be necessary. If a tall man, or a man with
long reach of arm, the stock should measure from the fore-trigger
14^- or 14! inches. A very tall man needs, as a rule, a stock 14}
inches long and sometimes 14^ inches.
Bend. — An average man requires a stock, say, if or ij inches
at comb and if and 2 inches at butt. If the man has a long
neck, the stock should measure if inches, bare, at comb, and
2^ and i\ inches at butt.
Cast-off. — Average man J to ^\ inch from centre line. If the
man is broad-chested, more as a rule is needed.
372 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Safety. — Above all obtain a guarantee of safety. A gun long in
use will, doubtless, have deteriorated from its original strength. If
in doubt upon this point the prospective purchaser should submit
the arm to its maker, who no doubt would willingly examine and
report thereon for a small fee.
If these rules are observed, a more or less reliable gun with
effective fit may be assured.
By neglecting them the haphazard purchaser is entirely at
the mercy of chance. In order to secure, as he is persuaded, " a
bargain," which may be so, or not, in point of intrinsic value, he
may be saddled with a gun which, even if safe, is in all essential
dimensions an absolute misfit. He may, for instance, be a tall man,
requiring a stock 14! inches long, and yet "the bargain" is only
14 inches, or vice versa.
There are, doubtless, in pawnbrokers' shops throughout the
country guns of tempting appearance and still more tempting price
which no sane sportsman would dare to shoot. I have been
informed that just as there is a traffic in spurious objets d'art^ so are
second-hand guns deliberately made up to order for re-sale, and the
little garret-maker continues to dump new guns on to any
" convenient pawnbroker," to meet the second-hand demand.
While, therefore, by observing these rules the second-hand gun
buyer may get a safe gun of dimensions which will enable him
to perform with considerable satisfaction, by haphazard selection
he may get hold of a gun that he cannot possibly, or ought not
to attempt to, shoot with. But of course a perfect fit can only be
ascertained by an expert gun fitter.
w-1^*-*
CHAPTER XV
GAME SHOOTING IN GREAT BRITAIN
MUCH has been written in the past relative to the
habits, the rearing, and the preservation of game.
I think, therefore, it will be well not to encumber
the pages of this work — whose primary object is
to treat of guns — with matter of that nature.
This being so, I will give such brief particulars respecting the
game and wildfowl of this country, as well also the guns, sizes of
shot, and shot patterns, which I think may best assist the modern
sporting gunner to bring to bag his game with greatest certainty
and despatch.
In the course of a lengthy experience I have ever secured the
most instantly fatal results from fairly close-shooting guns and shot
of good size. For example, I generally shoot partridges, driven or
walked up, with No. 5 shot. Some of my friends and acquaint-
ances use No. 6 or No. 7 ; whilst for driven birds I have found
them using even No. 8 shot.
Certain advocates of small shot use plain cylinder guns and
No. 7 shot for partridges in the thought that this combination the
better enables them to hit ; this, doubtless, on the principle that
the more the pellets the greater the chance of striking the object.
But hitting is not everything. The true sportsman goes out to
kill as cleanly and as quickly as possible at all fair sporting chances
presenting themselves ; he hates to see game go away badly pricked,
to be recovered only after a lengthy search, or possibly not at all.
Some men have told me that they use No. 7 shot for driven game
because the shots are fired at short range. This argument is weak,
373
374 Modern Sporting Gunnery
for, assuredly, No. 5 shot will do everything that No. 7 will
accomplish in the way of killing at twenty yards, and put far
fewer pellets into the bird ; whilst at twice the distance, or more,
No. 5 will kill when No. 7 merely wounds.
I fail to perceive that it is more advantageous to place half-a-
score pellets of No. 7 or No. 8 shot in a partridge's body when
some three or four pellets of No. 5 amply suffice. If the user
of small shot regards his handiwork in this direction with satisfac-
tion, it is certain the gamekeeper will not do so on picking up his
badly-mauled bird. But should neither shooter nor keeper regret
such occurrence, those dining .upon these birds will be thoroughly
justified in anathematizing the superabundant lead stuffing that,
perforce, is served up with them.
Some of the best game shots of our time are in favour of No. 5
shot for general purposes. Earl de Grey, I am told, uses iTTg oz.
of No. 5 shot in guns giving with this charge patterns of 175.
This, of course, is very close shooting, these patterns comprising
74 per cent, of the shot charge. They afford an excellent object-
lesson of what may be accomplished with full-choke guns and
No. 5 shot in the way of game shooting. Earl de Grey's skill is
too well known to need additional comment here.
Another first-rate shot — the only sportsman who can speak of
having killed upwards of one thousand grouse in one day — Lord
Walsingham, tells me that he prefers No. 5 shot for all purposes,
even for snipe on a wild day, and that he has very seldom used
any other size, and never to any advantage.
Another drawback attached to the use of small sizes of shot,
No. 7 and No. 8, is that they are much more easily deflected from
a true course by the wind than are the weightier pellets comprised
in a charge of No. 5. On windy days a considerable percentage
of misses may be traceable to this deflection when a too light shot
is used for killing high pheasants, or, indeed, any game at maximum
sporting ranges.
Through the courtesy of Kynoch, Ltd., I have been able to
ascertain some facts with regard to the British sportsman's estimate
of the relative values of the various sizes of shot for his purpose.
These figures go to prove that the majority prefers No. 5 and
rejects the smaller sizes. The actual percentages are as follow —
Game Shooting in Great Britain 375
No. 5 shot. 45 per cent.
55 ^ 55 21 „ „
55 4 55 ID 55 55
55 " 55 4 55 55
55 3 55 3*7 55 55
55 7 55 2*4 5) 55
55 2 „ I '7 J5 jj
55 52 55 **5 55 55
55 * 55 I 55 55
Sundry other sizes 3*7 „ „
The above percentages are compiled from the sales of Kynoch,
Ltd., during the shooting season of 1905-6, comprising in the
aggregate very many millions of shot-gun cartridges.
My gunmakers, Messrs. Westley Richards, are about to load
up cartridges with a new size of shot. Some of these were sent
me to try, and after giving them a thorough testing upon black
game, grouse, pheasants, hares, partridges, wild ducks, and rabbits,
I am inclined to think that for 12-bore guns having some choke,
these cartridges will prove highly advantageous for most forms of
shooting once October sets in.
The GREAT BUSTARD (Otis tarda), the largest indigenous land
bird of Europe, once occupied a prominent position on the British
game list. Now it is totally extinct as a resident, and visitors from
Spain or elsewhere appear only at rarest intervals. Although the
extermination of these noble game fowl was doubtless assisted in
some measure by a systematic gathering of their eggs or young, and
the killing of adult birds, it is probably the fact that the great body
of aboriginal bustards was driven from this country by plough and
harrow in the great wheat-producing era of a century or so ago.
At that time all Europe was in arms, and the population of this
country being infinitely more dependent upon internal resources
than is now the case, a vast acreage of primeval pasture-land,
long the home of the bustard, was broken up in order to grow
wheat, a cereal then three times more costly than it is at the
present day.
Were bustards now to be found in hundreds upon southern
downs, East Anglian wastes, Yorkshire wolds, or Scottish hills,
376 Modern Sporting Gunnery
as they once were, it is questionable whether their presence would
largely affect the policy of British gunners, as, in order to preserve
a sufficient breeding stock, the pursuit of these birds would probably
present the chief characteristic of a solitary deer-stalk rather than
an organized hunt comprising many sportsmen. So distinctly novel
a form of sport as the shooting of the great bustard would, doubt-
less, be reserved to a favoured few. Thus the presence of these
birds would have the effect of enhancing the letting value of some
large tracts of wild land — of wold and down — at present regarded
as of little worth as a sporting asset.
FIG. 194. — BUSTARD.
In those countries where bustard are still met with, there are
at least two distinct methods to be followed by the sportsman in
their pursuit. One is to have them driven over, when they may
be killed with an ordinary shot-gun. The other plan is that of
stalking them with a small-bore rifle which will give accurate
shooting up to 300 yards. The Westley Richards ^oo-bore
"Sherwood," and the W. W. Greener ^ic-bore "Sharpshooter"
are rifles admirably suited for this purpose, as also the Fauneta
ball- and shot-gun.
Game Shooting in Great Britain 377
The CAPERCAILZIE, or CAPERCAILLIE (Tetrao urogallus). — In
respect of size this bird is at the head of the grouse family in
Great Britain. As a sporting bird, however, it must be rele-
gated to a secondary position when compared with its relative,
the red grouse. Our autochthonic race of capercaillies was said
to be extinct seventy or more years ago. At that time some
birds were procured from the pine forests of Sweden, and turned
down upon the Taymouth Castle estates of the Marquis of
Breadalbane, where they have thriven well and multiplied exceed-
ingly. As the result of this individual endeavour, many of our
northern woods have been restocked with capercaillie, and these
fine grouse are now to be found on several estates in central and
northern Scotland.
It may surprise some sportsmen and naturalists to learn that
even in England, and so far south as Bedfordshire, capercaillie
have been successfully acclimatized. Nevertheless, this is the fact,
for the Duchess of Bedford informs me that capercaillie — as also
black game — procured from Austria, and turned down in the pine
woods in the vast park at Woburn Abbey, are doing well.
I gather from the American Field that consignments of game
birds, comprising several scores of capercaillie, willow grouse or
ripa, and hazel grouse, have, during the autumn of 1905, been
imported into the United States from Sweden. In the event of
the birds doing well, these are but the precursors of further and
larger importations.
The fir woods of the Scottish Highlands are the natural habitat
of the capercaillie in this country. There these birds subsist upon
the young buds and shoots of the larch and spruce firs. According
to season, this diet is varied with fruits, berries, and cereals. In
search of the latter the capercaillie will often wander far afield, and
thus frequently may be found by the sportsman at some consider-
able distance from its roosting-ground.
The fully-grown male capercaillie measures 35 inches, in
extreme cases 36 inches, in total length, and weighs from 10 Ib.
even up to 14 Ib. The female measures some 10 inches shorter,
and weighs little more than half as much as the male. Birds so
thickly furnished with flesh and feathers, so strong on the wing,
so large and heavy as are cock capercaillie, certainly require a
378 Modern Sporting Gunnery
hard-hitting gun and weighty shot pellets. The greatest success
in their pursuit is likely to be obtained from the use of a fully-
choked i2-bore gun and No. 3 or No. 2 shot.
A full-choke gun is decidedly to be recommended for throwing
these large shot to best advantage, and especially when engaged in
the pursuit of capercaillie.
In ii oz. of chilled No. 2 there are 135 pellets, and as a good
choke gun should place about 100 of these within a 3O-inch circle
at 40 yards, the sportsman who manages to fairly centre his bird
with such pattern will be practically certain to kill.
In 1 1 oz. of No. 3 shot there are 157 pellets ; with this shot-
charge the full-choke 12-bore should make a pattern of about 120.
With such gun and charge capercaillie may be surely killed at
distances up to 40 yards or possibly a bit over.
Small-shot votaries may demur at my selection of sizes of shot,
which, doubtless, they consider to be unduly large. To this
objection I may remark that it will be better to err in this direc-
tion, for if this large shot hits it will be more likely to kill than
shot which is too light. It is preferable to miss outright with
large shot than to commit the folly of merely wounding game
with small shot. Three pellets of No. 2 shot will cause the
instant collapse of any old cock caper at 40 yards, whereas a
dozen pellets of No. 6 at the same distance will in all probability
result only in sending away a badly-pricked bird to die a slow and
painful death.
The BLACK GROUSE; female, GREYHEN (Tetrao tetrix). — So
far as England is concerned, the sport of c< heath-poult " shooting
has long been a decadent quantity. One hot August day eighty
years ago, Colonel Hawker, with a friend, shot eight brace over
ground where probably not a single black grouse has been seen
for many years past. This well-known writer mentioned with
pride the fact of securing his bag " without missing a shot ; " but
to his successors this and like pages of history cannot be read
without regret, for these, we are told, were all young birds, affording
the easiest possible shooting, and had but the Colonel and his con-
temporaries displayed more discretion and less zeal, restraining their
hands until later in the season when the young black game were
better able to take care of themselves, it is possible we might not
Game Shooting in Great Britain 379
now be regretting the disappearance of this interesting game bird
from our southern counties.
Black game still manage to maintain a more or less precarious
foothold on some of the elevated districts in south-west, west, and
mid England. In Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Northumber-
land, they are probably to be seen at their best in so far as this
country is concerned.
Several attempts have been made to introduce black game into
Ireland. So far these efforts have not been attended with the
success they merit.
FIG. 195. — BLACKCOCK.
In Scotland, Roxburgh, Dumfries, Perth, Inverness, and Aber-
deen are the counties most prolific of black game. But here also
sportsmen for years have been recording a gradual diminution in
the numbers of the black grouse. This decadence of the species
has been variously assigned to unfavourable breeding seasons, to
the shooting of greyhens and immature birds, as also by some to
the introduction of the pheasant.
I would suggest that possibly the Departmental Commission
recently appointed to investigate the question of the cause and
the prevention of grouse disease, during its session might find
opportunity to look into this matter. To find the true cause
or causes leading to the extinction of our black grouse, would
be the surest step towards remedying the evil ; and, surely, with a
380 Modern Sporting Gunnery
body of men so well acquainted with the circumstances, and having
every facility for acquiring special knowledge, the task should not
be an impossible one.
Personally, I am of the opinion that it would be well if black
game were not shot before the first of September. This, both in
the interests of sport and the proper preservation of the indigenous
avifauna of Great Britain. In August the young birds have not
properly matured ; they are deficient as regards size, muscle, and
feather. Consequently they then present an easy mark which
only the veriest tyro or arrant duffer should miss.
But it is not alone the young and undeveloped black grouse that
should be spared in August. At that season the old birds have not
recovered from moulting, and by reason of their skulking habits
and poor flight, they, too, become an easy prey, even to the
inferior shot.
Blackcock in August and blackcock in October are totally
different creatures. In the former month they cannot be accorded
high rank as a sporting bird ; in the latter month, the powerful
swinging flight of the driven blackcock will certainly offer full
scope for the display of the sportsman's ability to correctly judge
pace and distance.
I well remember the first occasion on which I essayed to stop
driven blackcock, and the chagrin with which I regarded their
undeviating flight as they sailed serenely onward after my poor
efforts to arrest their course. It was a stormy day, and I am
convinced that those birds, flying down wind, were travelling at
something like the rate of a mile per minute. Blackcock, however,
do not need much assistance from the wind to quicken their rate
of progression ; although rising from the ground somewhat heavily,
they soon get up speed, and ordinarily move at a famous pace.
Young sportsmen should remember this, and swing the gun well
forward when taking crossing shots both at black game and
capercaillie.
To the inexperienced, great bulk and a high rate of speed
scarce seem to be compatible; nevertheless, practice will quickly
teach the observant that the various members of the grouse
family, although of bulky proportions, are far from being slow
and deliberate of movement. Once this knowledge is gained
Game Shooting in Great Britain 381
the young shooter will do well to shape his own movements
accordingly.
It will be well to convey a further hint that may prove of con-
siderable value to the sportsman when first attempting to shoot
black game. In shooting at game birds — or wildfowl of large
size, such as wild geese — there is a general tendency to under-
estimate distance. Misled by the great size of his bird, the
gunner is prone to regard it as being nearer than it actually is ;
thus a blackcock at 45 yards may quite easily be considered to be
no farther away than 35 yards. Such miscalculation will have the
effect of minimizing any allowance made in the forward holding
of the gun, and in this way it comes quite within the range of
probability that a forward allowance of 3 feet at a swiftly-
crossing bird may, owing to the 10 yards' under-estimation of
distance, result in the sending of the shot a full yard to the rear
of the passing bird.
All things considered, the most satisfactory size of shot to use
for the killing of blackcock is, I think, No. 4. I am now speak-
ing of strong full-feathered October birds. In August, those who
care for that form of shooting may double up young birds with
No. 6 shot, riddling them with these small lead pellets at 20 or
25 yards ranges. Emphatically, however, this is not sport. Later
in the season, having then their full protective covering of strong
feathers, black game require a heavy blow to bring them down in
decisive manner. A good choked 12-bore will place more pellets
of No. 4 shot within a 3O-inch circle at 40 yards than the best
cylinder 12-gauge ever bored can of No. 6 shot at the same range.
Few sportsmen of experience will deny that the weighty No. 4
pellets are more certain to bring to bag an old blackcock at that
range than are the much lighter pellets of No. 6 shot.
If, on the other hand, it is argued that No. 6 shot is better than
No. 4 for shooting blackcock at shorter ranges, then I must say
that I disagree with this proposition also. Any one firing a good
choke and a good cylinder i2-bore with standard loads, the former
with No. 4 shot and the latter with No. 6 shot, at 25 yards, will
perceive that the cylinder puts many more pellets on the 3O-inch
circle than does the choke. The striking value of the No. 6 pellet
being considerably less than that of the No. 4.
382 Modern Sporting Gunnery
The RED GROUSE (Lagopus scoticus}. — The " discovery " of
the red grouse was of highest economic importance to this
country. It is solely on account of this fine game bird that
hundreds of thousands of acres of the poorest, most infertile land
in these islands have been turned into rich revenue-yielding
properties.
Rather more than one hundred years ago Colonel Thornton
made his famous tour through the Scottish Highlands, and the
published account of that pleasing pilgrimage caused consider-
FIG. 196.— RED GROUSE.
able attention to be directed to the remarkable sport-affording
capabilities of that rugged country. This, notwithstanding, it is
well within the recollection of the more elderly among living
sportsmen that the full sporting significance of the red grouse
came to be realized. For many years past hundreds of thousands
of pounds have been expended upon this bird in this country.
In fact, it is doubtless not unreasonable to assume that the pursuit
of the red grouse causes considerably more than one million sterling
to change hands each successive season in these islands. The
rent-roll of Scottish shootings alone has been estimated to reach
Game Shooting in Great Britain 383
.£400,000, and if to this be placed the amount paid for vast
moors in England and Wales, and to some small extent in Ireland,
there can exist no reasonable doubt that the annual grouse shooting
bill, inclusive of rent and expenses of the British sportsman, reaches
a sum whose minimum computation well exceeds seven figures
placed abreast. Truly, therefore, the red grouse may be regarded
as a rich national asset, in addition to being a prime factor in
British sport.
Viewed in this light, we cannot but approve the wisdom of
the appointment, by Mr. Balfour's Government in 1905, of a
Commission for the purpose of inquiring into the causes, and for
suggesting remedies for that dread enteric scourge known as
" grouse disease." This Commission, under the chairmanship of
Lord Lovat, is now engaged upon its task, and, inasmuch as the
survival of the red grouse is a matter of national importance, it
is the wish of all who desire their country's welfare, that permanent
benefit may accrue from the inquiry.
Three different methods of procedure are followed by sportsmen
in their pursuit of grouse. These tactics are much the same as
those adopted in the shooting of the ever-popular partridge, and
they are as follow —
1. Shooting over setters or pointers.
2. Shooting by guns walking in extended line abreast — generally
termed " walking-up."
3. Shooting the birds driven by an extended line of drivers
over a similarly extended line of gunners concealed in butts.
These methods are ranged in order of seniority. As remarked,
much the same tactics are employed in the shooting of partridges,
and in so far as this is the case, my remarks under these headings,
with some few modifications, as to environment and sizes of shot to
be used, apply, also, to partridge shooting.
Great similarity exists between the two first named, inasmuch
as in both these forms of sport the shooter approaches the hidden
game, which on rising flies away from him. In the system
known as driving, there is a total reversal, as here the birds are
made to approach the concealed gunner. Given birds at which to
shoot at fair ranges, in all cases it will, I think, be generally conceded
384 Modern Sporting Gunnery
that one's skill is not taxed so severely in either dogging or
walking up game as it is when that game is driven. The
primary reason for this is that on rising, birds start off at their
slowest rate of speed ; whereas, on reaching the guns, driven birds
usually have attained their maximum speed, and so have acquired
their greatest power to swerve and alter their course. Partly on
this account, the shooting of walked-up grouse — or for that matter
partridges also — rising near at hand in the early days of the shooting
season, is quite an easy matter compared with the shooting of
driven birds. Thus when walking up his game in August, the
practical sportsman should not take undue credit to himself on
scoring his right and left at grouse.
Some few weeks later, however, the shooting becomes
infinitely more difficult. Grouse will then rise 35, 40, or more
yards away, and the shooter perforce has to be very prompt in
getting on to his bird to score a kill in good style. To take long-
range shots at grouse with shot so small as No. 6 can, I think, be
characterized as little short of cruelty. Nothing less than No. 5
should be used, as so much of the body of a going-away bird has to
be penetrated by the shot before any vital spot may be reached.
For wild-rising strong grouse, I would recommend the use of
a full-choke 12-bore with i^-oz. loads of No. 4 shot. With this
combination, the gunner secures a killing distribution of the shot
at 40 yards or more, and few grouse that are fairly hit go away
wounded. The deadly nature of these weighty shot pellets so used
should convince the most ardent believer in small shot as to the
comparative inutility of his charges.
I may here convey a hint which experience tells me may assist
the tyro when essaying to kill these wild-rising birds. It is that
he should aim high. This for two good reasons: (i) that such birds
are invariably rising when shot at, and (2) in order to counteract
the natural dropping tendency of the shot at lengthy ranges. If
when taking aim the bird is clearly seen above the rib of the gun
the shot will fly beneath it. Whereas if aim be taken from I
to 3 feet above the bird, according to its mode of flight and
distance, nine times out of ten that bird will fly into the shot. By
shooting in this way, with suitable guns and cartridges, grouse and
partridges may be killed with certainty at lengthy ranges.
Game Shooting in Great Britain 385
For the shooting of driven grouse, No. 5 shot is one of the most
effective sizes that may be used. The pellets are fairly weighty,
and the pattern sufficiently close to decisively arrest the flight
of strong driven grouse at all ordinary distances. It is con-
ceivable that under certain conditions of grouse driving, shot
somewhat larger than No. 5 might be used with some advantage.
The new size of shot I have mentioned earlier in this chapter, as
having been recently introduced to my notice by Messrs. Westley
Richards, is intermediate in size betwixt Nos. 5 and 4. The full
charge for a 12-bore of this new size contains 225 pellets, as against
the 245 pellets of No. 5.
As already remarked, I find after a somewhat exhaustive trial
that this new shot, which I believe has been termed " Celerita,"
is a most useful size. Those who consider the change from
No. 5 to No. 4 somewhat too wide, inasmuch as they regret the
loss of pattern the change entails, will doubtless welcome the
new-comer. I think that for grouse shooters generally, this will
prove a most useful size, as for wide-rising birds they will main-
tain a fair pattern with excellent penetration. Whilst for shooting
strong driven grouse on windy days, this enlarged edition of
No. 5 will carry truer than lighter sizes. Another advantage
I can foresee, also, is that this shot will enable the shooter to
open fire upon oncoming grouse a little sooner, and so the
better enable him to work in his second barrel — a decided
advantage this, one that possibly is not quite sufficiently appreciated,
for one constantly observes men taking a driven bird when prac-
tically atop of them, firing a hasty first barrel thus, and then, on
spinning round, a far hastier second barrel at a fast-vanishing form.
This latter observation reminds me that some men I have seen
practically ignore oncomers, and make it a more or less constant
practice to fire after birds that have passed their stand. Unless the
sportsman is pretty nimble in getting round, he may often find
that driven grouse, or partridges either for that matter, especially
with the assistance of a favouring breeze, will have receded
35 or 40 yards before he can get on to his bird. In such
event the probability is great that the small shot man will send
more wounded birds away than he using No. 5 shot, or, possibly,
that new size previously mentioned.
25
386 Modern Sporting Gunnery
I would far sooner see a man shoot at oncoming than at going-
away birds at distances greater than they may with certainty be
killed. In the former event he will at least have the opportunity
for finishing off with his second barrel any bird wounded by the
first barrel, whereas in the latter case a pricked bird will carry on
and so, frequently, be unrecovered. Thus, the one amounts to a
mistake which may be rectified, the other remains altogether an
evil without remedy and without excuse.
With birds coming over thick and fast, the shooting of driven
game is most exciting and enjoyable sport. Then a man has
need of all the nerve and skill he can summon to his aid. It
matters not how he may excel as a shot when walking up his
game or whilst shooting over dogs, on commencing to shoot
driven birds he will assuredly have much to learn. The degree
of skill in handling the gun necessary to constitute good shooting
when dogging or walking up game, will avail but little in driving,
as in the latter phase of sport the speed of manipulation will at
times have to be twice as great. But that is not everything. To
thoroughly excel, the driven-game shot must be —
1. Prompt in selecting the object at which to aim ;
2. An accurate judge of distance ; and
3. Of the speed of flight of his quarry ; and, what is more,
4. He must be able to thoroughly control himself, and so remain
unnerved during periods of intense excitement.
No one can hope to become the possessor of these necessary
qualifications in the course of a lesson or two. Practice at driven
game, and plenty of it, will alone insure success in driven-game
shooting.
I have purposely emphasized the foregoing for the reason that
under ordinary conditions skill in the shooting of grouse or
partridges coming and passing at railroad speed, may be considered
as being twofold more difficult to acquire and maintain than is skill
in the shooting of those birds as they rise in front of the gunner.
In a general way, walked-up game is difficult to kill only when
rising wildly. Strong birds getting up 35 or more yards away
certainly call for the display of speed in handling the gun,
as of quick perceptive power in singling out an object at which
Game Shooting in Great Britain 387
to aim. What is more, they need a gun with more or less
choke, and nothing smaller than No. 5 shot to insure killing at
these ranges.
The male red grouse measures 15^ to 16 inches in total length ;
the female is usually about half-an-inch shorter. Grouse are very
variable as to weight. A good average weight appears to be from
20 to 24 oz. ; the highest recorded weight is, I believe, 2 Ib.
Quite recently I shot an old cock red grouse which all but drew
down the scale at 2 Ib.
The PTARMIGAN (Lagopus mutus). — In these islands ptarmigan
FIG. 197.— PTARMIGAN.
are now found only in Scotland. There they manage to subsist
on the bleak hill-tops at a considerable altitude above sea-level.
The coloration of the summer plumage of the ptarmigan is an
admixture of chestnut and buff, black and white. In winter this
is changed for a coat of pure white, save for the outer tail feathers,
which remain black. This seasonal change of plumage affords the
bird considerable protection against its enemies. In summer it is
scarcely discernible against the greys and browns of its environ-
ment, whilst amidst the snows of winter the ptarmigan is equally
difficult to distinguish. But for this protective covering, the bird
388 Modern Sporting Gunnery
could seldom escape the keen eye of eagle, of peregrine falcon, or
of that industrious egg-hunting rascal, the hooded crow.
Ptarmigan are not sufficiently numerous to call for the exercise
of any special measures in their pursuit. In the opening weeks of
the snooting season, an excursion to the hill-tops in search of these
birds may prove a pleasurable proceeding, as probably there will
then be nothing worse than rain to encounter — and it can rain too
on those wind-swept heights. Later in the season a considerable
amount of discomfort or even of risk may attend these excursions
for on those hills thick fogs drift up quickly, and, unless a proper
amount of care be exercised, the sportsman may have an extremely
unpleasant experience, not unattended by danger. Sportsmen bent
FIG. 198. — PHEASANT.
on ptarmigan shooting will, therefore, do well to take with them
a thoroughly competent guide, one having a sound practical know-
ledge of the topography of the district, and a thorough acquaint-
ance with local weather conditions.
For the shooting of ptarmigan No. 5 shot will be found to be
the most generally useful size. Ptarmigan are smaller than red
grouse, the length of the male of this species being 15 inches.
The PHEASANT. — Of the genus Phasianus^ several species have
been acclimatized in Great Britain. The dark-plumaged ringless
P. colchicus ranks first in point of seniority. Whether this bird was
indigenous, or was introduced by the Romans, as some historians
inform us it was, has not been clearly established.
In any case, pure-bred birds of the original stock are seldom
found now, interbreeding to a considerable extent having taken
Game Shooting in Great Britain 389
place with the more recently-introduced ring-necked pheasant from
China, P. torquatus^ and possibly one or two other species, hence
a hybrid race of pheasants exists in most game-coverts in this
country. This interbreeding has been further accentuated by the
introduction of several other species of the genus. As, however,
the resultant offspring does not appear to have deteriorated in so far
as the all-important qualifications of fertility, hardiness, sport -giving
properties, and excellence as table-birds are concerned, the propa-
gation of these hybrid pheasants is not so regrettable a matter as
otherwise it might have been.
Several other species have been introduced here from time to
time. Among these may be mentioned the green-bellied Japanese
pheasant, P. versicolor, the Prince of Wales' pheasant, P.principalis^
the Chinese ringless pheasant, P. decollates^ the handsome Mon-
golian ring-necked bird, P. mongolicus, and others.
The bar-tailed or Reeves' pheasant, P. reevesiiy the male of
which species measures over 6 feet in total length owing to its
remarkably long tail, has also been introduced into Scotland and else-
where in these islands. It is a strong flyer, and is said to thrive well.
The modern system of hand-rearing is responsible for a vast
increase of pheasants throughout the country. It is doubtless not
too much to say that pheasants have been increased a hundredfold
by this expensive method. It is an increase that is attended by
many benefits to the community at large, to those engaged in the
production of guns, ammunition, and the other requisites of the
sportsman, as well as to a large section of the rural population
— gamekeepers, farm labourers engaged as beaters, and others.
In fact, the whole question of game preservation and of the
shooting of game is an economic consideration of high national
importance. Some unenlightened bigots would try to make believe
that it is the selfish pastime of the favoured few, and with such view
in mind, these warped visionaries even go as far as to glorify the
poacher — who is in reality a thief — and decry the legitimate pur-
suit of game. They ignore the fact — if, indeed, they were ever fully
cognizant of it — that hundreds of thousands of good coin of the realm
are annually spent by the shooters of this country. The latter,
moreover, are directly responsible for an increased revenue of many
thousands of pounds, the amount paid annually for game licences.
3 go Modern Sporting Gunnery
In order to be precise on this point I have made inquiry,
and I am indebted to the Accountant and Comptroller-General,
Somerset House, London, for the following interesting statistics
of the game and gun licences issued in the United Kingdom
during the year 1904-5 —
Game Licences.
Gun Licences.
Number.
Net Receipt
of Duty.
Number.
Net Receipt
of Duty.
72,996
£
189,600
238,026
£
117,910
The numbers of game licence holders at £3, ^2, and
respectively were as follows —
Number at
£*
£1
(Gamekeeper's)
Total
52,605
6,0 1 1
8,H3
40
6,227
72,996
It would be interesting to be able to gather reliable statistics as
to the numbers of the different species of game, birds, and animals
killed annually in Great Britain.
During the shooting season, both general and sporting press
provide a constant succession of totals having reference to the
quantity of game killed on moor, manor, or forest. But so far as
I am aware, there has not as yet been an attempt made to render
any satisfactory account of the totals comprised in the yearly game-
bag of Great Britain.
At this juncture it may not be altogether irrelevant to remark
that from some Continental states official statistics relative to the
quantity of game killed are forthcoming. The Minister for
Agriculture and Forestry in Austria gives the following information
respecting the Austrian game-bag for 1905 —
1 Ireland only.
Game Shooting in Great Britain 391
VERMIN.
24,366
Lynx .
.
36
117,830
Fox
.
40,125
2,743
Martin
.
^8,376
10,484
Weasel
and stoat .
64,255
3,963
Polecat
.
32,667
1,656,811
Otter .
.
1,135
H3,394
Wild cat .
"5
6,67i
Badger
.
5,708
12,008
Squirrel
.
229,212
1,483,907
Eagle .
.
751
218,696
Falcon
.
11,113
51,863 Crows and pies
481,514
The following is the average annual game-bag for Prussia,
compiled from statistics of the last ten years —
Stags
14,000
Quails
Fallow deer
8,500
Pheasants
Roe deer .
120,000
Bustards .
Wild boar .
9,000
Woodcock
Hares
2,500,000
Wild duck ,
Rabbits
300,000
Snipe
Black game
9,000
Grives
Grey partridges .
2,500,000
150,000
800
40,000
275,000
52,000
1,200,000
This is stated to represent an annual weight of 15,000,000
kilogrammes for an area of 350,000 square kilometres — a quantity
something less than one-hundredth of the annual total of meat
consumed in Prussia.
Pheasant shooting as now carried out in this country may be
classed under two distinct headings —
I. Hunting the birds out of hedgerow, spinny, gorse, and
bracken-clad hillside, or other covert, with spaniels and beaters.
392 Modern Sporting Gunnery
2. Driving the pheasants by means of a strong posse of beaters
out of the thick undergrowth of the larger woods over a line, or
lines, of guns posted either within the covert, along the bridle-
paths or roadways, or on the open ground outside.
Fifty years or more ago, the opening day of the pheasant shoot-
ing was regarded as of well-nigh supreme importance by the game
shooter. Then our forefathers would go out in good time on
a bright October morning, and after a hard day's walking, come
home thoroughly well satisfied with a few brace of pheasants. A
good deal of this patient questing for game goes on at the present
day. It is excellent fun, and often enough fairly hard work, for
an old cock pheasant is endowed with sturdy legs, and he well
knows how to use them in manner most advantageous to his bodily
well-being. If, however, I were to hazard a conjecture, it would
be that the pheasants so shot do not form 20 per cent, of the total
killed annually in Great Britain.
A great change has been effected in pheasant-shooting methods
in recent years. Sportsmen have decided that, wherever possible,
it is better to shoot at the head rather than the tail of their quarry.
All are not satisfied with the killing of game rising and going
away at ranges under 25 yards. The spirit of the skilled shot
rebels against too much of that sort of thing ; he desires a form of
shooting that will place a greater tax upon his skill, and at the
same time gives his game a chance to escape. Luckily those
situations are now more abundant where the prowess of the gunner
and the ability of the pheasant to keep out of the way of the shot
may be fairly tested.
The modern tendency in the shooting of pheasants is to present
as difficult sport as possible. The game preserver, aided by his
keepers, constantly strives to offer to his guests the most sporting
shots and difficult form of shooting. Pheasants are made to rise
well, and guns are placed in such position relatively to the flight
of the birds as may exercise the skill of the shooter to the fullest
extent. Dales, valleys, and depressions are taken advantage of so
that pheasants — and for that matter grouse and partridges also —
may be sent over the guns at increased altitudes from adjacent
higher lands. Naturally, under these conditions, birds move at a
Game Shooting in Great Britain 393
far higher rate of speed than when springing from the ground,
and where high birds can be secured, shots at 40 yards or over
frequently must be taken.
Some game shots of the day characterize as absurd the use of a
choked gun for game shooting. However, to lay down an absolute
rule of this nature would be far from advisable, so much depends
upon the situation and the nature of the sport. For walking up
young, tender, and imperfectly-feathered game in the opening
weeks, or for driven grouse or partridge, with birds closely in-
coming and low flying, patterns of only 100, with No. 6 shot, at
40 yards might suit some people, for the reason that a range of 25
yards or so will represent the outside limit of the shooting.
Pheasants, however, are somewhat different, inasmuch, as by
reason of their nature and environment, they can be made to fly
over the guns at altitudes greater than those usually reached by
grouse or partridge. This fact, coupled with the shot-resisting
qualities of the strong, full-plumaged cock pheasant, causes this
game bird to be held in the very highest esteem by all shooters
who try their skill in the handling of the shot-gun against the
remarkable powers of flight displayed by one of the finest and
most sporting of our game birds.
Indeed, it is not too much to say that present methods of
bringing pheasants over the guns have effected a revolution in the
shooting of these birds. It is quite true there are many pheasants
now killed in the old-time way — that is, by pursuing them with
spaniels in the thick hedgerows and undergrowth ; and this, it
cannot be denied, is a fascinating and withal exciting pursuit; for, if
the actual shooting of the birds does not amount to much, there
is still the added zest and excitement of the chase and the pleasure
of seeing good dogs at work. Many small and straggling coverts
and outlying patches of shelter still have to be shot out in this way,
but it is not in this direction that the cream of the sport with the
pheasants is now to be obtained.
Many shooters, on being questioned as to the boring of their
guns, will tell you they use cylinders for game shooting. As
a matter of fact, however, a pure cylinder gun has never existed.
There has always been a narrowing of the bore towards the
muzzle, at all events in the best-bored guns. For fifty years prior
394 Modern Sporting Gunnery
to the introduction of the sudden constriction at the muzzle
termed "choke," Westley Richards's 12-bore cylinder guns were
invariably of the nominal measure of 13-bore at the muzzle.
This may have been the case with other makers' guns for aught I
know. But whilst under old black-powder conditions this boring
gave patterns of about 120 with No. 6 shot, the same boring
under modern conditions gives average patterns of 140. An
increase in the difference of the bore at the muzzle as compared
with the breech of only five-thousandths of an inch might give
a pattern of 150 or 160 pellets on the 3O-inch circle at 40 yards.
I think the system known as " choking " pure and simple
represents an entirely different method of boring from the old
cylinder gun, although the latter was usually narrower at the
muzzle than at the breech. The sudden constriction of the choke,
which may be anything between twenty- and forty-thousandths of
an inch, necessitates a special formation of cone or lead into the
parallel portion of the bore at the muzzle forming the choke.
Cylinder-bored guns made on the old lines are not chokes in
disguise, as is frequently alleged, but as I think I have shown are
distinct from the choke bore proper.
On looking at the table in Chapter V, giving particulars of the
shooting of this class of gun, it will be ascertained that on a change
being made from No. 6 shot to No. 5 shot, the patterns then
produced averaged 122 pellets on the 3O-inch circle, whilst with
Westley Richards's new size of No. 4^ shot, the patterns are 1 20,
which seems to point to the fact that this size suits that style of
boring remarkably well. This being so, I should say that this fairly
weighty shot is to be recommended for the shooting of strong
high pheasants from modern cylinder-bored guns.
For exceptionally tall pheasants even weightier pellets than the
above may be found necessary. For these birds the 12-bore choke,
also mentioned in the tables given in Chapter V, with its regular
patterns of 141 with No. 4 shot, will be found to confer a decided
advantage. Wherever really high pheasants are to be killed, the
good shot who uses this latter form of boring will assuredly kill
his game in better style than will those gunners of equal ability
who use cylinder guns and small shot.
Now and again one hears of No. 3 being used on exceptionally
Game Shooting in Great Britain 395
high pheasants. In some quarters this practice has been decried as
unsportsmanlike. But, surely this argument is unreasonable, for it
will be found that in shooting at very high pheasants with fairly
close shooting guns and No. 4 shot, fewer birds will go away
wounded than will be the case whilst shooting such game with
cylinder guns and shot so small as No. 6. With the first-named
guns and charges and their narrowed and more deadly circle of
shot, it is more certainly a case of clean killing or clean missing.
This, I take it, is a more sportsmanlike method than the shooting
at high pheasants with guns and charges more or less ineffective,
FIG. 199. — PARTRIDGE.
which all too frequently send away a considerable percentage of
wounded birds that are only recoverable at some distance from
the firing point, or, may be, are left to be picked up by the
keepers on the following day — if gathered at all.
As is generally known, the GREY PARTRIDGE (Perdix cinerea]
is indigenous, and our most widely-distributed species. The
FRENCH, or RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE (Caccabis rufa\ introduced
from the Continent, is now plentiful in certain parts of England,
especially along the eastern side of the country south of the Humber.
Prior to the institution of the driving tactics now so commonly
practised on many large sporting estates, the red-legged partridge
was not held in high esteem, especially by sportsmen who shot
over dogs. The fact is, this bird is far too prone to trust rather
396 Modern Sporting Gunnery
to his legs as a means of escape than to his wings, and this
exasperated the dog man, as thereby his pointers and setters
were rendered unsteady. This hatred of the bird was carried to
such an extent on some estates that I have known gamekeepers
make it a practice to destroy the nests of the French partridge.
Now, however, where driving is practised, this feeling has been
overcome, for it is found that these birds drive fairly well, as they
usually come on steadily and at good pace straight ahead over the
guns. They, moreover, form a pleasing and picturesque addition
to the partridge bag, which otherwise would be comprised solely
of the grey birds, and so apt to become a trifle monotonous.
In recent years great efforts have been made to increase the
stock of the deservedly popular grey partridge on many large
sporting estates throughout the country. Mr. Herbert Page, of
Hertford, who knows as much as most people about the importation
of foreign partridges — he being one of the foremost of our importers
— states that although the first supply came from Hungary, he
doubts if that country alone could now supply all the requirements
of the British game-preserver without running a serious risk of
denuding itself of birds. Consequently, these supplies are now
drawn from a more widely-extended area of mid-Europe, com-
prising many other states included in both the Austrian and
German empires. The partridges introduced therefrom are
specifically the same as our own grey birds, and are eminently
suitable for crossing with the latter by reason of their hardy and
prolific nature.
To introduce birds from a warmer climate than our own would
be bad policy. The imported "Hungarian" comes, however,
from a country where snow covers the ground to a good depth for
some months every winter. Therefore, birds that are able to
exist under climatic conditions so adverse, are practically certain
to thrive well in our country under seasonable conditions far less
severe. Mr. Page advises me that the best time for procuring
these foreigners is November and December, as then they are
strong and healthy, having encountered no privations through
shortage of food or bad weather. A month or two later these
birds have become more or less attenuated, and are then less able
to endure the hardships of the journey here.
Game Shooting in Great Britain 397
Another great advantage of securing early supplies is that these
partridges are fresh from the fields, and there is thus less likelihood
of getting birds that have been kept in captivity for many days or
even weeks.
Many of my previous remarks relative to the shooting of red
grouse apply also to partridges, and as these tactics are so well
known it will but be traversing a well-worn theme were I further
to enlarge upon them.
In recent years, shooters of driven partridges have evinced a
tendency in the direction of both lighter guns and reduced shot
loads. The old I J-oz. charge has been found to be more than
sufficient for the work in hand, whilst its heavier recoil distresses
the gunner more than does a lighter weight of shot. Thus ly1^ oz.
of shot is a charge now in frequent use ; some men go further
than this, and reduce their loads to I oz., whilst in extreme cases
we hear of ~ oz. of shot being used in 12 -bore guns. Light
loads such as these certainly conduce to the comfort of the shooter
where the firing is rapid and long sustained, and for killing driven
partridges at 20 or 25 yards, they doubtless prove all sufficient.
All the same, we are rapidly reverting to the use of 2O-bore
charges in the 12-bore, and it is not improbable that the next
question exercising the minds of the modern partridge driver will
be the advisability of taking to 2O-bores of good weight for the
shooting of these loads j as, with 12-bore cartridges so loaded,
there may be, even with the most careful and intelligent loading,
some sacrifice in the matter of velocity when firing these light
loads from cartridges and guns of wide bore — and the maintenance
of velocity is a matter of grave import to the shooter of the dodgy
driven partridge.
Wherever the expenditure of cartridges is great, and it is found
expedient to use i^-oz. or IT\--OZ. loads, shooters will be well
advised to have their 12-bores built to weigh not less than 6J Ib.
Sportsmen who tramp for long days through turnips or other
thick game shelter, or over rough hilly ground, might well be
excused a desire to keep down the weight of their guns to the
smallest possible limit. As in sport of this nature many shots will
be obtained at full sporting ranges, the desire to employ cartridges
of full power is equally excusable. In such case, full loads may
398 Modern Sporting Gunnery
possibly be fired from light guns without experiencing any great
degree of discomfort, and more especially for the reason that in
such situation the firing will not be heavy.
In the shooting of driven game the firing is usually far more
rapid and sustained, and for this form of sport guns of full weight
are desirable. The shooter standing behind a butt or fence, whilst
shooting driven grouse or partridges, is not likely to experience
the feeling of gun-tiredness which comes over the gunner under-
taking a twenty-mile tramp over rough heather or knee-deep root
crops. Here, therefore, the gun, if a 12- bore, should weigh not
less than 6J lb., if comfort in quick firing be desired, even with
ijJg-oz. shot loads.
Taking the season through, one day with another, I find I
secure the best all-round results with No. 5 shot, when shooting
partridges ; and this, whether driving, shooting over dogs, or
walking up the birds.
Fourteen or fifteen ounces is the average weight of a grey
partridge ; birds weighing i lb. are occasionally met with, but the
heaviest recorded is one from Norfolk, reported by Mr. J. E.
Harting, the shooting editor of the Fleld^ which weighed 20 oz.
The red-legged partridge is usually a few ounces heavier, and
exceeds the grey partridge in length by about i inch. The
heaviest Frenchman recorded was also killed in that great game
county, Norfolk, and weighed 25 oz.
The QUAIL (Coturnix communis) may best be described as a
miniature partridge in appearance. In habits also, the two birds,
when side by side on British corn-lands, have much in common.
There, however, the resemblance ceases, for, unlike the partridge,
the quail is a migratory species, visiting these islands in the spring,
and, after nesting, returning south again towards the end of Sep-
tember or beginning of October. The number of our visiting
quail varies greatly, and it is seldom now that British sportsmen
are able to report a " good quail year." When numerous, quail
are widely distributed over this country during the summer
months. The slightly milder climate of Ireland suits these birds
well. A generation or two ago they were to be found there all the
year round, being then, in fact, more numerous than the partridge
in some districts.
Game Shooting in Great Britain 399
Quail are not sufficiently numerous in this country to call for
any special remarks relative to their pursuit. As a rule, they are
easy marks for the gunner ; on being flushed, they spring to a fair
height and fly off at an even pace straight away. Were they
plentiful enough to warrant my recommending special loads, I
should say by all means take No. 7 shot. In a quail country, a
good combination will be a 2O-bore gun with -J oz. of No. 7, but
if big game is there met with, one of Westley Richards's new
" Fauneta " shot and ball guns would be far preferable. As
FIG. 200. — WOODCOCK.
explained elsewhere, this deadly little tool fires a 29O-grain bullet
with the accuracy and force of an Express rifle at 300 yards, whilst
from the same barrel a charge of f oz. of loose shot may be used.
With this gun-rifle I have shot grouse, partridges, hares, rabbits,
wild duck, etc., with practically the same certainty up to 30 yards
as I could have done with a 12-bore and i-| oz. of shot.
The WOODCOCK (Scolopax rusticola]. — Amongst migratory game
birds, the woodcock stands highest in the estimation of British
sportsmen. It is, perhaps, just doubtful whether all our woodcock
may be referred to as migrants, seeing that some few nest in our
woods. These, however, in their turn are also, I believe, more or
400 Modern Sporting Gunnery
less of migratory habit. Partial migrants they are, perhaps, inas-
much as they move from one part of these islands to another ; or,
possibly, wholly migratory in the sense that they cross the seas to
still more temperate climes.
The number of woodcock nesting here has shown some slight
increase in recent years ; still, these summer birds are as nothing
to the thousands of over-sea woodcock which arrive on our coasts
in October and November for the winter, spreading themselves
over the country from north to south, east to west.
It is, doubtless, correct to say that more cartridges are expended
upon woodcock, in proportion to the numbers killed, than upon
any other game bird, except the snipe. When meeting with this
bird in the open, a fairly decent shot should be able to score a kill
without much difficulty. Amidst bushes and timber the case is
different, as here the dodgy alert woodcock will occasionally prove
a source of much discomfort to the best of shots.
In thick covert the great point for the shooter to observe is to
come to terms with his quarry as quickly as possible, for the longer
firing is deferred the greater the chance given to the woodcock for
slipping out of sight, and thus for intervening branches or tree
trunks to intercept the shot. No. 7 shot is a favourite size with
some people for this kind of shooting. I much prefer No. 5, as
these weightier pellets are better able to maintain a killing velocity
after cutting through twigs, foliage, or other light obstructions ;
and, for this reason, if I did discard No. 5 when shooting wood-
cock or pheasants in thick covert, or killing rabbits in thick
undergrowth, the change would be in the direction of a larger —
not a smaller size. For shooting woodcock outside the coverts, or
in an open country, No. 5 shot with a gun more or less choked is to
be recommended. With this combination woodcock may be killed
up to 50 yards with tolerable certainty, provided that necessary
concomitant to all success in shooting, " straight powder," be used.
There are three species of snipe met with in this country.
The first in point of size is the GREAT SNIPE (Scolopax m<ijor\
which is also known as solitary snipe, and double snipe, by
reason of the fact that it is just about double the weight of the
common snipe.
The great snipe is not of much account here as a sporting
Game Shooting in Great Britain 401
bird, it being merely a casual visitor in late summer. It is usually
found on the eastern side of the country, which thus appears to be
the westernmost limit of its migratory track, north and south.
This snipe weighs from 8 to 10 oz., according to condition.
The COMMON SNIPE (Scolopax media] also has various aliases, it
being known amongst gunners as the " single " snipe, as distinct
from the " great " or " double " snipe just mentioned. It is also
termed " full " snipe to distinguish it from the <c jack " snipe,
FIG. 201.— SNIPE.
which, in turn, is known as "half" snipe. Some snipe nest in
these islands, but their numbers are few in comparison with the
thousands which annually reach our shores in autumn.
Snipe are held in high estimation by the sportsmen of this
country, and deservedly so, for many a wet bleak marsh would
prove a veritable slough of despond but for the presence of these
birds. There is great fascination in the sport of snipe shooting ;
first, by reason of the fact that the movements of these birds are
veiled with so much uncertainty — one might almost say mystery —
that one never quite knows when a visit to their haunts is likely to
be productive of sport. One day they may be present in quantity,
on the next they may have entirely vanished from the district.
The second reason is the difficulty of hitting ; snipe dart and twist
26
4-O2 Modern Sporting Gunnery
with such rapidity on rising that most people find them difficult to
bring down, and it is generally a human characteristic that, in
sport especially, one strives hardest after that which is most difficult
of attainment.
There is a general consensus of opinion in favour of No. 8 shot
for the shooting of snipe. I have but one objection to urge
against this size, /. e. it is practically useless for wild duck, if, as is
often the case, they should be present upon the snipe marsh. In
such event, a compromise might well be effected by the use of
No. 6 shot ; or, if preferred, the snipe shooter might have No. 8
FIG. 202. — RED DEER.
in his first barrel and No. 5 in his second barrel. It would be
found that, in addition to an occasional duck, this reserve would
account most handsomely for many a good snipe in the course of
the day — particularly in windy weather.
Of furred game, there are in Great Britain some half-dozen
different species which provide sport for rifle or shot-gun. These
are : (i) Red deer ; (2) fallow deer ; (3) roe deer ; (4) brown
hare ; (5) Scotch hare ; (6) rabbit.
The RED DEER is met with in truly feral condition in Scotland,
and there deer-stalking is carried to a fine art. In that country there
are some one hundred and fifty deer forests, comprising a total area
Game Shooting in Great Britain 403
not far short of three million acres. In the letting of deer forests,
the value is usually expressed at so much for each warrantable stag,
the price ranging from ^30 to ^50, according to the bodily condition
of the animals, the quality of their heads, and the nature of the
ground. A rough general estimate as to the acreage needed for the
production of a good stag places this at five hundred. Still, so much
depends upon the quality of the herbage on a forest, as also the
amount of artificial food, hay, corn, or roots supplied during
winter, that this estimate can only be accepted as approximately
accurate.
For the shooting of red deer, many types and forms of rifle are
employed, from the noisy magazine arm with its far-sounding
rattle to the most approved modern single or double deer-stalking
rifle.
The high bullet velocity exhibited by the Mannlicher "256, the
Mauser "275, as also the '303, impelled many deer-stalkers to the
use of these weapons. In respect of range and trajectory, there is
little to choose between these and the "350, '360, and -375 Express
rifles, as now made by Rigby, Holland, Purdey, Lancaster, West-
ley Richards, and other good makers. The '37 5/303 Accelerated
Express, described elsewhere, possesses the highest velocity of all,
and so, doubtless, more will soon be heard about the rifle.
There has recently been witnessed the introduction of an
entirely new arm, the " Fauneta," of "558-inch bore, a ball- and
shot-gun having a bullet velocity of 1660 feet per second. This
handy little gun is described on page 250. and it, too, is a
thoroughly practical weapon for the deer-stalker's purpose.
P'or the shooting of FALLOW DEER, which, as is well known,
is a much smaller animal than its red congener, the afore-
mentioned rifles are certainly powerful enough. If anything, they
may be said to err in the direction of an excess of power, and in
this respect it may not be out of place to convey the warning that
in shooting fallow or any deer in English deer parks, or in other
more or less circumscribed areas and wooded country, the greatest
care should be exercised to insure the safety of one's neighbours.
Those rifles above named, it should not be forgotten, are of high
power and great ranging capacity of bullet. It might be thought
that the shooter's ability to hit his stag would determine this
404 Modern Sporting Gunnery
question of safety, but this is not altogether correct. In a great
measure the form of the bullet will dominate this position ; a solid,
or even a hollow, bullet fired from, say, a Mannlicher rifle may,
after passing through a deer, still have sufficient velocity remaining
to kill a man half-a-mile beyond. It appears, therefore, to be
almost imperative that a bullet of the most expansive character
should be employed in this particular class of sport, one that will
instantly mushroom upon impact, and, if possible, expend the
whole of its energy upon the object of aim.
With the use of solid or imperfectly expanding bullets, more
deer, or other game for that matter, will be sent off wounded than
FIG. 203. — FALLOW DEER.
will be the case when fully expansive bullets are used. There-
fore, on humanitarian grounds alone the latter are to be
recommended.
I once raked a buck from end to end with a non-expanding
bullet of large calibre at a less range than 100 yards ; the carcass
of this animal was eventually discovered a long distance away from
where the shot was fired, several days elapsing, however, before it
was found.
The ROE DEER, like the red deer, is truly indigenous to these
islands ; this is more than can be said of the fallow deer, for, so
our naturalists tell us, the latter is an introduced species. By way
of paradox, they also assure us that the long extinct Irish <c elk,"
an animal of colossal proportions, with horns stretching upwards of
1 1 feet from tip to tip, was a fallow deer.
Game Shooting in Great Britain 405
Two distinct methods of shooting the roebuck are practised in
this country: (i) stalking, and (2) driving. Another method
of shooting, roe is followed by some continental shooters. This
consists in calling up the bucks by imitating the call of the female.
The true sportsman of this country will have none of these tactics,
which he looks upon as poaching.
Taken all in all, stalking must be considered a more sportsman-
like procedure than driving, although it is least often undertaken.
Owing to their extremely acute hearing, keen eyesight, and re-
markable olfactory powers, roe are not easy to secure by either
method. One might say that driving is the easiest and most
certain plan for killing these animals, but possibly this even may
be open to question if the two are compared on the strict basis of
kills to shots fired. In stalking, all is dependent upon individual
effort, and when a shot is obtained, which may not be often, the
experienced shot will not fire unless tolerably assured of killing.
In driving, on the contrary, quite an army of drivers, either bipedal
or quadrupedal, may be engaged, as also a number of guns, and
many random shots are fired, with the result that the number of
head of game bagged per gun may be no greater with all this
assistance from the drivers, than is secured by the single-handed
" still hunter."
Of all the rifles that I have shot with, the ideal weapon for roe-
stalking is the double ^oo-bore Sherwood, of Westley Richards. As
already mentioned, this handy little arm combines bullet accuracy
with deadliness, to a range greater than has hitherto been attained
in small-bore rifles with charges so light.
The copper-capped bullet is a serviceable projectile for stopping
not alone roe deer, but even fallow deer up to 250 yards, and as
the noise of the report from this small-bore rifle is very slight, a
comparatively small area of one's ground is thus disturbed by the
shot.
The effectiveness of the little Sherwood can best be judged by.
the following carefully-kept records of its work on deer and wild
geese, which I have gathered from my own notes and from reports
given by Mr. W. A. Nicholson, shooting expert to the Midlothian
Advertiser and other journals.
As reported in the Scottish papers, the expansion on impact of
406 Modern Sporting Gunnery
the copper-capped bullet is so great that this small rifle has
been used even on red deer with good results. However, on
account of its limitations in regard to power, it is of necessity
that on smaller game its best work will be accomplished ; for
instance, a Haddingtonshire paper records the killing of fallow
deer weighing about 130 Ib. with this Sherwood rifle at
various distances. The following reports briefly summarize some
of the excellent shooting accomplished with this small-bore
rifle—
INVERNESS-SHIRE : Three stags, one a lo-pointer at 355 yards ;
15 fallow deer — weight up to 139! Ib., longest range, 300 yards ;
seals and porpoises, 147 ; wild geese, 16.
ARGYLLSHIRE : Fallow deer, 4 ; roe deer, 6 ; stag, i.
EAST COAST OF SCOTLAND : Seals, 12 ; porpoises, 3 ; wild
geese (pink-footed), 7.
IRELAND : Seals, 17 ; wild geese and large fowl, 49.
In BRITISH COLUMBIA the Sherwood has accounted for black
bear, caribou deer, and mountain sheep. A truly marvellous per-
formance for so light a weapon and bullet. Still, if we consider
that the Mannlicher rifle, with its i62-gr. bullet and a velocity
of 2000 or more feet per second, kills a mile away, why should
not the Sherwood with its i4O-gr. bullet and I45o-feet velocity
kill at 300 yards ?
In this country roe deer are usually driven to the guns by
beaters. In such case, rifles should only be placed in the hands
of the most steady and experienced shots j in fact, I believe that
in many thickly-wooded districts where roe are driven, the use
of the rifle should be altogether vetoed. The killing of these
graceful little deer with the shot-gun may not be looked upon
as the most sportsmanlike proceeding, still, this is preferable to
standing by the hour together expecting every moment to hear
your neighbour's bullet come whistling past.
Some people go out roe driving with No. 5 shot cartridges, but
this size is certainly too small, for in the excitement of the moment
many ridiculously long shots are taken. With No. 5 shot roe
should not be fired at any further away than about 25 yards
if broadside on, and at much less distance when going away
Game Shooting in Great Britain 407
from the shooter. A good close-shooting 12-bore with ij oz.
of " B. B." shot will certainly prove far more effectual in roe
driving.
Two species of hare are indigenous to Great Britain, the
BROWN HARE (Lepus timldus] and the SCOTCH or MOUNTAIN
HARE (Lepus variabiKs). The latter is also known as white or
blue hare from seasonal changes of coloration, its coat changing
to white in winter. As is generally known, the brown hare is
met with in England and the Scottish Lowlands. The blue hare
is found in the higher lands of Scotland and in Ireland ; it is
FIG. 204. — HARE.
rather smaller than the brown hare, and has a more rabbit-like
appearance owing to its shorter ears.
Since the Ground Game Act of 1880 conferred upon the
occupier of land the right to kill hares concurrently with his
landlord, hares have seriously diminished in many sections of the
country. It is to be regretted that in England the hare is not
wholly protected during the breeding season. The Hares Preser-
vation Act of 1892, it is true, enacts that in Great Britain hares
shall not be sold or exposed for sale during March, April, May,
June, or July, but this half measure does not prevent the killing
of these animals. In Ireland it is different, for the Hares
Preservation (Ireland) Act of 1879 forbids the killing or taking
408 Modern Sporting Gunnery
of any hare or leveret between the 2Oth day of April and the
1 2th day of August in any year, under a penalty of twenty
shillings, with costs of conviction. This is as it should be, save
for the fact that the commencement of the close season might,
with advantage, have been made to take effect from the beginning
of March.
For the shooting of hares, whether this game be walked up
or driven, nothing smaller than No. 5 shot should be used in a
general way. So soon as December arrives and hares have
acquired their thick winter coats, then No. 4 certainly may be
used with advantage. At that season I think a going-away hare
should not be fired at when the distance is greater than 35 yards,
unless this size of shot be used. At 40 yards or so, crossing
shots at hares may, with confidence, be taken with a choked
12-bore and No. 4 shot. For walking up the strong wild hares
met v/ith in some districts, the ideal gun to my mind is a yj-lb.
12-bore chambered for 2|-inch cases. With this type of gun
and a charge of 47 grs. of amberite, and ij oz. of No. 4 or
No. 3 chilled shot, winter hares may be killed with certainty at
45 yards.
Of gunnery in connection with the shooting of rabbits, I doubt
not my readers are fairly familiar. Many people in this country,
young as well as old, whose inclination leads them sportwards, are
more or less intimately acquainted with the shooting of the
ubiquitous rabbit.
The shooting of rabbits goes on summer and winter. In
summer the half- or three-quarters-grov/n young rabbits are
stalked and killed by means of the rook-rifle or the shot-gun as
they come out to feed on the herbage in the vicinity of their
burrows. In autumn and winter, rabbits are shot in a variety
of ways : by bolting them from their burrows with ferrets, by
driving them out of thick grass or hedgerows, gorse, or pheasant
covert by means of spaniels or beaters ; and in various other
ways.
Many people will tell you that No. 6, or may be even No. 7 shot,
is the size for rabbits. But don't believe them — No. 5 is much
better and more decisive in its effect upon Master Bunny. Any
change from this should be in the direction of a larger size. Mr.
Game Shooting in Great Britain 409
R. J. Lloyd-Price recommends | oz. of No. 3 shot as a most
effective dose for rabbits. He, certainly, knows what he is talking
about, for on his estate the rabbit shooting is exceptionally heavy,
the record bag of 5086 rabbits having been killed thereon by ten
guns in the course of one day's shooting.
A great factor of success in shooting is a good cartridge.
In Chapter VI, I have attempted to give the fruits of my
investigations concerning the ammunition issued by one of our
principal makers ; but of course there are other manufacturers of
first-rate cartridges.
For years I shot exclusively with Messrs. Eley's cartridges, to
the excellence of which I can testify ; and this firm to-day
maintains its world-wide reputation for reliability.
Messrs. Joyce also are well-known caterers for the modern
shooter, and I learn that their new solid ejector cartridge-case is
giving satisfaction, although up to the present my trials with it
have not been exhaustive.
MIXED BAG.
CHAPTER XVI
WILDFOWL SHOOTING IN GREAT BRITAIN
The Various Species — -Guns and Loads.
WITH regard to the guns suitable for each phase of
sport, a broad line of demarcation may be drawn
between the shooting of game birds and the
shooting of purely feral migratory fowl such as
geese and ducks.
In the case of game guns, the choice of bore is not entirely
a question of utility, it is also in some degree one of sentiment.
In game shooting the killing of but one bird with one discharge is
a recognized canon of sport. The consensus of opinion having
decided that the 12-bore accomplishes this rather better than the
smaller bores, sentiment steps in and asserts that in a general way
it must be considered unsportsmanlike to use any larger bore for
the purpose.
This is not so with regard to wildfowl shooting, for here
practically the only limit with regard to size is the gunner's
ability and inclination to wield and carry the bulk and weight
inseparable from heavy guns and their ammunition, as also to
withstand that increased recoil which is the natural result of
heavy discharges.
In wildfowl shooting heavy guns and charges are considered
permissible on the grounds that the birds congregate together
more or less thickly, and are exceedingly difficult of approach.
Therefore, as the gunner's chances of a shot are infrequent, and
the ranges fired at greatly exceed the distances at which grouse
and partridges are killed, it is considered sportsmanlike to make
410
Wildfowl Shooting in Great Britain 411
the most of each opportunity by using larger guns, heavier charges,
and by killing as many birds as possible at each discharge. There
is just one exception to the latter remark; in shooting home-bred
wild ducks on preserved ground, the sport is conducted similarly
to pheasant or other driven-game shooting, the gunner picking
out his birds and aiming to kill but one at each discharge.
In Chapter V, I have given tables showing the different bores
of wildfowl guns, with their charges and so forth, therefore in
the present chapter I name the size of gun and of shot best suited
for killing each kind of fowl as discussed.
Practically all shoulder wildfowl guns at the present day are
more or less choked. A cylinder-bored wildfowl gun may now
and again be seen; these guns, however, are designed for some
special work, such as flight shooting where ducks come in close ;
or, it may be, are so bored because it is desired to fire wire car-
tridges therefrom. Still, for most purposes of daytime sport with
the wildfowl, I look upon close shooting in the wildfowl gun
as absolutely indispensable, whether that close throwing of the
shot pellets is obtained by means of the choke or the wire
cartridge.
Some four or five species of wild swan have been known to
visit these islands. Of these, four are European : the MUTE SWAN
(Cygnus olor\ the POLISH SWAN (C. immutabilis] — a very rare visitor
which only in recent years has been recognized as specifically dis-
tinct from the mute swan, the WHOOPER SWAN (C. musicus], and
BEWICK'S SWAN (C. Bewicki}. The other is a North-American
species, the TRUMPETER SWAN (C. buccinator)^ a very large bird
with a wing stretch of about 8 feet. The common AMERICAN
SWAN (C. Columbianus] may possibly, like that previously named,
get so far out of its reckoning as to touch our shores on journeying
southward in the autumn. As to this, however, I have no proof,
although at least one visit of the trumpeter swan appears to have
been established, for four birds of this species were shot on the
Suffolk coast in October 1866.
Of the European wild swans met with here in winter, the
first of those above named is, of course, the familiar swan of our
rivers and ornamental waters. The mute swan exists in a per-
fectly wild state in territory adjacent to the Baltic Sea. Thus
412 Modern Sporting Gunnery
it is not singular that they should occasionally visit the coasts
of this country. In fact, it is a matter for surprise that this
swan is not a regular and frequent visitor. This probability
notwithstanding, it is worthy of remark that, whenever a mute
swan is shot on our tidal waters, it is more often regarded as
escaped from confinement than as a truly wild visitor.
The WHOOPER SWAN has acquired its name from its loud call-
note. It is the true wild swan of our islands, and is probably most
familiar to the wildfowlers of our eastern coasts. It is a large bird,
when fully grown measuring 5 feet in length, and across the
wings from tip to tip upwards of 7 feet. When in good con-
dition the male swan weighs 21 Ib. or so, the female about 19 Ib.
Old birds are of snow-white plumage. The cygnets are greyish-
brown for the first year, and do not acquire the complete white
plumage of adult birds until they are eighteen months old or
more.
BEWICK'S SWAN is found in greater numbers in Ireland than
elsewhere in the United Kingdom. It is considerably smaller
than the whooper, large birds measuring only 4 feet or thereabouts
from point of bill to end of tail, and weighing from 9 to 13 Ib.
The plumage of adult Bewick swans is white j the cygnets are
greyish-brown until they are two years old.
Wild swan shooting is not a sport that may be indulged in with
any great frequency. These birds do not visit our coasts with the
same regularity or in the same numbers as the grey geese, brent
geese, wild duck, wigeon, and the like. In mild winters few
swans will appear, and the shore-gunner may go through a whole
season without seeing a single wild swan'. Given hard weather
conditions on the coasts of Scandinavia, Denmark, Germany, and
Holland, accompanied by a strong easterly wind, wild swans will
then come over here in greatest number.
The best of the shooting at wild swans is usually obtained in
the shallow waters on the open coast, and in the wider estuaries
and bays. In such situation their pursuit necessitates the use of a
boat of some sort or other. This may take the form of a small
sailing-craft of very light draught — say, barge-built and with a
centre-board — or the single- or double-handed gunning punt.
I have cruised about along the coast for days together in a small
Wildfowl Shooting in Great Britain 413
yacht of light draught in pursuit of sea-going wildfowl. This,
if not altogether the most successful method of approaching
wildfowl, is certainly the most luxurious, as food and shelter are
always at hand, and with a stout swivel gun rigged up in the
bow of the boat birds of one kind or other may frequently be
bagged.
Few amateur wildfowlers care to endure the hardships insepar-
able from the pursuit of wildfowl in a single-handed gunning punt,
notwithstanding the delights and excitements of this fascinating
phase of sport. Moreover, it is a rather risky proceeding unless
one has spent some considerable time in learning how to manage
these small craft in a wind-swept tide-way on the open coast.
For those who have not served this apprenticeship, the better
plan will be to proceed to work in a double-handed punt accom-
panied by a man well versed in the nature of the waters to be
shot over, the set of the tides, and the local weather condi-
tions. In this way excellent sport may be enjoyed, and with
a gun carrying i to \\ Ib. of shot some good shooting can be
accomplished.
Messrs. Holland & Holland, of New Bond Street, London, are
foremost amongst the makers of punt guns. For solidity, strength,
and simplicity, the " London " breechloading punt gun of this
firm is undoubtedly one of the finest of its class. It is on the
central-fire principle, with falling breech-action, and for ease and
speed of loading, of extraction, as also of manipulation generally,
this gun stands as a splendid example of gunmaking craft and
ingenuity. This punt gun has a steel barrel chambered for either
solid metal or paper cases, and is made in all sizes from if- to
2-inch bore, and having regard to the high quality of the materials
and workmanship, the prices charged for these guns are not by
any means excessive.
When following swans with a punt gun throwing a pound or
more of lead, the sizes of shot known as " AAA," of 32 pellets to
the ounce, or "AA," of 40 pellets per ounce, will be found
effective up to about 80 yards. For shooting at lengthier
ranges, mould shot will have to be used; " SSG," of 15 pellets
to the ounce, is a most useful size, and with this weighty shot
swans may be killed at 100 yards or over.
414 Modern Sporting Gunnery
With heavy shoulder guns of 4-bore or 8-bore, "AAA" or
" AA " may be used with effect on swans up to 50 or 60 yards.
For longer distances "SSSG" mould shot, of 17 pellets per ounce,
may be employed. In any case it will be well to carry out a few
experiments at the target in order to ascertain the gun's perform-
ance with these large sizes, when probably it will be found that
the shooting may be slightly better with one size than another.
Of wild geese common to the British Islands there are six
clearly-defined species —
1. The GREYLAG GOOSE (Anser cinereus}.
2. The WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE (A. albifroni).
3. The BEAN GOOSE (A. segetum\ or (A. arvensis}.
4. The PINK-FOOTED GOOSE (A. brachyrhynchus}.
5. The BERNICLE GOOSE (Eernicla leucopsls).
6. The BRENT GOOSE (B. brenta}.
The first four on this list are land-feeding fowl, the two latter
are usually found in proximity to the sea, the brent goose being
strictly a saline feeder.
The chief points as assisting to identification of species in respect
of our grey geese is the coloration of their bills and feet. With
regard to the grey geese, especially the bean and pink-footed,
hypercritical enthusiasts have divided and sub-divided until the
wildfowler looks askance at the list so greatly swollen by
the addition of new names. I have noticed several remarkable
variations to occur in respect of size and other features amongst
the scores of grey geese I have shot.
In some specimens more or less striking departures are to be
noted from features considered to be typical of individual species,
particularly in the formation and contour of the bill and its colour,
as well as in the colour of the plumage, legs or feet. I myself
have shot pink-footed geese with certain variations in the form
of the bill, and degrees of its coloration. Some have had the
outline of the mandible hollow, whilst others have had this upper
line decidedly convex. In one goose this convexity, or aquilinity,
was so remarkable that some friends at once dubbed the bird " old
Roman nose." Also, I have noticed the feet and legs of the pink-
footed goose in various shades of colour, from rich brilliant red to
Wildfowl Shooting in Great Britain 415
pale fleshy pink — I am speaking of fresh-killed birds, i.e. as picked
up on being shot, and not faded specimens that have been kept for
days in the flesh, or, worse still, cured skins housed for years in the
dry musty atmosphere of some museum.
Other geese, both bean and pink-footed, that I have shot have
had a clearly-defined frontal margin of white feathers at the base
of the mandible, and in some birds this has been fairly broad.
As uncommon and accidental visitors to our shores, the follow-
ing wild geese may be named —
1. The CANADA GOOSE (A. Canadensis).
2. The RED-BREASTED GOOSE (A. or E. ruficollis}.
3. The LESSER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE (A. erythropus}.
4. The SNOW GOOSE, of which species a large form (A. hyper-
boreus nivalis), and A. (or Chen) hyperboreus albatus, a small form,
are generally recognized.
5. The EGYPTIAN GOOSE (Chenalopex (Anser) Egyptiacus).
So many Canada geese have been introduced here that it
becomes an extremely difficult matter to determine whether
geese of this species found at large in this country are truly feral
or merely semi-domesticated. The Canada goose is a bird of fine
proportions, for it sometimes attains to a weight double that of
some of our middle-sized grey geese.
The red-breasted, or Siberian goose, is a strikingly handsome
bird with tri-coloured plumage composed of rich chestnut, glossy
black, and snowy white. It is about the size of the brent goose,
and has been obtained about a dozen times in Great Britain.
The lesser white-fronted goose, which is said to be distinct
from its larger namesake, has only once been identified as
occurring in England.
Mr. Howard Saunders was the first to chronicle the appearance
of snow geese in these islands, he having obtained two dead birds
from the Leadenhall Market, London, in 1871, these having been
shot in Ireland. As recorded in the Field of January 1891,
I saw three snow geese fly over my house in Yorkshire on
January 16 of that year. Six days subsequent to that date,
the late Rev. H. A. Macpherson also saw four snow geese in
Cumberland. The snow goose may be readily identified at a
4i 6 Modern Sporting Gunnery
considerable distance, as it is pure white with black tips to the
wings.
The Egyptian goose — like that big fellow placed first on the
above brief list — has long been acclimatized here, and so possibly
the shore-shooting wildfowler may occasionally come across birds
of this species that have escaped from private waters. Still, it is
not without the range of probability that some truly wild Egyptian
geese may be met with in this country.
The greylag is the only wild goose which breeds in Great
Britain. It is also the largest of the British grey geese, measuring
from 33 to 35 inches from point of bill to end of tail, and weighing
up to 10 Ib. or more. It has flesh-coloured bill, legs, and feet, and
black claws.
The bean goose is next in size, its length being about 32 or 33
inches. Naturalists now tell us that the yellow-billed bean goose,
A. arvensisy is our commonest species. A. segetum has a black
bean or nail on the point of the bill, the middle portion of the
mandible being orange, with black at the base ; the legs and feet
are orange, and claws black. I have shot bean geese weighing up
to 8|- Ib.
In the pink-footed goose, the feet, legs, and middle portion of
the bill are pink ; the nail and base of the bill, as also the claws,
are black. Length, about 30 inches. Usual weight, 6 to 6^ Ib.,
but I have shot them weighing up to yf Ib. after a long course of
stubble-feeding.
The white-fronted, so-called from the white feathers on its fore-
head, is the smallest of our grey geese, measuring about 28 inches in
length. The nail on the bill is white to yellowish-white in adult
birds, in yearlings it is light brown ; the claws are whitish horn colour.
The rest of the bill and the legs and feet are yellow to orange.
The bernicle goose is beautifully barred with black and lavender-
grey on its back; the head and neck are glossy black, cheeks are
white, and there is a good deal of white on the under parts. The
bill is short and black, and this, too, is the colour of the legs and
feet. Length, about 25 inches. Good birds weigh about 5^ Ib.
The brent is the smallest of our geese. There are two forms
of this bird, the dark-bellied, the commoner species, and the white-
bellied brent (A. brenta glaucogaster\ the larger bird. There is so
Wildfowl Shooting in Great Britain 417
much of black or dark colouring about the head, neck, and other
parts of the plumage that these birds are known as black geese
among the professional gunners on some parts of the coast. Brent
geese measure about 22 inches in length, and their bills, legs, and
feet are black, a white band of feathers partially encircles the neck.
Of all our wildfowl brent geese are amongst the most wild and
unapproachable, and yet this trim little goose is far from being a
coward ; when fairly cornered I have found him to be a brave little
fellow. On a certain part of our coast, where I have spent many
delightful hours chasing the wildfowl or standing duck-flight, the
tide recedes three miles or more, leaving thousands upon thousands
of acres of wet, though firm, sands. Over this aqueous terra firma
some few fishermen drive their carts down to low-water mark,
whence they bring home shrimps and cockles. One hardy family,
comprising three living generations, has been pursuing this vocation
many years. Long practice enables these men to find their way
on the darkest winter morning, or through the thickest fog. I
sometimes accompany them on their cold drive, and one day whilst
so journeying, the conversation turned upon the brents, or black
geese as these birds are locally known, whereupon one member of
the family told me a wonderful story. He said that when down at
low-water one very foggy day, a small bunch of brent geese came
and alighted on the water-edge close by. Just out of curiosity,
and having no gun, he thought to drive his cart along to see how
near the geese might suffer him to approach, and was greatly
astonished to find that the brents were so exceeding loth to take
wing in the fog that they sat until the horse was well among
them, whereupon one member of the group — to use the fisherman's
expression — u fair set himself at my old horse and sissed at him."
Lest some of my readers, to whom the shyness of the brent
goose is a more or less familiar feature, should be inclined to doubt
the veracity of my informant, I may tell of another incident,
which, to my mind, wholly confirms this tale. One morning
this last winter, 1905-6, 1 went into the yard adjacent to the house
of one of the fishermen for the purpose of viewing certain fowl
caught in their flight-nets. These flight-nets, by the way, are
stretched along the shore on that coast for hundreds upon hundreds
of yards, and in these nets, more especially on dark nights, a great
27
4i 8 Modern Sporting Gunnery
variety of birds are caught — grey geese, brents, duck, wigeon,
curlew, knot, dunlin, and gulls of various kinds, and I have seen
also short-eared owls and a peregrine falcon caught in this way.
On that particular morning I found a solitary brent goose, some
black-headed gulls, and a few knot in the pen of wire-netting in
which the captured birds are placed. Although only caught a
few hours previously, this brent goose reared himself up on my
approach and hissed loudly. Determined to see how far he might
be overawed, I pushed my finger through the wire-netting, and
instantly the pugnacious little chap came up and gave my finger
a most determined and vicious nip with his powerful bill. After
that I decided to accept in its entirety my fisherman friend's story
of his adventure with brent geese in a fog.
I find some considerable diversity of opinion amongst goose
shooters with regard to the most effective sizes of gun and shot to
use for the killing of these tough fowl. If one could insure hitting
a goose in the head or neck, there is little doubt that a 12-bore
gun with No. 3 shot would prove a very deadly combination up
to 60 yards. But with the truest aim and the best intention
possible, the shooter cannot insure thus striking his goose at that
range, as the really vulnerable parts, the brain and spinal column,
there present but a very thin line as a target. Therefore, for long-
range work — and most goose shooting is of this nature — the prac-
tised goose shooter realizes that he must rely more or less upon
making the body of the bird his principal objective. The body
of a goose is well protected with strong feathers and thick down,
and as a large amount of muscular tissue will also have to be
pierced before any vital spot can be struck, considerable penetra-
tive effect must be displayed by the shot pellets, in order to
secure the most promptly fatal results.
For punt guns carrying a pound or so of shot, " AA " will be
found a thoroughly effective size to use upon gaggles of geese up
to 100 yards. At distances greater than this, " SSSG," of 17
pellets, or " SSG," of 15 pellets to the ounce, may be used with
more or less effect.
In single shoulder 4-bores, throwing from 3 to 4 oz. of shot, I
have found " AA" a reliable size. With a gun of this calibre and
3|- oz. of " AA" shot I once cut down five pink-footed geese at
Wildfowl Shooting in Great Britain 419
96 yards, three of the birds falling as dead as the proverbial door-
nail. For goose shooting at lengthier ranges, " SSG " may be
tried in 4~bores.
A double 8-bore is an extremely useful weapon for the goose
shooter. One that I have shot with a good deal is a one-trigger
hammerless gun by Westley Richards, and whilst weighing but
13^ lb., a charge of 104 grs. amberite and 2f oz. of large shot is
fired from it quite comfortably. It is a paper-case gun, and, in
the light of our present knowledge, may be regarded as having
reached the acme of power and deadliness in its particular class.
For shooting geese with guns of this size, " BB " shot will be
found effective up to 60 yards ; beyond this distance, and up to
90 yards or so, " AA " may be used. For shooting at 100 yards
or over, mould shot will prove more deadly, but care must be
exercised to insure selection of the size best suited to the boring
of the gun ; " SSSG " might answer well in one gun, " SSG "
better in another.
The ic-bore for goose or duck shooting should weigh from
9 to 10 lb., have fully-choked barrels 30 inches long, and shoot
charges of 70 to 80 grs. of K.S. or amberite, if to 2 oz.
of large shot. Up to 50 yards, " B " shot will answer for
geese in guns of this calibre, beyond that range " BB " or " A "
shot.
The long-chambered 12-bore makes a very effective and
thoroughly handy tool for night shooting. With such gun,
weighing about yj lb. and throwing but ij oz. of shot, I have
killed many grey geese by night. A favourite dose of mine for
this work is "BB" shot driven by 48 grs. of K.S. or amberite, and
it is a treat to see the way in which it crumples up geese at 40 to
50 yards.
I frequently use the smaller sizes of mould shot in 12-bores, but
when doing so I first ascertain the size best adapted to the boring
of the gun. In order to do this I push a wad into the choke, and
then select the size of mould shot which packs most accurately,
without undue tightness, in this constricted part of the boring. It
is a somewhat tedious process to pack these slugs in this order in
the cartridge-case ; nevertheless, I believe the goose shooter will
discover it to be time well spent, for, speaking from practical
420 Modern Sporting Gunnery
experience, I may remark that I have brought off some mighty
shots with guns loaded with this mathematical exactitude.
Our wild ducks may be divided into two classes : (i) Surface
feeders, and (2) Diving ducks.
The COMMON ^WiLD DUCK (Anas boschas), the male of this
species being widely known as the MALLARD, comes within the first
category. Amongst all our wildfowl, the wild duck ranks first in
importance, for, indubitably, it is one of the finest sporting birds
that ever stretched wing, and, moreover, is well in the first rank
as an edible commodity.
Within recent years considerable attention has been given to
the rearing of wild duck upon inland shootings at greater or less
distance from the sea. The young birds are much hardier and less
difficult to rear than pheasants, and supplies of eggs can be obtained
from several game farms at about half the cost of pheasant's eggs.
In obtaining these care must be exercised to insure having only
pure wild ducks, as half wild breeds do not fly so well. There are
many estates in England, Scotland, and Ireland where the rearing
of wild ducks might be prosecuted with considerable success.
It is true that these birds, when strong on the wing, may fly away
in the evening to feed on adjacent rivers or corn-fields, and so the
owner's loss may profit the keen flight shooters of the neighbour-
hood ; but," given agreeable surroundings and proper feeding at
home, the shrinkage of stock from this cause should not be very
great.
On some few large sporting estates in England and Scotland,
where the rearing of wild ducks is carried out on a considerable
scale, the best of sport is obtained with these strong high-flying
fowl. On the estate of Sir Richard Graham, in Cumberland,
where wild duck rearing is extensively practised, considerably
more than one thousand wild ducks are frequently shot on
each one of three consecutive days' shooting. Other shootings,
notably those of The Mackintosh in Inverness-shire, and the Hon.
Walter Rothschild in Hertfordshire, yield very large bags of wild
duck. Now that the possibilities in the way of providing sport
of the very highest order, furnished by the rearing of wild ducks,
have come to be more widely realized, we shall doubtless soon see
these examples followed elsewhere.
Wildfowl Shooting in Great Britain 421
I have found some game shots, inexperienced in the shooting of
wild duck, possess a most inadequate conception both as to
the speed at which these birds travel through the air and the
height at which they may be made to fly. As an eye-opener for
the small-shot men, I may be excused for mentioning the follow-
ing incidents which recently came under my notice. At a certain
shooting of hand-reared wild ducks, all the guns but one turned
up with No. 6 shot cartridges. The birds flew high and well,
and few were stopped in proportion to the number of shots fired ;
in fact, I heard that one man, by no means a bad shot, emptied his
first bag of one hundred No. 6 shot cartridges, and had but two
birds down ! The next day the pick-up comprised between thirty
and forty dead and wounded birds, spread over a considerable
area.
A short while afterwards a second shooting took place, and the
ducks having gained in wisdom from their former baptism of fire, were
again neither sluggish nor low. On this occasion, the host having
apprised his guests of the necessity for using larger shot upon these
high birds, No. 4 shot was the order of the day. This resulted in
a marked improvement in the shooting and the resultant bag, and
the following day only two birds were picked up by the keepers.
Verb. sap.
For killing hand-reared wild duck, such as the foregoing, no
shot less in size than the new No. 4^ mentioned in the previous
chapter should be used in cylinder guns. A good cylinder with
this shot gives patterns of 120 in the 3O-inch circle at 40 yards,
vide Chapter V. In a choked gun No. 4 shot may be used,
and according to the table just mentioned a well-bored gun
gives, with i^ oz. of this size, a pattern of 121 pellets at
45 -yards.
There are some phases of wild duck shooting where even the
foregoing charges may prove insufficient for the work in hand.
On some estates the wild ducks are trained to fly high by firing
blank cartridges under them as they return to their home quarters.
In such cases wild ducks quickly soar high up in the air, and
larger shot must then be used. My recipe on these occasions is a
full-choke i2-bore chambered for 2^-inch cases, a fair charge of
some good nitro powder, well wadded, and i£ oz. of No. 3 shot.
422 Modern Sporting Gunnery
When shooting truly feral sea-going wild ducks on a coast
much disturbed by constant bombardment of native flight shooters,
I find that these wide-awake fowl require heavier metal than even
the foregoing.
Last year I was discussing the question of killing these excep-
tionally high-flying wild duck with Mr. Leslie B. Taylor, the
managing director of Messrs. Westley Richards. I told him that
I frequently had to take wild duck at a height of 50 or 60 yards,
or forego firing, and that under such circumstances an ordinary
full-choked 12-bore could not be fully relied upon to cause their
headlong downfall. Of course wild ducks in their winter clothing
of thick down and strong feathers take a remarkably heavy blow
to bring them instantly to earth when hit at the longer sporting
ranges, and although a good shooting 12-bore of ordinary capacity
will do fairly well at 40 yards, or, possibly, a bit over with No. 4
shot, something more powerful will be required if the sportsman
desires to do thoroughly satisfactory work on wild duck beyond
those distances. There is nothing more annoying to the capable
gunner than to see his birds go away hard hit, flying, perhaps,
half-a-mile or more before they come down. This is a source of
much annoyance, as ducks so shot in the fast-fading light of a
winter evening are seldom recovered. Some one may say, Why
shoot at birds at such distance ? and of course I agree that, in the
abstract, the position is none too defensible. Still, it is a very
easy matter to draw hard-and-fast lines whilst discussing these
matters in the smoking-room, but in those situations where little
shooting is to be done save at 50 yards, all such over-night
resolutions are apt to be more honoured in the breach than the
observance by those gunners who are not mere nerveless, passive
automata.
I therefore, as stated, consulted Mr. Leslie Taylor, a practical
and capable adviser on all matters connected with the construction
and performance of gun or rifle, and I suggested the building of
what may be termed a high-velocity or express 12-bore shot-gun
for the purpose of killing these high wild duck and, generally, of
wild game. He responded with characteristic breezy alacrity, and
in the course of a few weeks sent me what, in many respects,
proved itself the most wonderful gun I have ever shot with.
Wildfowl Shooting in Great Britain 423
This gun weighed about *j\ lb., had 28-inch barrels with excep-
tionally strong breeches and action ; indeed, he assured me that
I could not burst the barrels nor break the action by any charge
that can be got into a af-inch cartridge-case or of which I cared to
withstand the recoil. This guarantee was an important considera-
tion, in view of the fact that the cartridges sent with the gun
contained exceptionally heavy charges of a certain nitro powder;
charges that would, I am certain, give many 12-bores a very bad
shaking.
I am not by any means satisfied that the best charges, by a
long way, have as yet been devised for this .special gun ; in fact, I
am confident that even better loads may yet be found. Neverthe-
less, with the charges so far employed, I have made truly remark-
able shooting with this high-velocity 12-bore. Extremely long
shots at wild duck have been frequently taken purposely to test
the powers of this gun — shots that long practice tell me it would
have been useless to attempt with 12-bores of ordinary boring and
construction. I have constantly been amazed to see the remark-
able deadliness of the shooting accomplished by this gun at extreme
ranges. At a height of 50 yards a wild duck begins to look small ;
but I am positive that I have brought down ducks stone-dead, from
this altitude, and friends out with me have constantly remarked
upon the extraordinary height at which this gun reaches its birds,
and the truly decisive manner in which it cuts them down. I
purposely loaded some cartridges with single "B " shot to further
test the ranging powers of this gun. Then I found that with
the gun held well forward ducks tumbled down headlong from
well-nigh incredible heights — distances that no practical shot would
think of firing at with ordinary 12-bore guns and loads.
I am convinced that on several occasions birds must have been
brought down from a height of close on 180 feet. It was astonish-
ing to see these big mallard and duck shut up suddenly like pen-
knives and drop headlong from this height, the time it took them
to reach the ground being not the least remarkable feature about
the entertainment, for it gave one ample time to take in the scene.
It was, further, worthy of note that in practically every instance
the birds had not a kick left in them when picked up, the weighty
shot pellets driven at such extremely high velocity had done their
424 Modern Sporting Gunnery
work well and cleanly, though doubtless any little life that might
have been left in the ducks would be completely knocked out by
the terrible thump received on hitting the ground.
It is, I think, unquestionable that the shooting of flighting wild
ducks is the finest and most exhilarating of any form of sport that
is offered to the shot-gun in this country. I am, of course,
speaking of overhead wild ducks ; the shooting of these birds
rising from dyke, stream or marsh is no more exciting than the
killing of grouse, partridge, or pheasant springing in front of
the gun.
The shooting of pheasants driven from a hill over guns posted
in a valley may be compared, and not unfavourably, to the sport
afforded by hand-reared wild duck, save for the fact that the latter
may be trained to offer lengthier shots and alter their course more
than do pheasants on seeing the gun.
In modern game shooting, however, there are indeed few, if
any, parallels to be found at all comparable to the shooting of
strong flighting wild ducks moving at great speed high overhead
through the gloom of a wintry twilight. The nearest that I can
call to mind is the killing of tall pheasants crossing some drive or
narrow clearing in high timber.
In shooting flighting wild ducks under these conditions, the
area of vision is so circumscribed by the gloaming light that the
time for action is often reduced to the narrowest possible limits.
No sooner is the whistle of approaching wings borne upon the
shooter's ear, than the ducks are on him like a flash. Under these
conditions the most alert and ready shots are frequently at a loss
to make really effective use of their second barrel. So situated,
I find the one-trigger, as affixed to my gun by Westley Richards,
• materially assists me in overcoming this difficulty, owing to the
rapidity with which the second discharge may be effected. More-
over, as this arrangement assures the grip of the right hand upon
the stock remaining constant, the second barrel may be fired with
increased steadiness and deadliness of aim. In fact, as I recently
apprised my gunmakers, I consider it is no exaggeration to say that
under these conditions this one-trigger increases the efficiency of the
second barrel by at least 50 per cent.
This form of winter duck flighting engenders a wonderful fascina-
Wildfowl Shooting in Great Britain 425
tion in its votaries, to whom there is no music equal to the shrill
resounding whistle of a wild duck's wings, the quick rush of a
headlong descent, and the resounding " thud " of a heavy body
striking the marsh thirty or more yards away. Night by night,
for weeks together, these past few seasons have I walked five miles
each way to and from the duck-flighting ground, and on some
occasions merely for the pleasure of seeing and hearing the fowl.
Sometimes the ducks flew too far to the right or left hand, as it
might be ; at other times they were indiscernible in the gloom, or,
possibly, fog.
But, all the same, the succeeding afternoon saw a keen gunner
or two undertaking the same ten-mile tramp — and the more
heavily laden they, the shorter seemed the homeward journey,
for there was then much to discuss respecting their past all-too-
brief period of keen excitement.
I have shot grouse, pheasant, partridge, woodcock, and snipe ;
I have shot deer and the wily wild goose, and find there are few
forms of sport to which my soul reverts with so great and keen
desire as to the shooting of flighting wild duck and wigeon in the
stormy winter twilight.
Next in importance to the common wild duck comes the
WIGEON (Anas penelope], the most abundant of the saline
surface- feed ing ducks. Some few wigeon nest in Scotland, but
these are as nothing compared with the thousands which flock
to our coasts in autumn and remain through the winter.
These fine sporting ducks, with the wild ducks and the
brent geese, are the chief objects of attraction to the punt
gunner. Wigeon usually commence to arrive about Michaelmas,
and thence onwards for two or three months they continue
coming, in greater or lesser numbers according to the direction of
the wind and the mildness or severity of the weather in northern
continental waters. The length of the wigeon is 1 8 or 19 inches ;
weight varies, according to condition, from i^ to 2 Ib. or over.
In the punt gun carrying a pound or so of shot, single " B " and
No. i are suitable sizes for the shooting of wigeon. For heavy
shoulder guns, No. i shot, and in full-choke 12-bores, the most
decisive effects are likely to be obtained from the use of No. 3
shot. Wigeon flighting is very fine and most exciting sport, and
426 Modern Sporting Gunnery
when the birds come singly the shooting must perforce be quick
and true to bag many. These birds pack more closely together
in flight than do wild ducks, and now and again at flight, a well-
directed shot from even a 12-bore will cut down two or three birds.
The PINTAIL (Anas acuta] is not a common species, although
wintering here pretty regularly. The male pintail has a long
and finely-pointed tail, and on this account is termed " sea-
pheasant" by the professional punt gunners and fishermen in
some districts. Owing to this caudal elongation, the drake
measures as much as 28 inches from bill to tail, the tail of the
female is not so long, although decidedly more pointed and lengthy
than others of the duck tribe. They are excellent table birds,
and at their best will weigh up to 2f Ib. Pintails are sometimes
found associating with wigeon, and the guns and sizes of shot
recommended for killing the latter will answer right well for the
shooting of pintail.
The TEAL (Anas crecca] is a sprightly little duck measuring
only some \\\ inches in length, and weighing up to 14 oz.
Although the least amongst our wild ducks, it ranks high in the
estimation of the sportsman as a truly excellent sporting bird.
Teal possess remarkable powers of flight, they spring from ground
or water like rockets, and a single teal whizzing overhead like
a cannon-ball in the dusk of an autumn evening proves a veritable
teaser to the most skilled flight shooter. Teal nest here in fair
quantity in certain districts, and the encouragement they are now
receiving on various sporting estates may, it is to be hoped, result
in some considerable increase of the number of these game little
fowl.
The 12-bore is the most satisfactory weapon for the inland
shooting of teal, and, all things considered, and taking shots long
and short, No. 5 is the most serviceable size of shot to employ.
When the punt gun is used, No. 2 or No. 3 may be used with
telling effect.
The GAD WALL (Anas strepera] and the SHOVELLER (Anas
clypeata) both breed in this country, but are not sufficiently com-
mon to warrant the writing of any special instructions for their
shooting. The wildfowler meets with either species only at
irregular or in more or less infrequent intervals, and on doing so
Wildfowl Shooting in Great Britain 427
may use similar guns and ammunition to those employed for the
killing of the common wild duck.
The SHELDRAKE or SHELDUCK (Tadorna cornuta\ although
a big and strikingly handsome bird, is of small account from a
sporting standpoint, and is, moreover, of small edible value. In
carriage and flight the sheldrake is more gooselike than ducklike
in appearance. Shelducks nest in some quantity in the rabbit-
holes in the sand-dunes not far from my home, and although
scores of them are to be seen on the coast in the autumn, I very
rarely pull trigger on them. Sheldrakes weigh from 3 to 4 Ib.
or about the same as brent geese, and are slightly longer, for they
measure 24 to 26 inches from point of bill to tail end.
Of the diving ducks there are some nine species : the POCHARD
(Fuligula ferlna] and TUFTED DUCK (Fuligula crhtata] are best
worth the consideration of the wildfowler from both the sporting
and the gastronomic standpoint.
Pochard are about the same length as wigeon, but weigh con-
siderably more than the latter, for in good condition they reach
up to 2 Ib. 6 oz. At some points along the coast there is fair sport
to be obtained at morning and evening flight with the pochards.
They are pretty tough fowl, and I find No. 3 shot in a 12-bore,
and No. 2 or No. i in a double 8-bore, not too large sizes of shot
to use for effectually stopping them. When feeding on inland
pools and lakes pochard are good eating, as are tufted duck. The
tufted duck, so-called from its occipital crest of feathers, which in
some birds is 3 inches long, weighs about if Ib., and is 17
inches from bill to tail.
Under some conditions of food-supply, the scaup duck is not at
all bad eating. I remember once raking a strong gang of these
birds as they crossed the bows of a small sailing-boat I was aboard,
bringing down ten of them with a 4-bore and 3^ oz. of shot.
This completes the list of the diving ducks really worth the wild-
fowler's consideration.
The LONG-TAILED DUCK (Fuligula glaclalas], which must not
be confused with the pintail, and the GOLDEN EYE (F. clangula]
are sometimes followed with an infinite amount of gusto by
the collector ; they, however, are seldom the recipients of much
attention from the true wildfowler.
428 Modern Sporting Gunnery
The EIDER DUCKS and the SCOTERS are practically worthless
from the standpoint of sport.
Next in importance to the ducks come the plovers. Of these
the GOLDEN PLOVER (Charadrius pluvialis] is both a fine sporting
and an excellent table bird. Its length is about 1 1 inches, and
weight, 8 to 10 oz.
The LAPWING or GREEN PLOVER (Vanellus cristatus) is also
a popular sporting favourite, and by some people is not con-
sidered inferior to the golden plover as an edible quantity. This
bird's egg is the bonne bouche of the gourmet.
The GREY PLOVER (Squatarola helvetica] is a more shore-
frequenting bird than the two last named. On that account it
is known in certain districts as sand plover. In other parts it
is often styled silver plover on account of its plumage, it being
speckled over with whitish spots in the same manner as is its
golden relative with yellow spots.
For shooting, these birds with shoulder guns, No. 3 shot may
be recommended in 8-bores, whenever they are moving about in
sufficient numbers to warrant the use of so large a gun. In
12-bore guns No. 5 shot will generally serve the purpose of the
plover shooter.
One of the most important amongst the larger shore birds is
the CURLEW (Numenius arquata). This long-billed fowl sometimes
reaches a length of more than 2 feet, and a fair average weight
appears to be about 'if lb., although I have shot them weighing
2j lb. On ground much shot over, the curlew is an extremely
wary bird, and by reason of his length of leg and remarkable
powers of vision, he can see a long distance around, and seldom
fails to frustrate the insidious "advances" of the crawling shore
shooter.
The WHIMBREL (Numenius phteopus] also has a curved bill,
and much resembles the curlew. It is known as " Curlew-jack "
and "Half-curlew" in some districts. Length, 16 to 18 inches ;
weight, from 12 to 16 oz.
The BAR-TAILED GODWIT (Limosa rufa] and the BLACK-
TAILED GODWIT (L. (Zgrocephala) are seen here whilst migrating
to or from their breeding grounds. The former is the smaller
and the commoner of the two, but it now seldom appears in
Wildfowl Shooting in Great Britain 429
sufficient numbers to call for the serious attention of the shore
shooter.
The REDSHANK (Totanus calidris] is a common shore bird, and
in some quarters proves a positive nuisance from its loud call-
note of alarm. This it never fails to utter on seeing the wild-
fowler, and so thoroughly arouses all the wildfowl within hearing
distance. On this account sportsmen in the Lincolnshire Wash
district have conferred on this bird the title of " policeman."
The KNOT (Tringa canutus] is the most valuable from a
culinary point of view of all the smaller shore birds. Huge flocks
of knot, thousands strong, are frequently to be seen on the flat
seaboard of the Wash, where, feeding only on the tide-laved silt
or mud flats, they are invariably as plump as partridges. A good
rake into a flock of knot with both barrels of a 12-bore may often
secure a dozen or more. With an 8-bore, and No. 3 shot, a heavy
shot may now and again be made, and then some old fisherman on
coming up to help you recover the runners, will remark, " That's
the way to mow a lane thrufF 'em, master."
The wild pigeons of these islands are capable, on occasion, of
affording as fine sport for the gun as any other birds we have.
Wood-pigeons flighting high over the tops of tall trees in a strong
wind present a form of shooting as difficult as the most skilled
gunner can wish to encounter, and few birds are more difficult
to hit than the clifF pigeons — both rock-dove and stock-dove — as
they dart and twist from out of their rocky haunts on the coast.
Pigeons require a heavy blow to bring them down, and nothing
less than No. 5 shot is of much use for them.
CHAPTER XVII
THE SPORTSWOMAN: HER RATIONALE IN THE
FIELD AND HER EQUIPMENT
DURING the last decade or so the number of
women shooters has continually increased, and
probably twenty women shoot to-day where one
did before. It is a pleasing thought that the
love of sport so long a characteristic of the
Englishman is now being increasingly shared by his womenkind.
It is not part of my task to discuss the pros and cons of ladies
in the shooting field, nor whether as sportswomen in relation to
their position in the social scheme any serious ethical principle is
involved. I am prepared to accept their position as an established
fact, and to recognize when they take a gun in their hands that
to a delight in nature they may add an intelligent display of skill
in marksmanship.
Some who have discussed the presence of ladies in the field have
argued from too narrow a view, asserting that hypersensitive-
ness is too often exhibited, and a capacity for " voluminous
chatter" (I think it has been called) given the freest play.
But in my experience this does not fairly represent the type of
woman with a love for sport who is ambitious to shoot ; and
without doubt a desirable number take to shooting because they
possess characteristics and temperaments the reverse of those
forming the subject of complaint. After all, women who take
their sport seriously will be treated seriously by men.
As women so frequently participate in other sports, such as
hunting, cycling and fishing, becoming adepts in all, and, further-
more, in many instances even outrivalling the achievements of
the sterner sex, there is to the impartial mind no factor which
430
The Sportswoman 431
could lead one to argue that they should not bring to the shooting
field the same enthusiasm, and attain the same proficiency which
they show in other fields of sport.
Modern improvements have rendered easier their entree into
the sporting arena, foremost amongst these is smokeless powder,
which, besides being cleaner than black gunpowder, has reduced
recoil, and thus permitted the use of much lighter and handier
guns. Recoil is frequently the bete noire of the novice, and this
whether the subject be a sparsely-built man or an average woman.
The old recoil given by black powder under such circumstances
punished certain people to a degree which would be regarded as
objectionable by the lustiest sportsman of to-day. This physical
objection, together with the subsequent headache which more or
less affects certain sportsmen even when using smokeless powder,
often held back the aspiring sportswoman from venturing upon the
practice of shooting or gave a rude check to her hasty enthusiasm.
Moreover, at that date knowledge and experience concerning
the most suitable model of the sportswoman's gun, its stock, shape
and measurements, were necessarily limited, and ardent sports-
women of the past have doubtless suffered from weapons so ill-
fitting as actually to increase to the verge of severity the existing
unpleasantness of recoil. And this was so even though light guns
and small charges were used.
Now-a-days, to the enormous advantage accruing from lighter
guns shooting smokeless powder, we can add the improvement in
constructing guns on rational lines to suit a woman's build and
needs ; and with such improvements there is no reason why the
regiment of women shooters should not in the course of time
become a respectable army.
Like men there is no doubt they have the same instincts, and
the same outlook as regards the killing of game. The equality of
their position in this matter is proved, I think, from the fact that
all sportsmen hate to wound and prefer to kill. In this we have
the simple humane instinct which recognizes that to cause pain is
an unnecessary part of sport ; the delight in the chase and in the
contest of man with his prey forming the real excitement of
shooting.
If these facts be accepted, women shooters, from their very
432 Modern Sporting Gunnery
nature, will approach the subject from the same standpoint, and
on these grounds I believe it to be the duty of all sportsmen to
encourage lady shooters and to make their companionship in the
field all the more delightful by helping them to pursue the sport of
shooting in as manly a spirit as possible, and to kill clean.
The battle of the bores, or the question as to the superiority or
otherwise of the 12- and i6-bore, which has been carried on for
the past thirty years, has given the victory to the 12-bore so far as
men are concerned.
In these days the discussion seems to us somewhat superfluous,
and this no doubt because we have to meet different and easier
conditions. If, like our forefathers, we were compelled to use
black powder and had to construct our weapons of sufficient
weight to withstand the heavy recoil given by this powder, we
should express no surprise at the agitation then set on foot for the
purpose of meeting the difficulty of recoil by a gun of smaller
bore and consequently of lighter weight, which became all the
more comfortable to shoot by reason of the reduced powder and
shot charge employed.
In the days we are speaking of the 12-bore gun had perforce to
weigh at least 6| lb., and many guns of this bore weighed even
7 lb. or more ; and yet they were constructed and regulated for
only 3 dr. of black powder and i^ oz. of shot. It is true that
occasionally i^ oz. of shot was used. Such a weight of gun
for a normal charge was unduly cumbersome and fatiguing ;
moreover, many sportsmen, notwithstanding the heavy weight in
comparison with the load, used to complain of violent recoil.
Indeed, instances are recorded of many sportsmen who, to obviate
this unpleasant recoil, had recourse to a i6-bore charge for their
12-bore guns, the charge being 2| dr. of black and I oz. of shot.
Thus we see that the old order of things presented two serious
difficulties : first, the heavy weight of the gun, and second, undue
recoil. In order to remove the difficulty of weight some authorities
advocated the i6-bore. This arrangement both lessened weight
and recoil as compared with the 12-bore gun when using its full
game charge, 3 dr. and i-J oz.
The weight of the i6-bore gun of that day was 6^ lb., or
practically the weight of a modern 12-bore, although there is no
The Sportswoman 433
doubt that the recoil of this i6-bore gun with its black powder
charge was slightly heavier than that of a modern 12-bore using a
normal charge of nitro powder and shot.
We see from the foregoing statement that the advocates of
the i6-bore in those days had full warranty for their position. No
one may dispute the fact that a y-lb. gun of 12-bore and a black
powder charge form a very unpleasant combination for the game
shooter. Nevertheless, the i6-bore, although popular in some
circles, never came into general use, from the fact that the lighter
charge of shot employed involved a reduction of efficiency in the
field as compared with a larger charge of shot fired from the
FIG. 205. — SIDE VIEW OF LIGHT 12-BORE GUN FOR LADY.
12-bore it was to supplant. Had it been capable of equal per-
formance with the 12-bore, coupled with its other advantages, it
would have rendered discussion superfluous, and the i6-bore would
have gained the victory.
But its one shortcoming as compared with the 12-bore, although
not of sufficient importance to outweigh the advantages it con-
ferred, left just that weak spot for the attacks of its opponents, and
thus it was that the vexed question of 12- and i6-bores seemed to
have become a perennial theme of discussion.
Concerning the subject of game guns for women shooters, we
derive considerable knowledge and guidance from the experience
of sportsmen themselves and from the guns they use. The average
12-bore game gun, as we have seen, is admitted to be the best
28
434 Modern Sporting Gunnery
type of weapon for all-round sport in this country ; it weighs about
6 Ib. 10 oz., has 3O-inch barrels, the right barrel cylinder and the
left a modified choke. There are doubtless many varieties of this
FIG. 206. — TOP VIEW OF LIGHT i2-BORE GUN FOR LADY.
type, in which exist modifications of the boring, length of barrel,
weight, charge of powder and shot, but none of these constitute a
vital deviation from the general pattern.
This gun may be said to suit the needs of the average sports-
man ; no man, as a rule, desires to have a lighter weapon, nor
The Sportswoman 435
suffers any inconvenience on the score of recoil from a 12-bore
gun of this weight shooting the normal load with nitro powder.
But there are men and men, and certain temperaments on the
part of some and physical characteristics of others necessitate lighter
guns and lessened recoil. It is from such guns that we obtain that
guiding information to assist us in forming definite and practical •
conclusions as to the best type of weapon to be recommended
for women, weapons which they can handle with ease and com-
fort and with the highest effectiveness.
Guns of 12-bore have been constructed, and are being used
with considerable success, which weigh under 5f lb., the barrels
being 28 inches long. They are indeed capable of shooting the
full 12-bore charge, and under modern conditions the recoil is not
excessive. It is, however, to be recommended that such light
weapons should be used with only 40 grs. of nitro powder and
i oz. of shot ; with such a load the recoil is even less than with
a i6-bore of the same weight carrying a full i6-bore charge.
So great is the skill of the modern gunmaker that there need be
no apprehension as to the killing pattern. This is a question of
skilful boring and regulating, these light guns being constructed to
give, with the ounce charge of shot at a distance of 40 yards, a
pattern on a 3<D-inch circle in every way equal to that of the
ordinary 12-bore game gun, 3O-inch barrel, cylinder and modified
choke, shooting the full charge of powder and ij oz. of shot.
I give illustrations of one of these light 12-bores made by
Messrs. Westley Richards (Figs. 205, 206 and 207). The
dimensions and weight of this gun are as follow —
Length of barrels . . .28 inches
Weight of barrels . . . 2 lb. 8 oz.
„ „ stock . . . 2 lb. 9! oz.
„ „ fore-end . . . yf- oz.
Total weight . 5 lb. 9^ oz.
This gun has been in regular use for eleven years, and is prac-
tically as sound and tight as on the day it first left the makers'
hands.
436 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Such guns are handy, comfortable and quick to align, and there-
fore it will readily be perceived that the i6-bore of practically the
same weight cannot compare with them. Not only have such
guns been built for sportsmen of slight figure, but they have
answered admirably both for youths whose stature and build are
above the average as well as for ladies' use, and these guns are
doing good service. In the face of these facts there will be little
difficulty in understanding that the i6-bore is not such a keen
competitor of the 12-bore as it was in the black powder days.
Those who still believe in the i6-bore must rather rest their
arguments upon sentiment than upon the ground of solid facts.
FIG. 207. — UNDERSIDE OF GUN, LIGHT i2-BORE, FOR LADY.
Their recommendations of the i6-bore are shorn or all the facts
and conditions which made them valid in the past.
Nevertheless, it may be considered that other points enter into
the question than those of weight and recoil formerly mentioned.
For instance, it may be urged that it is impossible, no matter how
light, to make a 12-bore gun of such slim or slender proportions
as a i6-bore; that the grasp of the stock and the fore-part of
the gun must of necessity be thicker and bigger than they are
in a i6-bore, and that in short the i6-bore is founded upon
smaller and more delicate lines.
This is a practical and real objection which only holds good in
certain cases ; for although the light 12-bores alluded to are made
The Sportswoman 437
small and easy to handle, and how small they seem in comparison
with the 12-gauge of the past, nevertheless I am prepared to
admit that in the case of some women the size of the stock and
of the gun as a whole would constitute an objection to the ordinary
1 2-bore.
It is obvious that a woman's hand being so much smaller than
a man's, could not comfortably grasp a 1 2-bore stock as a man's
does. It has only to be looked at from the fact that while No. 7
would be a small hand for a man, No. 6 J is by no means a small but
a good comfortable-sized hand for a woman. Of course it is possible
to make the grasp of a 1 2-bore stock much thinner on these light
guns than on the average weight. Shooting as they do a reduced
charge of powder and shot, these light guns do not need the same
thickness or strength of wood as the ordinary 1 2-bore, and a greater
degree of slenderness is furthermore made practicable by construct-
ing the mechanism smaller and more compact.
Modern improvements have, in short, enabled the gunmaker to
make all parts of his gun considerably lighter from end to end
than was possible with a j-\b. gun of the past, and still to maintain
the same strength and durability. For those, therefore, who can
handle a 1 2-bore made on these more intelligent lines, I consider
a light gun, 1 2-bore, to weigh not over 5^ lb., makes an ideal gun
for the sportswoman.
I mentioned earlier that proper fitting had helped to render the
sport of shooting popular with women. We recognize the
importance of a correct fit to a sportsman, but it must be borne
in mind that the knowledge of a sportsman's requirements and of
what ranks as a correct fit have been derived from years of laborious
and varied experience. It has not been possible to gain similar
experience with regard to the essential points of fit for a woman,
from the fact that ladies' orders for guns were actually " angels'
visits."
It may therefore be supposed that there are few gunmakers who
can speak with authority upon the proper construction and form of
gun for a woman's use, but, nevertheless, there are some whose
experience entitles them to do so. Fit, for woman's shooting, may
well be considered of far more importance than in the case of the
sportsman. It is the one point which may, if properly attended to,
438 Modern Sporting Gunnery
eliminate that natural feeling of nervousness engendered by the
firing of the gun. If the gun fits, the gun does not "kick," nor
would it bruise, whereas with these objections present confidence
in oneself is considerably lessened. We all know that when
shooting to flinch is fatal.
While upon this question of confidence in one's gun, it may be
remarked that an argument in favour of a 12-bore is, that it fore-
stalls a good deal of unpleasant criticism which is likely to arise.
A miss with a small bore, although under the same conditions it
might easily have been credited to a 12-bore, from mere contempt
excites no surprise when shooting with men.
It is an undoubted fact that men using light 12-bores, as
compared with those using heavier guns, render a very good
account of themselves, and can shoot with the best. This being
so, such weapons cannot be regarded with contempt, or made the
subject of ridicule. When, however, a lady is shooting with a small
bore, her gun is frequently regarded as a mere toy, and no doubt
unintentionally, is made light of. By using a 12-bore, the superior
attitude denoted, which is not conducive to an even temper, has no
semblance of cause for existence.
But, reverting to the question of fit, sportswomen would do well
to be careful in the selection of the maker, and be assured that he
has had experience of building guns for women. Of course, all
gunmakers will assert that they are capable of this work, and some
of them have gone even further, and have advertised that they
" build guns for old gentlemen and ladies," as if shooting were a
common pastime of our grandmothers.
I give below a few particulars as to the guns that I know
have performed satisfactorily when in the hands of women
shooters —
First, the 12-bore,
quarter pistol grip,
delicately formed, or
Maximum weight, 5f Ib.
Minimum „ 5^ Ib.
Length of barrels, 28 inches.
Charge, 40 grs. of bulk nitro and I oz.
No. 6 shot.
Pattern : right, 140 pellets.
„ left, 190 pellets.
The Sportswoman 439
With the ff Ib. gun weight, 42 grs. and i -fy oz. may be used.
Should the recoil be found unpleasant, an anti-recoil rubber heel-
plate will obviate it.
Maximum weight, 5^ Ib.
Minimum „ $4- Ib.
Second, the io-bore, o • i
, Length of barrels, 28 inches,
quarter pistol grip, '
1 ,. , r j c Charge, 35 grs. bulk nitro and ?- oz.
delicately formed, or )
• -h • No. 6 shot.
Pattern : right, 130 pellets.
„ left, 1 80 pellets.
An alternative i6-bore is one weighing 5f Ib. to shoot 38 grs.
of powder and I oz. of shot. The extra charge gives a higher
velocity. Recoil is not such as to cause inconvenience provided
a gun of this weight is properly constructed.
( Maximum weight, 5 Ib. 6 oz.
Third, the 20-bore, Minimum 5 Ib. 2 oz.
i . Length or barrels, 2o inches,
quarter pistol grip, I run- j *
j i. i r j ( Charge, 32 grs. of bulk nitro and 4 to f
delicately formed, or
. , . oz. No. 6.
straight grip.
Pattern: right, 120 pellets.
„ left, 150 pellets.
Lighter guns can be built by further shortening the barrels, but
in the interests of the safety of fellow-sportsmen in the field, short
barrels are generally to be condemned.
No general rule can be laid down as to the measurements of
the stock of a woman's gun. There are certain fixed lines of
construction which hold good, although they differ from those
which govern the construction of the man's gun. But apart
from this, a woman requires the length of stock, bend, and cast-oft
as accurately ascertained by actual trial as is the case with the
sportsman, and these measurements will, of course, vary with the
individual.
High-class modern guns are now made to handle so smoothly,
and to work so easily, that gunmakers need no instruction upon
44° Modern Sporting Gunnery
this score. But those 'qualities, nevertheless, should especially dis-
tinguish the woman's gun. .There should be no sharp corners or
edges, the trigger-guard on either side should be rounded, the
triggers of delicate construction, and having a smooth and round
surface. The opening and closing of the breech should require no
effort, and the ejection should be of faultless reliability.
The precise Form assumed by that portion of the gun-stock
which is grasped by the right hand in firing, known technically
as the "hand" or "grip" is a matter, perhaps, best left to in-
dividual taste to decide. I have known women who have stated
that the " pistol-hand " stock is an aid to holding the gun squarely
to the eye and to the shoulder, particularly where small hands and
thin stocks are concerned. Most men prefer the straight hand
stock upon their 12-bore game guns. Guns of small calibre, 28-
gauge and the like, are usually made with a slight pistol-hand, less
than even the modified form known as the half pistol-hand, and
which may be termed quarter pistol-hand.
HER GRACE THE DUCHESS OF BEDFORD.
To face page 441.
CHAPTER XVIII
LADIES IN THE FIELD
BY HER GRACE THE DUCHESS OF BEDFORD.
IF possible, I think women should begin their shooting
career by shooting rabbits with a single-barrelled rifle.
It is a safer weapon in the hands of a novice than a
gun ; there is only one barrel, and shots must be
taken with more deliberation. The tendency of all
beginners is to shoot too quickly, and though the rifle may make
them a little too slow with the gun at first, it is a fault on the
right side. The beginner also learns to appreciate the value of
silence in the field, and by stalking her prey learns the real pleasure
and excitement of sport, which will never be appreciated by the
one who has begun at a pheasant battue. The rabbit shooting may,
with advantage, be varied by wood-pigeon and rook shooting, if
opportunity offers. For this purpose I have used a "360 Express
rifle with a small bullet, and the same rifle with a larger bullet can
afterwards be used for deer-stalking. When proficient with the
rifle I recommend a i6-bore gun. A i6-bore gives the average
woman a better chance of holding her own with the 12-bore
generally used by men. The charge I have found most suitable
for a i6-bore is 35 grs. Amberite and i oz. No. 5^ shot. My own
gun weighs about 5| lb., which is less than many 20-bores, the reduc-
tion in weight being obtained by having 28-inch barrels, and not
by diminishing their thickness. Thus equipped, with sufficient
practice, good sight, and a due regard for the laws of sport, there is
nothing to prevent a woman more than holding her own with the
majority of sportsmen using 12-bores.
In the matter of dress I draw a distinct line between the woman
who shoots and the one who goes out to watch other people
441
442 Modern Sporting Gunnery
shooting and to attend shooting luncheons. The latter can wear
any becoming walking costume which fashion and her tailor may
dictate; but having learnt what is neatest and most appropriate for
the sport the former should disregard fashion as completely as her
fellow-sportsmen. Coat, skirt, cap, and gaiters should all be made
of the same material, viz. a tweed, varying in thickness according
to the season of the year. The colour should assimilate as nearly
as possible with the natural surroundings of the wearer, /. e.
heather mixtures of brown, grey and green. The materials should
be well shrunk and water-proofed before being made up. And here
let me add that it is quite unnecessary for the sportswoman to
sacrifice her appearance at close quarters by wearing the startling
checks and plaids affected by the deer-stalker, and said to render him
inconspicuous on the hillside. The coat and skirt must be perfectly
plain, and the latter without lining — and above all without the
leather trimming or binding so dear to the heart of the tailor.
Sleeves should be loose enough to allow of free play of the arms,
and of wearing thick clothing underneath when required. There
should be two pockets, large enough to hold from 15 to 20 car-
tridges, in the coat, and a larger one on the outside of the front of
the skirt.
It is impossible for a woman to do a long day's walking in
comfort, over the moors or in turnips, in a skirt which is longer
than 8 inches below the knee. For those who can afford it, a
second skirt reaching to within some 3 or 4 inches of the ankle,
for use at covert-shooting parties, is less likely to excite comment
amongst those who are more critical of shooting costume than ot
evening dress. Gaiters should reach to the knee, and be fastened
to the band of the knickerbockers, and if the latter are made of the
same material it adds to the neatness of the costume. As long as
the cap matches the dress the shape is a matter for individual taste,
but the yachting cap now used by motorists has, by general
consent, proved the best for wind and rain. If the material is well
shrunk before being made up it does not get out of shape, and the
peak is a great protection from sun and rain. Boots should have
light nails and perfectly straight, broad heels ; the soles projecting
slightly beyond the uppers, as in men's shooting boots.
Under the coat I recommend a flannel shirt, which can be worn
s*»'Si
HER GRACE THE DUCHESS OF BEDFORD.
To face page 442.
Ladies in the Field 443
with or without the coat ; and if a small strap is worn round the
waist, a woman can carry her own coat almost without noticing it.
Most people who have been out grouse driving in October,
know what it is to get hot in a long tramp over rough ground,
between the drives, and then to have to wait in a cold wind with-
out additional clothing. The arrangement I have suggested enables
a woman to walk in comfort, and to have an additional garment
to put on for the wait. A woman who shoots should never allow
her fellow-sportsmen to carry anything for her. Men are more
or less bound to offer, but under these circumstances she should
feel equally bound to refuse.
A woman should have a long probationary period of shooting
by herself or with one other gun, before she joins large shooting
parties, and if she has the true instinct of sport, I believe that a
small mixed bag obtained by herself when carrying her own game
and cartridges will always give her greater pleasure than her largest
day's covert shooting, where she may kill her birds by hundreds.
The etiquette and laws of sport being much the same for sports-
women as for men, I will only touch upon two or three of the
most important breaches of these laws to which women are said to
be prone. Of these, dangerous and jealous shooting (neither the
exclusive prerogative of sportswomen) are the worst. If a woman
does not know when she has fired a risky shot, and repent it
abjectly, I really do not know what I can say to make her. In
cases where she is not hostess, her shooting invitations will prob-
ably diminish ; where she is hostess, her guests will show a dis-
inclination to return. Accidents are most likely to happen when
walking up game ; it should therefore be the rule to be perpetually
on the look-out to see where the other guns and the beaters are,
also that no outsider has walked within shot.
Jealous shooting is more easily warned against. Men with good
manners are sometimes a little over-careful when shooting with
women, and leave them birds which are in reality their own.
Women should look out for this, and do as they would be done
by. On the other hand there are men who, when their neighbour
is a woman, will take every bird that they think is a long shot for
her, c< because she has only a 16- or 2O-bore." This is trying ;
but a few birds killed at the same distance when the offending
444 Modern Sporting Gunnery
gun is otherwise engaged may have the desired effect. Many
people shoot their birds too close, and, though not obviously
mangled, render them unfit for table use. Some do it because
they can only shoot birds coming to them ; others, because they
are afraid of the bird getting to their neighbour; but, whatever
the cause, women should remember that they are not butchers but
sportswomen. The woman who has learnt to shoot by walking
up her game alone, will have a better idea of the distance at which
her gun can kill than the one who begins at the covert-side. To
her, also, I feel that the warning will be unnecessary against
talking or walking before a drive or beat. But as all may not be
able to learn in this way, it may be as well to remind the novice
that, even though there is a long time to wait before beaters arrive,
the ever- watchful bird, hidden in heather, grass, or brushwood, has
noticed that the moving object in the distance is to be avoided
when he rises. Where he goes, others who have not been on the
look-out will follow, and the beat or drive will be spoilt.
Observance of the following rules will complete the education
of the beginner, so far as it is possible to learn from a book, only
practice will do the rest —
Always hold your gun, whether loaded or not, as if it were
loaded, i.e. in such a position that, did it go off accidentally, it
would injure no one.
Do not carry it across the bend of the left arm.
Never take it for granted that your gun is unloaded — look and
see.
Always unload your gun when getting over a wall or fence.
Never fire a risky shot.
When shooting with others, stand where you are placed by
your host, and do not move.
If told somewhat vaguely where to stand, be sure that you are
in a line with the other guns, even if you are not at the distance
from hedge or cover which suits you best.
Never follow ground or winged game across your neighbour,
even if you do not mean to shoot till it has passed him.
A jealous shot is a nuisance to himself and an abomination to
his neighbour.
Ladies in the Field
445
Load your gun with barrels down, and close it by tipping the
stock up, not the barrels.
Do not fire long shots at hares.
Avoid boasting that a bird was hit even though not killed. It
is a matter for regret, not for boasting.
First aim at being a safe shot, and then a brilliant one, for to
kill and not to wound should be the aim of every sportswoman.
Note that nearly every bird is missed by shooting below or
behind.
j
THE DUCHESS OF BEDFORD'S RUCKSACK.
CHAPTER XIX
SHOOTING ABROAD
The necessary Armament — The -Import Duties on Guns, Rifles, and
Cartridges — The Sport to be obtained.
ARMS SUITABLE FOR KILLING BlG GAME.
ELEPHANT.— Modern High Velocity Express rifles
of the following bores : "400, "450, -500 ; whilst
for absolute shock-giving properties Sir Samuel
Baker's advice may be followed, viz. a -577 — which
size has been much improved, and is an altogether
more formidable weapon since that mighty elephant-hunter's day.
The highest development of "577 rifle shoots 100 grs. of cordite
and 750 grs. bullet, and gives tremendous smashing power. As an
alternative the '6oobore, 100 grs. cordite and 900 grs. bullet may
be used.
RHINOCEROS. — The above rifles will answer for this pachyderm.
If a small bore rifle is taken, as some sportsmen appear to prefer —
I have heard of rhino being shot at close quarters with "256-
bores — this may well take the form of the new Accelerated
Express *375/'3O3, Axite powder and 215 grs. bullet, or the new
'3i8-bore.
HIPPOPOTAMUS. — '360 to '400 H. V. Express rifles ; the new
Accelerated Express above mentioned is a most suitable arm for
this big game.
BUFFALO. — A -450 H. V. Express or even a -577 H. V.
Express, for this powerful and dangerous animal requires a heavy
blow to render him incapable of harm.
LION. — A -360 to -450 H. V. Express.
TIGER. — A -450 with capped bullet. A i2-bore ball- and
shot-gun, especially of the Explora type, with its highly expansive
" all-lead " bullet, will prove a remarkably handy and deadly
weapon for shooting tiger in thick jungle.
446
Shooting Abroad 447
BEAR. — For big strong grizzly bear a -400 H. V. Express.
For black or brown bear a less powerful weapon will serve.
The '256 rifle has been used with success at black bear.
CHAMOIS. — Nothing less than -375 H. V. Express with 40 grs.
cordite and a u W. R." copper-capped bullet.
CROCODILE. — An Accelerated Express "375/*303 or a *3i8-bore.
A i2-bore Explora will answer well.
ALLIGATOR. — An Accelerated Express *375/'3C>3. Also a
12-bore Explora.
DEER AND LARGE ANTELOPE. — May be shot with any Express
rifle of small bore — '375/'3O3 Accelerated Express answers admir-
ably. The new shot- and ball-gun, of '558-bore, called the
" Fauneta," of exceptional power and high velocity, and with two
forms of bullet, (i) for expansion, and (2) for ranging power and
penetration, will suffice for nearly every form of soft-skinned
animal. It moreover is found an excellent all-round weapon
where meat has to be shot for camp, shooting as it does bullet or
small shot.
The '256-bore H. V. rifle has been popular in various quarters
for use in many phases of big-game shooting, but some experienced
sportsmen declare it does not stop the game, the light bullet having
excessive penetration and little shock-imparting power.
The following epitome of the various countries, the Game, big
and little, to be found therein, the Import Duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges has been very carefully compiled, the latest avail-
able information having been obtained, and should prove a handy
guide for those sportsmen who contemplate going abroad in search
of sport.
Import duties on Guns. Rifles* 07 , , . .
i n • , bbootmjr to be obtained
and Cartridges
ALBANIA.
Arms prohibited, ex- Woodcock appear on
cept by Turkish permit the coast about the first
endorsed by British Am- week in December, con-
bassador at Constant!- tinuing until end of
nople. Duty, 8 per cent. January. The large
ad vaL game consists of bear
Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rfles
and Cartridges
ANTIGUA.
Guns, £i 6s. %d. each.
Pistols, 135. 4fd. each.
Other arms, 13^ per
cent, ad vat. Gun-
powder, 8*/. per Ib.
Cartridges and other
ammunition, 15 per cent.
ad val.
Shooting to be obtained
and chamois ; wild pigs
and roe deer may be
found where there is
good covert. The birds
consist of woodcock,
snipe, ducks, plover,
teal, quail, etc. -400
double rifle or "375
will suit for both bear
and chamois.
See
INDIES.
under WEST
ARGENTINE REPUBLIC (BUENOS AYRES).
Duty, 50 per cent, ad The game consists of
val. on guns and rifles.
jaguar, puma, deer,
guanaco, vicuna, hares,
cavies, rheas, swans, geese,
ducks, partridges, doves,
snipe, and plover. Take
strong light clothing. 2 8-
bore Explora, 24~bores,
28-bores, and 32-bores.
Climate varies con-
siderably.
Shooting Abroad
449
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
ASIA MINOR.
Shooting to be obtained
See TURKEY AND ALBANIA. The game of Southern
Asia Minor consists of
wild boar, fallow deer,
gazelles, wolves, hyaenas,
leopards, and hares, and
on the mountains red
deer, ibex, and lynx.
The birds are partridges,
francolin, quail, and black-
cock. A i2-bore ball-
and shot-gun would fill
the bill pretty well here.
For red deer, ibex, and
leopard a *375/*3O3
might be taken.
Climate unhealthy in
autumn, it improves in
November.
AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH.
Military match and
cadet rifles free. Sport-
ing rifles and shot-guns,
10 per cent, ad val.
Revolvers, pistols, air-
guns and pistols, 15 per
cent, ad val. Cartridges
free. A duty of 5*. per
cwt. on shot, bullets, and
slugs. Sporting powder
free. The duty is now
under revision, and may
shortly be somewhat in-
creased.
29
Kangaroos, opossums,
wombats, bandicoots, and
echidna. Birds are
numerous : running
emus, cassowaries, king-
fishers, black swans, lyre
birds, bower birds, doves,
ducks, geese, and sea-
birds, bronze-wing
pigeons, topnot pigeons,
wonga pigeons, quail,
bustard.
450 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.
Guns and rifles, £2
55. 9^. per cwt. Gun-
powder and cartridges
can only be imported by
special permission. Gun-
powder, £2 135. \d. per
cwt. Cartridges, £2 135.
4<y. per cwt. Caps, £i
45. $d. per cwt.
Shooting to be obtained
Fur and large game :
Wild boar, deer, wild
goat, bear, wolf, lynx,
fox, wild cat, jackal, otter,
beaver, pole-cat, marten,
weasel, hare. In Chapter
XV is given the official
bag of Austrian game for
1905.
Feather : Eagle, hawk,
and 24 8 species of
smaller birds.
Mean temperature :
59° F. in south, 48° F.
in north.
BAHAMAS, W.I.I.
20 per cent, ad val.
Gunpowder, %d. per Ib.
Other ammunition, 20
per cent, ad val.
See under WEST INDIES.
BANGKOK (SIAM).
3 per cent, ad val. for
guns, rifles, and revolvers.
Elephant, rhinoce-
ros, tapir.
Climate tropical, but
fairly healthy. April
hottest month.
Shooting Abroad
451
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
Shooting to be obtained
BARBADOES.
All firearms IDS. each, Hardly any shooting
and 20 per cent, on total except for a month or so
of duty leviable. Gun- during the wet season,
powder free. All other
ammunition TO per cent.
ad va/., and 20 per cent,
on the amount of duty.
BASUTOLAND.
BECHUANALAND.
See SOUTH AFRICA.
Game, rhinoceros,
buffalo, zebra, quagga,
rhebuck, duiker, klip-
springer, steinbuck, ele-
phant, giraffe, eland. The
shooting of the above is
regulated by the Large
Game Preservation Pro-
clamation (excepting
rhebuck, klipspringer,
duiker, and steinbuck).
The close season is from
Oct. ist to Feb. 28th.
The issue of licences is
at the discretion of the
Resident Commissioner.
BELGIUM.
Absolutely free. Shot, There is very little
10 per cent, ad val. game shooting to be ob-
Gunpowder, 6s. id. per tained ; it is let in every
cwt. direction, and is by no
means easy to get, it
452 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
BERMUDA.
Military and naval arms
free. All other arms, 50
per cent, ad val.
BORNEO.
Shooting to be obtained
being the custom of the
local proprietors to keep
the shooting to themselves.
Fur and large game :
Tiger, leopard, elephant,
civet, tapir, mungoose,
monkey tribe, wild cattle.
Feather : Trogon,
shrike, rainbird, pheasant,
barbet, woodpeckers, etc.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 90° F.
BRAZIL.
Single-barrel guns and
rifles, each 5000 reis and
50 per cent, ad val.
Double-barrel guns and
rifles, each 1000 reis and
50 per cent, ad vat.
Fur and large game :
Jaguar, puma, peccary,
tapir, capybara, marmoset,
sloth, Brazilian dog, lobo
(wolf), raccoon, opossum,
paca, armadillo, four
species of deer tribe.
Feathered : 1700
species of Brazilian birds,
bat, vampire, toucan tribe,
falcon, owl, vulture, etc.
Mean temperature :
63° F. (Rio Janeiro) to
85° F. (Cerara).
Shooting Abroad
453
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
BRITISH COLUMBIA.
See CANADA.
BRITISH EAST AFRICA.
Via Mombasa, the
present duty is £2 per
weapon, whether guns or
rifles, single or double-
barrel, and when the £2
is paid, the Customs'
House marks every
weapon on the stock.
Ammunition is charged
for duty at 10 per cent.
ad val.
Shooting to be obtained
Plenty of shooting and
fishing. Best time for
camping out, June to
October. $50 licence
must be obtained. Bears,
wolves, panthers, deer,
wapiti, caribou, moose,
mountain sheep, goats,
grouse, partridges, quail,
pheasants, ducks, geese,
and plover.
A non-resident sports-
man's licence cost ^50.
With this two specimens
of each of the following
species of game may be
killed or captured : —
Elephant (males only),
rhinoceros, hippopotamus,
zebra (other than moun-
tain zebra), antelopes
and gazelles. Class A—
oryx (gemsbok, colotis,
or beisa), hippotragus
(sable or roan), strepsi-
ceros (kudu), aard-varks
(orycteropus), serval,
cheetah, aard-wolf, colobi
and other fur monkeys,
smaller monkeys, ostrich
(male only), marabous,
egret. Of the following
454 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
species ten of each may
be killed : — Antelopes
and gazelles. Class B —
any species than those in
Class A. Chevrotains
(dorcatherium), wild pig
of each species, the smaller
cats, jackal. There is no
restriction as to the
number of lions, leopards,
crocodiles, etc. which may
be killed, and for the
shooting of these animals
no licence is required. A
settler's licence costing
but ;£io permits the kill-
ing of a restricted bag
of certain game animals.
There, however, appears
to be no restrictions as to
the number of licences
that are .issued, and this
fact may counteract the
good intended by the
regulations limiting the
bag. I am informed by
some sportsmen that
under the present con-
ditions they think that
five years will " see the
thing out," unless licences
also are limited by the
administration.
Maximum temperature
98°, minimum 60°.
Shooting Abroad
455
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
BRITISH GUIANA.
Muzzle-loading guns,
45. id. each. Revolvers
and pistols, £i os. iod..
each. All other arms,
15 per cent, ad va/.
Cartridges, 6s. $d. per
100. Cases, is. id. per
100. Caps, id. per 100.
Shot, id. per Ib. Gun-
powder and fuses', \d. per
Ib. Other explosives,
lod. per Ib.
BRITISH HONDURAS.
Rifles, js. i\d. each.
Revolvers and pistols,
us. \d. each. All other
arms, 10 per cent, ad va!.
Gunpowder, i\d. per Ib.
Blasting gunpowder, \d.
per Ib. Other explosives,
i o per cent, ad va/.
BRITISH INDIA.
BRITISH NEW GUINEA.
10 per cent, ad va!.
Cartridges or cartridge-
cases, 10 per cent, ad va/.
Gunpowder and dyna-
mite, 3^. per Ib. Shot
and bullets, is. ^.d. per
cwt. Fuses, 10 per cent.
ad va!.
Shooting to be obtained
Game consists of tapirs,
jaguars, pumas, deer,
bush-hog, ant-bear, wild
ducks, turkeys, birds
locally known as pheas-
ants and partridges.
Climate warm but not
oppressive. Take tropical
outfit.
Fur and big game :
Jaguar, puma, ocelot,
alligator, lizard, etc.
Feather : Vulture, tou-
can, hawk, turkey, buz-
zard. Aquatic birds
numerous.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 60° F. to 70° F.
See INDIA.
456 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
BUENOS AYRES.
50 per cent.' ad vat.
BULGARIA.
Military weapons pro-
hibited. Sporting guns
and rifles, 14 per cent.
ad vat. Gunpowder, £2
55. 7*/. per cwt. Car-
tridges, £1 i6s. nd. per
cwt.
BURMA.
CAIRO.
CALIFORNIA.
Shooting to be obtained
Game at reasonable
distance by rail, consists
of deer, partridges, doves,
snipe, and ducks.
Fur and big game :
Bear (secluded districts
of the Balkans), red and
roe deer, chamois, wild
boar, wolves (numerous),
hares.
Feather : Eagle, bus-
tard, pheasant, snipe, wild-
fowl, partridge, wood-
cock, quail, hoopoe, etc.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : Balkans, 37° F. ;
Sofia, 30° F.
NOTE. — In the districts
extending from the Bal-
kans to the Danube, the
winter cold is intense.
See INDIA.
See EGYPT.
Deer, elk, antelope,
sheep, fawn are protected.
Quail, partridges,
grouse, and rails from
October i to March i.
Climate salubrious and
enjoyable.
Shooting Abroad 457
Import duties on Guns. Rifles, 07 . , , 7-7
f , „ .7 o hooting lo be obtained,
and Lartndges
CANADA.
Arms for army use Fur and large game :
free. Guns, rifles, air- Moose (forests of the
guns, pistols, revolvers, Mackenzie Valley and
and other firearms, 30 northern part of British
per cent, ad vat. British Columbia, Nova Scotia
preferential tariff is sub- and New Brunswick),
ject to reduction of one- badger, caribou (forests
third. Arms from Ger- of the Dominion), Vir-
many are subject to addi- ginia deer, puma, cougar
tional sur-tax of one- or mountain lion, wild
third. Gunpowders, cat, Canada lynx, grey
1*48^. per Ib. Cartridges, wolf, fox, wolverine
cases, etc., 30 per cent, (wooded regions of the
ad vaL British preferen- North- West), weasel,
tial tariff applies. mink, skunk, otter, rac-
coon (Eastern and Pacific
provinces), bear, black
and grizzly (central part
of British Columbia and
the Rockies), polar bear
(shores of the Arctic),
antelope, American elk
(wapiti), coyote, bison
(practically extinct),
mountain goat, musk ox,
seal (Arctic coast), mar-
ten, pine marten, pekan.
Feather : Golden eagle,
hawk, owl, partridge,
grouse, ptarmigan, os-
prey, the fisher, etc. The
sea-birds include a great
variety of wild geese,
ducks, and other wild-
458 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
CANARY ISLANDS.
CAPE COLONY.
CELEBES.
CEYLON.
Guns, rifles, and car-
bines, single-barrel, 5
rupees each ; double-
barrel, revolving or maga-
zine, 10 rupees each.
Pistols, revolvers or
Shooting to be obtained
fowl, gulls, cormorants,
fulmars, petrels, etc.
Mean temperature :
Ontario, 19° F. (winter),
69° F. (summer) ; British
Columbia, 22° F. (winter),
72° F. (summer) ; Mon-
treal, 1 6° F. (winter),
72° F. (summer).
Shooting very poor,
what there is consists of
rabbits and partridges.
See SOUTH AFRICA.
Fur and large game :
Baboon or ape, deer,
buffalo, wild pig, babirusa
or " horned pig," lemur,
civet cat, squirrel, etc.
Feather : 160 species
of land birds much the
same as neighbouring
islands.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 89° F.
Elephant, buffalo, elk,
deer, wild pig, leopards,
small black bear, jungle-
fowl, partridges, pea-
cocks, ducks, and snipe.
A licence is required.
Shooting Abroad
459
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
magazine, 4 rupees 50
cents. Single pistols, 2
rupees 25 cents. All
other arms, 5 per cent.
ad va/. Arms and am-
munition can only be
imported by way of mer-
chandise by authority of
the Governor. Gun-
powder, 25 cents per Ib.
Cartridges and caps, 20
per cent, ad va/.
CHINA.
5 per cent, ad va/. on
firearms. 5 per cent, ad
va/. on ammunition.
COLOMBO.
CORSICA.
Importation of car-
tridges prohibited, but
French ones can be
obtained at Ajaccio.
Shooting to be obtained
Ball- and shot-gun speci-
ally recommended.
Not much big game,
there are, however, tigers,
leopards, and panthers, and
fair amount of small deer
and wild pigs. Small game
good, comprises swans,
geese, ducks, teal, snipe,
quail, pheasant, partridges,
woodcock, and hares.
See CEYLON.
Shooting rather poor,
consists of moufflon, hares,
quail, woodcock, duck,
snipe, partridges, and an
occasional wild boar.
Permit required, costs
25 francs. 12-bore Ex-
plora, 6^ to 6| Ib. weigh.
Mean winter temperature
about 55° F.
460 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
Shooting to le obtained
CYPRUS.
Guns and rifles over Game is scarce, but
^4 value, 25 per cent, consists of moufflon, par-
ad val. tridges, francolins, bus-
tard, quail, woodcock,
snipe, and duck.
At Nicosia mean tem-
perature 109° F. in shade
in summer.
DENMARK.
Guns and rifles, ^i Shooting season: Par-
ijs. %d. per cwt. Shot, tridges, September to De-
2s. \\d. per cwt. Gun- cember, snipe begins on
powder and caps, 95. ^d. August i ; in November
per cwt. the driving of hares and
deer takes place, but this
is entirely on the estates
of the nobility. Wild-
fowl shooting fairly good.
The river fishing is very
poor.
See under WEST INDIES.
DOMINICA, W.I.I.
Guns, rifles, and pistols,
25 per cent, ad val. Car-
tridges, cases, and caps,
20 per cent, ad val. Gun-
powder and explosives,
6d. per Ib.
DOMINION OF CANADA. See CANADA.
EAST AFRICA.
Guns, rifles, and pis-
tols, 10 per cent, ad val.
Shooting Abroad 461
Import duties on Guns, Rifles, 0,
and Cartridges Shootin$ to be obtained
EAST AFRICA (GERMAN).
Fur and large game :
Buffalo, gazelle, giraffe,
hartebeeste, lion, colobus
guereza, elephant, mun-
goose, crocodile, hippo-
potamus, rhinoceros,
genet.
Feather: Ostrich, duck,
Egyptian goose, stork,
spur - winged plover,
francolin, pelican, and
numerous water - fowl,
sand-grouse, etc.
Tsetse-fly infests por-
tions of the country.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 80° F.
EAST AFRICA (PORTUGUESE TERRITORY).
Fur and big game :
Ostrich, giraffe, crocodile,
hippopotamus, springbok,
antelope, gnu, eland, buf-
falo, zebra, etc.
Feather : Guinea-fowl,
pheasant, goose, plover,
pelican, etc.
Tsetse-fly infests dis-
trict.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 60° F.
Zambesia, temperature
max. 107° F., min. 63° F.
—33° F. has been re-
corded.
462 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
Shooting to be obtained
EAST INDIES (NETHERLANDS).
10 per cent, ad va/. See BORNEO, CELEBES,
JAVA, SUMATRA, SEY-
CHELLES.
EGYPT (CAIRO).
8^ per cent, ad va/. Climate trying in
summer months. Quail
shooting near Cairo in
February and March.
Sand-grouse and red-leg
partridge on edge of the
desert.
FALKLAND ISLANDS.
Free. Gunpowder and
cartridges, free.
FIJI.
Guns, rifles, and pis-
tols, 20 per cent, ad va/.
Shot and bullets, 55. per
cwt. Cartridges, is. per
100. Cases, is. per cwt.
Caps, id. per 100. Gun-
powder, 6d. per Ib. Car-
tridges, etc., 12^- per
cent, ad val.
Country very rough,
much of the surface is of
peat, good shooting which
consists of geese, snipe,
ducks, rabbits; also wild
cattle, which are said to
be dangerous now and
again. The climate is
bleak but healthy. Best
time to visit, December
to March.
No mammalia except-
ing dog, pig, and domes-
tic fowl (introduced).
Feather : 41 species
of land birds. Few birds
of prey, parrot and pigeon
tribe well represented.
Fifteen aquatic species.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 80° F.
Shooting Abroad
463
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
FLORIDA.
See UNITED STATES.
Shooting to be obtained
Fur and big game :
Black bear, cougar, pan-
ther, wild cat, wolf, fox,
raccoon, opossum, fish-
otters, alligator, deer, and
much smaller game.
Feather : Duck, wild
turkey, hawk, eagle, vul-
ture, owls, and a vast
variety of smaller birds.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 60° F.
FRANCE.
Muzzle-loading sport-
ing guns, £4 175. 7</. per
cwt. Breechloading pin-
fire sporting guns, £7 is.
%d. per cwt. Hammer
central-fire sporting guns,
£16 55. yl. per cwt.
Hammerless sporting
guns, £20 6s. 6d. per
cwt. Rifles, £10 35. 3^.
per cwt. All gunpowder,
military caps and car-
tridges, and cartridges for
rifle clubs, prohibited.
Sporting caps, £i los.
6d. per cwt. Cases, £1
IDS. 6d. per cwt.
Fur and big game :
Bear (very rare but still
found in Alps and Pyre-
nees), wolf (Cevennes
and Vosges), fox, marten,
wild boar, stag, hare,
rabbit, wild cat, genet.
Feather : Eagle, kite,
partridge, wild fowl of
many different kinds,lark,
etc.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 50° F. (Paris) ;
5i°F. (Breton); 53° F.
(Girondin) ; 51° F. (Au-
vergne) ; 57° F. (Medi-
terranean).
464 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
GAMBIA.
Breechloading guns
and rifles, 2os. each.
Other arms, 5 per cent.
ad vat. Gunpowder, i d.
per Ib. All other explo-
sives, 5 per cent, ad vat.
GERMANY.
Sporting guns and
rifles, £i ics. 6d. per
cwt. Shot, 35. o^/. per
cwt. Gunpowder, free.
GIBRALTAR.
Guns, rifles, and pistols,
free. Ammunition and
explosives, free.
Shooting to be oltt
See
WEST.
under AFRICA,
Fur and large game:
Fox, marten, weasel,
badger, and otter (found
everywhere), wolf (rare),
roe, stag, boar, hare, fal-
low deer, wild rabbit,
elk* (forests of Northern
Prussia).
Feather : Wild geese,
duck, grouse, partridge,
snipe, woodcock, quail,
widgeon, teal, etc,
Mean annual tempera-
ture : South-west Ger-
many, 52° F. to 54° F. ;
Central Germany, 48° F.
to 50° F. ; West and East
Prussia, 42° F. to 44° F.
No shooting in vicin-
ity, but at Casa, Vigea,
and Tapinalla (about 40
miles distant) there is ex-
cellent wildfowl, geese,
snipe, quail, and bustard.
Shooting Abroad
465
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
GOLD COAST.
Shooting to be obtained
Guns and rifles, is. 6d. See under AFRICA, WEST.
each ; if for use of Gover-
nor or H.M.'s troops,
free. West of Volta,
gunpowder, 6d. per Ib.
Cartridges, 55. per 100.
Cases, is. per cwt. Other
ammunition, 10 per cent.
ad val. East of Volta,
gunpowder, 6d. per Ib.
Other explosives, 4 per
cent, ad val.
GREECE.
Guns and rifles, single-
barrel muzzle-loaders, is.
l^d. each ; double-barrel
muzzle-loaders, 95. ^\d.
each. Single - barrel
breechloaders, 8s. each.
Double - barrel breech-
loaders, 165. each. Car-
tridge-cases, 6s. $d. per
1000. Cartridge-cases
loaded, 245. per 1000.
Caps, £12 1 6s. per cwt.
Gunpowder for firearms,
£2 ijs. jd. per cwt.
Gunpowder for blasting,
6s. $d. per cwt.
3°
Fur and large game :
Wolf, bear (rare), lynx,
wild cat, boar, stag, roe-
buck, fox, marten, jackal,
badger, hare, etc.
Feather: Snipe, wild
duck, eagle, vulture, owl,
egret, pheasant, hawk,
bustard, partridge, wood-
cock, and smaller birds.
Mean annual tempera-
ture, 64° F.
466 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
GRENADA.
Guns, rifles, and pistols,
7^ per cent, ad vaL Gun-
powder, 6d. per Ib. Other
ammunition and explo-
sives, 7 J- per cent, ad vaL
Shooting to be obtained
See under WEST INDIES.
GUATEMALA.
Breechloading and
repeating firearms, $2
per kilo gross. Breech-
loading arms of calibres
0-33, 0-44, 0-50, and
0*58, carbines and rifles
used by the army, also
Remington, Winchester,
and Evans' arms, abso-
lutely prohibited.
Climate generally
healthy. Soil remarkably
fertile. Living is dear.
The game is scarce, it
includes jaguar, puma,
ocelot, deer, tapir, and
peccary. The birds are
wild turkeys, pigeons and
doves.
HALIFAX (NOVA SCOTIA).
Hunting, shooting, and
fishing abound in this
_ o
province. Bears, foxes,
moose deer, otter, mink,
sable, musquash, hares,
raccoons, squirrels, wood-
cock, plover, snipe, par-
tridges, geese, ducks,
curlew.
Shooting Abroad
467
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
HOLLAND.
Guns, rifles, and pistols,
5 per cent, ad val. Shot,
free. Gunpowder, 4^. $d.
per cwt.
HONG KONG.
Guns, rifles, and re-
volvers, free. Ammuni-
tion, free.
HUNGARY, AUSTRIA-.
Guns and rifles, £2 55.
9^/. per cwt. for all port-
able firearms. Gun-
powder and cartridges
can only be imported by
special permission. Gun-
powder, ^2 135. 4^. per
cwt. Cartridges, £2 1 35
4^/. Percussion caps, j£i
45. $d. per cwt.
Shooting to be obtained
Good wildfowl shoot-
ing. Licence costs about
^2 for ordinary gun and
£6 for punt gun, without
which and a good punt
gun the shooter stands
about as much chance of
obtaining wildfowl as he
would in Bond Street.
Fur and large game :
Tiger, panther, buffalo,
wild swine, monkey,
antelope, yak, gazelle,
wild goat, wild ass, fox.
Feather : Pheasant,
cuckoo, lark, etc.
Mean annual tem-
perature : 83° F. to 90° F.
(summer), 40° F. to 75°
F. (winter).
468 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Gunsy Rifles,
and Cartridges
ICELAND.
Free.
INDIA, BRITISH.
Subject to the Indian
Arms Act and orders
made • thereunder. If
forming part of the regu-
lar equipment of an
officer, or for use of
military forces of native
state organized for Im-
perial service, free. Re-
volver or pair of pistols
accompanying an officer,
imported by an officer
for his equipment, or re-
volvers imported for
police use, free. Fire-
arms other than pistols,
50 rupees each. Pistols,
1 5 rupees each. Provided
that no duty in excess of
10 per cent, aa vaL shall
be levied on arms law-
fully imported for private
use. Provided also that
an importer, having paid,
Shooting to be obtained
Game birds of Iceland
are : Swan, geese, ducks,
teal, curlew, golden
plover, snipe, and ryper.
Temperature varies in
summer from 75° F. on
a calm day in the sun to
a hard frost.
The best season for
general sport would be
October to end of Feb-
ruary.
Fur and game : Tiger,
leopard or panther,
cheetah, bear, wild boar,
wolf, civet, rhinoceros,
bison (gaur), nilgai or
blue bull, gayal, elephant,
deer : — Barking, brow-
antlered, hog, Cashmere
musk, sambhur, cheetul
or spotted deer, swamp
or barasinga ; mungoose,
antelope, markhor, ibex,
wild dog, wild ass,
buffalo, crocodile, wolf,
etc.
. Feather : Parrot tribe,
vulture, eagle, falcon,
kingfisher, water-fowl
(numerous), floriken,
snipe, pigeon, partridge,
Shooting Abroad
469
Import duties on Guns , Rifles,
and Cartridges.
or being liable for full
duty, and having after-
wards sold the arm or
arms by retail to a per-
son lawfully entitled to
possess such arms, may
apply for a refund of
duty in excess of 10 per
cent, ad vat., or for a
remission if the duty has
not previously been paid.
Shot, 5 per cent, on a
tariff valuation of 15
rupees per cwt. ad vat.
All other explosives and
fuses, 5 per cent, ad val.
Gunpowder of all sorts,
10 per cent, ad val.
Shooting to be obtained
sand-grouse, quail, plover,
duck, teal, sheldrake,
wigeon, jungle - fowl,
peacock, etc.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : Madras, 82° F. ;
Calcutta, 79° F. ; Simla,
54° F. ; Bombay, 78° F.
A detailed account of
Indian game is given in
that handy guide to sports-
men, the " Shikar Book,"
compiled by W. S. Burke,
editor of The Indian
Field.
INDIA, BRITISH (RANGOON, BURMA).
A shot-gun answers
every purpose near Ran-
goon, for snipe, fowl,
and the few ducks on
river. The jungle is very
dense and rather un-
healthy. The big game
in Burma varies very
much. The -577 heavy
power has proved very
successful. All clothing
should be of light
material and quite loose.
ITALY.
,£32 per cwt. net. Fur and large game :
Gunpowder, ^4 is. ^d. Wild boar, moufflon,
470 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
per cwt. Percussion
caps, £4 95. $d. per cwt.
Cartridges, £4. is. \d.
per cwt. Capped cases,
jCi IDS. 6d. per cwt.
JAMAICA.
Guns, rifles, and pistols,
i6§ per cent, ad val.
Cartridges, per 100 is.
6 a7. Shot, %s. per 100
Ib. Gunpowder and
other explosives, is. per
Ib. Caps, detonators,
and fuses, i6f per cent.
ad
Shooting to be obtained
hare, lynx, buffalo, wolf,
marmot.
Feather : Pheasant,
partridge, quail, vulture,
ibis, flamingo, pelican.
Mean annual tempera-
ture (for whole coun-
try) : 46° F. and 62° F.
Highest temperature
recorded : 109° F. (in
Apulia) ; lowest, 25° F.
(Monte Stelvio).
Wear clothes the same
as for England in summer.
Climate not unhealthy.
Shooting includes guinea-
fowl, quail, partridges,
pigeons, ducks, teal,
plover, and snipe.
JAPAN.
Guns, rifles, and pistols, Large game in North
25 per cent, ad val. Japan, but difficult to
Bullets and shot, 35. 9^. get. Wild pig, pheasant,
per cwt. Smokeless pow- quail, geese, duck, wood-
der, 1 5 per cent, ad val. cock in plenty. Licence
Other gunpowder, 85. costs about £3, and is
6~d. per cwt. difficult to get. Season
opens October 15. Small
deer, bear, and willow
grouse also to be had.
Shooting Abroad
471
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
JAVA (NETHERLANDS).
Guns, rifles, and pistols,
10 per cent, ad val.
KHARTUM.
Shooting to be obtained
Best time to go would
be August. Tigers said
to be abundant. Wild
boar, sambur, panthers,
rhino, wild cattle, croco-
diles, wild dogs and cats ;
peacocks, jungle-fowl, a
variety of pigeons and
hornbills. Climate fairly
healthy.
The nearest point at
which to obtain sport of
any account is in the
direction of Fashoda, up
the White Nile. There
the big game would in-
clude lions, leopards,
cheetahs, buffaloes, ele-
phants, giraffes, antelopes,
etc. Of fowl there are
bustards, ostriches, guinea
fowl, geese, ducks, franco-
lin, etc.
The unhealthiness of
the climate, the heat and
the mosquitoes, render
shooting practically im-
possible for the European,
save in February, March
and April.
Non-residents' licence
fee to hunt in the Sudan
472 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
LABUAN.
All arms, free. Am-
munition, free.
LAGOS.
For H.M.'s troops,
free. All other firearms,
2s. 6a. each.
Shooting to be obtained
was fixed at £40, in De-
cember 1903. But this
may have since been
altered.
There are plenty offish,
some of very large size ;
there are also fish some-
thing like tench, and
others like big dace ; the
baits used are spoons,
dhura paste, meal, etc.
The outfit is of course a
tropical one, and as re-
gards guns, rifles, and
ammunition, a permit
must be obtained from the
Minister of the Interior
at Cairo. An applica-
tion should be accom-
panied with the original
invoice. A Berthon boat
would be found very use-
ful. Temperature : max.
1 1 6-6° F., min. 7i*6°F.
Game, as Borneo.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 90° F.
See under AFRICA, WEST.
Shooting Abroad
473
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
Shooting to be obtained
MADEIRA.
2500 reis each.
MALAY PENINSULA.
Single - barrel rifles. Shooting not good, a
1500 reis each. Double- few red-legged partridge,
barrel rifles and guns, pigeons numerous. Quail,
woodcock, and rabbits in
fair numbers. Good sea
fishing.
Fur and large game :
Tapir, hog, small bear,
sunda ox, bison, tiger,
leopard, mungoose, chim-
panzee, orang-outang,
civet.
Feathered : Hornbill,
Javanese stork, pheasant,
wild geese, wild duck,
snipe, bird of paradise,
myna orgrackle,dial bird,
humming-bird, king-
fisher, doves, and pigeons
in endless variety.
Mean temperature :
90° F.
MALTA.
Free. Cartridges, etc., Scanty fauna, for the
free. most part European.
Twelve indigenous spe-
cies of birds. Great num-
bers of migratory birds
rest here.
Mean temperature 80°
F. (winter), 90° F.
(summer).
474 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
MAURITIUS.
Guns, rifles, and pistols,
20 per cent, ad val., and
4 per cent, on the total
of duty levied. Caps,
20 cents per 1000. Car-
tridges, 25 cents per
100. Cases, 20 cents
per 100. Sporting gun-
powder, 3 rupees and
O'5 cents per cwt. Shot,
i rupee 52 cents per
cwt. Other ammunition,
10 per cent, ad vaL, sub-
ject to further 4 per
cent.
MEXICO.
Pesita, i -7 5 per kilo.
Legal : the kilo equals
2*204 lb., peso equals
4-S. 'id.
MOLUCCAS.
Shooting to be obtained
Climate not healthy,
outfit same as for
India. Good sea fishing.
Shooting consists of deer,
wild pig, wild duck, and
is strictly preserved.
Wet season May to
October. Climate de-
lightful during dry
season. Take light
woollen clothing and
shooting-boots. A few
bear and deer, and in the
plains, quail, snipe, rab-
bits, and hares. In the
lagoons and rivers, geese
and duck. Good fishing
in the mountain streams.
Fur and large game :
Ape, wild pig, civet cat,
babirussa, lemur.
Feather : Parrot tribe,
Shooting Abroad
475
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
Shooting to be obtained
pigeon, kingfisher, crim-
son lories, paradise bird
(78 species).
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 88° F.
MONTSERRAT, W.I.I.
Guns, 2os. each. Rifles,
i o per cent, ad val. Pis-
tols, IDS. each. In ad-
dition, 33! per cent,
on the amount of duty
charged. Gunpowder, 6d.
per Ib. Cartridges, 10
per cent, ad vat., with
additional duty of 33^
per cent, on amount
leviable.
See under WEST INDIES.
MOROCCO.
Sporting guns and car- From August i to
tridges are now passed February 28, partridge,
into Morocco, but rifles bustard, sand grouse,
and ball cartridges are rock and wood pigeons,
not allowed. plover, hare, gazelle,
wild boar, fox, and jackal
are plentiful. From
December to March,
snipe, woodcock, duck,
and ruddy geese. In
February and March
quail are numerous, and
on the nearer spurs of the
476 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns. Rifles. 07 . 7 . . ,
r , „ . , shooting to be obtained
ana Lartnages
Atlas Mountains mouff-
lon may be shot.
Quarters at" Palm Tree
Hotel, near | Mogador,
Southern Morocco.
NATAL. See SOUTH AFRICA.
NEWFOUNDLAND.
Guns and rifles, of all Caribou or deer, open
kinds, 30 per cent, ad September closes Febru-
vaL Settlers and tourists ary ; licence expensive,
have special privileges Snipe, curlew, plover,
under special conditions. August 20 to January
12 ; grouse, ptarmigan,
partridge, rabbits, and
hares from September
15 to January. Otter
and beaver from October
i to April i.
NEW GUINEA.
Fur and large game :
Kangaroo, wild pig, ant-
eaters.
Feather : 400 species
of land birds, bird of
paradise, kingfisher,
parrot tribe, cockatoo,
pigeon, etc.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 83° F.
Shooting Abroad
477
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges.
NEW ZEALAND.
All firearms of British
manufacture, 20 per cent.
ad va/. On all arms the
produce of other than
British Dominions, an
additional duty of 50 per
cent, is leviable. Shot
cartridges 10- to 24-bore,
ij. 6d. per 100, all other
cartridges, 20 per cent.
ad 'vol. Cases, 9^. per
100. Sporting gun-
powder, 6d. per Ib. Other
gunpowder, free.
NORTH AFRICA.
Shooting to be obtained
Shooting includes :
Deer, pigs, hares, rabbits,
pheasants, quail, duck,
and black swan.
Just as this book is
going to press a paragraph
has appeared in an Ameri-
can journal alleging that
shooting in New Zealand
has been prohibited for
one year — no dates being
given. I have interro-
gated the High Commis-
sioner for New Zealand
on this point, who replies
that he has received no in-
timation of the sort from
the Government of New
Zealand. Sportsmen-,
however, who propose
visiting this country for
sport, should make care-
ful inquiry beforehand, as
from the latest informa-
tion to hand, we gather
that the sporting rights
over some of the best
deer forests in the islands
have been exclusively re-
served by the proprietors.
Fur and large game :
Lion, panther, bear, wild
boar, jackal, leopard,
47 8 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
NORWAY.
Guns and rifles, £2
i6s. 6d. per cwt. Shot,
45. 6^d. per cwt. Gun-
powder and cartridges,
55. 7|*/. per cwt. Caps
(percussion), free.
NOVA SCOTIA.
ORANGE RIVER
COLONY.
Shooting to be obtained
hyaena (very numerous),
antelope, genet, mun-
goose, gazelle, wild sheep.
Feather : Eagle, fal-
con, vulture, thrush, swal-
low, pigeon, partridge,
quail, heron, pelican,
swan, duck, grebe, etc.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 64° F. (Northern
slopes) ; Algeria, 50° F.
(winter) to 75° F.
(summer).
Elk shooting pro-
hibited. The birds are:
Ptarmigan, grouse, plo-
ver, and duck. Rein-
deer shooting commences
August i and closes
March 3 1 . Partridge,
capercailzie, etc.
Licence required to
shoot cost about £10.
Seal and duck shooting
very good. Best time,
November to April.
Good men can be hired
from $i per day. Cari-
bou, grouse, partridges,
woodcock, snipe, teal.
See SOUTH AFRICA.
Shooting Abroad
479
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
PERSIA.
Arms prohibited except
by special permit to be
obtained from the Gov-
ernment at Teheran.
Duty payable, £3 i6s.
each.
Shooting to be obtained
Fur and large game :
Lion, tiger, leopard,
cheetah, hyaena, wolf, lynx,
buffalo, mungoose, goat,
jackal, gazelle, and caracal.
Smaller beasts of prey.
Feather : Bustard,
pheasant, partridge.
Climate varies much
according to locality. In
the south it is tropical ; in
the north, while the sum-
mers are hot the winters
are as severe as those of
Canada or Russia.
Summer temperature :
Ispahan, 87°F. ; Teheran,
80° F.
The custom is to shoot
on horseback, ride up the
game and fire at close
quarters. The chief
object is to kill, and the
question of killing in a
sportsmanlike way, as
we understand sport in
England, does not con-
cern the Persian shooter.
Explora 1 2-bore guns
are used by H.I.M. the
Shah, and these weapons,
as also the new -558
high-velocity ball- and
shot-gun, are especially
suitable for Persian sport.
4.80 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
Shooting to be obtained
PERU.
Single-barrel hammer Tapir, pumas, occa-
guns and rifles, 45. each, sional bear, huanacu,
Double-barrel hammer vicunas, and deer; geese,
guns and rifles, 85. each, ducks, wildfowl, plover,
Single-barrel hammerless, and partridges. Fishing
2OJ. each. Double-barrel very good,
hammerless, 285. each.
Small rifles for gallery
practice, 8j. each.
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
On all arms, i peso Fur and large game :
per kilo. Peso = 45. id. Ape, wild cat, wild pig,
squirrel, lemur, deer,
civet, monkey tribe, cro-
codile.
Feather: Parrots, pig-
eon, woodpecker, quail,
etc.
Mean annual tempera-
ture, 81° F.
PORTUGAL.
Breechloaders, single- Fur and large game :
barrel, 135. 6d. each. Wolf, roe deer, Portu-
Double-barrel, £1 is. 6d. guese lynx, ibex, etc.
each. Gunpowder, £3 Feather : Golden eagle,
15. 9^. per cwt. Car- woodcock, snipe, bustard,
tridges, ^5 145. ^.d. per partridge, quail, etc.
cwt. gross. * Mean annual tempera-
ture : 61° F., Lisbon.
Shooting Abroad
481
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
ana Cartridges
^
QUEENSLAND.
Guns, rifles, and pis- Kangaroo, native bear,
tols, 10 per cent, ad val. opossums, black swans,
Shot, 55. per cwt. Pow- ducks, plover, snipe, bus-
der, free. tard, quail, and pigeons.
RANGOON.
See INDIA.
RHODESIA.
See SOUTH AFRICA.
ROUMANIA.
Military weapons pro-
hibited. Sporting pat-
terns, £3 55. per
cwt. Gunpowder and
loaded cartridges pro-
hibited. Shot, is. *]\d.
per cwt.
RUSSIA.
Permit required for
arms and ammunition.
Duty on same, ^14 3^.
yd. per cwt. Shot, 95.
lod. per cwt. Gun-
powder, by special per-
mission only, 135. 9^.
per cwt. Loaded car-
tridges, cartridge-cases,
31
Fur and large game :
Wild boar, wild goat,
wolf, hare, marten, wild
cat, etc.
Feather : Eagle, hawk,
snipe, wildfowl, hoopoe,
etc.
Mean temperature :
Bucharest, 53° F. (spring),
72° F. (summer), 65°
F. (autumn), 27-^° F.
(winter).
Fur and large game :
In the tundra region-
reindeer ; in the forest
region — weasel, fox, hare
(exceedingly common) ;
in the north — wolf, bear,
wild boar, hare.
Feather : Grey par-
tridge, quail, wild geese,
482 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
and caps, £14. 3^. tyd. per
cwt.
SARDINIA.
All arms,
8 francs each,
Shooting to be obtained
wild duck, lark, rook,
stork. A list of birds of St.
Petersburg shows 251 spe-
cies. Hunting and shoot-
ing give occupation to a
great number of persons.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : Archangel, 32° F. ;
St. Petersburg, 38° F. ;
Warsaw, 44° F. ; Odessa,
49° F. ; Tiflis, 54° F. ;
Poti, 58°F.
Game scarce : Mouf-
flon, wild boar, hare, lynx.
Feather : Pheasant,
partridge, quail. (See
also Italy.)
ST. CHRISTOPHER NEVIS, W.I.I.
ST.
Guns, ;£i 6s. %d. each.
Rifles, 10 per cent, ad val.
Pistols, 1 35.4^. each. Gun-
powder and other explo-
sives, %d. per Ib. Ammu-
nition, 1 1 per cent, ad val.
HELENA.
All firearms, free.
Cartridges and explosives,
free.
See
INDIES.
Fauna scant ; rabbit,
hare.
Feather : Java spar-
row, wire-bird, cardinal,
dove, partridge, pheasant,
guinea- fowl,ringed plover.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 60° F.
Shooting Abroad 483
Shooting to be obtained
•i
ST. LUCIA, W.I.I.
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
On arms, 20 per cent.
ad vaL Gunpowder, 6d.
perlb. Otherammunition,
20 per cent, ad val.
Other explosives, 1 5 per
cent, ad vaL
See
INDIES.
ST. VINCENT, W.LI.
Guns, rifles, and pis-
tols, 10 per cent, ad vaL,
with additional 10 per
cent, on amount of duty.
Cartridges and explosives,
free.
See under WEST INDIES.
SEYCHELLES.
Guns, rifles, and pis-
tols, 12^ per cent, ad va/.
All ammunition, 12^ per
cent, ad vaL
Fur and large game :
Lemur, crocodile, mam-
malia scarce.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 87° F.
SICILY.
All arms, 8 francs each
Fauna similar to that
of Southern Italy.
Mean temperature :
5T!° F. (January) to 77°
K. "(July).
484 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles ,
and Cartridges
SIERRA LEONE.
Shooting to be obtained
Breechloaders, single See under AFRICA,
or double, IQS. each. WEST.
Revolvers and other
pistols, ioj. each. All
other arms, 10 per cent.
ad val. Cartridges, rifle
and carbine, 5^. per 100.
Cartridges, revolver and
pistol, 2s. 6d. per 100.
Gunpowder per barrel
100 lb., 6s. Other explo-
sives, i o per cent, ad val.
SINGAPORE.
Arms, free.
See under
PENINSULA.
MALAY
SOUTH AFRICA (CUSTOMS UNION : Cape Colony,
Natal, Bechuanaland Protectorate, Basutoland, Orange
River Colony, Transvaal, and South Rhodesia).
For use of H.M.'s
forces, free. Guns, single,
per barrel, £ i , and i o per
cent, ad val. Double or
other, 155. per barrel and
10 per cent, ad val. Pis-
tols or revolvers, 55. each,
and 10 per cent, ad val.
Other arms, TO per cent.
ad val. Blasting com-
pounds, i|^/. per lb.
Gunpowder and other
Cape Colony. Fur
and large game : Panther,
lion (occasionally met
with), antelope, mun-
goose, ostrich, springbok,
Cape buffalo, Cape ant-
eater.
Feather : Secretary-
bird (protected by game
laws), ostrich, grosbeak,
pheasant, guinea - fowl,
and aquatic birds.
Shooting Abroad 485
Import duties on Guns , Rifles* 0,
i n . • , J shooting to be obtained
and Lartnages
explosives for use in Mean annual tempera-
firearms, 6d. per Ib. and ture: 62° F. to 64° F.
10 per cent, ad val. LJmtali : temperature :
Other ammunition and max. 92° F., min. 57° F.
explosives, 10 per cent.
ad val.
When the produce of
the United Kingdom, or
the Dominion of Canada,
a rebate of one-fourth
of the ad val. duty is
allowed.
SOUTH AFRICA (continued}.
(As already stated.) The Transvaal : Fauna
as Orange River Colony.
Tsetse-fly abounds.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 68° F. (Durban).
SOUTH AFRICA (continued}.
(As already stated.) Orange River Colony.
Fur and large game :
Springbok, wildebeeste,
ostrich, giraffe, mungoose,
quagga, antelope, gnu,
eland, zebra, Cape buf-
falo, hippopotamus, cro-
codile, lion (rare).
Feather : Pheasant,
guinea-fowl, secretary-
bird, grosbeak, etc.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 68° F. to 70° F.
486 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns. Rifles. 0, . , . .
/ n . • , dhootmv to be obtained
(ind (.tdrtrulges
SOUTH AFRICA (continued}.
(As already stated.) Rhodesia. Adminis-
trator issues licence.
Price of ordinary licence,
j£i. Special licence for
a person resident in the
country, £5. Special
any
other
licence for
person, ,£25.
Fur and large game :
lion, leopard, buffalo,
baboon, koodoo, water-
buck, bush-buck, stein-
buck, giraffe, pheasant,
springbok, hippopotamus,
rhinoceros.
Feather : Guinea-fowl,
pheasant.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 64° F.,Max.96°F.,
min. 55° F. — 33° F. has
been recorded.
SOUTH AMERICA (AMAZON DISTRICT).
Single-barrel sporting Fur and big game :
weapons, 5000 reis and Jaguar, opossum, black
50 per cent.
Double-barrel
weapons.
ad vat.
sporting
1000 reis and
50 per cent, ad val.
tiger, monkey, wild dog,
ant-eater, alligator.
Feather : Canary-bird,
kingfisher, macaw, etc.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 80° F. to 82° F.
SPAIN.
Muzzle-loaders, single Fur and large game :
and double, £6 is. \\d. Genet, fallow deer, Span-
Shooting Abroad
487
Import duties on Guns. Rifles,
, n -i
ana L>artrulges
percwt. Breechloaders of
all kinds, £40 135. \d.
per cwt. Gunpowder
and ammunition of cer-
tain military types pro-
hibited. Cartridges, ^i
45. $d. per cwt. Per-
cussion caps, £3 us. id.
SPITZBERGEN.
Arms, free.
0,
shooting to be obtained
ish lynx, Spanish hare,
brown bear, wild cat.
Feather : Great bust-
ard, snipe, vulture, Span-
ish eagle, red-legged par-
tridge, southern eagle-
owl, shrike, quail, and
wildfowl of many kinds.
Temperature varies ac-
cording to zone. Table-
land (Madrid), 53° F. ;
Southern zone (Malaga),
68° F. ; Mediterranean
zone (Marcia), 64° F. ;
Northern zone (Bilbao),
o T-<
55 F-
Fur and large game :
Reindeer (numerous), ice
fox, polar bear, walrus,
seal, etc.
Feather: Petrel,
rotches, guillemot, ivory
gulls, auk, kittiwake,
goose, looms, snipe, eider
duck, etc.
Temperature : 14° F.
(January) to 39° F. (July).
STRAITS SETTLEMENTS.
All arms, free. Am- See under
munition and explosives, PENINSULA.
free.
MALAY
488 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
SUMATRA.
Shooting to be obtained
Fur and large game :
Orang-outang, elephant,
rhinoceros, tapir, tiger,
sun - bear, mungoose.
Wild dog, antelope, hare,
deer, civet.
Feather : Trogon,
shrike, rain-bird, pheas-
ant, barbet, woodpeckers,
peacock, etc.
Mean annual tempera-
ture, 78° F.
SWEDEN.
Guns, rifles, and pis-
tols, ^ i 8j. 3^. per cwt.
gross. Shot, 55. 7|^/. per
cwt. Gunpowder, black,
6s. 9^/. per cwt. Gun-
powder, smokeless, ^ i 8j.
3^/. per cwt. Cartridges
and cases, 1 95. 9^. per cwt.
Percussion caps, £3 75.
9<^. per cwt.
Fur and large game :
Wild reindeer, Arctic fox,
glutton, roe deer, north-
ern hare, bear and wolf
(scarce), elk (common in
forest tracts of Central
Sweden), hare (in abund-
ance), seal (around
coasts), marten, weasel,
otter, squirrels, etc.
Feather: Wood grouse,
woodcock, snipe, sea-fowl,
hawk, eider duck, gyr-
falcon, golden eagle, crane,
stork, ptarmigan.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 59° F. to 62° F.
Sporting Abroad
489
Import duties on Guns. Rifles.
, r, . ,
and L. art ridges
SWITZERLAND.
On all arms, £ i os.
0/ . , . ,
o hoot 'in? to be obtained
Game not abundant.
per cwt. All ammuni- Chamois, roebuck, mar-
tion, £ i os. Afd. per cwt. mot, Alpine hare, etc. ;
grouse, partridge, wild
duck, snipe, etc.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : Geneva, 49^° F.,
Interlaken, 48° F.
TENERIFFE (CANARY ISLANDS).
All arms, free. Fauna scant ; rabbit,
hare, etc.
Feather : African vul-
ture, falcon, buzzard,
sparrow-hawk, kite, owl,
sea-mew, quail, stock-
dove, raven, etc.
Temperature : 66° F.
(January) to 87° F.
(September).
See SOUTH AFRICA.
See HUNGARY.
Fur and large game :
Bear, wolf, fox, boar,
chamois, and other varie-
ties of game.
Feather : Eagle, hawk,
snipe, wildfowl, and
numerous smaller birds.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 59° F.
TRANSVAAL.
TRANSYLVANIA.
49° Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
Shooting to be obtained
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, W.I.I.
Guns, rifles, and pis- Shooting consists of
tols, 6 per cent, ad va/. maniti, deer, peccary,
pigeons,
Gunpowder, *]d. per Ib.
All other ammunition and
explosives, 5 per cent.
ad val.
TURKEY.
Military rifles and am-
munition for same pro-
hibited. Turkish permit
required for sporting
weapons, endorsed by
British Ambassador at
Constantinople. Duty,
8 per cent, ad val. All
ammunition, 8 per cent.
ad val.
plovers, snipe,
sandpipers, ducks, teal.
There is no shooting
to be got near Constanti-
nople and the large towns.
Winter climate is sub-
ject to great vicissitudes,
mean winter temperature :
41° F.
TURK'S AND CAICOS ISLANDS, W.I.I.
All arms, free. Am- See under WEST INDIES.
munition, free.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
All sporting guns, 45
per cent, ad val. All
rifles of value more than
$10, $6 each and 35 per
cent, ad val. Gunpowder
and other explosives, 285.
per cwt. Caps, 30 per
cent, ad val. Cartridges,
3 5 per cent, ad val. Shot,
i is. %d. per cwt.
Game includes deer,
pumas, bear, quail, tur-
key, ducks, snipe. Excel-
lent sea fishing.
Extensive forests, great
lumber industry. Climate
equable.
Shooting Abroad 491
Import duties on Guns, Rifles, c/ . , . . .
, ., . , vaoottng to be obtained
ana L art ridges
URUGUAY.
51 per cent, ad vat. on Jaguars, pumas, tapir,
guns and rifles. wild boar, wolf, deer,
water-buck, gazelle, seal
(fresh water), carpi ncho,
guanacos, and hares.
For birds, ostriches,
partridges, wild turkey,
swan, doves, ducks, teal,
geese, plover, and snipe,
a rifle is indispensable.
Clothing as for tropi-
cal climates for Paraguay.
In Uruguay, Argentina,
clothes as for England
during summer.
VANCOUVER (BRITISH COLUMBIA).
Guns, rifles, and pis-
tols, 30 per cent, ad vat.
VENEZUELA.
Guns, rifles, and re- Fur and large game :
volvers, 24 bolivias per Jaguar, puma, ocelot,
kilogramme. sloth, ant-eater, ape, wild
cat tribe, crocodile, cay-
man, alligator.
Feather: Heron, crane,
stork, ibis, duck.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : 77° F. (hot zone),
65° F. (temperate zone).
492 Modern Sporting Gunnery
Import duties on Guns, Rifles,
and Cartridges
VIRGIN ISLANDS, W.I.I.
Guns and rifles, 205.
each. Gunpowder, 4^.
per Ib. Caps, cartridges,
and cases/ 10 per cent.
ad val.
Shooting to be obtained
See under WEST INDIES.
WEST COAST OF AFRICA (AFRICA, WEST, including
GAMBIA, the GOLD COAST, LAGOS, SIERRA LEONE, etc).
Fur and large game :
Giraffe, zebra, hyaena,
buffalo, chimpanzee,
mungoose, lion, black
panther, hydrax, spotted
leopard, jackal, gazelle
(and other species of the
antelope family), squirrel,
hare, etc., elephant, genet
(around Lake Chad). Hip-
popotamus and crocodile
infest all large rivers.
Feather : Guinea-fowl,
sun-bird, Sudanese stork,
pigeon, weaver, parrot,
dove, flamingo, pelican,
heron, duck, goose, sand
grouse. Aquatic fowl in
abundance around Lake
Chad and the Upper Nile.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : Freetown, from
78° F. to 86° F. ; Lake
Chad, from 80° F. to
82° F.
Shooting Abroad 493
Import duties on Guns , Rifles* 0/
and Cartridges " Sh°°tmS to be obtained
WEST INDIA ISLANDS.
For use of army, etc., Mammalia, as in most
free. For duty on sport- islands, rare. Agouti
ing guns and rifles, see abound. Wild pigs and
under names of various dogs afford good sport, as
islands — Antigua, Ba- well as smaller game in
hamas, Bermuda, Domin- the shape of armadillo,
ica, Grenada, Mont- opossum, musk-rat, and
serrat, St. Lucia, St. raccoon. Deer and
Christopher, St. Vincent, guinea-fowl (introduced)
Turk's and Caicos Is- have multiplied, and are
lands, Virgin Islands, etc. now hunted as game.
Feather : Guinea-fowl,
trogon, sugar-bird, par-
rot, humming-bird, water-
fowl, and various kinds
of pigeon in abundance.
Reptiles numerous.
Mean annual tempera-
ture : Between 77° F. and
82°F.
The information contained in this chapter has been
compiled from various sources, including the Field
newspaper.
INDEX
The heavy type in this Index refers to Illustrations
Abroad, shooting
446-93
Accelerated Express rifles 167,
215-25, 292
Account of barrel-bursting
experiments (Barrel
Bulged, Fig. 65, 146 ;
Barrel Burst, Fig. 66,
149; Barrel Bulged,
Fig. 67, 149) . i45-5i
Act, Ground Game . . 407
Action-body Complete in
Filed Stage (Fig. 12) 29
„ -body Forging (Fig.
11) ... 28
,, gun- ... 29
Adjustable try-gun . -354
Advantages of high-class
ball-guns . . . 232
Advisory rules for purchas-
ing second-hand guns. 371
Aflalo, Mr. F. G. . .193
Air-gun . . . .352
„ -rifles . . . 350
Albania, import duties and
shooting obtainable 447-8
PAGE
Amateur wildfowlers . 413
Amberite . . .20
American Fore-sight (Fig.
120) . . .258
„ rifles . . .184
„ „ comparison . 348-9
„ miniature rifle,Ballard 344
„ swan, wildfowl . 411
Ammunition for indoor
shooting . . . 337
„ shot-gun . . .125
Andre . . . .19
Anson Fore-end Fastener
(Fig. 15) . . . 30
„ and Deeley action,
invention of . 11-12
„ „ barrel-cocking ham-
merless gun, 1875 . 13
„ „ Improved Detach-
able Lock, 7 Parts
(Fig. 26) . . . 39
447
Antelope .
Antigua, import duties and
shooting obtainable 447-8
Argentine Republic, import
duties and
obtainable .
shooting
. 448
Alligator . . . 447 Arms suitable for killing big
"All-lead " Explora bullet 3I4! game . . 446-7
All-range Mauser Pistol „ Alligator . . 446-7
Bullet (Fig. 167) . 305 „ Bear . . 446-7
495
496
Index
Arms suitable for killing
Buffalo . . 446-7
„ Chamois . . 446-7
„ Crocodile . 446-7 j
„ Deer and Large An te-
lope . . 446-7'
„ Elephant . . 446-7
„ Hippopotamus . 446-7
„ Lion . . 446-7
„ Rhinoceros . 446-7
„ Tiger . . 446-7
Armstrong, Sir Wm. . 235
Army Council . . . 352
Arquebus ... 3
Asia Minor, import duties
and shooting obtainable 449
Australian Commonwealth,
import duties and
shooting obtainable . 449
Austria-Hungary, import
duties and shooting
obtainable . . . 450 |
Austrian game-bag . . 391 j
Automatic ejector (Need-
ham's Ejector, Fig. 31) 49
„ ejector (Westley
Richards, Figs. 32,33) 51
„ safety-bolt (Tumbler
and Trigger Safety
Bolt, Fig. 29) . . 44
Average annual game-bag,
Prussia . . . 391
„ results of gun tests 106-10
Axite and Patent Capped
Bullet (Figs. 89, 90) . 221
„ and Westley Richards
rifle at Bisley, 1905
(Fig. 88) . . . 219
„ cartridge . 215-24, 323
„ powder trials . 216, 309
„ Westley Richards
Double Rifle, Sighting
Results (Fig. 93) .228
B
PAGE
Bacon gun . . .50
Back-sight . . . 220
Bahamas, W.I.I., import
duties and shooting
obtainable . . . 450
Bairnsfather, Lieut.-Colonel 193
Baker, Rear-Admiral, table
of velocities and ener-
gies . . . 318-21
„ Sir Samuel 174-6,311
Ball- and shot-gun 175, 21 1-13,
23 i -4
„ and shot-gun, Explora
(Diagrams, Shooting
100 and 200 yards,
Fig. 100, 240 ; Fig.
101, 241; Fig. 102,
242 ; Effect of Bullet
on Plate, Fig. 103,
244 ; Difference in
Elevation, Fig. 104,
245), , . 236-49
„ and shot-gun, Fauneta
("Fauneta" Diagram,
Fig. 105, 252; " Fau-
neta " Express Car-
tridge, Fig. 106, 253 ;
" Fauneta" Section of
Bullet, Fig. 107, 253;
" Fauneta"" Capped
Bullet, Fig. 108, 253)
'250-5
„ -gun . . .232
Ballard rifle . . . 344
Ballistics, comparison . 326
„ of Sherwood rifle . 337
„ of sporting rifles 185-7
Ballistite .... 141
Bangkok (Siam), import
duties and shooting
obtainable . . . 450
Index
497
Barbadoes, import duties
and shooting obtain-
able . . . .451
Bardell and Powell . .10
Barleycorn Fore-sight (Fig.
119) . 258
Barr, winner Leamington
Rifle Club . . 339
Barrel blacking, freeing and
finishing . . .88
„ bolts . .72
„ bursts . . .141
„ -cocking action n>37
„ -cocking hammerless
gun . 13, 16
„ cylinder, choke 79~8i
„ Detachable (Fig.
184) . . .334
„ duplicate. ^6-7, 199
„ -jointing . . 69
„ patterns, cylinder and
choke . . 107-10
„ single . . .193
„ tests (Barrel Bulged,
Fig. 65, 146; Barrel
Burst, Fig. 66, 149 ;
Barrel Bulged, Fig. 67,
149) 146-51
„ -welder . . 65-6
Barrels, rifle, cleaning . 213
„ (Skelp Barrel, ^Fig. 3,
24 ; Plain Stub Da-
mascus, Fig. 4, 24 ;
Boston or Two-stripe
Damascus Barrel, Fig.
5, 24 ; Three-stripe
Damascus Barrel, Fig.
6, 25 ; Four-stripe
Damascus Barrel, Fig.
7,25; Laminated Bar-
rel, Fig. 8, 25 ; West-
ley Richards Stub Da-
mascus Barrel, Fi<z;. 9,
[3*1
Barrels — continued.
26 ; TJnfigured Steel
Barrel, Fig. 10, 27) 23-9,
34, 39> 232
„ (Tubes Coupled, Fig.
46 ; Barrels with
Lumps and Ribs at-
tached, Fig. 47) . 68
Basutoland, import duties
and shooting obtainable 451
Battery . . . .211
Bead Fore-sight, Dovetailed
(Fig. 116) . . 257
„ Fore-sight (Fig. 115) 257
„ Globe down (Fie;.
118). . . 258
„ with Lift-up Globe
(Fig. 117) . ' . .258
Bean goose . . 414-6
Bear .... 447
Beaufort, Duke of .3
Bechuanaland, import duties
and shootingobtainable 45 1
Bedford, her Grace the
Duchess of . 377, 441
„ „ Portrait of. 441-2
Beech Fore-sight (Fig. 128) 261
Belgium, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 45 1
Bend of stock . . .361
Bermuda, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 452
Bernicle goose . . 414-6
Bewick swan . . .412
Birds coming thick and fast,
suitable shot . . 386
„ statistics of, licences . 390
Birmingham Small Arms
Company . . . 350
Bisley meetings . 325-36
Black grouse . . 378-80
„ powder . . 19
„ „ rifles . .173
498
Index
Boers . . . .169
Bolts . 33, 39
" Bonax " cartridge . .129
Boots suitable for sports-
women . . . 442
Bores, Enfield . . .181
„ killing patterns for
short-range shooting . in
„ Lee-Metford . .181
Mannlicher . 181
Mauser
181
Boring . 22, 75-7, 96-8, 216
Borland, Charles . 19,138
Borman, General . -235
Borneo, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 452
Boss, single-trigger system . 64
Bows, long- and cross- . 1-2
Brass, quantity used in
building cartridges . 134
Brazier . . . -35
„ locks . . 70-1
Brazil, import duties and
snooting obtainable . 452
Breadalbane, Marquis of .377
Breech action, Mauser . 220
„ fastenings 8, 32-3, 13, 1 6
„ -loading, first patent 3
» » punt gun . .413
„ „ principle . . 7-9
Brent goose . . 414-6
Britannia air-gun . -352
British Columbia, import
duties and shooting
obtainable. . . 453
„ East Africa, import
duties and shooting
obtainable . . . 453
„ Guiana, import duties
and shooting obtainable 455
„ Honduras, import
duties and shooting
obtainable . . . 455
British India, import duties
andshootingobtainable 455
„ modern miniature
rifle .... 340
„ New Guinea, import
duties and shooting
obtainable . . -455
„ service magazine rifle 187
Brown Hare, suitable shot
(Fig. 204) . . 407
Bruns, Professor von . . 301
Buckell, Teasdale . .172
Buenos Ayres, import duties
andshootingobtainable 456
Buffalo .... 446
Bulgaria, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 456
Bulknitros . . .119
Bullet, ammunition for in-
door and outdoor
shooting . . . 337
„ and public trial of
Axite powder at
Kynoch's . . . 309
„ Capped (Fig. 166, \
298) 188, 294, 297, 299,
3°4, 307.311
„ conical . . 233, 235
„ copper-capped (Bul-
lets extracted from
Flesh, Fig. 90, 222) 1 88, 222
„ „ experiments at
public trial . . 309
„ „ for roe and fallow
deer . . . 405
„ Delvigne (Latest
F orms of Cylindro-
conoidal Bullet, Fio;.
175, No. 2) . . 314
„ copper-coated . . 173
„ effect of military . 296
„ Explora, Brass-capped
Bullet (Fig. 98) . 239
Index
499
Bullet, Explora, Lead-capped
Bullet (Fig. 99) . . 239
„ Explora . 234-48
„ „ type ball- and
shot-gun . . .312
„ Fauneta type ball-
and shot-gun . . 312
„ Forsyth explosive . 315
„ Fosbery (Fie:. 175,
No. 8) ... 314
„ half-mantle . 297-9
„ hardening . .170
„ lead, copper-tubed . 312
„ Martini-Henry . 296
„ Mauser pistol . . 343
„ metal-covered . . 173
„ Minex(Fi>. 176) .316
„ Minie (Fig. 'l75, ~
Nos. 4, 5) . 314
„ nickel base lead . 190
„ Nickel-covered (Fig.
166, 298) . . . 297
„ nickel-covered
pegged . . 297, 299
„ Nickel-covered Lead
Nose, Solid, Hollow
and Copper-tubed (Fig.
166, 298) . . ^297-9
„ Nickel-covered Split
(Fig. 166, 298) . 297-9
„ Nilghai shot, Capped
Bullet . . .321
„ Paradox (Fig. 97,
233)- • • -231
„ pegged . 297-9
„ Pritchett (Fig. 175,
No. 6) . . -3H
„ (Seven Shots, Fig. 85,
216; Travel of Bullet
in Inches, Fig. 86,
217 ; Curves, Flight
of Bullets, Fig. 87,
218; Diagrams, Fig.
Bullet — continued.
88, 219 ; Capped
BuUet, Fig. 89, 221)
216-24
„ Sherwood . .316
„ Snider (Fig. 175, No. "
7) • • • • 3'4
„ Soft-nose (Fig. 166,
298) 298-9,310
„ „ hollow . 298-9
„ soft-pointed . . 307
„ solid . . .310
„ Solid Nickel (Fig.
166,298) 297, 307, 310
„ Split (Fig. 166, 298)
297-9
„ sporting . .185
„ „ capped . 294
„ „ expanding 295-321
„ Tamisier (Fig. 175,
No- 3) .3H
„ tests at beef . 301, 303
„ „ at steel plates . 302
„ the Leslie Taylor,
Sectional View of ( Fig.
175, No. 9) . . 314
„ the Leslie Taylor,
Sectional View of (Fig.
175, No. 10) . . 314
„ Thierry's (Fig. 175, "
No. i) . 314
„ Trials (Figs. 171, 172,
173, 174, 309, 310,
311) •. . 297-312
„ velocities, and ener-
gies, table by Rear-
Admiral J. Baker 318-20
„ Westley Richards
Capped Mauser Pistol
Bullet (Fig. 168),
After firing into Tow
(Fig. 169), Extracted
from Flesh (Fig. 170) 306
500
Index
Burma, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 456
Bustard, Great (Fig. 194,
376) • . -375
Cadet rifle, Westley Rich-
ards .... 328
Caldwell . . . .217
California, import duties
and snooting obtainable 456
Cairo, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 456
Canada goose . . -4^5
„ import duties and
shooting obtainable . 457
Canary Islands, import
duties and shooting
obtainable . . . 458
Cap for bullets . . 305, 313
„ (primer) too tightly-
fitting . . . 138
Cape Colony, import duties
and shooting obtainable 458
Capercailzie or capercaillie,
suitable shot for this
bird . . .377
Capped bullet, sporting
(Capped Bullet; Cap-
ped Bullet in Section,
Fig. 166, 298) 294, 297,
304-11
„ expanding bullet, ad-
vantages of . -312
Caps . . . 129-30
„ brass . . . 238
Card-rack . . 1 1 7-8
Cartridge-case . . .125
„ -chamber . . 96
„ expelled automatic-
ally .... 15
„ introduction of . 10
Cartridges and cartridge
loading . . 127-55
„ Axite . . 215-24
„ "Bonax," « Opex "
("Opex," Fig. 63,
131) . 129-32
,, cheap, inaccuracies
of . . . .128
„ Eley . . .409
„ Express . . -213
„ import duties on,
various countries 447-93
„ Joyce . . .409
„ "Kynoid,"«Primax"
("Primax," Fig. 64) 132
„ Westley Richards
New Accelerated Ex-
press . . . 22O
Cast-off stock . . . 362
Causes of disease of grouse . 383
„ of irregular shooting
112-13
Celebes, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 458
Central-fire gun . . 9
Certain shot for shooting
game in Great Britain
374-6
Certus rifle . . . 344
Ceylon, import duties and
shooting obtainable 458-9
Chamber . . 75-83
Chamois .... 447
Charles II. ... 3
Chief points of identifica-
tion of grey geese . 414
China, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 459
Chitral campaign . . 298
Choke barrel . . 79~%l
„ barrel patterns . 107-10
Chronograph . . 117, 141
„ Kynoch (Fig. 68) . 152
Index
501
Chronograph, results of
" Bonax," " Primax,"
" K y n o i d ," and
"Opex" cartridges . 133
Clay plug . .315
Cleaning rifle barrels . . 213
Clip-loading Accelerated
Express rifle, designed
by Westley Richards . 224
Cocking, a foremost chemist 1 9
Cogswell and Harrison,
Certus rifle . . 344
Colindian ball- and shot-
gun . . . .231
Colombo, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 459
Colt rifles . . . 345
Combination ball- and shot-
gun . . . .231
„ rear-sight, Lyman . 349
Combustion, partial . . 143
Common wild duck . . 420
Comparative striking energy 223
Comparison, American and
English rifles . 348-9
„ ballistics of cartridges 326
„ cordite and Axite car-
tridges (Shots, Fig. 85) 216
„ magazine and single-
loader . . .196
„ of ball- and shot-gun
bullets . . 236-49
„ of ball- and shot-guns 236
„ of Metford and En-
field . . . .170
„ of one- and two-
trigger guns . . 359
„ of shots . . .198
„ of weights of rifles,
Accelerated Express . 225
Competitions, miniature
rifle . . . .336
Complete gun, advantages 90-1
Component Parts, Westley
Richards Fixed Cadet
Rifle Action (Fig. 183) 332
Compound lever . . 30
Cones (Section of Westley
Richards 12-G a u g e
Cone with Cartridge
within the Chamber,
Fig. 50, 78 ; Section of
Westley Richards 12-
Gauge Cone with Fired
Case Sectioned within
the Chamber, Fig. 51,
78; Section of Westley
Richards 12- Gauge
Cone with 2-Inch Case
Sectioned within the
Chamber, Fig. 52, 79 ;
Westley Richards 12-
Gauge Cone with 2-
Inch Fired Case Sec-
tioned in Chamber, Fig.
53, 82 ; Section of
Westley Richards 12-
Gauge Cone, Fin. 54,
82) . . . 77-9,82
Conference, Hague . . 297
Conical bullet . . . 233
Connecting bolt . 31
Cordite and Axite powder. 323
„ powder . . 234
„ rifles . . .64
Core, lead . . .305
Correct Length of Stock
(Figs. 191, 192). . 363
Corsica, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 459
Cosmos ball- and shot-gun . 231
Cover-plate (Fig. 27, 40) . 13
Crocodile . . . 447
Cross-bolt . . 34
Cross movements, sights . 261
Crusher gauge . . • J33
502
Index
Curlew .... 428
Curtis & Harvey . 19, 140
„ „ pamphlet . . 80
Curves, Pressure (Fig. 86) .217
„ Trajectory (Fig. 87). 218
Cylinder barrel . 79~8i
„ and choke boring 96-8, 1 06
„ barrel patterns . 107-10
„ shot-gun . . . 232
Cylindro-conoidal Bullets,
Earliest and Latest
Forms (Fig. 175) .314
Cyprus, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 460
D
Damaged locks . 14
Damascus barrels . 23-8, 66
„ tube . . .28
„ tube-making (Process
of Welding, Fig. 42 ;
Steel Rod, Fig. 43;
Steel Rod Drilled, Fig.
44; Rough Steel Tubes,
Fig. 45) . . 65-8
Daw . . . .10
Deeley . . . .11
„ -Edge F ore-end F ast-
ener Detached (Fig. 1 6 ) 31
„ -Edge F ore-end F ast-
ener (Fig. 17) . .31
„ -Edge lever fore-end
fastener . . 12, 13
Deer i
„ and large antelope . 447
„ Fallow, suitable arms
for (Fig. 203, 404) . 403
„ Red, suitable arms for
(Fig. 202) . . .402
„ roe, suitable arms for 404
Delvigne Bullet (Cylindro-
conoidal Bullet) (Fig.
175, No. 2) . . 314
Denmark, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 460
Designing rifles, main con-
siderations . 165-6
Detachable Barrel (Fig. 184,
334) • • -333
„ system of locks, 13, 35,
37> 39
Detached Piecas of Try-gun
Stock (Fig. 193) . 368
Determining shot energy . 117
] Development of ball- and
shot-gun . . .231
Diagrams of Tiger Showing
Position of Shots Fired
(at 100 yards, Fig. 94 ;
at 200 yards, Fig. 95 ;
at 300 yards, Fig. 96) 229
Difference in Elevation,
Test, Explora (Fig.
104) . . . 245
Differences, main, between
qualities of cartridges . 133
Different lengths of stocks
357~63
„ sizes of game shot,
results of tests . 107-10
Disease of grouse . . 383
Dominica, West Indian
Islands, import duties
and shooting obtainable 460
Dominion of Canada, im-
port duties and shoot-
ing obtainable . . 460
Double 8-bore for goose
shooting . . .419
„ breech-loading rifles,
Westley Richards . 225
„ hammerless ejector
sporting rifle . .218
„ Sherwood Westley
Richards rifle . . 340
„ rifles . . .197
Index
5°3
Double rifles, black powder
173-9
„ „ with one-trigger
mechanism . 204-6
Dress suitable for women
shooters (Portraits of
the Duchess of Bed-
ford). . . 441-5
Drop-down system . .11
„ shot . . .157
Duck gun performances . 118
„ guns, weight . . 95
Duplicate barrels . .196
•„ locks, 14 . 41
Durs Egg . . .35
Duties on guns, rifles, and
cartridges, various
countries . . 447-93
East Africa, German, im-
port duties and shoot-
ing obtainable . .461
„ „ Portuguese terri-
tory, import duties
and shooting obtain-
able . . . .461
„ Indies, import duties
and shooting obtain-
able .... 462
Easte, P., trials conducted
^ by . . 223,303-7
Effect and Importance of Mauser
Automatic Pistol . -301
„ of Military Bullets,
Reports on . . .296
„ of wads in gun-
barrels . . .148
Effects of stock made too
long . . . 360
„ of stock made too
short . . .361
Egg, Durs . .35
Egypt, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 462
Egyptian goose . . 415
Ejector Lock, Westley
Richards (Figs. 32, 33,
51) .. . 51-4
„ mechanism 15-16, 49
„ Needham's (Fiu;. 31) 49
„ Southgate (Fig. 34;
End View of ^Ham-
mer, Fig. 35) . -52
„ two-limb system . 53
Elephant .... 446
Eley cartridges . . 409
Energies and velocities,
bullets, by Rear-Ad-
miral J. Baker . 318-21
„ of rifles . . 176-187
Energy, striking . 221-3
Enfield Rifling ([Fig. 74) . 163
„ -303 . . 181
Engraving and Naming
(Figs. 55-60) 84-8
„ A Type of Modern
English Gun Engrav-
ing Frontispiece
„ Types of Belgian and
French (Plates) . 90, 91
„ Types of Modern
English Gun Engrav-
ing (Plate)
Etiquette and laws of
sport . . 443
Expanding bullets . . 295
Expansion and penetration
of bullets . . 301-2
Experiment, bullets, see Bullets
Experiments and tests of
Westley Richards Ex-
plora ball- and shot-gun
(Target,Figs. 101, 102)236,
249
504 Index
PAGE
PAGE
Experiments r<? barrel bursts,
Fastening Westley Richards
account of (Barrel
top-lever into solid
Bulged, Fig. 65, 146 ;
breech . . .210
Bairel Burst, Fig. 66,
Faulty shooting, causes of . 113
1 49 ; Barrel Bulged,
„ boring . . .121
•012, etc., Fig. 67,
Fauneta ball- and shot-
149) . I45-51
gun . . .211-13
„ with reduced powder
„ ball- and shot-gun
charges . . . 301
(F auneta Diagram,
Experts on guns and shoot-
Fig.105, 252 ; Fauneta
ing . .171
Express Ball, Fig. 106,
Explora all-lead bullet
253 ; F auneta, Section
test (Effect of Bullet
of Bullet, Fig. 107,
on Plate, Fig. 103) . 244
253; Fauneta Capped
„ ball- and shot-gun 211-13,
Bullet, Fig. 108, 253)
234-48
250-5
„ brass-capped test . 243
„ bullets . . . 313
„ bullet, "all-lead" .314
„ for deer-stalking . 403
„ (Bullet, Figs. 110, "
„ for killing big game . 447
111). . . 254
„ gun suitable for bus-
„ gun for big game . 446
tard shooting . . 376
„ Shots (16 Consecu-
Fiji, import duties and
tive Shots, Fig. 100) . 240
shooting obtainable . 462
„ Test, Difference in
Fired cases automatically
Elevation (Fig. 104) . 245
expelled . . 15
„ type ball- and shot-
Firing adjustable try-gun . 354
gun bullets . . 313
Fitting of shot-guns . 354-72
Explosives . . 19
Flint-lock . . -37
Express cartridges . .213
„ -lock (Before Firing,
„ rifles . . 48, 167
after Firing, Fig. 1) 3-5
„ „ and deer-stalking 403
„ -lock gun patterns . 99
„ „ New Accelerated 215
„ -lock, Joe Manton
Extended top rib fastening 33
^Fig. 22) . _ . .36
External hammers . .12
Florida, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 463
Folding Leaves and Tan-
F
gent Sights (Fig. 114) 257
Facility and speed of
Fore-end . . . .12
loading . . .125
„ attachment of detach-
Falkland Islands, import
able barrel . . 333
duties and shooting
„ ejector . . 50
obtainable . . . 462
„ fasteners . . .29
Fallow deer . . . 403
„ „ (Anson, Fig. 15) . 30
Index
505
Fore-end fasteners (Deeley-
Edge, Figs. 16, 17) . 31
„ „ (Screw-grip, Fig.
14) . . . .30
„ of Finished Action
(Fig. 13). . . 29
Forsyth explosive bullets . 315
„ Rev. Alex. J. . .6
Fosbery ball- and shot-gun 236
„ Colonel . . .231
„ Bullet, Cylindro-co-
noidal Bullet (Fit*.
175, No. 8) . . 314
Four-stripe Damascus Bar-
rel (Fig. 7) _. .25
France, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 463
Francotte removable action 330
Freeing . . . .88
Frontispiece - - Type of
Modern English Gun
Engraving
Full game charge, condi-
tions of trial loi-n
Gambia, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 464
Game and gun licences,
statistics . . . 390
„ -bag, Austria . .391
„ „ Prussia . .391
„ shooting in Great
Britain " . . 373-409
„ shot, different sizes,
result of tests . 107-10
Geese common to British
Islands :
Bean goose . 414-16
Bernicle goose 414-16
Brent goose . 414-16
Greylag goose 414-19
FACE
Geese common to British
Islands — continued.
Pink-footed goose 414-16
White-fronted
goose . 414-16
„ uncommon to British
Islands :
Canada goose. 415-16
Egyptian goose 415-16
Lesser White-
fronted goose 415-16
Red-breasted
goose . 415-16
Snow goose . 415-16
Gerard, Gilbert, Sir Mon-
tague . . .193
Germany, import duties
and shooting obtain-
able .... 464
Gibbs' rifle . . .172
„ sight .264
Gibraltar, import duties
and shooting obtain-
able .... 464
Gold Coast, import duties
and snooting obtain-
able .... 465
Government miniature rifle,
particulars. . . 346
Graham, Sir R. . . 420
Great Bustard (Fig. 194,
376). • 375
Greece, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 465
Greener cross-bolt . . 34
„ sharpshooter rifle 325-37
Grenada, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 466
Greylag s;oose . . 414-16
Griffith, Mr. R. W. S. 19, 145,
205
Grip action 9, 33
Grooving, spiral, etc. 162-3
Index
Grouse, black . . -37^
„ shooting and shot . 377
„ wild-rising, suitable
shot .... 384
Ground Game Act . . 407
Gun-barrel . . . 23 j
Gun, boring and shooting . 75 !
„ complete (See Type of
French Gun Engrav-
ing) . . 90-1 |
„ -fitter and gunmaker 367 j
„ game, cylinder and
choke . . .106
5, 55 (Weights) . . 93
„ headache. . .122
„ -locks . . 34-40, 54
„ „ Westley Richards 71
„ manufacture (Tubes
Coupled, Fig. 46, 68 ;
Barrels with Lumps
and Ribs attached,
Fig. 47, 68) . 65-70
„ performances . .120
55 pigeon (Weights) . 94
„ -powder, history, 2, 1 9, 1 39
„ .second-hand . . 369
„ shot- . . .92
„ „ measurements of
stock . . . 369
„ shoulder duck
(Weights) ... 95
„ single punt (Weights) 96
„ special (Westley
Richards), for wild-
duck shooting . 422-3
„ suitable shot-, for
Curlew . . . 428
„ „ Gadwall . . 426
Golden Plover . 428
Knot . . 429
Long-tailed Duck 426
Pintail . . 426
Pochard . . 426
55 55
55 55
55 55
55 55
55 55
suitable shot-, for
Redshank . . 429
„ „ Sheldrake . . 426
„ „ Shoveller . . 426
„ „ Teal . . 426
„ „ Whimbrel. . 428
55 55 Wigeon- . . 426
„ -stock (Rough Slab of
Walnut, Fig. 48, 74 ;
Finished Walnut Stock,
Fig. 49, 74) . 73-5
„ Stock, Correct Length
of (Figs. 191, 192) . 363
„ Stock, how to take
Measurement (Figs.
189,190). . ^357-9
„ suitable for wildfowl-
ing . . . 410-29
„ try-, uses of . 354-65
Guns, air- . . . 352
„ ball, advantages of . 232
„ ball- and shot-. . 231
„ calibre . . . 1 1 1
„ Colindian ball- and
shot- . . .231
„ Cosmos ball- and
shot- . . .231
„ cylinder shot . . 232
„ Explora and Fauneta 21 1
55 fitting . . 354-72
„ how to hold . . 444
„ import duties on,
various countries 447-93
„ Paradox . . . 231
„ rifle and shot- . . 231
„ Suitable for Sports-
women (Fig. 205, 433 ;
Fig. 208, 434; Fig.
207, 434) •
„ two-trigger
432-40
• 359
Westley Richards
Explora . . . 234
wildfowl (Weights) . 95
Index
507
Guatemala, import duties
and shooting obtainable 466
Guedes rifle . . . 173
H
Hague Conference . . 297
Half-mantle bullet . . 297
Halford, Sir Henry . . 347
Halifax (N.S.),import duties
and shooting obtainable 466
Hall & Son . . 19
Hammer or tumbler . 35-7, 88 j
„ safety position of . 10
Hammerless action, inven-
tion of . . 11-12
„ gun . . 9, 1 6
„ Rifle . . .214
Hand - detachable Locks
(Cover-plate, Fig. 27 ;
Fig. 28) 13-14, 35, 37, 39,
40, 41
Hardening of bullets. 170-1
Hardy, Lieut.-Colonel . 162
Hare Preservation Act . 407
„ shooting, suitable shot
(Fig. 204) . . 407
Hawker, Colonel . 4, 6, 1 14,
378
Headache, gun- . .122
Heavy loading . . .119
Helpful rules when purchas-
ing second-hand a;uns . 371
Henry Rifling(Figs. 70, 71) 162
„ VIII., King . . 348
High-class guns, advantages 89
„ „ one-trigger rifles
(•577-Bore, Fig. 77;
•256-Bore, Fig." 78) 200-1
„ power Express rifles . 64
„ -velocity Express
rifles suitable for big
game . . 446-7
High-velocity Nitro Ex-
press Rifling (Fig. 75) 164
„ -velocity nitro Express
double rifles . 202-4
„ -velocity rifles . . 184
Hippopotamus . . . 446
Holland, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 467
„ and Holland, 175, 231,
277>366, 403, 413
Hong Kong, import duties
and shooting obtainable 467
Hood, Robin i
Housman Pressure Gun
(Fig. 62) . . 122, 141
How to measure Gun-stock
(Figs. 189, 190) 357,359
Hungary-Austria, import
duties and shooting
obtainable . . . 467
Hurlingham Club . . 95
I
Iceland, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 468
Ideal rifle . . . 345
„ weapon, roe-stalking 405
Ignition, new form of . 6
„ of powder charge . 137
„ only of cap without
any powder charge . 145
Illustration of Bullets" fired
at Steel Plate (Fig. 89) 221
Import duties on guns,
rifles, and cartridges,
various countries 447-93
Improved sight, ten pieces 273-4
Improvement by Westley
Richards on B.S.A.
air-rifles . . . 351
Inaccuracies of low-priced
cartridges . . .128
508
Index
I'AGK
Increase or velocity . .216
India, import duties and
shooting obtainable 468-9
Ingenious catch (cover-
plate) . . 13-14
Interchangeable locks . 14
„ sights . . . 220
Introducer of try - gun
system . . . 366
Invisible rifling. . . 232
Italy, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 469
Ivory sights . . . 258
Jamaica, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 470
Japan, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 470
Java, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 471
Jones . . . 19
„ of Birmingham, in-
troducer of " try-gun," 366
Joyce cartridges . . 409
K
Keen, Lord, bullet . . 239
Khartum, import duties
and shooting obtainable 47 1
Killing patterns, bores, for
short-range shooting 111-19
„ moving game, secret
of . . 355
King Henry VIII . . 348
Knot bird . . . 429
Kynoch . . 19, 126
„ and shot . . 374-5
„ Chronograph (Fig. 68) 152
„ Slugs and Pellets
(Tailpiece, 353) . . 352
Kynoch, smokeless powder 94
„ trials, rifles used (Bul-
lets, Fig. 90, 222) . 220
Kynoch's public bullet trial
(Axite powder) . . 309
„ table, ballistics, com-
parison . . -326
"Kynoid " case . .132
Labuan, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 472
Ladies in the Field, by her
Grace the Duchess of
Bedford . . 441-5
Lagos, import duties and
snooting obtainable . 472
Laminated Barrel (Fig. 8) . 25
Lancaster, C., sights . . 262
„ rifle and deer-stalking 403
Larger calibre guns . . in
Lateral adjustment-sights . 264
Latimer, Bishop . . 2
Lead core . . . 305
Leaf Sight (With and With- *
out "V," Figs. 121,
122). . 258,259
Leamington Rifle Club . 339
Lee-Enfield rifle . 181-2
„ -Metford rifle . 181-2
Lefaucheux action . . 7-9
Leighton, Sir Byron . . 342
Lemon, Mark, famous
marksman ... 4
Length, Correct, of Stock
(Figs. 191, 192) 362, 363
„ of gun-barrel affect-
ing recoil . . .121
„ of Stock (Figs. 189,
- • • 357>359
too long . .360
Index
5°9
Length of stock too short . 361
Lesser white- fronted goose . 415
Lever fastening . . 34
Levers . . -9) 3°-2
Licences, game and gun,
statistics of . . 390
Light Gun Suitable for
Women (Figs. 205,206,
207) . . 433, 434, 436
Lion .... 446
Loading . . . .125
Lock, Brazier . . 70-1
„ F lint- (Before F iring,
After Firing, Fig. 1) . 3-5
„ gun- . . 34-40
„ Hand-detachable,
Cover-plate (Figs. 27,
28) . . 40,41
„ mechanism 35, 37, 88
„ „ rifle . . .344
„ Percussion (Exterior
and Interior, Fig. 23) 36
„ rebounding, invention
of . . .10
„ removed . . 40-1
„ Side (22 Parts, Fig.
25) . . . .38
„ Westley Richards, A.
and D. (7 parts, Fig.
26) . . . .39
„ -wheel 3
Locks . . 1 3-2 9, 35-7
„ duplicate . . 14, 41-2
Long cone . . .82
„ -tailed duck . . 427
Lovat, Lord . . . 382
Loveday, Lieut.-Col. . 328
Lyman combination rear-
sight . . .349
„ Fore-sight (Fig. 127) 261
„ Peep Sight (Fig. 124) 260
„ sight . . .259
M
Macpherson, Rev. H. A. .416
Madeira, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 473
Magazine, Lee-Metford
and Enfield rifle 182, 195
,, Mauser rifle 183, 194
„ miniature rifles . 345
„ rifle . 182-3, J94
„ „ Mannlicher action 183
„ „ with Lee action . 183
„ rifles, '318, clip-loader 224
„ Westley Richards
under - lever (Mauser
Magazine Rifle with
Westley Richards
Patent Detachable
Barrel, Fig. 76) . 195
Malay Peninsula, import
duties and shooting
obtainable . . . 473
Mallard, common wild duck 420
Malta, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 473
Mannlicher, -256-bore, 181, 182,
J94, 342
„ -256- and -375-Bore
Trajectory (Figs. 155,
158). . . 285, .287
„ rifle and deer-stalking 403
„ Schonnauer magazine
action . . 182, 194
Man ton, Joe . . 4, 35
„ John . . . 5, 9
Manufacture of guns . . 63
Marlin rifles . . . 345
Martini Action (Fig. 178) . 324
„ rifles . . .168
„ sporting rifle . .180
Martini-Henry bullets . 296
„ rifle (Detachable Ac-
tion, Fig. 181) . . 330
Index
rAvc
Martini-Henry rifle (Detach-
able Action and Barrel,
Fig. 182) . . .331
„ rifle, Westley Rich-
ards .... 328
Match pellets . . -352
„ Slide from M, B. L. "
Rifles (Sight up, Fig.
131 ; Sight down, Fig.
132). . . .263
Mauritius, import duties
and shootingobtainable 474
Mauser breech action . 220
„ Pistol (Fig. 167) 304-5
Mauser, '275-, ^n-bores . 181
„ rifle . . .342
„ „ and deer-stalking 403
McKenzie, Evan G. . 204
McLeod bullet . . 240
Measurement, how to take,
of Gun-stock (Figs.
189,190). . 357,359
„ stock rifle . . 369
Mechanism, lock 35, 37, 88
„ ejector . . 51
Meetings at Bisley . 325-6
Metal-covered bullet . 173
Metford Rifling (Fi^s. 72,
73) . . v. 163
„ details of. . . 171
„ pitch . . . 171
Mexico, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 474
Micrometer Slide, Westley
Richards Wind-gauge
(Fig. 143) . . 269
Military authorities . .170
„ bullets, effect of . 296
„ Pattern Lift-up Sights
(Sight up, Fig. 129;
Sight down, Ftg. 130) 262
Miniature rifle, Ballard . 344
„ „ Certus . . 344
Miniature rifle competitions
336~9
„ „ modern British . 340
„ Sherwood Match Tar-
get Rifle (Fig. 188) . 338
„ rifles ^ . . 322-53
,, rifles, Government . 346
Minex action of rifle . 325
„ Bullet (Fig. 176) .316
„ principle of rifle . 325
„ sporting rifle . . 34 1
Minie Bullet, Cylindro-
conoidal Bullet (Fisj.
175) . . . 314
Miss-fires . . .198
Modern cylinders and am-
munition . . • " 97
„ double-barrel sport-
ing rifle, specification
of (Top Rib sunk be-
tween Barrels, Fig. 79,
206 ; Stop bolting
Safety Slide, Fig. 80,
207 ; Stop moved
aside, Fig. 81, 207 ;
Sling without Metal
Swivel, Fig. 82, 208 ;
Metal Cap with Spring
Trap, Fig. 83, 208 ;
Safety Mechanism,
Fig. 84, 209) . . 206
„ shot-guns . .22
„ sporting gun, first-
class . . . .112
„ under-lever single-
loading rifle . -194
Moluccas, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 474
Montserrat, West India
Islands, import duties
and shootingobtainable 475
Morocco, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 475
Index
Morris tube . . -352
Moses .... 2
Mould shot . . .615
Moving game, secret of
killing . . .355
Mute swan . . .411
Muzzle-loaders . . . 1 20
„ -loading pistols . 16
„ protuberant . . 4
„ -striking energies . 223
N
Nasmyth steam-hammer . 48
Natal, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 476
National Rifle Association . 169
„ „ regulations 329,
336-7> 353
Needham's Ejector (Fig. 31)
49-50
New Forest i
„ Government weapon 347
„ Guinea, import duties
and shooting obtainable 476
„ system hand-detach-
able lock . . 14
„ Zealand, import
duties and shooting
obtainable . -477
Newcastle chilled shot . 158
Newfoundland, import
duties and shooting
obtainable . . 476
Nicholson, W. A., and
Sherwood rifle . . 405
Nickel case lead bullet . 190
„ -covered Bullet (Fie;s.
166, 298) . . " . 297
Nilghai shot with Leslie
Taylor Capped Bullet 321
Nitro-Express rifle, highest
type . . . 292
Nitros . . . 119, 138
Nobel . . . 19
Nock . . . -35
North Africa, import duties
andshootingobtainable 477
Norway, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 478
Nova Scotia, import duties
andshootingobtainable 478
Number of pellets to ounce 160
O
One-trigger mechanism,
Westley Richards
(Mechanism Detached,
Fig. 36, 55 ; Main
Limbs shown separ-
ately, Fig. 37, 55 ;
Showing Mechanism
with Parts in Position
to fire First Barrel,
Fig. 38, 55 ; Showing
Mechanism with Parts
in Position to fire
Second Barrel, Fig. 39,
56 ; Direction of Pull
for Fore and Rear
Trigger, Fig. 40, 57) 54-9
„ double rifles . 204-6
„ for wildfowlino^ . 424
„ Rifle, -256-Bore (Fig.
78) . . . . 201
„ Rifle, Double -577-
Bore, 100 grs. Cordite
(Fig. 77) . . . 200
„ Westley Richards,
Release (Fig. 41) . 60
„ Westley Richards,
double i2-gauge gun . 101
Open sights . . .256
"Opex" Cartridge (Fig. 63,
131). . . .129
Index
Orange River Colony,
import duties and
shooting obtainable . 478
Page, Mr. Herbert, of
Hertford, and par-
tridges . . . 396
Pamphlet, Art of Shooting
with Rifle, by Sir H.
Halford . . . 347
Paradox Bullet (Figs. 97,
109) . 233, 254
». gun 231-3
Partial combustion . . 143
Partridge shooting (Fig.
199). . . 395-9
Patent Capped Bullet at
Steel Plate (Fig. 89) . 221
„ first, for breech-load-
ing .. . 3-8
„ hand-detachable lock,
. 13
„ shot . . 155-61
„ Sight Attachment,
Westley Richards (Fig.
153) . . .279
„ Wind-gauge fixed to
Sight Head (Fig. 149) 273
„ (Zeiss) telescope sight 220
Pattern of bores for killing
at short ranges . .in
„ of cylinder and choke
barrel . . .133
Patterns, shot . . 98-110
Paul, Lieut.-Col. A. . . 328
Pauly . . 8
Payne Gallwey, Sir Ralph . 34
Peep or Aperture Sights
(Fig. 187) . . .256
„ Sight, Westley Rich-
ards (Fig. 187) . . 336
Peep sights, American . 349
Pegged bullet . . . 297
Pellets . . 99-110, 155
„ air-gun . . .352
Penetration . . 114-18
„ and expansion of bul-
lets . . . 301-2
„ of solid bullet . . 307
Percussion-cap ... 5
„ gun-caps . .138
„ „ invention . . 6
„ „ system, invention
of . . . .16
„ Lock, Exterior and
Interior (Fig. 23) 34-6
Performances of duck gun . 1 18
„ of gun . . .120
Persia, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 479
Peru, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 480
Pettit pad . . 114-15
Pheasant shooting . 392-5
„ suitable shot for (Fia;.
198). . 388
Philippine Islands, import
duties and shooting
obtainable . . . 480
Pigeon gun, weight . . 94
Pigou, Wilkes and Law-
rence . . 19
Pink- footed goose . -414
Pintail .... 426
Pistol bullet, Mauser . 343
„ Mauser, Westley
Richards (Fis;s. 167,
168) . . : . 304-6
Pitch, Metford rifling . 171
Pivot Wind-gauge " Sight
(Fig. 141) . . .268
Plates, steel, and bullets . 302
Plover .... 428
Plug, clay . . .315
Index
5*3
Pochard .... 426
Polish swan . . .411
Portraits of her Grace the
Duchess of Bedford
441, 442
Portugal, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 480
Pottct .... 9
Powder, cordite . . 234
„ cordite and Axite . 323
„ list. . . 139-40
„ pressure and barrel
bursts . . .141
Powders . . . .20
Practical trajectory tables 225-9
Pressure gun (Housman
Pressure Gun, Fig. 62,
122) . . 122-4
Price-Lloyd, Mr. R. J. . 409
"Primax" Cartridge (Fiu.
64) . . . , 132
Primers . . . . 137
Pritchett Bullet, Cylindro-
conoidal Bullet (Fig.
175, No. 6) . . 314
Projectile v. gun . -235
Projectiles, comparison of
wounds caused by . 307
Proof of action . . . 7 1
„ of pressures and
charges . . 71-3
Prussian annual game-bag . 391
„ needle-gun . . 9
Ptarmigan, suitable shot for
(Fig. 197) . . .387
Pulls, direction ot . -55
Punt gun, weight . . 96
Purdey rifle . . .168
„ „ and deer-stalking 403
„ Top Lever (Fig. 19) . 32
[33]
Q
PAGE
398
Quail, suitable shot for .
Quantity of brass used in
building cartridges . 134
Queensland, import duties
and snooting obtain-
able . . . .481
Question of battery . .211
R
Rabbit shooting . 408-9
Rack, card . . 117-18
Raid, Jameson . . -297
Rangoon, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 481
Ratchet .... 273
Rear sight, Lyman combin-
ation . . . 349
I Rebounding lock, invented 10
! Recoil . . 1 8, 120, 205
„ affected by length of
gun-barrel. . .121
„ device for testing . 123
„ results of " Bonax,"
"Primax,""Kynoid,"
and "Opex" car-
tridges . . . 133
Red-breasted goose . . 4 1 5
Red Deer shooting, suitable
shot (Fig. 202) . . 402
„ Grouse, suitable shot
for (Fig. 196) . . 382
Redshank bird . . . 429
Regularity of performance,
cartridges . . . 135
Regulations, N.R.A. 329, 337
Remington Arms Company 345
Removable action, Fran-
cotte system . . 330
Rent-roll of Scottish shoot-
ings . . , 382-3
514
Index
Report on effect of wads in
gun-barrels . .148
Result of sighting at 100,
200 and 300 yards . 227
Results of bullet fired at
beef. . . 302-3
„ of tests . . 1 06- 10
Rhodesia, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 481
Rib-extension (With Solid
Joint-pin and Bottom
Bolt, Fig. 20) . .32
Rifle Action, Component
Parts (Fig. 183) . 332
„ American miniature . 344
„ and shot-guns . .212
„ Axite (Fig. 86) 217-19
„ Ballard . . . 344
„ barrels, cleaning . 213
„ Colt and Winchester 345
„ comparison,American
and English . 348-9
„ double Sherwood . 340
„ Elcho Match (Fig. ~
86) . . . . 217
„ Express, New Accel-
erated . . .215
„ Government minia-
ture .... 346
„ Greener . . . 337, 339
„ Hammerless . .214
„ Ideal . . 345
„ Leamington Club . 339
„ Lee-Enfield service . 329
„ lock mechanism . 344
„ magazine, clip-loaders 224
„ Mark I, Sherwood
Pivot Wind - gauge
Sight (Fig. 185) . 335
„ Marlin Company . 345
„ Martini system,
Westley Richards (De-
tachable Action, Fig.
Rifle, Martini — continued.
181; Detachable Ac-
tion and Barrel, Fig.
182) . . 330-1
„ Match (Fig. 86) .217
„ Minex sporting,
Westley Richards . 341
„ miniature competi-
tions . . . 336
„ modern British mini-
ature . . . 340
„ Remington shot . 344
„ Savage target, weight
of . . " . 346
„ Sherwood, and deer-
stalking . . 405-6
„ „ competition . 339
„ „ Miniature Match
Target Rifle (Fig.
188). . . .338
„ , „ Mark II . . 269
„ sights, see Sights
„ Stevens' American
match, weight of . 346
„ „ Favourite, weight
of . . .346
„ „ Ideal, weight of . 346
„ „ rim-fire . . 345
347
„ use of . .
„ used in Kynoch
trials . . .220
, , Westley Richards Ac-
celerated Express Ve-
locity, Approximate
(Fig. 165) . . .293
„ Westley Richards
Peep Sight and Wind-
gauge (Fig. 187) . 336
„ Westley Richards
Sherwood . . . 339
,, Westley Richards un-
der-lever action, sport-
ing .... 220
Index
5*5
Rifle, Westley Richards
Vernier and Wind-
gauge Sight (Fig. 186) 336
„ Winchester . . 344
„ „ weight of . . 346
Rifles, air-, Birmingham
Small Arms Co. . 350
„ Certus . . .344
„ details of Metford . 171
„ double . . .197
„ „ black powder 174-9
„ „ with one-trigger
mechanism . 204-6
„ Express . . .167
„ „ and deer-stalking 403
„ „ velocities . .167
,, for women shooters . 441
„ Gibbs . . .172
„ Guedes . . . 173
„ high-velocity, Nitro . 167
„ import duties on,
various countries 447-93
„ magazine v. double . 196
„ magazine, Lee-Met-
ford and Enfield . 183
„ „ Mauser . 182-3
„ main considerations 165-6
„ Mannlichermagazine 182
„ „ Schon nauer maga-
zine action . .182
„ Martini . . .168
„ „ Action (Fig. 178) 324
„ Mauser . . .183
„ Metford . . .169
„ „ and Enfield . 170
„ Minex principle . 325
„ miniature . 322-53
„ One - trigger, -577-
Bore (Fig. 77) . . 200
„ One • trigger, -256-
Bore (Fig. 78) . .201
„ rook . . . 322
„ sharpshooter . .325
Rifles, Sherwood . . 326
„ Side - lever Action,
Rebounding Lock (Fig.
177). . . 323
„ sighting oi . 256-94
„ single, black powder 1 80-4
„ single-loading and
magazine . . 91
„ Snider . . .168
„ specification . . 194
„ specification of
modern double-bar-
relled sporting rifle
(Top Rib sunk between
Barrels, Fig. 79, 206 ;
Stop Bolting Safety
Slide, Fig. 80, 207 ;
Stop moved aside, etc.,
Fig. 81, 207 ; Sling
without Metal Swivel,
Fig. 82, 208 ; Metal
Cap with Spring Trap,
Fig. 83, 208 ; Safety
Mechanism, Fig. 84,
209) . . . 206-9
„ sporting (Whitworth
Rifling, 8 Grooves,
Fig. 69, 162 ; Henry
Rifling, 7 Grooves,
Fig. 70, 162 ; Henry
Rifling, 9 Grooves,
Fig. 71, 163 ; Metford
Rifling, -458-Bore, 7
Grooves, Fig. 72, 163 ;
Metford Rifling, -303-
Bore, 7 Grooves, Fig.
73, 163; Enfiefd
Rifling, '303-Bore, 5
Grooves, Fig. 74, 163 ;
High- velocity Nitro
Express Rifling, 7
Grooves, Fig. 75, 164)
162-4
Si6
Index
PAGE
Rifles suitable for Bear 446-7
PAGE
Roumania, import duties
„ „ Buffalo . 446-7
and shooting obtainable 481
„ „ Chamois . 446-7
Rufus, King William . i
„ „ Crocodile . 446-7
Rules advisory for purchas-
„ „ Deer and Large
ing second-hand guns. 371
Antelope . . 446-7
„ how to hold gun . 444
„ „ Elephant . 446-7
Russia, import duties and
„ „ Hippopotamus 446-7
shooting obtainable . 481
„ „ Lion . 446-7
Rusting process . . 23
„ „ Rhinoceros. 446-7
„ „ Tiger . 446-7
„ Top-lever Action,
with Hammerless Bar-
Safe construction . .165
rel-cocking Principle
Safety bolt (Tumbler and
(Fig. 180) . . .324
Trigger Bolt, Fig. 29,
„ Under-lever Sliding- 44 ; Fig. 30, 46)" 39, 43
block Action (Fig. 179) 3241 „ mechanism . . 209
„ weight of high-
Salisbury, Lord . 327, 349
velocity Nitro-Express
Sardinia, import duties and
double . . 202-4 shooting obtainable . 482
„ Westley Richards Saunders, H. . . 415-16
breech- and muzzle-
Savage target rifle, weight of 346
loading capping car-
Schultze . . . 19-20
bine . . . .169
Screw arrangement for
„ Westley Richards
elevating slide . . 264
cadet . . . 328
^ „ Grip (Fig. 14) . 30
„ Westley Richards
Screwing . . . -75
Martini-Henry . . 328
Scottish shootings, rent-
„ Westley Richards
roll . . . 382-3
No. 2 musket . .169
Sear . . 35,37,88
„ with Lee action . 183
„ broken ... 45
„ with Mannlicher
Second-hand guns . . 369
action . . . 183
Secret of success in killing
Rifling . . . 162, 190
moving game . -355
„ invisible . . . 232
Service rifle, Lee-Enfield . 329
„ shallow . . . 171
Seychelles, import duties
Rigby . 184, 277
and shooting obtainable 483
„ rifle and deer-stalking 403
Shakespeare . . 19
Roswell Cook tangent sight
Shallow rifling . . . 171
(Leaf up, Fig. 137) . 266
Sharpshooter . . . 325
Rothschild, Hon. W. . 420
Sheldrake, particulars of . 426
Rough Forging of Action-
Sherwood bullet . . 316
gl^body (Fig. 11) . . 28
„ double rifle . . 340
Index
517
Sherwood Miniature Match
Target Rifle (Fig. 188) 338
„ „ Rifle Competition 339
„ rifle . . . 326
„ „ Mark I (Pivot
Wind-gauge Sight,
Fig. 185) . . .335
„ „ Mark II . .269
„ rifles and deer-stalk-
ing . 405-6
Shooting abroad . 446-93
„ American Swan 411-16
„ and boring . . 75
„ Bewick's Swan 411-16
„ Fallow Deer (Fig.
203) . . 404
„ game in Great Britain373- |
409 i
„ Hare, suitable shot
(Fig. 204) . . 407
„ indoor, ammunition . 337 |
„ mallard, common wild
duck . . . 420
„ Mute Swan . 411-16
„ outdoor, ammunition 337
„ Partridge (Fig. 199,
395) • - 395-9
„ Pheasant (Fio;. 198,
388) . ., 392-5
„ Polish Swan . 411-16
„ power and perform-
ance . . .98
„ Quail . . .398
„ Red Deer (Fig. 202) 402
„ Roe Deer . . 404
„ Snipe, Great (Fig.
201, 401) . . 400-1 !
„ Trumpeter Swan 4ii-i6|
„ Whooper Swan 4ii-i6|
„ wildfowl in Great
Britain . . 410-201
„ Woodcock (Fig. 200) 399 i
Shot . . . 155-61]
Shot and ball-gun, Explora
236-49
„ and ball-gun, Fauneta
250-5
„ for shooting game in
Great Britain . 374-6
„ game, different sizes,
result of tests . 107-10
-gun ammunition . 125
-guns . .22
„ fitting of . 354-72
„ various types . 92
suitable for birds
coming thick and fast 386
, „ Bar-tailed God-
wit . . . 426-9
, „ Black Grouse
(Blackcock, Fig. 195,
379) • • • 378-9
, „ Bustard, Great
(Fig. 194, 376) . 375
, „ Curlew . 426-9
, „ Capercailzie, or
Capercaillie . 377
, „ Eider Ducks 426-9
Gad wall i 426-9
Golden Eye 426-9
Knot . 426-9
Lapwing . 426-9
Long-tailed Duck
426-9
Pintail . 426-9
Plovers . 426-9
„ Pheasant (Fie;.
198) . . . 388
„ Ptarmigan (Fia;.
196, 382) . . ^382-3
„ Pochard . 426-9
Redshank . 426-9
„ Red Grouse (Fi>.
197)
„ Sheldrake .
Teal
42-9
426-9
518
Index
Shot suitable for Tufted
Duck . . 426-9
„ „ Whimbrel . 426-9
„ „ Wigeon . -425
„ „ wild-rising strong
grouse . 384
„ „ Wood-pigeons 426-9
„ patterns . . 98-1 10
pellets .- . 99-110
suitable for
game
shooting . . 373
Shots, comparison of . . 198
„ Diagram, Position on
Animal (Figs. 94, 95,
96) . 229
„ Explora (16 Consecu-
tive Shots, Fig. 100) . 240
Shoveller, particulars of . 426
Siberian goose . . 415-16
Sicily, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 483
Side-lock hammerless gun . 12
„ (22 Parts, Fig. 25) . 38
Sierra Leone, import duties
and shooting obtain-
able / . - . .484
Sighting of rifles . .256
"„ Result at 100, 200
and 300 Yards (Fig;.
93, 228) . . . 227
„ (Sights most used,
Figs. 112, 113, 256;
Folding Leaves and
Tangent Sights, Fig.
114, 257 ; Bead Fore-
sight, Fig. 115, 257 ;
Bead Fore-sight, Dove-
tailed, Fig. 116, 257 ;
Bead Fore-sight with
Lift-up Globe, Fig.
117, 258 ; Bead Fore-
sight with Globe down,
Fig. 118, 2583 Bar-
Sighting — continued.
leycorn Fore - sight,
Fig. 119, 258 ; Ameri-
can Fore- sight, Fig.
120, 258 j Platinum
Triangle on Leaf Sight
and "V," Fig. 121,
258 ; Platinum Tri-
angle without " V,"
Fig. 122, 258 ; Vari-
ous Forms of "V's,"
Fig. 123, 259 ; Lyman
Peep Sight, Fig. 124,
260 ; Westley" Rich-
ards Peep Sight, Fie;.
125, 260; Wind-
gauge Appliance, Fig.
126, 261 ; Lyman
Fore-sight, Fig. 127,
261 ; Beech Fore-
sight, Fig. 128, 261 ;
Sight up, Fig. 129,
262 ; Sight down,
Westley Richards, Fig.
130, 262 ; Sight up,
Fig. 131, 263 ; Sight
down, Fig. 132, 263 ;
Sight up, Fig. 133,
264 ; Vernier Sight,
Screw, Fig. 134, 265 ;
Vernier Sight with
"V," Fig. 135, 265;
Vernier Sight, Fie:.
136, 265) .
„ standard . . 256-65
Sights, American, deserving
praise . . .349
„ Head, showing West-
ley Richards Patent
Wind-gauge and Parts
(Fig. 148). . . 272
„ improved, 10 pieces 273-4
„ interchangeable . 220
Index
Sights, Roswell Cook tan-
gent (Leaf up Fig.
137) .
Sherwood
266
333-7
. 184
275
„ telescope .
„ (Under-side of Leaf,
with Westley Richards
Screw, Fig. 144 ; Ele-
vator Screw and
Clutch, Fig. 145) . 270
„ Vernier Screw with
Government Head
(Fig. 147) . . 271,
„ vernier, Westley
Richards (Vernier
Sight, Fig. 186) . 336
„ vertical movement
improved . . . 333
„ View of Complete
Slide (Fig. 146) . 271
„ Westley Richards
Telescope Patent Sight
Attachment (Fie;.
153). . . . 279
„ Westley Richards
(Pivot Push, Fig. 138 ;
Formation of Shoul-
ders, Fig. 139 ; Push
Pivot Wind - gauge
Sight, Fig. 140) . 267
„ Westley Richards
Telescope Rifle Sight
Attachment (Fie;s. 151,
152) . . 277,278
„ Westley Richards
Telescope, Sherwood
Rifle, with Patent
Attachment (Fig. 154) 280
„ Westley Richards
Wind - gauge Micro-
meter Slide (Fig. 143) 269
„ wind-gauge . 333-6
Sights, Wind-gauge Bar
worked by Traversing
Screw (Fig. 142) . 269
„ peep, Westley
Richards (Peep Sight,
Fig. 187) . . .336
„ Zeiss patent telescope 220
„ „ Telescope, with
Westley Richards
Attachment (Fig. 150) 276
Singapore, import duties
andshootingobtainable 484
Single and magazine rifles 191-3
„ barrel . . .193
„ -loader rifle . 181-4
„ rifles, dealing with
black powder . 180-4
„ trigger . . 9, 16-17
Skelp Barrel (Fig. 3) . 24
Sliding- block under- lever
rifle . . . 180-1
Slugs, Kynoch, and Pellets
(Tailpiece, 353) . .352
Smokeless shot-gun powder 19
Snap,Deeley-Edge fore-end 12
Snider bullet . . . 240
„ Bullet (Fig. 175, No. 7) 314
„ rifles . . .168
Snipe, suitable shot for
(Fig. 201, 401) . 400-1
Snow goose . . 415—16
South Africa, import duties
andshootingobtainable 485-6
„ America, importduties
andshootingobtainable 486
Southgate Ejector (Fig. 34 ;
End View of Hammer,
Fig. 35) . . . 52
Spain, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 486
Special gun, Westley Rich-
ards, for wild duck
shooting . . 422-3
520
Index
Specification of modern
double sporting rifle . 206
Specifications of rifles 173, 176-
187, 194-5, 202-4
Spherical ball . . 232
Spitzbergen, import duties
and shooting obtain-
able . . . .487
Split Bullets (Fig. 166) . 297
Sporting bullets 185,294, 295-
321
„ explosives . 139
„ powders . . .20
„ rifle ballistics . 185-7
„ „ Certus . . 344
Martini . 1 80
Minex
341
„ rifles (Whitworth
Rifling, 8 Grooves,
•450 -Bore, Fig. 69,
162 ; Henry Rifling,
7 Grooves, -450-Bore,
Fig. 70, 162 ; Henry
Rifling, 9 Grooves,
•450-Bore, Fig. 71,
163 ; Metford Rifling,
7 Grooves, -458-Bore,
Fig. 72, 163 ; Metford
Rifling, 7 Grooves,
•303-Bore, Fig. 73,
163 ; Enfield Rifling,
5 Grooves, '303-Bore,
Fig. 74, 163; High-
velocity Nitro -Express
Rifling, 7 Grooves,
•360-Bore, Fig. 75,
164) . . 162-4
„ Trajectories, Par-
ticulars of (Fio;s. 91,
92) ....:'. 226
Spoitswoman . . 430-40
Standing breech . . 29
Stanton 10
Statistics for game and gun
licences issued in
United Kingdom,
1904-5 . . 390
Steam-hammer . . .48
Steel barrel . . .66
„ plate and bullets . 302
„ Plate (Capped Bullet
at, Fig. 89) . .221
Stevens' American match
rifle, weight of . . 346
„ rifles, weight of . 346
Stock, bend of . . .361
„ cast off . . . 362
„ Correct Length (Fio;s.
191, 192) . . " . 363
„ -finishing (Cover-
plate, Fig. 55, 84 ;
Engraving on Westley
Richards Muzzle-
loader Half-a-century
Old, Fig. 56, 84;
Muzzle-loading Lock,
Fifty Years Ago, Fig.
57, 85 ; Type of Mod-
ern English Gun En-
graving, Fig. 58, 85 ;
Fig. 59, 86; Plain Gun,
Fig. 60, 86 ; Sear Nose
and Tumbler Bent, to-
gether constituting
Pull-off, Fig. 61, 88) 83-9
„ gun- (Rough Slab of
Walnut, Fig. 48 ; Fin-
ished Walnut Stock,
Fig. 49, 74) . 72-4
„ made too long, effects
of . . . . 360
„ made too short, effects
of . . . . 361
„ of Gun, How to take
Measurement
189, 190) .
(Figs.
• 357>359
Index
368
487
117
Stock, rifle measurements . 369
„ Westley Richards
Try-gun (Fig. 391) .
Straits Settlements, import
duties and shooting
obtainable
Strawboard employed
Striking energy 22 1, 223-4
Style of boring . . -97
St. Christopher Nevis,
W.I.I., import duties
andshootingobtainable 482
St. Helena, import duties
andshootingobtainable 482
St. Lucia, W.I.I., import
duties and shooting
obtainable . . -483
St. Vincent, import duties
andshootingobtainable 483
Suitable dress for sports-
women . . 441-3
„ Gun for Sportswoman
(Fig. 205, 433 ; Fig.
206, 434 ; Fig. 207,
435);
Sumatra, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 488
Sweden, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 488
Switzerland, import duties
and shooting obtain-
able .... 489
Sykes, Thomas ... 5
Table, comparison of bal-
listics . . . 326
Tabulated results of tests
106-10
Taking Measurement of
Gun-stock (Fis*s. 189,
190) . ^ . 357-9
Tamisier Bullet (Cylindro-
conoidal Bullet (Fig.
175, No. 3) . .314
Tangent Sights and Folding
Leaves (Fig. 114, 257) 184
Target rifles . . 322-53
„ „ Sherwood minia-
ture competition . 339
„ „ Sherwood Minia-
ture Match (Fig. 188) 338
„ testing . . 78-9
Taylor, Leslie . . 54, 237
„ „ Bullet, Part of
(Cylindro-conoidal
Bullet) (Fig. 175, No.
9; Fig. 175, No. 10) 314
Teal, particulars of . . 426
Teasdale, Buckell . .172
Telescope Rifle Sight, (Figs.
151, 152) . . 277, 278
„ Sherwood Rifle (Fie;.
154) . . .280
„ Sight Attachment
(Fig. 153). . . 279
„ „ Zeiss, with West-
ley Richards Attach-
ment (Fig. 150) . . 276
„ „ Zeiss patent . 220
„ sights . . 256, 275
Templeman, John . . 5
Teneriffe (Canary Islands)
import duties and
shooting obtainable . 489
Tests of bullets, see Bullets
„ „ Difference in
Elevation (Fig. 104,
245) . . . 244
„ of bullets . 307-9
„ of Westley Richards
double hammerless
Explora ball- and shot-
gun . . . .241
„ (Target, Fig. 101) . 241
522
Index
Tests (Target Testing, Fig.
102) . 242
Testing recoil, best device 123
The sportswoman . 430-40
„ „ dress . 44J-3
Thierry's Bullet (Cylindro-
conoidal Bullet) (Fi^.
175, No. i) . . 314
Thornton, Colonel . . 137
Three levers . . 31-2
„ -pull single-trigger
system . . 16-17
„ -stripe Damascus
Barrel (Fig. 6) . .25
Tiger . . 446
Top lever fastening . 32-4
„ ,, invention . .10
„ „ (Rifles) Action
(Fig. 180) . 324
Trajectory . 164, 223, 282
„ Accelerated Express
(Figs. 91, 92, 93, 96) 226-9
„ Curves (Fig. 87) .218
„ tests (Mannlicher
•256-Bore, Fig. 155,
285 ; Westley Rich-
ards Double Rifle,
•303-Bore, Fig. 156,
286 ; Westley Rich-
ards Tinder-lever -360-
Bore, Fig. 157, 286 ;
Mannlicher Action
Rifle, -375-Bore, Fig.
158, 287 ; WestleV
Richards TJnder-lever
Action Rifle, Fig. 159,
287 ; -450-Bore, Fie;.
160, 288; WestleV
Richards TJnder-lever
Action Rifle, Fig. 161,
289 ; Westley "Rich-
ards TJnder-lever Ac-
tion Rifle, -500-Bore,
489
489
223
Trajectory — continued.
Fig. 162, 289 ; West-
ley Richards Double
Rifle, -577-Bore, Fig.
163, 290 ; WestleV
Richards Double Rifle,
•600-Bore, Fig. 164,
291) . .. 285-94
Transvaal, import duties
and shooting obtain-
able ....
Transylvania, import duties
and shooting obtain-
able ....
Trial, conditions of, with
full game charge 101-11
„ of cartridges . . 132
Trials, Axite powder 216-19
„ by Kynoch, rifles used 220
„ conducted by P.
Easte
„ of bullets (Solid Bul-
let, Fig. 172, 310 ;
Soft-nose Bullet, Fig.
173, 310 ; Capped
Bullet, Fig. 174, 311)
310-11
„ public, of Axite pow-
der and capped bullets
at Kynoch's
Trigger-guard .
„ one-, gun, compari-
son with two-trigger .
„ One-, Release, West-
ley Richards (Fig. 41)
„ safety-bolts . 41-4, 48
„ single . . 16-17
Trinidad and Tobago,
W.I.I., import duties
and shooting obtain-
able .... 490
Trumpeter swan . .411
Try-gun and its uses 354, 365
3°9
8
359
60
Index
523
Try-gun Stock, Westley
Richards (Fig. 193) . 368
Tube, Morris .- . -352
Tubes . . . .65
„ making (Process of
Welding, Fig. 42, 67 ;
Steel Rod, Fig. 43,
67 ; Steel Rod Drilled,
Fig. 44, 67 ; Steel,
Rough, Tubes, Fig.
45,6/) ... 66
Tubular Hollow in Head
Sight (Figs. 148, 149,
Westley Richards) 272,
273
Tumbler or hammer 35-7, 88
Turkey, import duties and
shooting obtainable . 490
Turk's and Caicos Islands,
W.I.I., import duties
and shooting obtain-
able . . . 490
Two-limb system of ejec-
tor .. . ' . 53
„ -pull single - trigger
system . . 17-18
„ -trigger system . 210
U
Under-lever sporting rifle . 220
„ double-grip action,
first . . . 8, 210
„ Sliding-block Action
(Fig. 179) . . 324
TInfigured Steel Barrel (Fie;.
10) . ;. 27
United States, import duties
and shooting obtain-
able . . . .491
Use of chronograph . . 117
„ of rifle . . .347
Uses of try-gun . 354, 365
V
Value of card rack . .118
Vancouver, import duties
and shooting obtain-
able . . . -491
Variations observable
through low-priced
cartridges . . .128
Various sizes of shot suit-
able for shooting in
Great Britain . 374-6
Velocity . . . . 113
„ of Westley Richards
Accelerated Express
(Fig. 165) . . .293
Velocities . . . 135
„ and energies, bullets,
by Rear-Admiral J.
Baker . . 318-21
„ increase of . .216
,, of Express rifles 176-87
„ shot (Chronograph,
Fig. 68, 152) . 151-4
Venezuela, import duties
and shooting obtain-
able . . . .491
Vernier and Wind-gauge
Sight (Fig. 186) . 336
„ elevating tangent
sight (Showing Elevat-
ing Screw, Fig. 134,
265 ; Showing Slide
with "V," Fig. 135,
265) . . .265
„ „ Screw (Figs. 144,
147) . . 270, 271
„ „ Side and Spring
Clutch (Fig. 146) . 271
„ „ Slide (Fig. 141) . 268
„ „ Tangent^ Sight
(Fig. 136) . . .265
„ scale . . .273
Index
Vertical movement of sight,
improved . . . 333
Virgin Islands, W.I.I., im-
port duties and shoot-
ing obtainable . . 492
W
Waddings . . -130
Wales, Prince of . -327
Walker, A., The Rifle . 235
Walsh, Dr. J. H. . 34,115
War Office miniature rifle . 346
Waterproofing . . .20
Weight, ascertaining . 123
„ of guns . ^ 438-9
„ of high - velocity
Nitro-Express double
rifles . . 202-4 1
Welding tubes . . 65 |
West Coast of Africa, im-
port duties and shoot-
ing obtainable . . 493 i
„ India Islands, import
duties and shooting
obtainable . . 493 ;
Westley Richards Acceler-
ated Express rifle . 167 !
„ Accelerated Express
Rifles Velocity . . 293
„ air-gun . . . 352'
„ and shot sizes . . 375 \
„ Axite rifle . .219
„ ball- and shot-gun . 254 j
„ brass-capped bullet . 239 ;
„ breech- and muzzle-
loading capping car-
bine . . . . 169
„ capped bullet . . 302
„ „ expanding bullet 312
„ „ Mauser bullet . 306
„ chamber, cones . 82
„ cones . . 78-9, 82
„ copper-capped bullet 188
Westley Richards detonat-
ing gun
double breech-load-
ing rifle
. 225
. 228
„ „ rifle results
„ „ 8-bore for goose
shooting . . .419
„ „ gauge flint-lock
gun pattern . -99
„ „ hammerless ejec-
tor Explora ball- and
shot-gun, test . 236-49
„ „ hammerless ejec-
tor sporting rifle . 218
„ „ Sherwood rifle . 340
„ ejector . . 48-50
„ „ complete . . 51
„ „ lock . . .51
„ elevator screw and
clutch . . . 270
„ Explcra (bullet) . 254
„ Express rifle .. .48
„ fastening into solid
breech . . .210
„ Fauneta ball- and
shot-gun . . 250-5
„ gun, '12-bore, suit-
able for women . -435
„ „ -lock. . .71
„ hand - detachable
lock (7 parts) . 37, 39
„ high-velocity Nitro-
Express rifle, -400-
bore . . . .185
„ high-velocity Nitro-
Express rifle, '45O-bore 1 85
„ high-velocity Nitro-
Express rifle, '5OO-bore 1 86
„ high-velocity Nitro-
Express rifle, '577-bore 186
„ high-velocity Nitro-
Express rifle (mag-
num), '577~bore . 186
Index
525
B.S.A. rifle
„ lead-capped bullet
Westley Richards high-
velocity Nitro-Express
rifle, -6oo-bore . .186
„ ideal weapon for roe
stalking . . . 405
improvement on
351
239
„ long-range Explora
ball- and shot-gun 234, 248
„ magazine rifle, Ac-
celerated Express . 224
„ Mark I Sherwood
rifle . -335
„ Mauser magazine
rifle with patent de-
tachable barrel . . 195
„ „ pistol bullet . 305
„ M.B.L. capping car-
bine, military pattern 263
„ Minex rifle . . 341
„ new Accelerated Ex-
220-5
shot for
pheasant shooting . 394
„ nitro expansive bul-
let . . . .317
„ No. 2 musket rifle 168-9
„ one-trigger gun for
wild ducks . . 424
„ „ system . 54-9
„ „ release 59-64
„ patent hand-detach-
able lock . . 13
„ „ telescope rifle
sight attachment . 279
„ peep sight . . 260
„ „ sight, wind-
press
„ „ size
wind-
• 336
gauge
„ „ pivot
gauge sight . . 267
„ rifle and deer-stalk-
ing ... 403
Westley Richards
cadet
PAGE
rifle,
.328
„ „ component parts,
fixed cadet rifle action 332
„ „ detachable barrel
fore-end attachment
Martini-Henry
Martini system,
333
328
detachable action and
barrel . . 33°- J
„ Sherwood rifle, bal-
listics . . . 337
» » rifle • 326~9> 339
„ shot suitable for bus-
tard .... 376
„ sight head with
patent wind-gauge and
parts . . .271
„ „ head with patent
wind-gauge . -273
„ sliding-block under-
lever rifle . -. .180
„ special gun for wild-
fowl shooting . 422-3
„ „ steel . . .28
„ stock finishing &4~9
„ stub Damascus barrel 26
„ target testing . . 80
„ telescope rifle sight
attachment . 277-8
„ top lever and bot-
tom connecting bolt . 31
„ „ lever breech fas-
tening and solid joint-
Pin / ' 35
„ „ rib extension with
solid joint-pin and
bottom bolts . . 32
„ trajectory :
of double rifle, '303-
bore . . . 286
double rifle,'577-
bore
290
526
Index
Westlcy Richards, trajec-
tory (continued]
of double rifle, 'Goo-
bore . . .291
„ under-lever rifle,
'36o-bore . . 286
„ under-lever ac-
tion rifle, '4OO/-
*36o-bqre . 287-8
„ under-lever ac-
tion rifle, *45O/-
'4OO-bore . . 289
„ under-lever ac-
tion rifle, -500-
bore . . . 289
„ try-gun stock . -368
„ two-trigger system . 210
„ vernier and wind-
gauge sight . 336
„ wind-gauge sight . 262
„ „ micrometer slide 269
Wheel-lock . . 3 !
Whimbrel . . . 428'
White-fronted goose . -414
Whitworth fluid compres-
sed steel . . .28
„ Rifling (Fig. 69) . 162
Whooper swan . 411-12
Wigeon, particulars of -425
„ best shot for . . 425
Wild duck, high-flying . 422
Wildfowl gun .
„ shooting in
95
Great
Britain . . 410-29
Wildfowlers, amateur . 413
Wildfowling . . . 413
Wild-rising strong grouse,
suitable shot . -384
Winchester single shot-rifle 344
„ „ weight of . . 346
Wind-gauge allowance . 333
„ appliance . .261
„ Bar worked by Tra-
versing Screw ( Fig.
142) . . . 269
„ sight . 267,333-6
Witton pellets . . -352
Women shooters' dress 441-2
„ sports- . . 430-40
Woodcock, suitable shot for
(Fig. 200) . . 399
Worcester, Earl of . .3
Wounds caused by pro-
jectiles, comparisons . 307
Zeiss, Carl, of Jena . -275
„ patent telescope sight 220
Telescope Sight (Fig.
150) .
276
PLATES
Facing page
A TYPE OF MODERN ENGLISH GUN ENGRAVING Frontispiece
TYPES OF MODERN ENGLISH GUN ENGRAVING . . .88
TYPES OF FRENCH GUN ENGRAVING . . . -91
TYPES OF BELGIAN GUN ENGRAVING . . . .90
WESTLEY RICHARDS'S PATENT COMBINATION AIR-GUN AND
SERVICE RIFLE: SHOOTING PRONE POSITION .,. . 352
HER GRACE THE DUCHESS OF BEDFORD . . 441, 442
A few Press Opinions upon
"THE GUN: AFIELD AND AFLOAT."
By HENRT SHARP.
United Service Magazine. — " Mr. Henry Sharp furnishes in this book a
complete guide to home shooting. "
Morning Post. — " A sign-post to the right direction."
The Field. — " Long experience well qualifies him to write authoritatively.
. . . May be perused with pleasure and profit."
The Graphic. — " It is well written, clear, and in every way suitable as a
book of instruction."
The Globe. — " The details given are minute and to the point."
The Badminton Magazine. — "Welcome and serviceable, is written by
an expert who speaks from personal experience. . . . Will appeal to all
shooting men."
Pall Mall Gazette. — "Mr. Sharp has a good deal to say, and evidently
knows what he is talking about."
Aberdeen Free Press. — " The writer has the gift of orderly and lucid
exposition, is entirely free from prejudice and egotism, and, with his broad
sympathy for tastes differing from his own, is an ideal counsellor."
Birmingham Daily Post. — " In very pleasant and attractive style does he
write. . . . Novice and practised hand alike may gain both pleasure and profit
from a perusal of his pages. . . . Every line is readable and instructive. . . .
Through the whole book there breathes the spirit of the true sportsman."
Sheffield Telegraph. — " Most elaborate yet comprehensive work. Mr.
Sharp is entitled to be considered a dependable authority, his chapters simply
teem with interest."
Yorkshire Post. — " Mr. Sharp's hints relate to practically every form of
sport possible in this country, from game birds to rabbits."
Manchester Guardian. — "The first part deals somewhat exhaustively
with guns and ammunition both for ordinary game shooting and wildfowl. Mr.
Sharp's consummate knowledge of scientific gunnery and experimental work
imparts peculiar value to his remarks on this subject. Mr. Sharp is to be
congratulated on the admirable arrangement and scheme of his book."
The Tatler. — "An excellent volume. . . . There is no doubt that it will
be read witli interest and instruction by hundreds of sportsmen who have long
passed the tyro stage. The author has had thirty years' experience in the
shooting of game and wildfowl, and if he shoots as well as he writes I do not
fancy muny birds have escaped him during that time."
The Times. — " Chapters by an experienced sportsman, fully illustrated, not
of the reminiscent kind, but intended to help young shooters by full information
as to the guns to be used, th- game to be shot, and the best methods of shooting
it in the British Islands."
The Daily Express. — "A capital book. ... Is full of the most interesting
and helpful hints."
The Glasgow Herald. — "Mr. Sharp is quite entitled to take up the
position not only of teacher of the tyro, but of adviser of the seasoned shooting
man. He is a well-known contributor to the papers devoted to country sport.
The volume is thoroughly practical .... quite evidently the outcome of a full
mind and the summing up of a wide and long experience. ... A most attractive
volume."
PUBLISHED 1903.
527
A few Press Opinions upon
"PRACTICAL WILDFOWLING."
By HENRY SHARPS
The Times. — " ' Practical Wildfowling,' by Henry Sharp, is a very business-
like and instructive treatise on this fascinating but rather exacting pursuit."
The Field. — "No one will regret the appearance of a new book upon a
favourite branch of sport, particularly when the writer, as in Mr. Sharp's
case, brings twenty years' experience to bear upon the subject. . . . An author
who writes from personal observation extending over many years deserves well
of all those for whom the book is intended."
The Scotsman. — " The book bears on every page the evidence of a close
practical acquaintance with the conditions of fowling, and an intimate knowledge
of the various kinds of geese, ducks, and other fowl that fall to the gun of the
ingenious sportsman. The second part of the volume considers the manners and
customs of the birds. This section of the book, while written in the main with
an eye to the needs of a man who wants a good bag, is so well observed, and so
interesting, that it will-train its readers in the tastes of a naturalist, so that as
great an interest can be taken in observing the birds as in bringing them home.
The book is plentifully illustrated, and the pictures, without unduly sacrificing
esthetic considerations, have that veracity which is so important and so dear to
practical men. In a word, the book is (so far as we are aware) the best manual
of its subject that has yet been written ; and it may be heartily recommended to
the attention of all classes of fowlers."
The Sportsman.— " 'Practical Wildfowling' is a valuable treatise. . . .
One of the most comprehensive and exhaustive handbooks on the subject which
have been written. The illustrations are numerous and elaborate, and the
volume should have a place in every sportsman's library."
Black and White. — "A delightful volume. . . . The charm of the work
lies in Mr. Sharp's enthusiasm and knowledge, which invest it with interest not
to the sportsman merely, but to the journalist."
The Shooting Times. — " ' Practical Wildfowling' must be considered a
standard work on this particular branch of sport."
The Glasgow Herald. — " Mr. Sharp deals with the pursuit of wildfowl
from the standpoint of the practical sportsman. Evidently familiar with all the
details of the sport, he writes with an enthusiasm born of a love for his topic,
and sportsmen at large will find his advice worth taking in respect of the
conditions which are apt to make or mar their success. The illustrations, from
the pencil of the author's brother, are executed in a highly artistic manner."
PUBLISHED 1896.
528
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