GUNS. 



27 



sudden jerk upon the mainspring are liable to be 

 broken in very cold weather. Another very seri- 

 ous objection, which I have seen occur myself, is 

 that the cap may be driven back into the needle- 

 holes by the force of the explosion, the hammers 

 not holding the strikers up to them, and the 

 working of the gun thereby for a time prevented. 

 If the strikers are sufficiently long, however, to fill 

 the hole completely, this objection cannot occur. 



The stock should be of English or German wal- 

 nut, with a strong, thick wrist, and the grain and 

 fibre of the wood running with the angle of bend. 

 A pistol-grip is thought by some to be an ad- 

 vantage. The stock should be varnished and pol- 

 ished. An oiled stock does not stand water well : 

 when wet the fibre of the wood is raised, the 

 wood is swelled, and on drying shrinks from the 

 metal work, leaving the joints open. 



The trimmings should be of case-hardened iron, 

 with little or no engraving. 



To determine the length and bend of stock re- 

 quired in ordering a gun, the best way is to pro- 

 cure a gun, if possible, which seems to "come 

 up" to suit you, then lay a straight-edge along 

 the top rib sufficiently long to extend to the butt- 

 plate, and measure the distance from the under- 



