298 CHOKE-BORES. 



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muzzle of Fred's gun (which was a true cylinder from 

 the breech to wliere the constriction commenced), evi- 

 dently conckided that a short recess had been cut out 

 just back of the muzzle, leaving the breech un- 

 touched, for this was the method he afterward 

 adopted, and hence his contrivance of the expanding 

 bit. For the true choke no expanding bit is required. 

 By this recess-boring, or jug-borino:, as we used to 

 term it, though the results of different charges varied 

 greatly, the shooting of a cylindrical or relief -bored 

 gun could be improved in a large measure, though not 

 by any means to the extent of the true choke, suffi- 

 ciently, however, to suit Mr. Faburn's ideas and pur- 

 poses, who, after having prepared a good supply of 

 bits, started out on his own account to make a business 

 of selling them with shop-rights through the various 

 Western States. Taking a gun with him bored on this 

 principle, he made targets for the different gun-men, 

 and very easily convinced them his method had some 

 merit. He succeeded in selling these bits, with the 

 right to use them (ostensibly the right to choke-bore) 

 to some person in nearly every town and city he vis- 

 ited, until the system became known to about all the 

 gun trade in the West. Then from dozens of gun- 

 shops circulars similar to Johnson's were quickly is- 

 sued, and the very men who laughed at his were 



