ABOUT SPORTING AND MILITARY WEAPONS. 79 



up an uncoated projectile. A great deal of dis- 

 cussion on the merits or otherwise of the -303 

 rifle has taken place, and upon the whole it may 

 be admitted that its merits as regards penetration 

 and flat trajectory are undeniable ; its accuracy 

 is also uncontestable but limited in duration, as 

 a few months' hard work is sufficient to wear out 

 the rifling, and thus displace it at short date from 

 the position of a weapon of precision. The easy 

 portability of its ammunition is a great point in 

 its favour as a military arm, or as one for the 

 defensive purposes of exploring parties in wild 

 countries where the means of transport are limited, 

 as is usually the case, and where it would only 

 exceptionally be used for special services of in- 

 frequent occurrence. The action of this rifle when 

 made on magazine lines is decidedly clumsy, and 

 not unlikely to get out of order under stress of 

 work ; and upon the whole, although for long shots 

 in an open country it may be effective, it is hardly 

 the right sort of weapon for the wandering sports- 

 man. The difficulties in keeping such small bores 

 in an efficiently clean state are accentuated in 

 the case of the -303 rifle by the extreme, and as 

 it seems to me quite unnecessary, pitch of the 



