RUST SPOTS IN GUN BARRELS. 65 



of it, and finally found the old musket buried in chips and 

 dirt. I, being a mechanic and iron-worker, took off the 

 lock and with a little repair found that it would work, but 

 it was badly eaten with rust. The outside of the barrels 

 was coated with rust and the stock nearly rotted off. I took 

 off the barrel and with a hatchet and iron wedge succeeded 

 in getting the breech-pin out, it took but a moment to wash 

 out the gun. and, to my astonishment, with the exception of 

 two or three inches of the muzzle-end, the polish was as per- 

 fect as on the day the gun left the U. S. Arsenal. The gun 

 had been banged about, without cleaning, for four or five 

 years. The perfect condition of the inside of this musket 

 led me to the conclusion that the proper thing to do was to 

 leave a gun, after shooting, without cleaning a practice 

 which I have followed ever since and never have had any 

 trouble with rust nor do my barrels ever lead. 



Another sure test that a gun will not rust if left after 

 shooting, was furnished at the Licking Company reservoir 

 near here, last winter. "Johnnie Webb," as he is famili- 

 arly known, an old and expert hunter who lives at the res- 

 ervoir, was out shooting, a year ago last fall; and by some 

 mishap he capsized his boat and lost his gun, a Parker fine 

 twist. He did not find the gun until late this summer after 

 the water was very low. The gun lay in the water and mud 

 over six months. The outside of the barrel was rusty and 

 eaten away until it resembled an old, rusty file, but the inside, 

 after being wiped out, was bright as the day it was lost in 

 the water. I overhauled this gun myself, so I know. 



There is no preparation that I know of that would have 

 as well preserved the gun as the burnt powder did, and it 

 confirmed my experience that it is safe to put away your gun 

 without cleaning the inside; the outside must be looked 

 after. One of the best ways to prevent rust on the outside, 

 is to take a piece of heavy chamois skin and rub into it well 



