THE RIFLE. 545 



eighth of an inch in which to seat the bullet ; that leaves nearly 

 the whole length of the bullet in the rifling of the barrel when the 

 cartridge is in the chamber ; and if the bullet is the right size and 

 properly patched, the patch will not be torn in putting the cartridge 

 into the chamber (or in the passage of the bullet from the shell into 

 the barrel when fired), if the gun \s properly made and cleati ; and 

 it will also straighten the bullet in the shell if it is a little loose, 

 owing to the short distance it goes into the shell. 



" The pasteboard wad over the powder has its advantages and 

 its disadvantages. If the bullets fit the shells loosely, it prevents 

 the powder spilling out in carrying, if the bullet comes out, and it 

 also serves in a measure as a gas check and prevents in a measure 

 fire cut. But if the bullet is concaved much in the base, the wad 

 is liable to be forced into the hollow base of the bullet and go with 

 it. I have found the pasteboard wad, lubricator, and part of the 

 patch at eight hundred yards from the firing place, lying beside or 

 sticking to the bullet, and in one instance, part of a dry pasteboard 

 wad, when no lubricator was used, was found sticking to the bul- 

 let ; the bullet was shot into snow at five hundred yards. I never 

 use lubricator of any kind when 1 want to do fine shooting, but use 

 a dry paper patch and wipe the gun clean and dry after every shot. 



" Another very important item is the composition of the bullet, 

 which must be of a hardness in proportion to the amount and 

 strength of the powder used. A bullet that would be hard enough 

 to use with seventy grains of powder and shoot well, would be good 

 for nothing to use with a charge of one hundred or one hundred 

 and ten grains. It would be upset so it would take the rifling be- 

 yond the patch, unless the bullet was patched the whole length. 

 Fix upon some particular brand of powder that you can always 

 get, and the quantity to be used for your charge, then make some 

 bullets, weighing the lead and tin (if tin is used to harden),* mak- 



* Hardened Bails. — The composition generally used to make a hard ball, is one- 

 half tin to four of lead. Some authorities state that a fractional portion of anti- 

 mony is useful, but we should think, that any projectile similar in composition to 

 type metal would be too brittle. Quite a leading writer on this subject states 

 that balls will harden by dropping them while hot in fat, buffalo-tallow being 

 preferred, but we regard this as empirical, and resting on no sound chemical or 

 physical basis. Some English elephant-hunters have used projectiles of lead 

 with a steel point, but these have fallen into disuse from the want of accuracy in 

 their flight. 



