GUNS AND SHOOTING. 



81 



this indifference for servants rarely take off the barrels for the purpose of cleaning them, but 

 simply open the breech, place the muzzles on the floor and pass a rag down the tubes : the 

 while, possibly putting no slight weight on the stock and action, sure means of making a 

 "shaky" gun. 



On returning to the boat it is well at once to detach the barrels and push a couple 

 of thick felt wads through them afterwards working a clean cloth up and down. A little 

 vaseline on a rag or on tow may then he passed through, the barrels replaced, and the gun put 

 in its cloth or water-proof cover. Great care should be taken to wipe the barrels clean before 

 using, when the lumps, triggers, hammers and ejector may be brushed with an old toothbrush, 

 and a touch of Neat's foot oil applied. When putting guns away at the end of the season 

 the barrels should be well rinsed with boiling soapy water, thoroughly dried, a flannel- 

 covered rod placed in each barrel, and the gun consigned to its case, which should be 

 wrapped up in coarse brown-paper, a wonderful preservative against damp. 



A cleaning rod in one piece, with a good thick handle, is better than the jointed 

 article found in the gun case — cut some thick wads of rubber or leather washer, and pass a 

 screw through them as in the woodcut. 



As to the handling of fire-arms it is not necessary to say very much, but two awful 

 accidents which have but recently occurred in our midst, one where a missionary doctor, in 

 the full hey-day of health and strength, shot himself dead, presumably by dragging his 

 gun by the muzzle through a bit of cover, and the other where a man shot his brother-in-law 

 when offering him a cigarette so badly that the lower portion of the leg had to be amputated 

 to save life, warrant the insertion of a few very simple but salutary rules. 



1st.— Never point your gun, whether loaded or unloaded, at anything but the mark 

 intended to be shot at. 



2nd. — Always treat your gun as if it were loaded. 



3rd. — In closing the breech, lock the gun by bringing up the stock, not by jerking up 

 the barrels. 



4th. — When carried on the shoulder the gun should always be lock down i.e., trigger- 

 guard up. 



5th. — When carried across the body the barrels should be inclined well upwards. 



6th. — Under no possible circumstance get into a sampan, enter your houseboat, cross 

 a bridge, climb a fence, jump a creek, without first removing your cartridges, 

 whether your gun is safety-bolted or not. 



7th. — Always extract your cartridges whenever the gun leaves your hand. 



