PERCUSSION SHELLS. 



81 



entirely powerless whilst drawing his ramrod 

 and ramming home the bullet. He who has 

 once used a breech-loading gun or rifle will no 

 more think of going back to a muzzle-loader 

 than the crack marksman at Hythe would return 

 to old " Brown Bess." 



Percussion shells in vented by Captain 

 Norton and improved by General 

 Jacobs, are often used by sportsmen when shooting 

 large game. They consist of copper cases, full 

 of gunpowder, encased in a leaden cylindro-coni- 

 cal projectile, at the apex of which is the point 

 of the shell containing percussion powder, that 

 explodes on striking any object. (Vide Plate.) 



Jacobs' 

 Shells. 



Section of Jacobs' Shell. 



Jacobs' Shell. 



