40 LOCK. 



Egg, Mr. Nock, Mr. Smith, Mr. Purdey, Mr. Lancaster, aud some 

 few others. I mean, that many, even of the best finished locks, have 

 an unpleasant harshness, which is not only disagreeable to feel; but, 

 by reason, not so ready to action. 



The plate of a lock should be so far substantial as to be insured 

 from bending, which, if it occurred, would be the means of injuring 

 all its movements. 



Although, for large breechings, a long plate is required, yet it is 

 not necessary to put such very clumsy locks as we sometimes see, on 

 even highly finished wildfowl guns. 



As remarked at the time when I wrote my former editions, many 

 attempts were then in vogue for making the locks water-proof, and 

 all of them equally ridiculous. That they might avert a few drops 

 from an immediate entrance to the pan, there could be no doubt, and 

 they might keep the powder dry somewhat longer than locks with 

 the hammers on the common construction ; but, that they could so 

 completely resist the effect of a damp atmosphere on the nitre, as 

 always to keep their priming dry throughout a rainy day, / denied; 

 although it might be very easy, by way of showing off the lock in a 

 shop, to pour water over it without wetting the powder. For quick 

 firing in a damp atmosphere, the best of all the flint-locks I have yet 

 tried is one of Mr. D. Egg's, on the hammer of which he puts an 

 oval of platina, and, into that, dovetails a sharp edge of the pan. 

 This, with coarse powder and a lock-cover, I have used on salt water, 

 for several winters, and it scarcely ever failed, while the detonaters 

 (at least those with caps) were repeatedly missing fire ! This hap- 

 pens to be a self-primer, and the only one that I have ever yet seen 

 that does not go slow. Two other kinds of self-primers were brought 

 out by two great makers, and, as a third observed, if " you owe a 

 man a grudge, advise him to have one of them." 



Since the short time ago when the foregoing observations were 

 made, it appears that almost every gunmaker has been studying to 

 complete some water-proof lock or other, at the expense of sacrificing 

 quick shooting, and many other advantages, that are of more con- 

 sequence than a guard against rain. For, after all, what is the ob- 

 ject to be gained ? If you shoot in the rain, neither partridges nor 

 snipes will, in general, lie well; and if you shoot in covert, your dogs 

 are soon cowed by the wet, and the sport is any thing but pleasure ; 

 and if you go after wildfowl you cannot choose a worse time for your 

 sport or your health, than in wet weather. 



