CLEAKSIN&.] 



SHOOTING, 



[POWDEE. 



first approaches of corrosion may be taken off before 

 any injury is inflicted. When a gun is purchased, 

 it ought to be provided with spare pivots, all 

 mathematically adjusted to the barrel. It is like- 

 •wise a good practice to put a little olive-oil, with a 

 camel's-hair pencil, on the pivot nail, or centre of 

 the tumbler, on which almost all the works of both 

 flint and percussion-guns move. The same may be 

 applied, with advantage, to the lock-plate under 

 the works. In flint-guns, a little oil under the 

 hammer is likewise useful, Mr. Lankester, in his 

 printed directions given to gentlemen who buy 

 percussion guns, off'ers the following directions : — 

 " Always clean those parts of the barrels and locks 

 that the detonating powder acts upon, Avith a wet 

 rag ; then rub them dry, and leave them in oil to 

 prevent rust. The pegs should not be taken out too 

 often. Before you take out the barrels, bring the 

 locks to half-cock. The locks do not require to be 

 taken off" every time the gun is used ; once a fort- 

 night is quite sufficient. Put a little fine oil to the 

 parts where there is friction ; but if the gun has 

 been used on a wet day, the locks should be taken 

 off" to be cleaned, and oiled immediately." When, 

 by accident or neglect, a lock becomes completely 

 rusty, both within and without, it ought to be 

 plunged into warm water, and well scrubbed with 

 a hard brush, fine sand, emery powder, or levigated 

 glass. The rust will, by this means, be efi'ectually 

 removed, and will not injure the gun, providing it 

 is but a recent accumulation of rust ; but if it is of 

 long standing, it may have eaten into the core of 

 the metal, and produced vital injury. 



Most men have peculiar methods of their own 

 for keeping their fowling-pieces clean ; and though 

 all employ the leading, or primary elements of 

 cleanliness, yet they differ as to their precise appli- 

 cation. On a point so apparently simple, it is 

 astonishing to find so many opposite plans, and 

 many of them enforced with a dogmatism and 

 obstinacy far beyond what one would imagine the 

 importance of the subject warrants. The following, 

 among many other methods, is chosen, because it 

 has been found always to answer the desired end : — 

 Provide some boiling water and an empty pail ; 

 detach the barrel from the stock, and with a clear- 

 ing-rod furnished with tow, begin to pour the hot 

 water down each barrel. Scour it well with the 

 clearing-rod, and discharge the barrel of the foul 

 water. Pour hot water into it a second time, and 

 wipe out the barrels with fresh tow, until they are 

 completely dry, both without and within. Should 

 there be any moisture lurking within the screw- 

 joints of the breech and touch-hole, it is a good 

 plan to let down an iron plug, of red-heat, which, 

 being moved up and down the barrel or barrels for 

 half a minute, will effectually absorb every particle 

 of moisture or damp. All this should be done with 

 the sportman's own hand; and not, if it can be 

 avoided, left to another person to do. There is an 

 old maxim which applies to gun-preserving very 

 forcibly : — " What a man wishes to have well done, 

 he should do himself." 



Mr. Lankester's directions run thus : — 



Place the breech ends of the barrels in a bucket 

 in which there is cold water, about three inches 

 500 



deep ; then, after wetting the sponge, cloth, or tow, 

 introduce the rod into the barrels, and work it 

 well ; next apply the wire-brush attached to th«; 

 clearing-rod with some clean hot water, which will 

 take out all the lead in the operation. 'Ji'his should 

 be invariably attended to, as it is well known that 

 washing only will not remove the lead. Wipe the 

 rod and the outside of the barrels dry, and set the 

 latter upright, muzzle downwards, for two minutes, 

 to drain, after which rub them out perfectly dry. 

 Wipe the barrels out clean, then pass an oiled rag 

 down the inside, and rub over the outside; leave 

 them a little oily, which will prevent rust. The 

 use of cloth is preferred, as not subjecting gentle- 

 men to the serious accidents that have happened 

 from leaving tow in the chamber. But, brass being 

 in its nature softer than iron, allows of the brush 

 being used without the possibility of injury to the 

 barrels. 



How often a gun should be cleaned must depend 

 upon many circumstances, as there is a wonderful 

 difference of guns in accumulating dirt. This arises, 

 perhaps, from their different degrees of internal 

 finish. Then, again, some kinds are foul with 

 powder more than others ; and small shot fouls them 

 more readily than large. Waddings, too, have an 

 effect; some kinds keeping the gun comparatively 

 clean much longer than other kinds. It is com- 

 monly maintained by practical shooters, that a 

 barrel should be cleaned after the firing of twenty 

 shots. But there can be no invariable rule laid 

 down for this. A man who is careful, who under- 

 stands what a gun is, and who knows the pecu- 

 liarities of the one he is in the habit of daily using, 

 cannot err very far from the right path in this 

 matter. It is always safe to be over-anxious 

 rather than otherwise on a point of such great im- 

 jjortance. 



To remove rust from the inside of the barrel, 

 some sportsmen recommend an ashen rod, turned a 

 few inches longer than the barrel, and so nearly of 

 the size of the bore, as to allow of the following 

 process : — Let one end of the rod be cut lengthwise, 

 so as to make a slit of six inches long, into which 

 slit enter as much of fine emery paper as will com- 

 pletely fill up the bore of the barrel, taking care, ii? 

 folding the paper tightly round the wood, that the 

 emery surface is outward. Force it into the barrel 

 by screwing it downwards from the top to the 

 bottom ; and repeat the process until the barrel is 

 as clean and as polished as when ifc left the maker's 

 hands. No sand or coarse stuff of any kind should 

 be used. 



It is of great moment that every sportsman, 

 when he comes home, or goes into any house what, 

 ever, should keep a watchful eye on his fowling- 

 piece. He ought always to displace the cap, and 

 throw out the priming. But even this does not 

 always secure an immunity from fatal accidents. _ A 

 few stray grains of powder may still be productive 

 of an explosion. It is therefore a wise plan, when 

 a shooter arrives at a door, to remove the cap, if a 

 percussion-gun ; or if flint, throw out the priming, 

 let down the spring of the lock, draw the ramrod, 

 and dropping down the barrel, put the gun away 

 into a closet, or otherwise suspend it out of ordi- 

 nary reach. Too much care cannot be exercised in 

 a matter of this kind. How often have we heard 



