RIFLES BURNING NITRO POWDERS 



RIFLES BURNING NITRO POWDERS 



That these are the rifles for long-range shooting, 

 such as hill stalking, is beyond dispute, the extra- 

 ordinarily flat trajectory far surpassing all the hopes 

 of sportsmen previous to their introduction. 



There can be little doubt that the rising genera- 

 tion will live to see marvellous strides made both 

 in the application of nitro powders to sporting 

 rifles, and in the extension and improvement of 

 the Paradox system of boring. Apart from the 

 advantage of a small, handy weapon, with a tra- 

 jectory so flat that accurate judging of distance is 

 hardly required, combined with immense power, 

 and (provided suitable bullets be used) tremen- 

 dously destructive effect, the mere absence of 

 smoke is itself a great boon. In thick, heavy 

 forest, on a still day, the smoke from black 

 powder often hangs so heavily as to obscure the 

 animal fired at, as well as the intervening space, 

 and this might cost the sportsman his life when 

 attempting to kill, or at any rate to stop, a wounded 

 animal of the dangerous class in the act of charg- 

 ing. Many an animal, which has not seen the 

 sportsman at all, has charged the cloud of smoke 

 by which the position of the enemy has been 

 betrayed. 



So far as the application of nitro powders to 

 sporting rifles has at present gone experience 

 proves conclusively: (i) that rifles made for large 

 charges of such explosives must be much more 

 heavily and powerfully built than weapons of the 



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