THE SHOT-GUN, AND HOW TO USE IT. 315 



make to get. He wades through catalogues, and ad- 

 vises with friends. The further he investigates the 

 deeper he gets into the mire, and is almost tempted to 

 give up in despair. What gun ought he to buy ? A 

 gun of any reputable manufacturer, for in these pro- 

 gressive times no one maker has discovered a golden 

 secret that enables him to make the only good gun. 

 Let the buyer select the make of any one of established 

 reputation, and the gun will suit him. Competition is 

 too strong to permit any maker to put on to the market 

 a poorly constructed gun. There are, of course, pecul- 

 iarities of manufacture of bolts, lugs, slides, and boring 

 that may be especial virtues in one kind of gun, but 

 no gun has them all to the exclusion of all others. But 

 of established makers, their work is all good. The 

 price to be paid depends on what the purchaser wishes 

 to pay. But he can depend on one thing, that is, that 

 an established gun maker will not sell him a poor arm 

 at any price. There are three classes of gun-barrels 

 used in the construction of guns. Damascus, laminated, 

 and twist. Quoting from the Rod and Gun, these 

 barrels are made as follows : " The Damascus barrel is 

 formed by taking nearly equal proportions of refined 

 iron and steel bars. These are placed in piles or 

 ' fagoted,' and then heated and thoroughly welded to- 

 gether. The bar thus formed is cut into equal lengths, 

 again fagoted, welded under a trip-hammer, drawn into 

 narrow rods, and these are then twisted. To make the 

 best Damascus barrel, three of these twisted rods are 

 placed alongside of each other and forged into a ribbon 

 of the dimensions of cross-section of one half inch by 

 seven-sixteenths for the breech end of the barrel, and 

 one-half by three-sixteenths of an inch for the muzzle 



