ANCIENT PISTOLS TO AUTOMATIC RIFLES 5 



they were, as was proved when the author published the true 

 cause of involuntary pull in The County Gentleman., and for a 

 time had to meet alone the hostile criticism of most of the gun 

 trade, the members of which now admit the truth of those criticised 

 statements. Although the true reason must be dealt with under 

 the heading of single-trigger guns and rifles, it may be briefly 

 stated that the success of the single-trigger double-barrelled 

 pistol was not because of its more feeble explosion, as was 

 supposed, but because the recoil continues long enough to allow 

 the will of the shooter to gain command of his muscular finger 

 action, before the check to recoil occurs. Whereas, with the 

 shoulder gun, the finger which has let off the first lock flies back 

 as the trigger is carried from it by recoil, and this sustained 

 muscular action cannot be stopped by the will as quickly as the 

 gun recoil is lessened by the shoulder. Consequently, we 

 involuntarily give a second pressure to the trigger, without 

 knowing that we have ceased giving a first. This want of per- 

 ception of what we ourselves do is caused partly by quickness 

 of the recoil, and partly because the recoil relieves the pressure, 

 and our wills have nothing to do with the matter. Or, to 

 be more correct, we pull off the trigger once intentionally, but 

 are unable to cease pulling when the trigger has given way. 

 Consequently we unconsciously follow up the trigger as it jumps 

 back in recoil, catch up with it, and involuntarily pull it again 

 without knowing that we have let go, or had the trigger 

 momentarily snatched from us. 



It is clear that the understanding of this principle was 

 as necessary to designers of automatic repeaters as it was 

 to makers of double-barrelled shot guns, and yet the Mauser 

 repeating automatic pistol and the Webley Fosbery automatic 

 revolver were invented, with some others, before the reason 

 of the involuntary pull had been discovered ; and more than 

 that, the author had tested the Mauser with its shoulder 

 stock satisfactorily. But no satisfactory automatic rifle had 

 been then invented, and the trouble with them was to prevent 

 the sending forth of a stream of bullets when only one shot 

 was wanted. The greater force being dealt with, had brought 



