6 THE COMPLETE SHOT 



into action the difficulty of the involuntary pull. This has 

 now been overcome ; but still there are other difficulties 

 which have been treated less satisfactorily, and those who 

 are ambitious to use automatic weapons will be wise to confine 

 that ambition to the many pistols and the revolver in the 

 market. Repeating shot guns are lumbering tools, from which 

 disqualification the automatic weapons are little likely to be 

 free. Still, it is quite possible that a gunner could shoot more 

 birds out of a single covey with one automatic gun than with 

 two double guns. But what of it ? The aim of the gunner is 

 not merely to shoot at one covey, but to keep on shooting 

 fast for perhaps half an hour. The thing that stops very fast 

 shooting is not loading and changing guns, but heat of barrels, 

 and consequently to make these single barrels equal to the 

 doubles there must be four of them in place of two doubles, 

 and six of them in place of three ejectors. The time has not 

 yet come when anybody wants to employ three loaders to 

 carry six guns. 



There is some reason to prefer the automatic principle 

 for pistols and revolvers, because the user's life may often 

 depend upon the quickness of his shots at an enemy, but 

 there is less reason for their use in military rifles, and actual 

 disadvantage for sporting rifles and shot guns. The author has 

 shot the Mauser, the Colt, and the Fosbery with satisfaction to 

 himself. The latest invention is a sliding automatic pistol of .32 

 gauge invented by Messrs. Webley. But no automatic pistol 

 can be as reliable as the service revolver, or as the Fosbery, 

 since a sticking cartridge or a misfire disables any of them. 



It is often said that these spring actuated actions, on which the 

 barrel slides back, give less recoil than others, but in practice 

 this is not so, and in science it could not be so, although it is 

 stated in the last Government text-book that they reduce recoil. 



The principles on which it is sought to make automatic 

 rifles are as follows : 



1. To actuate an ejector, magazine loading, and closing action 

 by means of gas obtained from a hole in the barrel. 



2. To actuate the same movements by means of recoil 



