310 THE SPORTING RIFLE. 



effect will be, as the retarding influences of the air will reduce 

 the momentum of the shot every instant afterwards. But 

 then comes the question, which appears to have been very 

 much overlooked; will the effects produced be beneficial or 

 not 1 If we wish to obtain the deepest penetration, the bullets 

 fired at the shortest distance answer, Ma. 



" In forming our opinions of the effects produced, we must, 

 however, guard ourselves against taking a one-sided view of 

 the case, which the examination of the sand alone, or the 

 firing of small shot against pasteboard, would certainly cause. 

 It is important to remember that time is necessary for the 

 destruction of momentum, or rather of velocity; and the less 

 the time which is employed, the greater must be the effort 

 exerted; or, in other words, 'the force requisite for the de- 

 struction of any velocity is greater as the time occupied in its 

 destruction is less.' It is evident, then, that the bullets 

 which penetrate the shortest distance require less time to do 

 so than the others, and that, therefore, more force is exerted. 

 This, however, must be considered with reference only to very 

 short ranges; for at ranges greater than 200 yards the pene- 

 tration will be less, in consequence of the reduced velocity of 

 the shot, which is caused by the longer resistance of the air. 

 It will, therefore, be found that every kind of gun, rifle, &c., 

 has one particular distance at which it can do most execution, 

 and this distance can only be ascertained by making experi- 

 ments on various substances, at different ranges, with various 

 weights of shot and different quantities and qualities of 

 powder. And though it may appear somewhat paradoxical, 

 it is nevertheless true, that one gun will not cause its shot to 

 penetrate so deep as another at a particular range, simply 

 because it shoots too strong, or with more velocity than the 

 other, the action of the shot and the reaction of the sub- 

 stance fired at being equal." 



VARIETIES IN THE FORM OF THE GROOVES ALMOST 

 INFINITE. 



The use of a spiral groove in some form is extremely old, 

 and since its first introduction the varieties of shape which 

 have been tried are beyond calculation. The number of 



