LOADING AND MANAGEMENT OF RIFLES. 369 



molds have a mat of cloth or paper to drop them on, 

 and do not let them strike each other hard, as when 

 hot they are very easily indented. 



Reject every defective ball. If the molds are new 

 and make wrinkled balls, smoke them in a candle, 

 burn grease in them, wipe thoroughly, resmoke and 

 rewipe, etc. If you have many defective balls, keep 

 them to melt over together with some more soft 

 lead, as they may be too hard to load easily if re- 

 melted ; and if put in the pot with the others they 

 may affect the uniformity of the hardness of the rest. 

 Where balls are to be patched they should be smoothed 

 off and made even with a swedge. And even when 

 to be shot naked this will improve them. 



These matters look like needless niceties. Of course 

 good shooting may be done with carelessly made balls. 

 But to observe this care will not make fifteen minutes' 

 difference in the whole time of casting, and may some 

 time save you a deer or an antelope. All through 

 your dealings with the rifle observe this rule: when- 

 ever care costs little or nothing, use it. 



It used to be a maxim of the old hunters that " too 

 much powder makes a ball fly wild." There is some 

 truth in this if the ball be soft and the twist of the 

 rifle swift, and plenty of truth in it if the ball be both 

 soft and long. But if the ball be short or round and 

 well hardened with tin and the twist slow, the amount 

 of powder that may be used without affecting accu- 

 racy seems to be unlimited. 



It may be said that a small rifle cannot burn a large 

 charge. Literally that is true. However small an 

 amount of powder be put in a gun, some of it will 

 probably be thrown out unburned unless in a very 

 long barrel. But the greater the charge the greater 



