MISCELLANEOUS HINTS. 451 



resistance offered. A straight stock will feel the effects of this 

 retro-action, or rather transmit those effects to the person of the 

 shooter, much more severely than a crooked stock, as the latter, 

 by receiving the force of the concussion in an oblique direction, 

 breaks the shock before it reaches the extremity. Bad powder, 

 particularly damp powder, adds greatly to the recoil ; and no doubt 

 some of our readers have remarked that there is always more 

 recalcitration on a wet day than on a clear one; this is owing, 

 to-be-sure, in part, to the barrels getting dirty much sooner, but 

 principally to the dampness of the powder, which impedes the im- 

 mediate ignition of the whole mass, and consequently retards the 

 exit of the shot, which moves before the propelling force with a 

 kind of jerking motion. 



It has been asserted by some writers that the position of the 

 touch-hole regulates in a great measure the power of the recoil. 

 Suppose, for example, that the touch-hole communicates with the 

 centre of the mass of powder : it is contended that at the moment 

 of ignition the expansive force of the generated fluid is exerted as 

 strongly backwards upon the breech as it is forwards or upon the 

 sides of the barrel; but, on the other hand, if the powder is 

 ignited from the base of the mass, the whole expulsive force will 

 be directed forwards upon the shot, and the recoil consequently 

 be much lighter. The less a gun reacts, the more certain and 

 effective will be the delivery of its shot ; as it is well ascertained 

 that a piece made perfectly stationary in its bed will throw a ball 

 much farther, and consequently with much more force, than one 

 that is allowed to rebound at every discharge. A kicking gun, 

 when grasped tightly and held firmly to the shoulder, will spring 

 back far less than if lightly placed against it ; it will also throw 

 the shot much farther and with greater certainty. This fact may 

 be very easily ascertained by a simple experiment. 



Suspend, for example, a fowling-piece by two cords from a 

 suitable frame, or from the limb of a tree, in such a manner as to 

 permit an unrestrained recoil, having first charged it with the 

 ordinary load of powder and shot ; now fire the gun at a target 



