462 LEWIS'S AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



THE BREECH-LOADER. 



Notwithstanding the improvements made from time to time to 

 which we have referred, the muzzle-loader in its highest perfection 

 failed to give satisfaction. The labor and time required for loading 

 in the field detracted greatly from sport, to which was added the 

 impossibility of changing the charges quickly if circumstances re- 

 quired, and over and above all was the danger of accident while 

 loading one barrel over a loaded one, necessarily pointed directly 

 towards the sportsman's hands, if not at other portions of his 

 person. Recognition of these defects caused a demand for a more 

 convenient and safe weapon, and led to the production of the 

 modern breech-loader, which was, however, not a purely modern 

 invention, but an improvement upon a crude form produced and 

 discarded for its defects in the early ages of gunnery. 



When first brought out, these new guns were very imperfect. 

 The levers were inconveniently placed, the different parts badly 

 fitted, and the bolting actions weak, so that the barrels soon became 

 loose and shaky. The shells were as bad as the guns, being fired 

 by pins which projected through holes in the breeches, and if not 

 accurately struck by the hammers, were bent and failed to explode 

 the caps. These defects were quickly remedied. The pin-shells 

 were superseded by centre fire, the awkward levers changed for 

 convenient ones, accuracy in fitting secured, strong actions invented, 



