THE COST OF ;A GOOD GUN. 469 



erate means, these builders must be considered as out of the 

 list. 



Guns are offered on the market at prices varying from twenty- 

 five dollars to four hundred and fifty dollars. We do not hesitate 

 to say a safe and serviceable gun cannot be built at these lowest 

 figures, even if no allowance for profit is made. The cost of 

 materials for sound barrels, with that of careful forging, is suffi- 

 cient to nearly cover the entire price. Cheap barrels are made of 

 the poorest quality of iron, and the forging is so roughly and im- 

 perfectly done that flaws are left, which render the gun liable to 

 burst at any time when severely tried. This weakness is in some 

 degree compensated for by making the barrels heavier than good 

 ones of the same gauge ; but mere weight of metal is not sufficient, 

 as the weak spots will at least partially give way, causing the 

 inside of the barrels to become rough, and destroying their shoot- 

 ing qualities. Again, poor iron has not the toughness necessary 

 to resist the friction of frequent firing, and barrels of this char- 

 acter do not retain their boring, so that a gun which at first shoots 

 well will, in a little time, perform variably or badly. The hinge- 

 pin and the different springs are also subjected to constant strain 

 in opening and closing the barrels, and quickly wear away or 

 break, causing the gun to become loose or temporarily useless. 

 The stocks are imperfectly seasoned, and shrinkage opens still 

 wider the inaccurate fitting of lock-plates, frame, and trigger- 

 guard, leaving spaces for decay under the action of dirt and bad 

 weather. 



From all these causes it must be evident guns of extreme low 

 price are worthless, and the very lowest for which a gun worthy 

 of the name can be bought, is seventy-five dollars, and this cost 

 must be put entirely upon the materials and construction, leaving 

 nothing for engraving or ornamentation of any kind. A plain, 

 serviceable gun can be got for this, but it must be bought from an 

 American builder, as imported guns have to pay duty and dealers' 

 profits, and at the figure named must of course cost the manufac- 

 turer much less than the American gun, and be proportionally less 



