MISCELLANEOUS HINTS, 399 



arms of perfect construction, the recoil is in proportion to the 

 weight or resistance offered during the exit of the shot along 

 the barrels ; and it is only when this resistance, or rather the 

 consequence of this resistance — the recoil — becomes disagreeable 

 to the Shooter, that we look for the cause and the remedy, as 

 there must, of course, under all and every circumstance, be some 

 recoil in fire arms, no matter how perfect the barrels may be in 

 their construction. 



Imperfections in the manufacture of the barrels are fruitful 

 sources of recoiling in shot-guns, and, if they are not perfectly 

 symmetrical in their bore and smooth throughout their entire 

 surface, the piece will recoil more or less severe at every dis- 

 charge, no matter how small a quantity of powder ma}' be used. 

 If the barrel be wider at one point than at another — although 

 this difference may not be perceptible to the eye— the recoil 

 will be greatly increased ; as, the shot being somewhat arrested 

 in its progress through the barrel, the impelling force of the 

 powder exerts itself so much the more to overcome the barrier, 

 and thus creates a back-action, which spends itself upon the 

 breech, A recoil produced from such a cause is of a most dan- 

 gerous character, and will eventually burst the gun, as it is im- 

 possible for barrels of any ordinary thickness to withstand the 

 oft-repeated and violent efforts of the powder to force its way 

 through the contracted point. For the same reason, a leaded 

 or foul gun, by offering a certain degree of resistance to the exit 

 of the charge, will produce a recoil in proportion to the increased 

 friction ; and which, even in the best-constructed guns, will often 

 be very severe from such a cause. If the shot be too tightly 

 rammed, or an over quantity be used, the recoil, of course, will 

 be increased in proportion to the resistance offered by the metal, 

 A straight stock will feel the effects of a recoil, or rather trans- 

 mit those effects to the person of the Shooter, much more severely 

 than a crooked stock, as the latter, by receiving the force of the 

 recoil in an oblique direction, breaks the shock before it reaches 

 the extremity. Bad powder, more particularly damp powder, 

 adds greatly to the recoil, and no doubt some of our readers 

 have before this remarked that there is always more recoil 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 



