GUNS MADE TO ORDER. 413 



We have shot with both of these guns repeatedly, and must 

 acknowledge that they certainly exceed anything we have ever 

 seen manufactured of the same caliber on this side of the water, 

 either as to the strength with which they throw the shot, or 

 the distance to which they propel it, killing with more certainty 

 and ease than any gun we ever possessed or recollect seeing in 

 the hands of any of our friends. In our humble opinion, we 

 consider them both the sine qua non of guns, and therefore will 

 not detain the reader by a longer description of what a gun for 

 general sporting purposes should be. The single-barrel, though 

 light, if loaded Avith Ely's patent cartridge, will kill a Duck at 

 eighty to a hundred yards. The safety -guard we do not think 

 much of, as before stated, and is only suitable for an old minc- 

 ing potterer ; in every other respect, the guns are perfection, 

 and we offer them as guides to others when ordering guns in 

 this country or from the maker himself, in England, who, by 

 the by, always keeps a large stock of such instruments on hand, 

 ready to supply the steady demand he has for them, both at 

 home and from abroad. Sportsmen should not hesitate between 

 a doubtful and a superior gun on account of a trifling expendi- 

 ture, as it is a purchase that is made only once or twice in a 

 lifetime ; and there is a certain degree of comfort and pleasure 

 in going to the field for a day's amusement with the assurance 

 of handling a weapon that no ordinary usage can injure, and 

 that we have nothing to fear from accidents, which feeling of 

 confidence richly repays us for all the unusual outlay. 



The saving of a few dollars in the purchase of a gun would 

 ill repay a Shooter for the loss of a hand by an explosion, or 

 perhaps the maiming of a friend or the death of a valuable Dog 

 by the going off of his gun, owing to poorly-made locks. There 

 are few or no guns made out and out in this country ; the bar- 

 rels and locks are most generally imported from England. 

 When about being made up by respectable Gunsmiths, they are 

 subjected to a proof test, although they may already have the 

 proof mark on them. 



If the Sportsman is forced from circumstances to be particu- 

 lar in his expenditures, we see no reason why some such plan 

 as the following might not be adopted to insure the possession 

 of a superior instrument at a cost far below that which he would 



