116 COLONEL HANGER TO 



bar?e'irstocks Now, with Tcspect to fowling - pieces, 

 lu^!^^"^^' rifles, muskets, &c. &c. — Several gun-ma- 

 kers in this town have arrived at such per- 

 fection in making fowling-pieces, that it 

 is necessary only to make this one obser- 

 vation on barrels. He who can bore a 

 a barrel nearest to a perfect cylinder, pro- 

 vided the iron be soft, mild, and expansive, 

 will make a perfect barrel, which will 

 shoot strong and w^ell. Respecting the 

 breech-plugs, several of which bear the 

 pfu^J^'Tna of po^^^P^^*^^ name of patent plugs, I believe 

 other Plugs, j^riany of them are very good; but I can 

 assure the reader, that a plug, made in the 

 following simple method, will make a gun 

 shoot as strong as any one of those pom- 

 pous patent plugs, which you are assured 

 will work wonders, but will not do more 

 than the simple plug. I shall here describe 

 it, and this plug any blacksmith can make : 

 take a cherry, the size of the caliber of 

 the barrel, work it round into the breech- 

 pin, until you have formed a cup, about 

 the size of the cup of an oak acorn, rather, 

 if any thing, deeper, say one eighth of an 

 inch deeper ; then bore a hole directly in the 



