THE GUN, AND HOW TO USE IT. 105 



the close fitting of the parts, and make way for the admis- 

 sion of rain or water. 



I will here observe that bar-locks are by far the better. 

 Back-action locks, though they were at one time the rage, 

 do not ordinarily work so smoothly^as the others, in con- 

 sequence of the form of the scear-spring, and, unless the 

 stock be made thicker and more clumsy in the gripe, which 

 is in itself both an eyesore and a defect, materially weaken 

 that part of the gun. 



If the lock, when taken off, be bright, clear and dry, 

 nothing will be required but to wipe it off with a bit of 

 dry wash-leather ; woollen stuff is not so good, as bits of 

 the lint or thread are apt to remain behind ; to brush away 

 any dust or old oil which may remain about the joints and 

 screws of the springs from the last cleaning, with a dry 

 feather, and then with the same instrument to apply a 

 very small quantity of oil, clarified as above, to those 

 parts which work one into the other. 



If, however, rust be any where established, or if much 

 dirt and foulness be coagulated in places where it cannot 

 easily be got at, it will be necessary to dissect the locks. 



To do so, the following rules, published on the first 

 introduction of the percussion system by a leading Lon- 

 don gunmaker, are the best and safest to follow : 



" I have found it a good plan, on taking the parts asun- 

 der, to drop the screws, keeping them carefully unmixed, 

 into a dinner-plate, containing clarified oil to the depth of 

 the eighth of an inch, and to wipe them dry with a piece 

 of wash-leather before replacing them. The same thing 

 may be done, advantageously, with the nipples when taken 

 5* 



