122 MANUAL FOE YOUNG SPOETSMEN. 



styled, out of sight, in all the three great desiderata — ac- 

 curacy, range, and force of execution. 



All these points being taken into consideration, I am 

 inclined to prefer Perry's breech-loading rifle, even as a 

 sporting weapon, to any gun ever yet invented ; adopting, 

 for that purpose, a very simple modification of its ordinary 

 form. For use in close covert, and still more on horse- 

 back, in which condition, whoever has tried it knows that 

 it is almost an impossibility to load a rifle, its superiority 

 is inconceivably pre-eminent ; and, even in common use, 

 the saving of the actual labor of forcing the patched ball 

 down a foul barrel, is a matter of no inconsiderable 

 moment. 



A good rider might load, fire, reload and fire again, a 

 carbine of this construction, while sitting in his saddle, 

 with his horse at full speed, almost as readily as he could 

 do so on foot. 



For buffalo-hunting, in the great plains, no weapon 

 could by any means compete with this ; and were I about 

 to stake my life on the continuous and unvarying perform- 

 ance of any fire-arm I have yet tried, this is that on which 

 I should determine the risk. 



The cause of its superior carriage is simple and easily 

 explained, and is due to its peculiar construction ; pro- 

 ducing by a different mode the same effect as is obtained 

 by the expansive bullet which forms the peculiarity of the 

 Minie rifle. In the ordinary rifled-barrel the ball is 

 driven down through an arrangement of sharp-edged spiral 

 grooves, which cut it into ridges and furrows in its descent. 

 On its projection, it passes out, retained in its position 



